The COVID-19 pandemic played a part in delaying the production of Jimil-Anne Linton’s next album, but it couldn’t stop the Lompoc musician from unveiling its first single. Linton premiered the music video for the song, titled “The Fast Train,” during an episode of Good Morning Lompoc, on July 17.
Work on the album remained mostly dormant over the past several months, but gearing up to release “The Fast Train” encouraged Linton to get back on track, so to speak.
“I was hoping to finish the album this year, but with everything going on, the production of the album has been put on a halt—mostly due to funding and travel,” said Linton, who planned to record the album at a professional studio in Boston.
Prior to coronavirus mitigation measures in March, Linton was about to launch a crowdfunding campaign to help cover recording and travel expenses, but she quickly decided to put that on hold.
“With everything going on and many people out of jobs, businesses closed, etc., I felt that now would not be an appropriate time,” the singer-songwriter and career nurse told the Sun.
Linton’s experiences working as an RN have influenced much of her music over the years, including the lyrics to “The Fast Train.”
The song’s title was inspired by a memorable piece of advice a professor once gave her during nursing school, Linton said. The professor described a career in nursing as “a fast train that just keeps on going and never stops.”
The analogy rang true later in Linton’s career while working at a dialysis center, advancing from floor nurse to nurse manager within a short time frame.
“I felt like I was being run into the ground. As much as I had thought it was nice to have moved up so quickly in my career, I felt like I had no time for anything else,” Linton said.
“While I love what I do as a nurse, there are other passions I have too. And I have other life goals outside my career that I hope to fulfill before I die,” she continued. “You should be working to make a living, not living just to work.”
For “The Fast Train,” Linton asked her friends and fellow musicians Caleb Todd and David DeVane to join her on the single and in the music video. Todd played cajon and DeVane played guitar, while Linton played piano and provided vocals on the track.
“I am so thankful and lucky to have such supportive friends,” said Linton, who asked another friend, local videographer Casey Fera, to shoot and edit the video, and fellow musician Chris Lambert to help master the final track.
“This fast train is leaving/ This fast train has set my life aside,” Linton sings during the song.
“The message of the song is in the same spirit as ‘stop and smell the roses’—life can be like a fast train,” Linton said. “If you don’t get off of that train at some point to take things slow, you’re going to miss out on a whole lot.”
Arts Editor Caleb Wiseblood is going off the rails at cwiseblood@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Jul 23-30, 2020.
