I can remember the first time that I stepped foot in the studio. The smell of fresh pots (Dave Grohl talk for coffee) and the excitement of creating new music. It was at Bismeaux studio in Austin, TX, followed by Cedar Creek studio just down the road from there. It was a euphoric feeling sitting around and letting our creativity run wild. The formula had many iterations through the years but the result has been the same. I learned so much from guys like Adam Odor (Silverada), Matt Baker (Roger Creager), Lyndon Hughes (Wilder Blue), Rich Brotherton (Robert Earl Keen), and Joe Hardy (ZZ Top), among others. I soaked it in almost like something inside of me knew that I would need to know and replicate every step of this process myself. The fact is that I was just always amazed by the process. It consumed me. I would be in the studio and I would forget to eat. That's how much it would take over my consciousness. When I stopped touring heavy to spend more time with the family I was able to let all of that knowledge start to sink in. As I continued to write I would record at several different studios, such as Stormy Cooper Media, Ace Studios, and Red Eye Studios among others, and occasionally send select demos to Nashville. I also began recording demos at my home studio. When Joe Hardy passed away I was floored. Joe and I had a great musical connection and it was such a great experience. He was a musical genius and absurdly eccentric, but we got each other on a whole different level. The entire time that we were working together he was feeding me his insider knowledge of tips and tricks and insane stories of music and musicians throughout the years. Like the time Billy Gibbons was eating at a diner in LA and Prince, who happened to be at the same establishment, had one of his cronies ask Billy to join him for breakfast. Those two legends sat and talked for more than two hours. I'd have loved to have been a fly on that wall. He had to take a break from one of our recording sessions to record a duet for John Fogerty and Billy Gibbons. I mean, if you're going to be sidelined... I was bummed when Joe passed. Uncertain about how I wanted to move forward recording.
I had a show with Mike McClure, who had initially introduced me to Joe and had himself worked with him for many years, and he suggested that I just record it all in-house. To say I was apprehensive is an understatement, but I took it one step at a time. After a few false starts it was off to the races. As I caught my stride recording in my studio I could hear Joe whispering in my ear. I could see Adam and Rich, and the ways they produced and engineered. It was like we were all there together. About this time artists like Billie Eilish and Post Malone had started having great success recording and releasing their own records through Soundcloud and other platforms. I realized the landscape had changed dramatically. It was the wild west. Every tool at your disposal and without the need for a label.
I quickly came to learn that it's not about releasing full albums these days, it's releasing singles. I've got to be honest when I say that I grew up reading all of the liner notes with the lyrics and pictures. I loved holding a CD in my hand and going through the notes and the art, but with each change there is a silver lining. That has been the ability to capture the story of my music in exactly the way that I feel it. It's the collection of experiences that have led me here. It's releasing music on my own and on my terms. I'm stoked for you guys to hear the final product. The product that started at Bismeaux Studios and went on to develop through every studio, producer, engineer, musician, and friend that I experienced along my musical journey. Just me in my own studio with my own ideas and a few instruments. Thank you to all of you that have contributed to this journey. Now, let's see what we can do with it!