The New Album - “Replevin”
Replevin – (ri-plev-in), n 1. An action for the repossession of personal property wrongfully taken or detained by the defendant, whereby the plaintiff gives security for and holds the property until the court decides who owns it. Claim and recovery.
About six months ago I dug through all of my lyric sheets that I pile up in my writing room on James Street. I looked for songs that I felt captured my current emotional state and would fit the theme of this album. I took thirty-six songs, a guitar, and some harps down to my friend and guitarist John Hanus. For those of you that know me, you know I change my mind a lot. I can’t seem to settle, like a stream that can’t be froze. I told John that I wanted to do a solo album and I wanted it to be a three-disc set. I told him I had the songs and the ideas but not a lot of time. He suggested that we focus on eleven solid songs and we began recording the next day.
I explained to John that I wanted to go for a very organic approach to the songs. No tricks, no cover-ups, and a minimal amount of polishing. I wanted to let the words speak for themselves. This album is straight from my heart, not my head, so I felt it was important to use live takes complete with mistakes. Each song that I selected for this album is on there for a reason and I wanted to make sure it translated. It is me. It is intimate and emotional, never guarded.
I recorded the album in The Family Room in Armory Square. It is a three level warehouse that acts as a recording space, a live room for rehearsals, and a stage for private invite only shows. I recorded “No Horizon”, “Bathroom Apology”, and “The Saying Song” on the third level. It is an abandoned dance studio with amazing reverb…almost six seconds worth.
In order for me to get this album where I wanted it to be I needed to find the right musicians. Luckily, the music scene in Syracuse is very tight so I am connected with many of the best local talent. I already had the drummer, Lewk Detor. I’ve been playing with Lewk, “Coyote Thrust”, for the past three years so I felt very confident and comfortable with him playing on Replevin. John Hanus of course played almost all of the electric guitar parts on the album and quite honestly if he wasn’t involved I would still be trying to make this album. Jeff Aderman was instrumental in the development of a few of the songs and played keys on “Pyro For My Broken Heart” and “Circus Boy”. Jeff has a great understanding of the song writing process so he knew how to make my songs more powerful and effective. Tim Howe took a break from his several country music projects and flew in from Las Vegas to play on “Two Story Fall” and drink whiskey. Elias Gwinn who actually mixed the album played many instruments on the album including our live recording of “For Now April” which features Eli on the piano.
One of my favorite local bands is Los Blancos. I have become very close friends with their guitar player and lead singer Colin Aberdeen. Over a glass of scotch I asked him if he could let me borrow his bass player for a couple of days. Steve Winston is an unbelievable player with amazing talent and tons of experience. He understands what a songs needs and he gets it right away. I knew that Steve would be able to bang out the tunes that I wanted him to play on “Pyro For My Broken Heart”, “Lily And Stella”, “Circus Boy”, and “The Saying Song.” He is amazingly brilliant with both an upright and an electric. A real musician.
With all of that being said, I first want to say thank you to all of the musicians that took part in this project. I will remember it always.
Secondly, I hope you all enjoy what you hear and thanks so much for listening. That is all that I ask.
