Category: Home

Silver Lake

8/12/2014

I haven't had much time for blogging recently, since it's crunch time on my thesis. I was working even on the brief holiday (that's 'vacation' for all you Americans) I took to the US for my brother's wedding.

Silver Lake

It's always a fabulous trip, visiting Silver Lake in the summer. This year was no exception. Despite a few rainy days, the weather was accommodating enough to allow for some good lake time. With nieces and nephews multiplying it makes for some fun times!

Lantern flying

And the wedding was great. We even got to set off Chinese wish lanterns. But my favorite part was being able to spend time with family and friends - what a great trip! Now here's to writing!

0 Comments

World Magazine Feature

4/28/2013

0 Comments

I've just been informed by friends who subscribe to World magazine that an article about my music has appeared in the most recent print edition! How exciting! I must admit that I knew it would probably be coming, but I didn't know exactly when. So cool!

I sat down with World contributor Arsenio Ortiz (I use the word 'with' a bit loosely, as this was over Skype even though we were roughly on the same side of the world - also 'sit', as I assume we were both sitting) for a great conversation a few weeks ago. It turns out that he's experienced a large share of the world himself, and I really enjoyed talking to him about my music and life.

Pick up the magazine and share the article with your family and friends, or share the online version:
http://www.worldmag.com/2013/04/people_and_places

0 Comments

This Lamp - a few words about the song

3/5/2013

0 Comments

Sorry for the lack of posting recently - I am on a short (two-month) trip to Australia, and will be continuing to work on my thesis and music and such while I'm here. I only just arrived on Friday March 1st, so it's taken me a few days to get settled. More on that later. For now, here are some thoughts about a song on the new album called "This Lamp", which you can listen to on the left.

"This Lamp" is a popular song among people who have heard me play it live, I think in part because of the groove and the simple words, as well as the images that the words evoke. It comes across as a simple love song, which is good in one way, but not so good in another. We should be clear here: this song is not about a girl.

It may be shocking to some that there are other kinds of love besides romantic love, but that is clearly the case. The kind of love I feel for my parents, for my brothers and sisters, for my friends, and (hopefully one day for my) children - this is not romantic love. And the love that this song in particular talks about is the desire for a relationship that one of the participants left.

I like to tell people that this is the story of an abandoned house, one that once was occupied but now remains empty. Empty, that is, except for the house itself, and the things that make a comfortable home so important to all of us - warmth, light, companionship. Of course this makes it a metaphor for something much larger, but I'll let you connect the dots on your own.

0 Comments

Feature: the Andreola sisters

2/25/2013

0 Comments

I first met Yolanda and her sister Sophia in Quarryville, PA, at the Coffee Bean, a small coffee shop in the town, back in 2006 when I was starting to play shows in the Lancaster area. I got to know them better through events and fellowship at Faith Reformed Presbyterian church, and when I heard them play cello and violin I knew I wanted them to play on some of my songs.

Yolanda first recorded with me on the 2007 release of "Word >>> Flesh", making the track 'O Little Child' come alive. I've asked them to play on numerous tracks since then, and they both joined me live for the 2009 release of "Breathe Deep".

Some of my music has a flowing quality that I associate most with the simple and beautiful sounds of strings. So in preparing for the album there were a few songs in particular that needed the texture of strings. With all the travel I was doing, I wasn't quite sure how to record strings, but while in India last year I put out some feelers to Yolanda and Sophia.

They were both interested in being part of the project, so I began writing parts in ProTools, using a midi string sound to arrange the notes that I wanted the string section to play. Over the course of a month, checking the parts with the two of them and my composer friend Matthew Monticchio, I managed to finish the parts and send Yolanda and Sophia sheet music and reference tracks for them to practice with, then contacted Anthony Guyer at Forgotten Genre Productions to help with recording the parts in Lancaster, while I was still in India.

As a result of this long-distance collaboration, several of the new songs on "Home" feature Yolanda on cello and Sophia on violin, including 'All I Want', 'I've Got a Girl', 'Greet the Dawn', and 'Zion's Walls'. It's kind of incredible to me that we were able to accomplish this feat from opposite sides of the world.

Six years later, the two sisters are both married and teach private lessons in the Susquehanna river valley. They're also available for recording and private events. If you're anywhere near southern Lancaster County or over the border in Maryland, check out their work. Yolanda can be found via YolandaMott.com and Sophia through SophiaEnglar.com - and of course you can listen to their playing on the new album "Home".

0 Comments

Silver Lake

World Magazine Feature

This Lamp - a few words about the song

Feature: the Andreola sisters

About me

Archives

Categories

prev. blog

Contact me