Wolf Tales - Howling at the Moon
Red Tail Farm- Whidbey Island, WA - The Grove/San Francisco, CA Recordings - 2002-2003
2002-3 - All Rights Reserved - China Clipper Publishing
My music had been put away for years. That’s why after 9-11 I was shocked to get the urge to write and record again. I had no illusions about going back into the music industry. This was just for me.
It all started with a dream in which the song “A Thousand Different Towns” came to me almost fully formed. It turned out to be my response to the fallen towers. What followed was re-discovering and re-writing pieces of things I had never finished over the years. What emerged were these personal reflections on parts of my life infused with the memories I had of those moments.
I set up a home studio at Red Tail Farm on Whidbey Island. WA I worked on this project for about 3 months. The songs came easily. Not as much getting in the way. And then I put these recordings away for awhile and then finished them up while I was at The Grove in San Francisco a year later.
I stumbled across them again in early 2021 as I was collecting material for this legacy piece. They reminded me of how much pleasure writing and singing/playing brought me. In some ways these songs were a full circle exercise for me coming all the way back around to just me and my guitar. The way that it all started all those many years ago.
I have always loved road trips. Something about being in motion lights up my creativity … this was one of those times.
I am old enough to have lived through a number of life cycles, each one filled with close friends that remain in spirit for the long run. This song is for them…
For me, the desert has always been a place of sanctuary and reflection. After a particularly chaotic period, this was one of those times.
One of the great gifts my mother gave me before she died was all my school report cards. With my less than spectacular school career, I was curious to find a teachers note on one of my junior high reports. “He’s no trouble, just stares out the window a lot”. At the time I couldn’t tell you where THERE was, but this song is about one of those places I discovered later.
This world by most estimates can be a dark and cruel place. That’s why I always thought it was a miracle when you actually found someone to love. Even when things are challenging, a song likes this reminds me to be thankful that I can still love…
Many of us suffer from some sort of depression. I always thought it was the oddest thing that the same world from the day before could suddenly feel so dark. In those times I have found the remedy is love of self...
When you have broken off a major relationship and spent time alone, it can be interesting, reflective and most of all feel safe. Yet, there comes a moment when that carefully constructed comfort zone gets shattered by a look…
The rush of progress is a modern miracle of the 21st century. However, in that race for the next shiny thing this song asks the question…are we losing our original connection to the natural world? And what impact is this having on the millions who have no choice, but to live in these dense urban enclaves.
When you are in the middle of experiencing the thrill of being a rock and roll musician, there are many souls that pass through that fantasy. If only for a moment, I was grateful for the woman in this song …
Most of us can remember where we were on September 11th. One of the interesting things for me was the tremendous outpouring of art of all kinds, as we all tried to make sense of it. I hadn’t written a song in forever, but one night soon after the 11th, I had a dream where I was handed these words.
I first thought the words were a poem, but when I showed them to Jennifer, she said… “It’s a song” and hummed a bit of a tune. Turns out she was right…. Now, this refrain didn’t completely come out of nowhere. A philosopher we knew named David Spangler had envisioned that everyone on those planes, including the hijackers had a made a deep sacrifice for all of us… those individuals he said came from a thousand different towns…
2002-3 - All Rights Reserved - China Clipper Publishing