Journal

SONGS FOR BILL.

I made a full album in a few hours.  Listen to it HERE.

I get a notion in my head and I can’t let it go. I love albums. I listened to Michael Hurley’s “Sweetkorn” & dreamed I should make my own album for my buddy Bill Wise like he was sitting in front of me. Billy died of addiction last year. We were born on the same day, lived on the same street in Akron, Ohio. I also thought I should cut a record of my songs that Billy Strings might sound good singing and playing. Then I got up and recorded it. Eleven songs. All originals. Boom. Now they are on my Bandcamp & Patreon page within hours of recording, mixing, and mastering them. Two Bills with one stone, as they say. Maybe Billie Eilish needs some tunes as well. You never know. Billy Wise and I met Doc Watson in 1988 at Canal Street Tavern in Dayton, Ohio. Together we saw Tony Rice, Sam Bush, Grisman, Clements, Fleck, and all those cats play at Merlefest too. How lucky was that? I am a bit of an outsider songwriter. I've never been close to the Bluegrass world or the Country world. I love artists in both of these genres. The Rock & Roll world doesn't really accept me either. Even the folk world feels hesitant. I’m not bothered by any of this. I don’t have a manager tossing ideas my way. I come up with the ideas, and then I accomplish them, for the most part. Listening to Michael Hurley reminds me to do my own thing. I wouldn’t have the slightest inroads to presenting my tunes to Billy Strings. We spoke about Doc Watson once at the Nashville airport, but that’s about it. He was off to play Willie Nelson’s birthday and then borrow Ringo’s private jet. He was kind to me. I heard he played ol’ Dick’s Den in Columbus once, and then gave it a shout out when he played Ohio stadium. I love that spirit. Dick’s Den is another outsider place that taught me so much about jazz and music. The blender goes deep and you find your own flavors. I figure one day he’ll need some sturdy tunes and that’s what these are. Not fancy flat picking. That’s what he does. I write lyrics, tell stories, and play a Gibson. I made this whole album on a 1947 Gibson LG-2 that I bought from George Gruhn back in 1997. I do not walk the streets of Music Row, pitching my songs.  Never have, never will, but I’d play Norman Blake to his Tony Rice any day. It’s always nice to have a batch of songs to sift through. These are keepers.