I'm a christian
I make records
The two things I can't stop doing
That's what this site is all about
standing man
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"Standing Man" Took about 3 years to record. It's the first CD I've put together with both Christian and Secular songs on it. It was recorded between California and Tennessee with all the post-production done in Tennessee. The songs were written between 1971 and 2017 and there are 17 tracks including a "hidden" track closing out the set that was recorded back in '78. Needless to say, it's an interesting take with a lot of different kinds of songs on it. It was a lot of fun to make.
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The Songs
*Track One: "I Believe In Jesus" This one was written in the early 90's when I first got saved. I set out to write a song listing the basic tenets of the faith. I'm really attached to this one.
*Track Two: "Forsaking The Living Fountain" My daughter loaned me her Ukulele and I was playing around with it one day after reading one of Charles Spurgeons devotions. The topic was on those that are distracted by the world not recognizing the One who created it. I used some of his words for the lyrics. I never would have come up with "they rend their flesh" . .
*Track Three: "I've Got A Weakness" I started this one in my Mother's kitchen and that was the original title. As I got used to the melody, I got "You're the best thing that ever happened to me" in my head and went with it. Started out with "Hindsight, it's 20 20," and took it from there. I rewrote it for three years before settling with it . . .
*Track Four: "Barkin' At The Moon" Came home from a gig one night and was playing with these chords. A couple days later, I was up at three in the morning walking around outside staring at the stars and wrote the lyrics. It might have taken a couple of weeks to tighten them up.
*Track Five: "Give It All To You" This one is from the late 80's just before I moved to California. It was a favorite for a long time and when I thought of it for this project, I hadn't played it for years. It was kind of 'point blank' originally so I re-arranging it which was a lot of fun. It came out pretty good but I think it would be better if someone else did the vocal. Does anyone know Steve Tyler :) . . .
*Track Six: "Work Of Art" This is one of the songs I wrote and recorded in California a couple of years before moving to Nashville. I redid the vocals in Nashville and added a guitar part. Mixed it a hundred times. Still not sure I'm there but gotta let it go or so I think . . .
*Track Seven: "I'll Save Myself For You" I'm not sure how I came up with this one. It was when I first moved to California. I was messing around with the chords. There's three parts to the song with each part starting with the third chord of the part before it. It's weird but I like it. Love the lyric. Dreaming about the "one" you're looking for.
*Track Eight: "Waitin' For My Ship To Come In" This is one of my earliest songs. Probably '71. Originally had it in my head acoustically. Kind of Neil Youngish "Cowgirl In The Sand" type thing but it morphed into what it is during the recording process. I wrote the bridge and last verse during the five or ten years before it made it to the computer. I met KK Stowe in Leipers Fork Tennessee at a club he was playing at and approached him about playing on it and he agreed after hearing the beds. Harry had already put in the keys so KK played around him and there we have it. During the mixing process I sent it to my friend Sammy Bourgeois and over the phone he sang me what he could hear as backup vocals in the final chorus so I had my daughter come in and put them in for the final mix.
*Track Nine: "Hopin' To Move Along" This one is mid 70's. I had to rewrite some lyrics as I didn't remember them all. Back when I wrote it I heard it as a kind of calypso thing and always wanted steel drums so I was delighted when I found a plug-in in ProTools that had a steel drum sound. I combined a couple of sounds to get what I got and there it is, just the way I pictured it . . .
*Track Ten: "In There Somewhere" Mid 70's. Once again, I had to rewrite some lyrics. I remember playing it for Chris' Mom, Jane Hinson. She was a piano player. When I showed her the chords she said "That Chord isn't right." I said "I know" and kept it . . When Chris Vanover came in to track the Mandolin, he was talking about playing harmonica thru a chorus plug-in so that's where I got that idea.
*Track Eleven: "Like Arrows" I wrote the slide part of this one in 1970 and the finger picking part around 2003. When it was finally structured, I was able to drop Psalm 127 in it like it belonged there. It's written in a "G" Tuning. Tons of remixes and rearrangements on this one.
*Track Twelve: "My House" Mid 70's. I remembered all the lyrics to this one. I found it on a cassette and listening to it, came up with the last verse. Working out the arrangment, I had this idea of putting the trumpets in and was grateful that they worked out rather well.
*Track Thirteen: "I Shall Be Free" I'm a big Dylan fan and was putting together a solo Dylan show. I had some promo shots done and in chatting with the photographer, Kyle Robinson, he told me he had written a movie. I asked him if he needed any songs and then offered to write a theme song for the project. He referenced me to Isaiah 35 and I ran with that. I don't know if the movie will ever get made but I wrote the song and Kyle loves it so there's that.
*Track Fourteen: "He Pours His Grace On Me" I actually wrote this one for the project. When you're caught up in sin and forget that you're already forgiven, life can really back up on you . . . Enter . . . God's Grace. We have such a great God!!
*Track Fifteen: "Selah" This one is from the early 90's. When I got turned on to the idea of using scripture for lyrics, this was one of the first ones I came up with. Psalm 47. When I sent it to Harry to do the keys, he thought the drums were very Stuart Copeland like. I can take that. It does move right along . . .
*Track Sixteen: "Taylor Is On Her Wheel" When the kids were little we were living in Temecula, CA and had a back yard that had a kind of walkway that went around it. Taylor had a tricycle that she called her "wheel" and would ride around it all the time. I was hanging out there with her one day and she was at it so I wrote this one for her.