Close to the Soul

Some years back a friend of mine handed me a mix tape of his favorite singer-songwriters. The first song on the tape was of one Keith Greeninger singing a song titled, “All Who Have.” I was blown away by the impact of Keith’s words and music and the power of his voice. A few years later I had an occasion to run into Keith at a house concert, where I mentioned how I had come to know and love his music. I then held out my hand to shake his while simultaneously slipping him a copy of my last album and asking him to consider producing my next. He smiled and went back to do his last set. Over the next few months after an exchange of emails and an informal breakfast meeting, a plan was hatched to record what would become my second solo album, “Close to the Soul.”

I like to think I found my writer’s voice while gaining a lifelong friend during the making of Close to the Soul. Keith and I co-wrote the title track, but each of its 12 songs hold very special meaning to me. I would return to Wind River Studios some 10 years later to record my third solo album, Long Road Back Home, but that’s another story…

A Well-Beaten Path

By 2009 I had returned to music full-time, teaching guitar and songwriting during the day, and opening shows for many great touring artists at night. While it was a privilege to open their shows and at times join them on stage, the time had come to record my own material and release an album. As it turned out one my students had a full, behind-the-glass recording studio in his home, along with a live-in recording engineer/Nashville producer. I brought in the soulful Kathleen West to sing some background harmonies along with a few studio musicians to round out some of the arrangements. 

Recorded at LX5 Studios in Loomis, CA, “A Well-Beaten Path” was released in the Fall of 2009 and aside from being a blast to record, it was a great learning experience. Produced by CJ Hatlivig and myself, it includes SonFlower, a song I wrote for my grandson, Ty, whose photo is on the back cover. For these reasons, A Well-Beaten Path will always hold a special place in my heart.

I’m Not There

Lil’ Boys Blue

In the summer of 1966, my band, the Lil’ Boys Blue entered Golden State Recorders on Harrison Street in San Francisco to cut our first single, “I’m Not There.”

After years of gigging in and around the California we were over-the-moon excited to finally be recording some of our tunes and possibly having them played on the radio. I say “possibly” because at that time AM radio stations were receiving so many new records each week, they began using them as drink coasters and doorstops. Thankfully, due in large part to our friends, family and fan club members constantly calling in to request our song, the record received strong local and regional airplay. Non-stop gigs to promote the record followed, including being booked at the Carousel Casino on Fremont Street in Las Vegas. They were looking to introduce rock bands to their more typical easy listening lounge acts. When we arrived, however, no one had told the regulars, and we less than warmly received. 

Fortunately, “I’m Not There” has lived on. We were featured on Back from the Grave’s compilation album of 1960s garage rock created and compiled by Tim Warren and released by Crypt Records.