This month…a new free arrangement, new releases, and looking back at my “Skies and Openings” album.
(Open this newsletter in a new browser so you can see the embedded videos.)
Free Piece
I think I bought Paul McCartney II when I was in college. I had always loved the song “Coming Up" because it was always on MTV when I was younger…you know…when they actually played music videos in the 80's. I remember listening to the album the for first time. It opened with “Coming Up”, but then went into “Temporary Secretary”, and I remember thinking…"what the hell is this?". That was my reaction to a lot of the record. I wasn't expecting an album of experimental new wave pop synth, but after several listens, the album grew on me.
One of the songs that I immediately fell in love with was “Waterfalls”. Since hearing it that first time, I've always wanted to arrange it for solo guitar. It may have taken thirty plus years, but I finally did it. The arrangement is pretty simple harmonically, so the key is to really bring out the vocal melody, and keep the rhythm clean. I hope you dig playing it, or just listening. And no…I will not be recording an album of covers anytime soon. Lol…
Jeff Oster, Tom Eaton, and I have a new CD coming out in April called “Seven Conversations”. It is an album of completely improvised ambient music. The first single “Hushed” came out this past Friday. Click the photo for streaming links. This music will put you in a good place…just breathe.
If you enjoy that, check out how this project came to be, by listening to us improvise on Echoes Radio in 2017. We had only played together once, the night before this recording, and we had no material to play. This entire performance was off the cuff and improvised live in studio for John Diliberto and Echoes Radio. Click the cover for link.
I have a new release with Guitarist Lance Allen coming out on March 1st. “Two Friends” is a lovely duet for two classical guitars. It was really great to finally collaborate with Lance. Click the cover for the Spotify pre-save link.
I will also have another new release with my friend Denis Turbide coming later in March. More about that in my next newsletter.
Skies and Openings Turns 15
I find it hard to believe that I recorded my first album 15 years ago. Skies and Openings was written and recorded in 2009.
As 2009 began, I was newly sober, and only had a few of half written songs. I had sort of given up on the idea of writing and recording music, and given in to the fact that music would be a hobby.
Looking back, I realize that there are three things that led up to my mindset changing. First, I reconnected with Anthony Saint James. We were good friends in high school, but lost touch. After high school, Anthony had been working all over the world as a photographer, and doing amazing work with people like Mark Seliger and Andrew Eccles, shooting for major music publications like Rolling Stone Magazine. We share very similar tastes in music, art, literature, etc. and our friendship his always helped inspire me to do more creatively and try to be a better person. Reconnecting with Anthony instantly pushed me to keep creating.
Once we reconnected and started hanging out again, Anthony introduced me to Kelly Joe Phelps. Anthony had been working with Kelly Joe for a number of years. KJP has always been one of my favorite guitarists/songwriters. That introduction eventually led a discussion with Kelly Joe, in which he talked to me about his creative process and the importance of focusing on the idea of process vs. product, and the idea of writingevery day in order to keep the creative channel open and available. This conversation completely changed my thinking process, and I immediately began writing the songs that would become my Skies and Openings record.
While I was writing the music, I had no idea how or where I would record the music. Seemingly out of nowhere, a dear friend of my wife Marie, Jeff “Drack” Thompson, reached out to tell me that he had a friend in Bayonne who had just opened a studio in his house. That was Igor Martinez and L&I Studios.
With Anthony and Igor's help, plus musical friends Mike Fumento, Lois Carpenter, and Jeff Young, it all came together. Although a lot of that record sounds like me imitating the guitarists I was listening to at the time, it was the first step in finding my own musical voice. It was an amazing learning experience. As soon as I finished recording it, I started writing the next record.
I recently asked Anthony for all of the photos and videos from these recording sessions. There are literally hundreds of them. It has been a blast looking through them. Here are a few of the unedited photos were taken by Anthony. The entire album was recorded on my Martin D16, which I eventually sold…and immediately regretted it. The banjo is a 1960 Vega tenor banjo.
“So She Spins” was probably the most popular song on the album. It was written for my wife Marie. It's her hands spinning the yarn in the video that Anthony shot. The track included Mike, Lois, and Jeff. I eventually re-recorded the song as a solo on my "Good Light to Go By" album.
That's all for this month. Thanks for reading these. See you in March…
