Midsummer Dialogues is a collaborative EP I put together with guitarist Ross Hammond. The concept is to have two voices – mbira & electric guitar – in conversation with one another. We collaborated on these recordings remotely during the Summer for 2022. I simply recorded 3 semi-composed/semi-improvised mbira tracks and sent them off to Ross. Within a few days, he sent me some beautiful guitar tracks. A musical dialogue.
My bluegrass band Boston Ravine features my daughter Mei Lin on vocals, fiddle and mandolin and bassist Karl Chelette. The album was put together in 2020 in the midst of COVID shelter in place. Ragged Road showcases our spin on bluegrass – both traditional and modern – as well as country and gospel influences. The album features original compositions from Mei Lin, myself and original lyrics composed by my wife Juli Marks as well as covers of some of our favorite country, bluegrass and gospel tunes. You can read my blog post about the making of Ragged Road here.
A few years back, I got a strange inspiration to produce a compilation/tribute album to Bob Dylan’s sprawling 1970 release Self Portrait. It was perhaps one of the weirdest and most eclectic records in his discography – a true tribute to the various streams of music that inspired him. Some have called Dylan’s Self Portrait “the worst album ever made”, but I really love it! For my tribute album, I have featured all three of my main musical projects – my song oriented solo work – Tumble – and Boston Ravine. In addition, I was blessed to have many of my musical friends who I’ve known through the years contribute some wonderful tracks. The album features cover tracks by Mark Growden, The Moore Brothers, Juliette Gobert & Homer Wills, Mark Dutton (Chris Robinson Brotherhood, Burning Tree), Michael Roe (77’s, There Lost Dogs) and many others. Everyone really made these songs their own! All of the proceeds from this record go directly to advocating and support for unaccompanied children at the US border through the important work of The Young Center for Immigrant Children’s Rights. This album was released on 6/8/20, the exact 50th anniversary of the original release of Dylan’s record. You can check out the album website here.
“Waves” is the the second album by my band Tumble. This album features the quartet work of the group featuring the bass playing of Bill Douglass. Bill is a master musician and improviser who has played with so many musical greats including Paul McCandless, Mark Isham, Art Lande, Mose Allison, Tom Waits and many others. Randy, Sean and I were so honored to have him as a member/mentor in the band from 2016 – 2018. In May of 2017, three months after the release of our first album, Tumble returned to the studio to begin work on this album. Just like on our first record, we tracked all songs live. We again recorded at Blue Whale Recording with our friend Bruce Wheelock. The album features originals by Randy, Sean and myself and “tumblized” covers of Wayne Shorter’s Black Nile and Thelonious Monk’s Misterioso. “Waves” captures the band as it was during a special time when we were a quartet with Bill Douglass. You can read my blog post about the making of “Waves” here.
Music for Trio is my band Tumble’s first album. It was recorded just months before bassist Bill Douglass officially joined the band. Recording as a trio provided a unique and open ended context for group interplay. We set up in the studio in a triangle – all facing one another and recorded live. The album features five originals and two covers – Wayne Shorter’s composition Down in the Depths and spaghetti western composer Benedetto Ghiglia’s Lascialo Andare. Many of the recording’s highlights were inspired by deep personal experiences. Randy’s Callie Mac, was inspired by his son Callum’s tap-dancing prowess as a young lad, and the recording features Cal, now grown, on trombone. Sean’s soulful Dark Clouds in the Sierra Madre came to him while on a motorcycle trip through Mexico. A big highlight of this album for me is that it my daughter Mei Lin plays violin on my composition Saffron Robe.
Soft Sea Creatures is Robert’s first solo album. It was woven together through many years of slow persistent creation. It was recorded in living rooms, bedrooms, churches, art studios, and even a few recording studios. Robert brought together many of his musical and life experiences to create this musical statement. The recording features many fine collaborators including Bill Douglass (Tom Waits, Art Lande), Myles Boisen (Clubfoot Orchestra, Splatter Trio), Paul McCandless (Oregon, Jaco Pastorius), Sikiru Adepoju (Micky Hart’s Planet Drum) and many others.
When Worlds Collide is a tribute album to songwriter Terry Scott Taylor. Terry is a masterful and prolific songwriter who is not nearly as well known as he should be! He has been making and recording music since the mid 70s in various bands including Daniel Amos, The Lost Dogs and The Swirling Eddies. His music explores emotional and spiritual themes in a unique and poetic manner. I was very honored to be a part of this tribute album to such a fine songwriter! I contributed my version of “Stone Away” to this compilation album which was originally released in 2000.
Tom Dalton, Joe Spezza and Robert Heirendt met In the late 80s at California State University, Long Beach in southern California while studying Music Therapy. They forged a bond as friends and colleagues with a shared passion for the healing potential of music, a love for the craft of songwriting, and a desire to make a difference in the world. In the early 90s, after graduation, they all ended up living in close proximity to each other in the bay area. Informal jam sessions eventually evolved into songwriting/recording sessions. Since face to face time was limited due to busy personal and work lives, they began to compliment face to face sessions with collaboration via e-mails, sending midi files as e-mail attachments. The desire to make an album evolved over time and led to the creation of the MT Space band. Being music therapists and performers, MT Space decided to bring their music to those who would benefit most and those that typically could not go out to club venues in the area. As such, MT Space brought their live show to psychiatric and developmental centers, hospitals, nursing homes and convalescent facilities. In their performances, they strove to create a level of interaction and collaboration with their audience, breaking down the traditional separation between audience and band. The MT Space album was completed in 1995 but was never officially released until now. All three MT Space members have continued to create music and have successful careers as music therapists.
Challenge the Light was a band I played in from 1985-1990, contributing songwriting and keyboards. We enjoyed creating modern rock music which was both dreamy and edgy. The lyrics reflected both earthy realities and metaphysical yearnings. The band was influenced by U2, Led Zeppelin, Depeche Mode, Love & Rockets, David Bowie, Pink Floyd, Cocteau Twins, The Doors, Roxy Music, The Cure and The Simple Minds. Our album “She Comes to Seek Her Soul” was originally released in 1988. Challenge the Light lead singer Ed Snyder co-wrote the lyrics to “If You Cry” from my Soft Sea Creatures album.