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If you haven’t heard, I thought I’d let you know that I have a new record out, called “True in Time.” Released on January 19, it’s my 14th record, and my first project with the Compass Records Group, which acquired Red House Records this past November.
I hope you’ll like it. Making the record was a great experience. Almost everything was recorded in three days, July 31 – August 2, at Uptown Sound in Minneapolis. Special guest singers recorded after the initial sessions included Jonatha Brooke, Lucy Kaplansky, Eliza Gilkyson, Kathleen Johnson & Germain Brooks.
I worked with my longtime producer/engineer and friend Rob Genadek, and an amazing assembly of musicians with roots in the Twin Cities area. You’ll hear Tommy Barbarella on keyboards, J.T. Bates on drums, Dirk Freymouth on electric guitars, Joe Savage on pedal steel, Joel Sayles on upright bass and vocals, and Enrique Toussaint on electric bass. It was recorded in the old-school way, all playing together at the same time, with minimal editing or overdubbing. Given the concentrated time and conditions of the recording, I think we were able to catch something special going by. The musicians contributed to the arrangements, preparing their ideas in advance as well as coming up with new parts on the fly. Said drummer J.T. Bates, “We’re all capable of recording in this way, but nobody ever lets us do it!”.
During the writing and recording of this record, the line that kept coming back to me was that Utah Phillips line, “the past didn’t go anywhere.” I think many of the songs on the record embody that idea, that we bring the past with us and it’s never far away. You can find more about the record at redhouserecords.com. Signed copies are available here.
I’m now heading into a busy period with lots of shows, where I’ll be playing these new songs as well as songs from the past that, well, didn’t go anywhere . In the coming few days I’m looking forward to playing shows in Berkeley and Grass Valley California, at the Folk Alliance in Kansas City, in Denver, as well as some dates in the northwest and northeast. I hope there’s a show near you.