RAW

Here is a little breakdown of each song on the album:

Cookie’s – When you put an apostrophe s on the end of a word, it shows ownership. Meaning this song belongs to Cookie. It originally appeared on my 2008 release called “Dream” where I could’ve changed the title to “Fareed’s”. On that version, Fareed Hague masterfully makes this song his own with multiple over dubs on multiple instruments. I highly recommend spinning that version. This version finds the song naked. Just out of the shower. Dripping with rawness.

Short Ballad of Camp Zoe – Unfortunately this is a true story. Once a functioning nature camp eventually became a utopian festival site, only to be invaded and seized by the U.S. Government. The man can kill our buzz but he can never take our memories of Camp Zoe. THANKYOU JIMMY.

2bu – This song first appeared in a reggae style on my “Bass” record featuring Mark D. on drums and Jay Starling on Keys. This is the original acoustic version all nude and sweaty. Glistening in the sun. You can almost feel the taste in your ears.

Right Here – This one was made up on a family vacation. With a 100 dollar guitar that is maybe actually worth $14.79. The original concept of RAW was 10 songs on 10 different guitars. So just for fun, I recorded it on that same crappy box I wrote it on. It’s truly raw. This is the original recording from 2011. It gets a soulful makeover on my “Funk” record and often appears in the set list with my band More than a Little.

Thanks Leo – I’ve Always idolized Leo Kottke and his career as a solo act. This song is but a mere tribute and thank you to him. The concept of this record was revisited due to Leo accepting the offer to preform 24 co-bills with me. That and wanting to have something representative of my solo “loopless” set on what we lovingly call the “Shut the Folk up and Listen” tour .

Ella – This was a lullaby written for my first born in vitro. It appears on my never released instrumental record called “Sleep” that I recorded for Ella. My voice is used as an instrument to sing her name but… It’s still an instrumental.

Short Show – Another unfortunate true story that got a lot of stage time shortly after the incident occurred. This song was long forgotten until Warren Haynes told me it was his favorite song that I’ve written. So I relearned it. This song wrote itself but my wife blames Warren for its appearance on this record. I thank him for the idea of its resurrection and of course The Kings for enduring so much pain so that this song could exist

Return to the Moon – The one cover on the record by the band El Vy. It’s one of those songs that attacked my brain and wouldn’t leave for a long time. I had to record it to get it out of my head so I could go about my day like a normal person.

I Forgot – This is a true story about a musician (not me) who had a late night gig the night before an early flight. Due to the lack of sleep and the amount of rushing that it takes to get to the airport, he forgets that his firearm is in his carry on. Apparently this happens daily at major airports. In real life. Slightly disturbingly raw.

Ticks when Told – This song has lyrics written by my daughter in the form of a poem. I chopped it up and created a hook for a chorus. Then took the remaining lines and sang them backwards. Meaning I read them from right to left. It’s a very interesting writing assignment that sometimes yields bazaar sentences of random words next to each other. Then you bring it full circle and sing them how they were written. It’s deep and heavy and philosophical and way too weird for this record. Please enjoy this instrumental version.

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