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As I write this, I'm finishing up Open Letter and trying my hand at mastering (the process of adding the final touches to the songs that makes them "radio ready") and I started to reflect over the past year while putting this project together. I'm not sure the album itself was inspired by anything other than ideas were starting to flow (after all these years) and I wanted a vehicle to tie them together and share them with friends. Once I decided to make the album, I had three goals: Melody, Grooves, and the element of surprise. I think that I accomplished each goal but ultimately, that's up to you, the listener, to decide.
Many nights were spent studying different styles of recording, mixing, mastering, releasing, promoting, etc.. from people who were kind enough to share their immense talent via social media (Thank you Warren Huart, thank you Andrew Scheps, thank you Joe Gilder, thank you, thank you, thank you to everyone who put themselves out there to say "if I can do it, you can too")!
As this is my first time doing this, it's not perfect, it's probably not as polished as it could be, but it is an honest representation of where I'm at as a musician, a song writer, a mixing engineer, and as a man - raw and imperfect. During the process, there were physical limitations and lots of thinking "if I was just 30 years younger". But these songs would have been different. I would have been different. My guitar playing, my bass playing, my vocals...wouldn't have shown the years, the experiences, the raw wear and tear that one collects in life. In many ways, each one of these songs is a chapter of the life I've lived. Is every note perfect? Certainly not. I always believed that there's magic in a first take that's not worth sacrificing for the perfect 52nd take. So, in a few weeks, it's up to you to listen to the final result and it's my hope beyond all hopes that there's something in this collection of work that resonates with you, makes your day a little better, or just makes you play air guitar, bass, or drums while you're stuck in traffic. My music, for better or for worse, is my humble gift to give and I hope it brings you enjoyment!
Peace and Love...
Tom - June 2022
Many nights were spent studying different styles of recording, mixing, mastering, releasing, promoting, etc.. from people who were kind enough to share their immense talent via social media (Thank you Warren Huart, thank you Andrew Scheps, thank you Joe Gilder, thank you, thank you, thank you to everyone who put themselves out there to say "if I can do it, you can too")!
As this is my first time doing this, it's not perfect, it's probably not as polished as it could be, but it is an honest representation of where I'm at as a musician, a song writer, a mixing engineer, and as a man - raw and imperfect. During the process, there were physical limitations and lots of thinking "if I was just 30 years younger". But these songs would have been different. I would have been different. My guitar playing, my bass playing, my vocals...wouldn't have shown the years, the experiences, the raw wear and tear that one collects in life. In many ways, each one of these songs is a chapter of the life I've lived. Is every note perfect? Certainly not. I always believed that there's magic in a first take that's not worth sacrificing for the perfect 52nd take. So, in a few weeks, it's up to you to listen to the final result and it's my hope beyond all hopes that there's something in this collection of work that resonates with you, makes your day a little better, or just makes you play air guitar, bass, or drums while you're stuck in traffic. My music, for better or for worse, is my humble gift to give and I hope it brings you enjoyment!
Peace and Love...
Tom - June 2022
Liner notes
Creepin - as the first song on the album, it's ironically the catalyst for the album. I was giving guitar lessons to a friend of mine (something I rarely do because I don't want to pass on my bad habits to anyone) and he showed me this cool little practice amp he bought that came with some virtual guitar software that sounded delightful. After downloading it, I dialed in a tone and came up with this song, mainly just to show him the software's capabilities. I liked it so much, I had the inspiration for another one, then another, then another, and well....
Up n at It - Like Creepin, this was one of the early ideas that I had. I was driving to work one morning and was listening to Steve Morse and thought I'd like to record a song something like that. I'm certainly no Steve Morse but I'm happy with the results. Kind of feels like the first cup of Joe in the morning
Still Alive - Me insisting I can sing. I had this riff that was inspired by a beautiful Les Paul I just bought and had been playing around with it for a couple of years. Very Zeppelinesque and everyone seems to have at least one of those songs so it just kind of "led" itself there. The lyrics are representative of where my head was at the time. This album thing is something I always wanted to do and when I finally got technology and inspiration in the same room together, I realized I still had something left in the tank!
3 AM - I was up late one night and night turned into morning as it does, and I was feeling at peace with where I was in that moment. So, I wrote a song that tried to capture what it's like at 3 AM and all is calm. A little Wes Montgomery inspired.
Darkness 22 / Rentrer a la Maison - This was a song that I wrote when I was 16 years old while I was sitting on the couch watching tv. I played it with my old band, VerniaCaliper, in Boston. I always liked the intensity of the riff and wanted to pay tribute to it. I had a week off from work over the Christmas holidays and it came together pretty quickly, however the first version of it was so haunting it scared the piss out of me! It was the first time I used synthesizers on anything and it's amazing how much an effect they can have on the personality of a song. In the end, I had a pretty good time revisiting this old friend and bringing it back to life!
Sweet Sassy Molassy - I wanted to write a song that was funky but with a little edge to it and this is what came together. Sort of reminds me of the soundtrack to a bar fight!
Side Hustle - this started as a chord progression that, how I was playing it, sounded like a Brittney Spears kind of song. Not really liking that (nothing against it but just not my cup of tea), I shelved it for a couple of weeks. Out of other ideas, I decided that I would record it anyway and maybe give it to someone else from there. Well, I opened up my virtual drum software one night and tried playing the same chord progression over different styles of rhythms and the rest came together quickly. Again, I still had the Steve Morse inspiration in my head so....
Bounce - this was a riff that a drummer friend and I were jamming on one day a couple of years earlier. I really liked the groove and the chord progression but I didn't really know what to put over it. I tried to conjure up the genius of Jeff Beck (as in what would Jeff do) and this is what came out. I'm also no Jeff Beck but I was inspired by the unexpected melodies he interweaves with well, just about anything.
Open Letter - this is a song I've been holding inside of me since my mother passed away. It was difficult to write and even more difficult to record. It's really a tribute to anyone that's lost someone very close. It's some of the thoughts we think but generally don't say out loud. A friend of mine posted something about her mom on Facebook one day and I couldn't get past how much it matched what I was feeling. I agonized over adding the phone message from my mom at the end but it just made so much sense. It is because of her that I'm able to do what I do and think what I think so it was fitting to have her as a guest on my first album! It is the only recording that I have of her voice and as difficult as it was to even play the tape that I'd had stashed away all of these years, I'm very thankful that it survived. Love you Ma!
Creepin - as the first song on the album, it's ironically the catalyst for the album. I was giving guitar lessons to a friend of mine (something I rarely do because I don't want to pass on my bad habits to anyone) and he showed me this cool little practice amp he bought that came with some virtual guitar software that sounded delightful. After downloading it, I dialed in a tone and came up with this song, mainly just to show him the software's capabilities. I liked it so much, I had the inspiration for another one, then another, then another, and well....
Up n at It - Like Creepin, this was one of the early ideas that I had. I was driving to work one morning and was listening to Steve Morse and thought I'd like to record a song something like that. I'm certainly no Steve Morse but I'm happy with the results. Kind of feels like the first cup of Joe in the morning
Still Alive - Me insisting I can sing. I had this riff that was inspired by a beautiful Les Paul I just bought and had been playing around with it for a couple of years. Very Zeppelinesque and everyone seems to have at least one of those songs so it just kind of "led" itself there. The lyrics are representative of where my head was at the time. This album thing is something I always wanted to do and when I finally got technology and inspiration in the same room together, I realized I still had something left in the tank!
3 AM - I was up late one night and night turned into morning as it does, and I was feeling at peace with where I was in that moment. So, I wrote a song that tried to capture what it's like at 3 AM and all is calm. A little Wes Montgomery inspired.
Darkness 22 / Rentrer a la Maison - This was a song that I wrote when I was 16 years old while I was sitting on the couch watching tv. I played it with my old band, VerniaCaliper, in Boston. I always liked the intensity of the riff and wanted to pay tribute to it. I had a week off from work over the Christmas holidays and it came together pretty quickly, however the first version of it was so haunting it scared the piss out of me! It was the first time I used synthesizers on anything and it's amazing how much an effect they can have on the personality of a song. In the end, I had a pretty good time revisiting this old friend and bringing it back to life!
Sweet Sassy Molassy - I wanted to write a song that was funky but with a little edge to it and this is what came together. Sort of reminds me of the soundtrack to a bar fight!
Side Hustle - this started as a chord progression that, how I was playing it, sounded like a Brittney Spears kind of song. Not really liking that (nothing against it but just not my cup of tea), I shelved it for a couple of weeks. Out of other ideas, I decided that I would record it anyway and maybe give it to someone else from there. Well, I opened up my virtual drum software one night and tried playing the same chord progression over different styles of rhythms and the rest came together quickly. Again, I still had the Steve Morse inspiration in my head so....
Bounce - this was a riff that a drummer friend and I were jamming on one day a couple of years earlier. I really liked the groove and the chord progression but I didn't really know what to put over it. I tried to conjure up the genius of Jeff Beck (as in what would Jeff do) and this is what came out. I'm also no Jeff Beck but I was inspired by the unexpected melodies he interweaves with well, just about anything.
Open Letter - this is a song I've been holding inside of me since my mother passed away. It was difficult to write and even more difficult to record. It's really a tribute to anyone that's lost someone very close. It's some of the thoughts we think but generally don't say out loud. A friend of mine posted something about her mom on Facebook one day and I couldn't get past how much it matched what I was feeling. I agonized over adding the phone message from my mom at the end but it just made so much sense. It is because of her that I'm able to do what I do and think what I think so it was fitting to have her as a guest on my first album! It is the only recording that I have of her voice and as difficult as it was to even play the tape that I'd had stashed away all of these years, I'm very thankful that it survived. Love you Ma!