Review Text
This album started in 2005 after listening to Nick Drake's "Five Leaves Left". It's an album for long drives in the country, watching the sun come up, or late night meditations on the stars. My first musical loves were western and eastern classical music. I owe so much to my friend and collaborator, Brian Whistler whose translucent, poetic arrangements and performances with many diverse instruments made this album possible. Great thanks to Roy Rogers who "channeled" the slide guitar work of George Harrison so perfectly on "The Lennon Song". Thank you Don de Brauwere who attended many of the final mixes. Thank you to all my friends and relatives who supported me during the project. Heartfelt gratitude to Paul Tumolo of Wildplum Records who believed in this work; and special thanks to Michelle Blackwell for her beautiful CD package design. We recorded these tracks on many a rainy Tuesday afternoon at Whistler Studios in Forestville, CA overlooking a Russian River redwood canyon. The tallest of living things listened to these songs outside our rainstreaked windows. Comments about the Songs The Lennon Song I put John Lennon on my shoulder to help me write this song about universal love. The process was difficult since I know Lennon was notoriously discerning. Each line and metaphor was under his scrutiny as I imagined how he would have reacted to them. Ultimately I was rewarded with this song, and it led to a life-changing insight that when everything else has left us, love remains at our side. Slide blues guitarist Roy Rogers does an amazing George Harrison style solo. Deep Blue Sea I have inherited panic disorder, and my particular kind is a fear of wide, open spaces...mountain tops, bridges, the universe, everything vast. I take no meds, and make a practice of just witnessing the thoughts and feelings as they wash through me. This song was written in the midst of a very strong attack, and I tried to just write about what it felt like during those moments. The benefit of the struggle is that it keeps my consciousness keenly focused on the temporary, beautiful aspects of life. We combined a Sitar with a Stratocaster to evoke the sound of something deep rising to the surface. Time Runs Away (written with KD Ocean) Time is three characters in this song. The first is a kid who steals a pie off your table and leaves only the scent of it behind. The second is a burglar who breaks into your garage at night and makes off with your car. The third time it comes as old age and steals your memories. We used a Hammond V3 organ to evoke the sounds of early Procol Harem. Dark Matter This song describes the mixed feelings of scientists as they stare into the abyss of what they still don't understand. According to astronomers we only see 4% of reality. An astronomer, a physicist, and a biologist all reach a place of wonder in the midst of their questions and routines. The moral: Life is meant to be loved as well as studied. We used an array imbera, clay udu pots and an extraordinary sample of an Armenian flute. Tornado I grew up in the Midwest in a dysfunctional family. We lived in trailer parks, and when tornados threatened we would run for our lives. Though we never lost anything to a real twister, I realized many years later that a metaphorical one raged constantly within the walls of our home. Tornados for me were the outward reflection of what was happening inside the walls of my parental home. Orchestral sounds create a lot of drama in this one with real thunder taking the song out. Child of the War My mother was born in Germany and spent her childhood years growing up during the rise and destruction of the Nazi era. She witnessed and lived through the saturation bombing of her hometown Stuttgart. Thousands of German children were killed in the cross fire. Afterwards, she never came to grips with what her parents' generation did, and died denying the holocaust. Achingly beautiful arrangements tug at your heart climaxing with a vocal siren
