Fastball Finds Compromise On "The Way" to Grammy Nomination

For those who doubt the power of compromise, we humbly offer the story of Fastball's "The Way."

When the Austin, Texas trio was working on its breakthrough hit "The Way," guitarist Miles Zuniga was pushing for the song to resemble its first stripped-down incarnation, while bass player Tony Scalzo, who wrote the song, had other plans.

"The way the song came together was that Tony had demo-ed the song with a keyboard, and it was the kind that you could play with one finger, and it had the bass and drums, it had had everything on it," Zuniga explained. "I really liked that, and I fought really hard to keep that, and Tony wanted to go more in favor of the way we did it, but with the full band. Both are really good ideas, but what really made the song is that the ideas are melded together."

The commercial success that has followed probably eased any concerns the two had about the track, and the Grammy folks gave the song a tip of the cap as well when they nominated "The Way" for Best Rock Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocal, one of two nods for the band. Fastball will also be up for Best Long Form Music Video when the Grammy Awards are handed out on February 24.