"The Two-Part Dream of a Curio Dealer" is once again alive and available in the digital world. I wrote all of the songs for "the Two-Part Dream..." during the period in my life when I got married, bought my first home (the picture on the cover is the view from my back porch), had my first child, left Athens, moved to Boston, started working for Bose, and was coming to terms with the fact that the Fountains were over and a new chapter of musical creativity was opening up for me.
The 3 most influential artists for me during this time were Thich Nhat Hahn, C.S. Lewis, and Brian Eno.
It was an important time in my life and the songs reflect my re-connection with a spiritual space that I felt both inside and outside. It was as if I were a feather on the breath of god, lifted by the breeze that is the kiss of the unseen mover of all things.
A friend told me that he was surprised to see religious imagery in the titles of a few of the songs because he didn't think I was a religious person. Well, I wouldn't call myself a religious person but, with this record, I fully embraced the passions that were sweeping me along and those were wrapped up in the awe I was feeling for something greater than myself. When I look back on it, much of that may have been because of the spiritual/psychological revelations that happened when I became a Father.
When I first held my child it was never more clear to me that God is Love.
This line is from a song on the record called "the Lucky One"
"the road that I've been walking
in this illusion we call time
had me asking why I'm here
and wondering what I'm supposed to find
turns out I knew it all along
so it came as no surprise
I found the meaning of this life
while looking in my baby's eyes"
This record was recorded and mixed in 3 days at Electric Wilburland back in 2008. Wilburland is a remarkable space just outside of Ithaca, NY, owned by Will Russell and is hands-down the most inspiring studio space in which I've ever recorded (see link to the studio in comments below). The Fountains made "Roadsigns for Astronauts" there, as well.
Matthew Saccuccimorano engineered the record and he could not have been a better partner. Because I was going to be playing almost all the instruments and had limited time, it was really important that we only did 2 or 3 takes for each part and we could only record one instrument at a time. Anyone who has ever been in a studio before knows that this can be a challenge. If you don't have the right vibe and attitude, it's easy to get frustrated and that can derail a session. Add to this that, we wanted to be able to experiment with sounds and I was still writing some parts during the session; so it was critical that the Engineer needed to be a total pro. I had worked with Matt on studio and live projects for over 15 years at that point and trusted him completely.
During the session Jeremy P Allen was with me in the studio for much of it. He provided encouragement, levity, musical ideas, and perspective. AJ Strauss, came in like a total pro and played the trumpet part on "Swimming in the Light" that lifted it to another level. And Uniit sang the background vocals on "the Roar and the Sigh" and "Heaven in All Around You". She had never heard the songs before she came to the studio and in our brief talk before she recorded her part, the only direction I gave her was that I wanted her voice to sound like "you're putting your arm around a friend to console them." She succeeded.
When we were done recording on the 3rd day and listened back to all the rough mixes Matt turned and said "cool.. when are you gonna mix it?" I said "I'm not... that's the record". He just looked up at the ceiling and said "you son-of-a bitch! I knew you were gonna do that!" I smiled and said, "man, I want this record to capture exactly what happened in these 3 days so that's the final mix". So to be fair to Matt, keep in mind that the shaping of the sounds, tones, and placement in the mix was all done as it was being recorded - he didn't have a chance to go back and tweak anything. What you hear is exactly what was captured in its rawest form. Personally, I think he did an amazing job.
Sometimes you know that you are on the right track because universal radio tunes in and makes itself known. During the last song, "Heaven is All Around You", you can hear the rumble of thunder as heat lightning flashed outside the studio. This happened while we were recording the singing bowl part and added the voice of the unseen mover of all things to the song.
"heaven is all around you
listen a while and you'll hear
there is a song in the stone
for every ear
when you feel you've had enough
and something's about to give
breathe in
have some patience
it's really not that complicated
heaven is all around you
look in your heart and you'll see
that every moment we're new
this has to be
when you feel you've had enough
and something's about to give
breathe in
have some patience
it's really not that complicated
Some may say:
"stones are dead as dirt"
but I believe
they're the bones of the earth
alive as birds
that sing in the morning light
or the dancing dust
we call stars at night
heaven is all around you
put your hand in my hand and feel
you're not alone in this world
and love is real
And love is real
And love is real
And love is real
And love is real...."