We all have THAT SONG.
THAT SONG that spoke to us at THAT MOMENT.
THAT SONG that got us through THAT PART OF OUR LIVES.
THAT SONG that will always bring us back to ourselves, get us through whatever we need to get through, take care of us when we’ve lost our footing, or just remind us of who we know ourselves to be.
But have you ever wondered how THAT SONG was written, produced, and released to begin with?
It took an incredible team of folks to help me make the best album I could. Here’s a short introduction to each of these folks:
This record would not be it is without the encouragement, insightful questions, and incredible listening of Vicki Green. She was there as a coach from the very beginning, helping me clarify the intention and overall tone of the project; as a vocal producer, bringing out my best vocal performance on each track; and as a mixing consultant, listening to the delicate balance of each songʻs elements to ensure an optimal listening experience for the audience.
I recorded this record at The Panther in Portland, Oregon. I knew right away Steve Drizos was an engineer I could trust with this project, and not only because he is a fellow New Yorker and Yankees fan! Every step of the way, he was responsive and deliberate in the recommendations he made. When I hear these tracks back, I can feel how comfortable I was to put it all out there and take the risks I did, because of the safe space, in which I got to be creative.
When you are looking for studio musicians to add instrumentation onto your song, you want someone who is responsive to your overall intention for the song, but also innovative in taking it to a place you didn’t realize it could go. Jenny Conlee brought such magic to the songs on this record – on accordion, piano, and even organ! As she puts it, she was using her instruments “to help tell the stories of the songs” which is *exactly* what we hope for when we collaborate with studio musicians.
When Kathryn Claire came in to the studio to record, I probably said something like, “Can you make your fiddle sound like a little girl who’s playing with her favorite aunt?” or maybe, “I’m looking for that delightful dig into the strings that feels like you’re getting your hands dirty and loving it.” Whatever I said, Kathryn said YES and it makes both of her songs absolutely sing on this record.
Bass is one of those magical instruments that – if played right – offers depth and grounding to a recording without taking focus away from the heart of the song. These two gents, Dale Jones (left) and Aaron Elliott (right) did an absolute expert job of this on this record.
In the midst of pre-production I was mulling over how to arrange vocal harmonies on the song Harmonies in the Hallway, who to ask, etc. Then I met Steven, Jess, and Aaron of Flyover States last summer and it was like the clouds opened and the sun shone down. I couldn’t believe my luck when they agreed to offer their voices to this record, and now I couldn’t imagine it without them.
As a kind of last step of “quality control”, Jon Neufeld was the mastering technician on this record. He added an extra set of ears to prepare these songs for different distribution formats (streaming, CD, vinyl), choosing to enhance certain elements and/or catching anything that stuck out or might be distracting. There is no way I could have heard what Jon heard in these songs, but I do know that when *you* hear these songs, Jon’s work will be as present in them as the rest of the team’s.
What did I tell you? Every song that reached your ears – whether on the radio, through your headphones or earbud, on the stereo at the beach, etc. – there is an entire TEAM behind it, making sure that song is the absolute best version of itself. When you support my work, you are supporting their work, too, and contributing to a vital and vibrant artistic community. THANK YOU.