New album: initial recording update.

The sessions last week were fantastic and the new album is floating along. I'm currently in the midst of adding some more gear into The Map Room for some overdubs and probably some eventual tracking too. I've been so focused on going forward since the initial sessions that I've neglected to update the blog. Sorry...j'regret as they say in France.

So...some highlights.... I had so much fun and the music we are making is (I believe) unique and beautiful. Matt Slocum and Ken Lewis played along with me as we laid the foundations on 4 new songs. ("Darkest Night", "Distress Signal", "Freight Train", and an untitled one that is by far the coolest song I've written in years, not that I'm biased. It's good to love your material...little extensions of your soul.

I think I've abused my songs in the past with analyzing them way too much so that by the time we get around to recording them they are too planned out and blah blah blah. This time I've gone into the studio with songs that are 75% written with parts and melodies sketched out but not concrete....I'm finding great success with this less constrained approach and it's liberating for me. It really keeps me on my toes creatively and is stretching me overall as a musician. It's allowed me to stay in a writing head-space as we record.

Feels like the entire studio, all of the gear and musicians are in my bedroom back in Pennsylvania when I was 16 messing around on my four-track tape recorder. Total creative freedom.

Ken and Matt were brilliant and have been amazing on these tracks. Matt's cello parts and bass tone reminds me of all my favorite Beatles albums. Matt is really versatile and he fits perfectly with what I'm aiming at. For a different approach to rhythm we used all sorts of orchestral percussion like sleigh bells, various and sundry tambourines, snare drums, concert bass drums, tympani's (you can tune them! holy cow! I had no idea!!) and a variety of cymbals and gongs.

We all went down live as a trio with me singing and playing a trusty Gibson. I turned 30 last spring and my sweet wife bought me a 2005 Advanced Jumbo with rosewood back and sides.... with the bone nut and saddle that my luthier hand carved and installed himself...it records wonderfully. I love it. Oh and I'm not using a pick at all. All finger-style stuff...so the rosewood (and the shorter scale neck) really helps those individual notes have their own voices.

This coming week I'll work on the tracks in my home studio and prepare the next set of new songs for tracking later this month. I'll also be in the office booking a bit.


The weather is cooling off now that September is here...Fall is my favorite season in Nashville.

Here's to a brand new season and the sounds of new music!
Thanks for reading.
God's Peace.