• Notes on Cerebellum Blues Playlists One and Two: a little bit of blood, lots of sweat, a few tears (the launch!).

Welcome to my series of posts about how I got into music and songwriting and the events that ultimately led to the 2012 release of my first album. Here are the posts, so far: a little bit of blood, lots of sweat, a few tears (the launch!). If you read anything that strikes a chord please let me know in the comments section or via email. As always, thank you for reading.

The album is Done. I can’t believe I can write that, but I can. Nearly 5 ½ years after I started it, my first full-length album is finally written, recorded, mastered and pressed. It’s called Cerebellum Blues Playlists One and Two and you can download it from my bandcamp site (best quality and lowest price), as well as from iTunes and Amazon. Use the links below to get your copy.

You can also get a physical CD. Yes, call me old fashioned, but despite the obvious trend toward pure digital — in music and so much else — I created something physical. My CD is available through my bandcamp page and comes nicely packaged with an 8-page picture booklet and a bonus track that will be available only to those who buy the complete album (physical or download). SPECIAL NOTE: If you buy the CD from bandcamp, you will not have to wait for it to arrive in the mail. Nope, bandcamp includes an immediate download in full CD quality sound (AIFF) if you wish, or hi-rez MP3 (plus some other geeky formats I won’t go into). To order your CD, please visit my bandcamp page via the following link:

I struggle to express what all this means for me. Making an album has been a dream of mine ever since I first heard The Beatles way back in the early 1970s and was transfixed by George Harrison’s guitar playing, John and Paul’s harmonies and Ringo’s effortless, musical beats. Those early Fab Four influences were joined over the years by Simon and Garfunkle, Pete Seeger, Led Zeppelin, Kiss, Deep Purple, Van Halen, Neil Young, The Rolling Stones, Tom Petty, The Police, R.E.M, Eurythmics, Green on Red, Richard and Linda Thompson, The Violent Femmes, Iggy Pop, David Bowie, Kate Bush, Buddy Miller and so, so, so many more. My vinyl collection surpassed 400, cassettes were everywhere, CDs joined the fray, even my own homemade tapes could be found strewn in front of my various stereo systems. But my music collection contained no official works by me.

Times have changed.

Now, there are copies of Cerebellum Blues Playlists One and Two in the living room, the home office, the car, my desk at work, my briefcase. I’ve ripped it to my phone and computer. I listen to it a lot and every time I do I feel good deep down inside, as a dream long dormant rises out into reality.

You can preview the entire album for free on my bandcamp site or by using the player to the left (which links via exotic CIA-approved code to bandcamp) so the best way to get a sense of it is to simply go listen to it. On side one, the mellow side, you’ll hear country inflected tunes that evoke The Stones, Tom Petty and maybe a touch of Buddy Miller, while side two rocks a bit harder and serves up some loud guitars, vocals that get a bit raw, and a few snakey, snarly guitar solos.

In the coming months, I will write at length about all that led to the creation of the album and what the process was like, but right now, I just want to write, once again, the album is done. I truly, truly hope you stream it, download it, listen to it, share it, recommend it and, most important, enjoy it.