CD liner notes

 

When Halley Came to Jackson
What could be better than a folk song about a comet? Hart Gibson from my band Public Radio had the idea of sticking Fiddler’s Dram into the song rather than the original melody, and it worked perfectly.
 
Chip: Martin 1967 D21 guitar, L. Smart J2 and J3 guitars, Brentrup 21V mandolin, Martin 1950 18T tenor guitar, Maybell Recording Songster converted 5 string banjo
Jeremy Hadden:1950's Kay upright bass
 
 
St Anne goes Over the Waterfall
This is a shout out to the Norman Blake records I listen to regularly. I wanted to play a traditional fiddle tune, and decided two would better than one.
 
Chip: D21, 1985 Flatiron F5 mandolin
 
 
I've Been All around This World
This song has been a favourite of mine since I heard the Dead play it on the “For the Faithful” album. I’ve been playing it in my bedroom ever since, and thought it deserved the chance to be heard.
 
Chip: Martin D21, D18V, Brentrup 21V mandolin
Jeremy Hadden: Kay upright bass
 
 
Sunday Afternoon
I started writing this song by myself after hearing a bluegrass song modulating between A and C. It sat for a long time but I was finally able to finish the B part with the help of my friend Eric Frith. The ode to The Wizard of Oz is unintentional but is now completely obvious to me.
 
Chip: Martin D21, Flatiron F5 mandolin
Jeremy Hadden: Kay upright bass

 

Come Back to Old Santa Fe
I recorded this song as a demo in a short time, and was never able to recreate the feeling. In the end I kept almost all of the original tracks.
 
Chip: Martin D21, D18V, Flatiron F5 mandolin
Jeremy Hadden: Kay upright bass

 

Summertime
I was trying to rerecord some parts for Santa Fe one afternoon and just couldn't make it happen. Out of frustration I asked Dave Puz to set us up with a new song, and in about forty five minutes I recorded all of these parts without any planning ahead of time. This is as close to jamming with myself as I can get.
 
Chip: Martin D21, Flatiron F5 mandolin, 1960's Kay upright bass
 
 
I'm Not Gonna Forget You
This great Tim O'Brien song just sort of inspired me one afternoon. I was sitting around my little cottage at my friend Bozo's house, and I grabbed a mic and set it up on the porch. I played and sang the track together outside, and you can hear the insects and wind in the recording to prove it. Bozo came in later and added some nice dobro for me.
 
Chip: Martin D18V
Bozo Cardoza: Rainy Day custom resonator guitar

 

June Apple
I used four different mandolins when recording this, and settled on three of them. An old Gibson oval hole plays the melody, the Flatiron chops the rhythm and a Weber flatop plays the harmony at the end. The second "guitar" solo is actually a tenor guitar.  Learning to play the melody on the banjo may be the hardest thing I have ever tried to do musically. The banjo is a 30's Stromberg Voisinet that I found in my grandfather's closet. I never saw him play it, and for years I thought it was just a piece of junk, maybe a good wall hanger. One day I pulled it out and looked at it and realized it was in very good shape. I replaced the original friction tuners, had the neck set up and shoved a wash clothe inside the resonator to muffle it some, but otherwise it is just as it was for all those years.
 
Chip: Gibson 1924 "snakehead" A jr Mandolin, Flatiron F5, Weber Aspen #2 flatop mandolin, D18V, Martin 18T tenor guitar, Stromberg Voisinet 5 string banjo, Kay Bass, shaker
 
 
Nobody Wants You
I found this old blues song by accident one day looking for something else. I loved the sound of the recording, and kept listening. When I heard a verse that appeared to accidentally have two beats inserted into it I decide to make that the signature rhythm of the piece. As a result this is my 12 ½ bar blues.
 
Chip: Martin D18V, Hofner New President archtop guitar , Brentrup 21V, Maybell banjo
Jeremy Hadden: Kay upright bass
 
 
A Place in the Heart
This song is my thank you to the members of the Mandolin Café community who have helped me an immeasurable amount. I recorded this early one sleepless morning just to see how it would sound. I read the parts from charts sitting in my desk chair in my office. My plan was to rerecord the track, but in the end the simple, immediate nature of this recording seems to suit the song well. So here it is, warts and all…
 
Chip: Martin D18V, Flatiron F5
 

 

 

Somewhere in the Rubies
Mike Saul from the Kim Stocking Band played a beautiful guitar solo for me on this one.  Unfortunately this track didn't make the final cut, though it appears on some early copies of the CD.
Chip: Martin D21
Mike Saul: D18V