Some Short Essays On The New Album (Part I)

Is it such a big task
Such a big task
Are you too proud to ask?
— The Replacements

Although I didn't entirely plan it this way, I find myself beginning each day writing a little essay about a song or some aspect of the album such as the artwork (for some reason it only works in the morning, I tried one last night and gave up).  It occurs to me that these also deserve to be in the blog — even if my intention is to expand upon them later — so here are the ones I've written so far with some minor revisions and extensions.

The Artwork

The Great Wave off Kanagawa and Virginia Lee Burton’s “The Little House” are both images I was referencing in the cover art for “At Home At Sea” which is much more apparent in the earlier draft on the bottom left.
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The version I settled on had some specific changes — the duck was always meant to be there (I just had not bothered adding him because I already knew I wanted to change up the composition) but switching the position of the wave and the house color felt like it worked better, as well as less explicitly copying either image.

Part of this is because the original "Great Wave" is really meant to be read in the opposite direction than westerner's tend to — the Japanese as a language being read right to left also impacts how the image is viewed.  But also it aligns with the album's title. As to whether the reference to Burton's work even lands is a bit doubtful, as it is just kinda "generic house," but as far as authorial intent goes, yeah, it's there, so make of it what you will.
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Please support my @indiegogo preorder campaign for this album: igg.me/at/homeatsea

The Birds of "The Albatross Song"

Although the titular Albatross is clearly the star of “The Albatross Song” a whole menagerie of avian friends are referenced in the first verse, including the bowerbird, starlings, saltmarsh sparrows, and chickadees — the visualization for this in the video for the song is being handled by way of face painting.

Aside from the salt marsh sparrow (I'll explain later), like the Albatross, all of these birds have chapters in Noah Stryker's  "The Thing With Feathers" which, along with the obvious (and not so obvious) nods  to the "Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner," is one of the primary inspirations for this song.

Support the video and its release through my pre-order campaign --http://igg.me/at/homeatsea

The Secret Origins of
​"Lighthouse At the Edge of the World"

The inspiration for my song "Lighthouse at the Edge of the World" comes from this Doctor Who comic that was impactful enough on me that decades later I remembered it while I was working on a songwriting assignment to create a chord progression with a non-diatonic chord (in layman's speak: a chord you're not "supposed" to use).

So, when I say my songs are influenced by Doctor Who, I'm not entirely joking. This is a deeper cut than most. There is also an oblique reference to the episode "The Horror of Fang Rock" (which also features a lighthouse) for those astute enough to hear it.

The song has the distinction of being the first song of mine to be recorded by another artist (it will be featured on Shawn Byron's debut album), but I'll be releasing my own version on my album "At Home At Sea"

Pre-order the album at http://igg.me/at/homeatsea to support the release campaign.

Blossom Dearie and  "Lifetimes Without You"

My song “Lifetimes Without You” started its life with me messing around with the chords to the jazz standard “Tea for Two” — I had in mind Blossom Dearie’s version where she slows it down and makes it a sensual affair.

The end result ended mixing in my usual Doctor Who (another deep cut this time — Lungbarrow for the true devotee) references and love for history and geography as well as a bit of Patsy Cline by way of Bob Dylan.

The song has been covered live by the acoustic duo The Complements at EGPhest twice as well as at the Hotel Utah's open mic for their legendary "Cover Your Friends Night" feature set.  Alicia and Greg put a soulful spin on on their rendition — and, of course, they incorporated it into a medley for one outing, as they are want to do.

The version of it that will be on my new album features ukulele accompaniment and backing vocals by jazz chanteuse Eve Fleishman who, by some twist of fate, is herself a Blossom Dearie aficionado, in fact I would go so far as to say scholar.

You can pre-order my new album "At Home At Sea" at:
http://igg.me/at/homeatsea

Asking and "Ephemera"

“They say it doesn’t hurt to ask...” our protagonist muses in my song “Ephemera” that will be on the new album “At Home At Sea”
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He then follows that up with this observation: “But what the hell do they know?”

Framed within an entirely fictional story about a litterbug, this is largely inner monologue. You’re not given much insight into “the ask” in this case but there are indications it’s romantic in nature. In part the song is just me continuing my war on inane advice and platitudes (see: The Fish Song) but the relevance of “the ask” here is this pre-order campaign and its attempt to at least offset the enormous costs of recording and releasing music, some which are purely psychological. But “the ask” itself is a burden — because it does hurt, no matter what “they” say.

The antecedent of this song in my mind is “The Last” — the last track off the last album by The Replacements (or the first Paul Westerberg solo album as some would have it) — or at least that’s the song that was rattling around in and gnawing at my brain when I wrote this one.  I may be the only one to see it because how exactly it relates is a bit difficult to convey (though the blockquote quote at the top might provide a hint).  So is what exactly it’s saying. But I wouldn’t have written it any other way. For reasons that are hard to articulate, it’s an enormously important song to me, which is why it’s on this album, because you never know which one will be the last.

The link to the preorder campaign is http://igg.me/at/homeatsea

More to Come...