Finding singers.

Throughout this album project, one black cloud has hung constantly over my head: the fact that I can't sing. Oh, I can hit the notes just fine, but I'm not sure you'd want me too. Even with extra reverb, echo, pitch correction and EQ, I still sound no better than nails across a chalkboard. Given this sad state of affairs, I have been desperately worried about finding the right singer for each song. I knew I could count on my friend Toby for some of the rockers, but beyond that, I really wasn't sure what I was going to do. Through luck and a little networking though, I now have just about every tune covered.

My most recent find is a gentleman by the name of Rod Middleton. A fellow copywriter, Rod worked at McCann-Erickson SF when I first started there back in the mid 90s. We knew each other, but we weren't very close, so we never hung out too much, although I did see his band Slender play one night. And truth be told, that performance stuck with me. I remember thinking to myself, "Damn, these guys are good, especially Rod." Well, lo and behold, Rod is now back at McCann, where he works alongside Catherine, and one day, he caught wind of my album project and offered up his pipes, along with a few sample CDs. One listen and all the memories of that long past gig came back: Rod's voice has power, groove and a touch of Molly Hatchet, and I had just the song: "Love and Hate."

Rod and I exchanged emails, I sent him a demo of the tune with me, um, singing, we scheduled time at Hyde Street and then Rod rawked. I mean RAWKED. His vocal is just killer, and totally makes the tune. Thank you, Rod!