There For You
There For You was one of those rare moments in the studio that came together without too much angst. With a band that I was lucky to be working with, we captured most of what you hear on only the second or third take.
The recording features Randy Flowers on the sultry electric guitars and also on backing vocals, Boh Cooper on the tasty Rhodes Piano and on backing vocals, Jerry Flowers on the smooth bass guitar and Larry Babb on the soulful drums. I believe it was Boh’s idea to make the song a duet, and he called in the wonderfully talented Melodie Crittendon who sang the duet vocal, and also provided additional backing vocals as well as the “ooohs” and “aaahs”.
It was originally conceived to be a much softer lullabye, but the band took it in a more exciting direction, something only a full band in the studio together can often deliver. It was then mixed by the awesome Russ Long on a warm Neve console. I hope you enjoy the results!
[also available on Tidal, Pandora, Amazon Music, and others]
Running Into The Sun
I was walking down 5th Avenue in Manhattan one lonely day on the way to the music stores on 48th Street to try and escape a dreary spring morning, and this song came out of nowhere. I ran home to my apartment as fast as I could, side-swiping cabs on the way, to try and get the idea down on paper before it disappeared from my head forever.
While working for Hans Zimmer as an assistant I’d come to know two excellent musicians who did work for him, Alex Wurman - a wonderful composer and keyboard player, and Bob Daspit - a fantastic guitarist, producer and sound designer. We’d set up a studio together in an office building on Ocean Boulevard in Santa Monica CA, and tracked this song after work one day. It was then mixed by Brett Newman at The Loft in Westwood.
I’d thought I might re-record the song someday, but was never able to recapture the energy that we got that day in Santa Monica with Bob & Alex. So this is the original version, unvarnished and unbridled, from four young and raring-to-go 20-something guys.
[also available on Tidal, Pandora, Amazon Music, and others]
Your Song
I’ve always had a rule to never re-record a song that had once been popular, and I obviously broke that rule with Your Song. Elton John’s records were among my favorites growing up, as he & Bernie Taupin wrote wonderful songs, he has a dynamite voice, a great band back then, and a fantastic producer in those days named Gus Dudgeon.
One day I was recording at Randy Flower’s place, he was overdubbing guitars for a project we were finishing up, and after work he started messing around and played the guitars to this song. We decided on a whim to record it for fun, right there in his living room. Luckily, he has cathedral ceilings and a big rock fireplace and so the sonics in the room are very good!
I liked what we had so I drove across town to Boh Cooper’s studio and we crafted the strings and orchestral elements (Boh is a real master) and then the song sat on a shelf for a long time. At the suggestion of a close friend I decided to go ahead and release it on the remaster for the Mrs Lightning album. It’s in no way meant to compete with Elton’s version (who could?) but hopefully just helps to keep this wonderful song alive for longer.
[also available on Tidal, Pandora, Amazon Music, and others]
*Released under mechanical license #2494653 from Universal / Polygram International Inc
Living For Sunsets
Driving through the North Carolina mountains on the interstate and heading into Tennessee the terrain suddenly becomes incredibly beautiful. You can ‘round a turn and have your breath taken away on several occasions, and it becomes a more timeless journey. I was on one such drive late one day and this song came out of nowhere and came into my possession.
I was right in the middle of the recording process for the Mrs Lightning album, and was thrilled to have another upbeat song fall into my midst. I don’t know where songs come from - I believe it will likely remain an elusive mystery to me for the rest of this lifetime - but that’s OK… as long as they come I won’t argue with where they happen to come from.
I collaborated closely with my comrade-in-arms Boh Cooper on this one. He plays the sultry Hammond B3 organ part on it, and helped to arrange and supervise the terrific horn section we brought in of Chris McDonald and Sam Levine. Randy Flowers then added his super-energetic electric guitars, while Larry Babb (drums) and Jerry Flowers (bass) supplied the powerful low end. I hadn’t expected the recording to emerge like this, but the process of working with a band in the studio often has a life of its own.
[also available on Tidal, Pandora, Amazon Music, and others]
Love One Another
Boh Cooper and I were on a hike in the North Georgia mountains with a group of bohemian vagabonds who were teaching us about Native American ways and helping us to become more integrated with the natural world. We were already outdoor types and loved nature, but these folks were beyond us in their passion and exuberance for bonding with the spirits that inhabit the natural world, especially the world far removed from the major cities. One of our guides suggested things that really expanded my view of that world, and it led to me wandering off on my own and then finding this song out there in the woods.
I ran over to find Boh and told him I had a new song and was afraid I was going to lose it. He told me to sing it to myself until we got home, and to not stop until we were there, and that worked. We decided to take it to Ric Webb’s studio, as we wanted the track to be as powerful as we could summon. The band that plays the rhythm track of Randy Flowers on guitars, Anthony Sallee on bass and Keith Carlock on drums ended up being quite a powerful combination, and I’m still amazed when I hear how over-the-top the song sounds because of them. Ric is also an awesome engineer, and then later mixed the final version.
Boh added the Native American flute parts and also the Oberheim synth and the outro piano, and then Ric brought in saxophonist Phil Kenzie (Year of the Cat) who plays the super-cool sax parts. The odd juxtaposition of Native American flute with a jazzy sax playing off each other was unlike anything I’ve ever heard before or since, and that’s all due to Boh & Ric’s creative ideas combined with Boh & Phil’s phenomenal playing (they each only did 1-2 takes). Ric then brought in two wonderful singers to provide the backing vocals, and I’m still searching my memory banks trying to recall who he brought in - will add their names here once I remember them.
This song is dedicated to everyone who loves nature and has a free spirit!
[also available on Tidal, Pandora, Amazon Music, and others]
Carolina
I was on US Highway 1 driving from Chapel Hill to Myrtle Beach on a hot summer day with the top down (T-tops, anyway) and was suddenly overcome with a feeling of nostalgia for where I lived. This includes both states named Carolina, as I’ve lived and spent a lot of time in both, and the song came very easily and naturally.
It was originally recorded at TGS Studios in Chapel Hill by engineer/producer Steve Gronback with Morgan Davis on drums, Bobby Patterson on bass and Joe Adams on guitars. I later added a Hammond B3 organ part and additional guitars and backing vocals, and decided to include it on the Running Into The Sun EP.
This song is dedicated to the memory of my wonderful college roommate in Chapel Hill, Andrew Featherston, who we affectionately knew as “Nanny”.
[also available on Tidal, Pandora, Amazon Music, and others]
Night
I was rehearsing with a fun group of musicians for a show we were planning that became a Tribute to Bruce Springsteen concert on Labor Day, and we were going all-out to try and put it over-the-top. I knew we’d perform some of the more obvious hits, but we also wanted to treat any die-hard Bruce fans that might be in the audience that night to at least a few of the songs that hadn’t been big hits. Night became the one we loved the most.
I already had a recording session planned with a group of guys I loved, and we added this tune to the list for that session. We were at Morgan Davis’ Drum Facility & Recording Space and the mighty Morgan himself is on the kit for this one, along with Bobby Patterson on bass, Randy Flowers on guitars and Boh Cooper on both the spirited piano and the Hammond B3 organ. Horns were later added on by the Brentwood Horn Crew.
In the southeastern US where I grew up, this song was never played on rock radio that I ever heard, and many rock fans I’ve now played the song for had also never heard it. The band really seemed to spark on the last take we did, and that seemed reason enough to bring this version to life. It’s certainly not intended to compete with the awesome original, but hopefully just keeps this great song alive for another generation to hear and enjoy.
[also available on Tidal, Pandora, Amazon Music, and others]
*Released under mechanical license #2465961 from Eldridge Publishing Co / Sony ATV
Man I Never Knew
This song was written as a request from a film director for a film about a boy who’d never met his grandfather. When he asked me to do it, I wasn’t sure how to go about it because I had great relationships with both of my granddads. But then I remembered that I never even met one of my biological grandfathers, and after that the song came almost immediately.
Recorded at TGS Studios in Chapel Hill NC with the wonderful Ben Folds on piano, Chuck Cotton on drums, Chris Carroll on bass and Joe Adams on guitars, this was one of the most enjoyable days I ever had in a recording studio. Steve Gronback engineered and mixed the recording and Boh Cooper later added the soulful Hammond B3 organ part.
This recording is dedicated to the memory of Chris Carroll, an extraordinary musician and super nice guy. And the song is dedicated to the grandfather I never met and who is the inspiration for this song, Haldean Sharpe.
[also available on Tidal, Pandora, Amazon Music, and others}
River of Doubt
I listened to a lot of Creedence Clearwater Revival growing up - my dad kept an 8-track of Cosmo’s Factory in the car and I played it until if wouldn’t play anymore. There was something about the swampy feel of the songs that’s timeless to me, like some of Charlie Daniels songs from that era. River of Doubt is about how hard it is to sometimes navigate the confusion that relationships can bring, and when I was preparing to record the song I knew I wanted to try and achieve some level of swampiness into the recording to match that feeling.
This track has Larry Babbs on drums, Jerry Flowers on bass, Randy Flowers on all guitars and Boh Cooper on the Hammond B3. Then to move even deeper into the swamps we brought in the wonderful harmonica player Terry McMillan, who was insanely fun to watch and who came in, listened to about 1 minute of the song, told me to “roll tape” and then played what you hear in this one take. Then he quickly nodded “farewell” and headed on his way.
(I never saw him again, and he passed away far too young at age 53.)
And then last but not least we were able to get the wonderful Crystal Taliefero and Melodie Crittendon to add the sultry backing vocals, which took the project to a whole different level. This recording is dedicated to the memory of Terry Lee McMillan, and the song is dedicated to a great friend from long ago who wouldn’t want her name mentioned here.
[also available on Tidal, Pandora, Amazon Music, and others]
There is also a video of River of Doubt created by the awesome Rob Burgner and his talented team at Bleeding Edge Productions. They were able to capture the story of the song in video format, and it was a lot of fun to be a part of and in seeing all that goes into the process of music video production.