BEHIND THE MUSIC
EYES
"Eyes", is about trying to resolve hurt with someone who is too guarded to do so. This song is deeply personal, about someone from my life, but I know so many people out there will be having similar feelings. Musically I was influenced by "Barges" - Ralph McTell and maybe Pink Floyd's "Is there Anybody out There?"
STEPHEN
A true story of a childhood friend. I was at my parents house, looking out of what used to be my bedroom window. Across the street was the house where Stephen used to live. I remembered the comfort it brought me, to have such a friend as a boy, recalling moments from our past. I think Paul Simon was an an influence, the end section is definitely Frankie Valli & the Four Seasons. Strangely, they were a music group loved by my guitar teacher as a boy. His name was also Stephen.
LIFE IN A MOTORHOME
A happy tune written in one of my playful moments. I'm a huge fan of Sly and the Family Stone. This song was written after I'd learned that Sly Stone lived in a motor home. I started to think about his adventures. Of course I had to do the song in a style reminiscent of Sly and the Family Stone. Sadly Sly is no longer with us.
JULIETTE
A song of gratitude, love and respect, written about my wife Juliette. I recorded the song by playing along to my original demo which I'd recorded minutes after writing it. This was so that I could capture the same feeling. The influences here "Suzanne" by Leonard Cohen and "Madame George" by Van Morrison, maybe some Ray LaMontagne too.
ALL OF THE TIME
This song was a message to my son, missing him like crazy. Musically, it was influenced by "You're a Big Girl Now" by Bob Dylan, several Joni Mitchel's "Little Green" . The song references "Grapefruit Moon" by Tom Waits, one of my favorite songs.
THE ONE
There was a period in my life when I felt myself being pulled towards despair. The lyric “followed a voice that wants to end you” describes the destructive inner dialogue that can accompany depression. Reaching towards love changed something in me. Looking back, I came to see that experience as reconnecting with what I think of as “The One” — the underlying consciousness or love that exists beneath everything.
EVERYDAY THAT I WAKE UP NEXT TO YOU
After a period of insomnia that led to the album Till the Birds Sing, I wrote this song one morning as a simple expression of gratitude — for being alive and for sharing life with my wife. I played it to her as she drank her morning coffee, recording the song as I played it to her for the first time. I later added some guitar and a harmony vocal. It’s a country song inspired by Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson and Kris Kristofferson.