Week one and I had no great intention of putting together an entire album. From the screech of my wonky studio chair to the pick scrapes on the flat top, there’s a lot of honest bleed on this tune. At the time, I was feeling connected to old-timey swing; so I wanted to ham it up a bit. A simple I, IV, V, chord progression in the key of A, with a I, vi, ii, V turnaround was sufficient. 

Then I started recording, cutting the rhythm guitars (twelve, and six strings) first. Feeling like it needed a push, I grabbed my loaner ukulele and laid down a chugging line that kicked the tune into gear; I like it as a gentle and whimsical driver that can help song move along.

Then came the vocals, and really this was the moment that changed my approach to songwriting. I don’t recall if I actually had a melody during the writing of the chord progression, maybe a little something, but I had no lyrics and nothing definitive. Instead, I put my headphones on and took it one section at a time. I’d come up with a few lines of lyrics first settling on “I changed a tire with a broken arm / turned a page with my pinky toe / and all the calendar days, well they’ve got something to say / someone’s shouting in the distance, ‘you better go.’” I would adjust the specific wording of each line so they’d compliment the melody and its rhythm respectively. 

This was an entirely new approach for me; come up with the lyrics and melody over top of a recorded instrumental arrangement as opposed to writing everything at once with guitar in hand. This new angle gave an emphasis on vocal variation throughout the tune. Freeing myself of anything other than my voice and typing fingers allowed me to take great care to craft a vocal that was compelling, free, and playful.

Once I had a good vocal take, I took a swing at harmonies, something I had never done on any previous record. Those priceless and carefully crafted studios surrounded by brilliant musicians and producers intimidated the hell out of me. I remember a lot of head nodding, accepting things that I actually didn’t particularly like; a vocal take, or a mix, for example. But this time, it was just me in my basement with a cheap condenser microphone, time on my hands, and nothing really to lose other than ticks off the quarantine clock.

Live, full band, on The Koh Show in DE

Live, solo, at Cubizm Cafe, 2023

The home studio on Sedgwick St.