March 20th 2013. This is the new video for my latest LP. Jake Kelly shot it, and Jon Ransom helped put the finishing touches on it. It stars my wife Amber.
0CT.12. 2012 The second I payed for the first project I began saving for the second album. $50 a paycheck deducted automatically into my specially set up bank account. Now as I type this I'm sewing my ass off making these special canvas covers for a vinyl record that has yet to arrive. I'm not to nervous though I still have until Oct. 20th. I first put together this website just for my debut vinyl. I needed a better web presence, and I was told I should have a website. It's been the right move getting one, but it's hard to feel that connection. That's probably why I'm not always on top of keeping the content fresh. I don't have interns to handle my website, and sometimes after working that 12 hour day I just don't feel like updating things. So I'm making an effort now. I really wanted to build a mailing list from here, and to those that have signed up I thank you. I begin rehearsals Friday, and will have two more after that. I then will try and come up with some special visuals for the show. I still have lots of work to do, and it's taking a tol on me. I stress about shit, and don't sleep. I've run myself down and feel a bit under the weather. I'm not complaining too much am I? The new record makes me proud, and the special package it'll come in makes me happy. I will send out an email as soon as the records arrive, and give all of you folks on the list first crack at the limited canvas package. Take care my friends! This is the story of my debut LP.Welcome to my little website. I wanted to be able to show all the aspects of this labor of love I've worked so hard to make a reality. That labor of love of course being a wonderful 12' vinyl record. I got the thought in my head that there's no reason why I can't make a solo record and put it on vinyl. So for two plus years I started saving $50 dollars a paycheck, and creating some real personal, and heart warming music. From the second I stepped into the studio to having the final product in my hands, I never cut corners. I went to Type Foundry Studios here in Portland Oregon, and enlisted Adam Selzer for his expertise in recording atmospheric folk. I stayed analog all the way through for a pure vinyl experience. I took the masters to Timothy Stolenworks at Stereophonic Mastering, and had it mastered specifically for vinyl. I then sent those mastered tracks to the leading expert in cutting lacquers: John Golden Mastering. This is realy an art form in its own right, and is ultimatley the last step in the sound of your record. Now the heart of this record is the music, but the soul of it is in the senses of sight and touch. It's really hard to achieve the same aesthetic in any other medium. I wanted to make the kind of record you put on your turntable, and then sit down and experience the package. It's that chance to fully express your imagination (both yours and mine). For the cover I had this old photo I wanted to use, but it was real old and small (and I didn't have the negative). I started to think about what options I had, and decided to call an old friend who just happened to be a talented artist. I gave Rachel Blumberg the photograph and asked her to paint me a version of the picture. She did a beautiful job, and it not only became the cover, but it looks great on my wall. I wanted the lyrics sheet to be special, but more than just a sheet of text. The great thing about vinyl is the size of canvas to express. So you have a lot more options to do something that you don't need a magnifying glass to read. I'm a hack of a photo enthusiast, but I really enjoy experimenting with old cameras and Pinhole cameras. I had this big box of these pictures, some good, some bad, and some perfect for this project. I sat down and tried to match images with lyrics. While the pictures were not taken with the songs in mind, and the song not created with the pictures in mind, clear matches started to fall into place. So I wanted each song to have its own card with lyric and matching image. I also wanted to paper to feel good in you hands, so I picked out a nice textured paper for that final touch. 9 cards with lyrics and one card with thanks you's. That left two songs without cards, and two of my favorite pinhole pictures without a use. I still had the inner sleeve to complete, and this is what would become the art for the inside sleeve. The two pictures were one hour exposures taken with my pinhole camera. One from the vewpoint looking out into my backyard, and the other looking from my backyard to my house. They were taken at dusk, and the colors are deep and sureal. The final job was the artwork for the labels on the vinyl. I gave this job to my 12 year old nephew, and it was the final touch. I made this record for myself, because I wanted nothing more than to hold the final product in my hands. If you believe that the format of vinyl is the best way to experience music than it's for you too. I don't need to put it next to the other stacks of old music project in my garage. This is why I only pressed 300 records, and I'm only charging $10. Get this record home and put it on your record player. Turn up the volume and listen to the sound of the felt on the end of the drum stick hitting the drum, the sound of a creaky piano chair. The warmth of a nylon string guitar with a baritone vocal full of heart felt effort and vulnerability.
