I am always looking for another great song to sing. They always come from one of two places, either from the radio or my head. It doesn't really matter to me. The songs I hear on the radio, the question is always, can I pull that off? Is it going to fit my voice? Do I like the lyrics? The melody?
I do a wide variety of cover songs. I like to believe the only thing they have in common is they are great songs. Some are old, some are new. All are borrowed. Some are blue.
My songlist has some oldies, new top 40, country, a little bit of everything. Some of these songs have special meaning to me. For example, Shooting Star was the favorite song of a friend who died way too young. That was over twenty years ago and I still remember him every time I sing it.
The songs that come from my head have a differant criteria. When I first started writing songs if I got an idea I ran with it. Now, after years of writing songs, my process has become basically to resist writing songs. Now I only write the ones that just will not go away.
They stick in my head and refuse to leave me alone. Remember Sharon? was the first song I wrote this way. When I first got the idea I dismissed it as being too sing-song. After a year or two, that first verse was still there bouncing around in my head.
I decided that there must be something to it and finished writing it. The connection between original songs and cover songs for me is simple. Besides being fun to sing, the cover songs keep an audiences' attention. Sometimes it might take a new listener several times to process and digest a new song. I hope you get the chance to hear me sing and listen to all the songs.
Richard Landi played lap steel guitar on When Lara Smiles. Rich also played the guitar part for If Your Heart Isn't In It. Rich is the most intuitive guitar player I have ever met. I didn't even have to ask him to play those stab chords, it was automatic!
Further overdubs were done at Sound Of Music studios. Craig and Brad from the Taters lent backing vocals to Remember Sharon? there. Harry Gore provided the "Mike Love" bass vocal and guitar for that song. Harry also played guitar and sang backing vox on Brave Face.
Dickie Wood and Jeff Williams from The Atkinsons played and sang on Everything I Need. Dickie and I wrote "Everything" in the 80's when we played in a band together. He also played guitar on Make You Cry, I tried coaching him on how he had played the solo for the song back in the day.
