Hello Friends, It’s been awhile since I have written on this blog. Thanks to “progress” I haven’t been able to access this thing in ages, but a friend of mine, Chris, has helped get me back some semblance of communication. Some would argue that my being flippant about progress is silly since I use this computer to say things about all the “goings on” about this band, keep folks informed etc…but truth be told we would all be doing just fine without websites, blogs, emails, etc. We would just be talking more with the actual people we come into contact with, and writing stunning letters and reflecting more-remember life when at times there was no witness to be had? Anyway, we are pleased to announce that we are releasing “Marble Son” on our own imprint called “Station Grey” along with the help of Thirty Tigers out of Nashville Tennessee…..Station Grey is a label( whatever that means these days) and we are very grateful to have Jeff Wooding running the show. Jeff was the marketing guy at V2 records and Outpost/Geffen back in the day (knew Phil from whiskeytown days)…he knows a lot of stuff that we don’t know, and he is a cool guy! We feel very blessed to have him on board as both the label guy and our manager….the official release is August 2nd.
Some words on the album: We starting recording this album back in Sept of 2009, and chipped away throughout 2010. We had been doing quite a lot of touring on the last album and I found it very hard to write in that window…plus Phil and I were going through the break up of a 10 year relationship. So, I think he and I needed to take the time to process a lot of things in our personal lives…hence the reason it all is and has been taking so much time to finish-that is of course if one bases time on record years! I am trying not to do that-as I find one’s life will pass them by much too quickly if they are to do so!
Most of the songs on this album that I wrote alone, were written in Iowa while visiting my fiance Mike who is finishing off his PHD there.. Somehow Phil and I were able to navigate these changes and stay together in our musical partnership…which I feel speaks volumes about how we felt towards what we have nurtured all these years- and about each other. There is a lot of trust and care in terms of what we do. Neither of us was willing to let it go and in many ways we are closer now then we were as girlfriend and boyfriend. I now live between Iowa and Seattle. Iowa is were i share my life with Mike Shultz, and Seattle is where i live my musical life. In my heart they are two of the same. There is very little if any separation …which may be the answer to why making a record represents so much, why it is not an easy emotional state to be in. Anyway, we chose to record on tape and we chose to work with Mell Dettmer who we have known for a long time thru the SUNNO)) association…I met her and Randall Dunne when I was recording “The Sinking Belle” with SUNNO))) and Boris, and i was very impressed with them as a unit. Mell had helped us mix some songs on the “Gentleness Of Nothing” ep and we loved working with her….we also did some more recording on the “Tempest” ep with her. It seemed like a no brainer that she would be able to help us get the sounds we were going for. She also has a tremendous amount of patience to deal with our sometimes less then easy antics. We recorded the basic tracks at Avast, and then did most overdubs at her home studio Aleph. Martin Faveyear mixed this album …we so enjoyed working with him on “LLL” that we felt it too was a no brainer.
As I said, this record wasn’t easy to make, they NEVER are for us. I used to think there was something wrong with us and was apologetic for always having such highs and lows while recording-apologetic for being “difficult”…but we are not of the “well adjusted” music making ilk that seem to be so prevalent these days. Beware music that is made by people who boast how well adjusted they are-they are the devil as far as I’m concerned (more on this later!) I suppose i could write forever on the subject of the intensity of recording or doing anything that demands every fiber of your being to be awake and engaged at all times-i wish someday someone would…not about our story…but about why maybe it shouldn’t always be easy? And why we feel the need to be apologetic for caring so much in this particular era. If life is happening and there is no separation between life and art-well where does one draw the line? . I’m fascinated by this and by life…by everyone’s life!!! So, in the process of this recording, a lot of “life” went down…good and bad things. Bill Herzog and his girl friend Kelley Healey had their first child- a girl they named Elizabeth. ….and in the meantime I and Eric become engaged (he has since married the lovely Marie Skoor) . Sadly, while all these wonderful things were happening, Phil’s father died of cancer very quickly and unexpectedly. So,while life was happening there has been a lot of personal growth and evolution. And, I can only hope the music speaks of this…”sounds” of this. We are not the same people we were when we stared this band back in 2002….we are in spirit, but what we are reaching for is ever changing as we all grasp for what it is we were meant to become back then (does that make sense?). I feel like we are slowly arriving at this place. This is one of the really beautiful things about getting older. I am just honored to be working with the same people for this long….and to have had Anne Marie join us on a couple of songs as well, well that was more meaningful then one can express in words…I feel blessed.
