EXCERPT FROM THE LINER NOTES OF "THERE & BACK":
"You're crazy", or something like that.....Kelly Hoppe was right. Only he didn't mention it (at least to me) until after the fact that the album was in the can. I thought my wife was too for suggesting it in the first place. Recording an album of original material live without a preceding studio release, just the kind of "bright ideear" a non-musician would come up with...
Nobody records live albums anymore under those circumstances and especially in front of an audience (who paid to be there I might add). It's not a brand new idea, but this is NOT the way things are done nowadays, especially by an emerging artist with no label and a lot to lose.
Welcome to my pre-project inner monologue.
So much could go wrong. I mean why would you, or me, or any musician do this? In this sublime age of digital manipulative capability, why such madness? It could all fall apart in front of everyone I know, the embarrassment would be insurmountable and a complete waste of everyone's time and money. Or the power could go out. Or no one would show up...
OR, we could pull it off. I mean, it CAN be done, and the songs are pretty solid, right? Right? RIGHT? Everyone there, audience and musicians, could be a part of something really cool, daring, special...and just a little crazy.
So I started making some calls to the people I most wanted to be a part of this idea, and thankfully got some calls back. People seemed really intrigued by the idea, they saw it as a challenge and wanted to be involved.
Part B to all of this was that people would get to see a recording session in all its flawed glory and those who attended would get a CD when it was all ready to go. The recording process is something that's always been very secretive, Wizard of Oz type stuff to anyone outside it. So I tried to give people a little taste of what it's like to be behind the curtain in exchange for their "investment" in helping me get this album done.
I blew it a couple of times that night; we all had a good laugh, and started over...just like in a studio. But we nailed pretty much all of it. What we got in the end was a wonderful recording (if I do say so myself) of a really fun night with some excellent musicians. We captured that live, warm energy you feel in the room at an acoustic show in an old theater. It's not perfect, but it's pretty damn close, and it's real. I hope you enjoy listening as much as we did making this. ~ AG
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