May/June 2020
Variables
Behind the Music: Take Time to Thank Engineers
NSPE member George Karadis, P.E., is passionate about engineering and what an integrated design team can deliver. He’s also passionate about music, and sometimes those two passions mix. When he’s not working as a vice president and a corporate design director in the Detroit office of SmithGroup, he’s half of the singer-songwriter duo Karidia, along with his wife. George recently told the story behind a new song: “Take Time to Thank Engineers.”
Listen to “Take Time to Thank Engineers”
My wife Lynn freely admits she “didn’t get the math chip.” And I know she got chips that I didn’t. Once, after I explained something using physics—an activity she entertains to a point—she said, “The world would be a more dangerous place if I were an engineer.”
Now, as singer-songwriters, we immediately heard that as a “hook.” But we wanted to avoid stereotypes, so the song incubated for a few years—until we hit the idea of thanking engineers for what they do. That gave the song a much broader purpose—advocacy for all PEs, in the true folk tradition.
Lynn’s hook found its place in a refrain. Refrains go with verses, so we needed at least two of those. And verses need rhymes, so we explored three for each verse, with the first verse on qualifications and usefulness, the second on breadth and safety. An intro/outro brought repetition and the eventual title, and some folky “seventh” guitar chords supported the lyric’s feel.
We recorded my vocal together with a nylon-string parlor guitar, for a natural feel (using two small-condenser mics, one each side of the 12th fret, with a large condenser mic above for the vocal). It ended up being a single take—about the eighth take. By diving straight into words, we kept the recording under a minute and a half, not to bore. Then Andy Wilson remotely added brilliant harmonica commentary, and I mixed and mastered the tracks.
My workmates were the first to hear it live, at an “all hands” meeting. They seemed to like it, so I posted it on NSPE’s site. Lynn and I are looking forward to playing it live—when we find our new normal—with Lynn on banjo.
Take Time to Thank Engineers
Take Time to Thank Engineers
Take time, take time, take a little time
take time to thank engineers
Take time to thank engineers
for studying hard for years
seeing clear through physics for you™
for making things work a career
Take time to thank engineers
for being certified by their peers
The world would be a far more dangerous place
without trusted engineers
Take time to thank engineers
They’re experts in many spheres
Buildings stand high, airplanes fly
they’ll fix infrastructure—when the funds appear
Take time to thank engineers
our technology pioneers
The world would be a far more dangerous place
without trusted engineers—so
Take time, take time, take a little
time take time to thank engineers
Take time to thank engineers
Words and music by George and Lynn Karidis, 2020, Karidia.org
Music Critics Say…
“An uplifting and accurate message. Thank you!”
“Nice song, how do I get a copy to play when clients are on hold in my phone system?”
“Sure to reach the Billboard 100!
(The above quotes are from music critics who are also licensed professional engineers.)
