He’s Back…
…and where have I been, you’re wondering? Well, as lyricist Peter Sinfield wrote in the King Crimson classic, I Talk to the Wind:
“Said the straight man to the late man, ‘Where have you been?’ I’ve been here and — I’ve been there and — I’ve been in-between...”
One Year Old!
On this day in 2021, my dark little masterpiece set off into the musical jungle. Since then, it’s won a Grammy for Most Cynical Concept Album*, surpassed a quadrillion streams* on Spotify, and sold enough copies…
Commitment
A funny thing happens at the end of an album project. After months of listening to individual tracks, rough mixes, and obsessing over a thousand musical details, there comes a time for the “c” word: Commitment! This means two things: mixing and mastering…
1,000 Words
A picture is worth a thousand words — so with An Ape’s Progress going so well musically, I knew we had to raise the bar visually and beat that word count! We needed a strong album cover, but I was imagining extra artwork to convey all the themes and emotions…
Crazy Crow (for Joni)
I wanted a “lift” to close the album — a dollop of hope and gratitude. Joni Mitchell — composer, lyricist, singer, guitarist, pianist, and painter — is one of my favorite artists. Joni’s songs travel from the light into the darkness and back again. I had never written a “tribute” song…
And . . . Action!
Music videos would be the very first thing people would experience from the album, and as the saying goes, “You don’t get a second chance to make a first impression!” So I knew I had to set the bar high. But I’m not a video guy…
Sarcastic, Moi?
The second advance release from An Ape’s Progress is coming this Fourth of July: a music video for the song Proud American, via my YouTube channel. Proud American is a wry, sarcastic commentary on our country’s unique brand of arrogance and exceptionalism…
Get Your Thumbs Ready!
This Friday marks a big milestone for the new album campaign: the first single + music video release from An Ape’s Progress — finally! On June 11, Opposable Thumb comes out as an advance single on download / streaming services everywhere, and as a music video…
Selling It
For many artists, writing, recording, and performing is the joyful part of the job — the part we dream about after our heads hit the pillow each night, and the part that gets us out of bed each morning. Promotion, on the other hand…
Alone Together
Nobody could have predicted the path that An Ape’s Progress took during production. But looking back now, I feel grateful for how it turned out, with everyone — including me and my co-producer Thom Flowers — working in isolation…
Getting Started
I embraced the simple solution of capturing all writing demos on the living room couch — using nothing more than an acoustic guitar, my voice, and the iOS Voice Memos app…
An Ape’s Concept
New songs developed around a central theme: Homo sapiens and its struggle to survive and evolve on our home planet. Cheery stuff, eh? I was still reading the news back then, so “Write what you know…”