Of The Dust

With 'Of The Dust', I wanted to show the influence of albums like Chris Whitley's Dirt Floor, Bruce Springsteen's Nebraska, records by Doc Watson, Norman Blake and the Tone Poems album by Tony Rice and David Grisman, and the impact they had on me my whole life. And of course, countless old blues records were done this way. Totally stripped down to

With 'Of The Dust', I wanted to show the influence of albums like Chris Whitley's Dirt Floor, Bruce Springsteen's Nebraska, records by Doc Watson, Norman Blake and the Tone Poems album by Tony Rice and David Grisman, and the impact they had on me my whole life. And of course, countless old blues records were done this way. Totally stripped down to an acoustic guitar and the song. No frills. Nothing to hide behind. Sometimes I just don't need any more music than just that. We were going for that intimacy, trying to make the listener feel they are right in the room with us as we were recording it. We recorded it very simply in Dan Anderson's studio back in Wisconsin. Our friends at Miktek in Nashville were kind enough to let us to borrow some high end studio gear for the project, and we were up and running. In trying to capture a very live and natural feel, I recorded my guitar and vocal together. And Anderson played the melodic mandolin parts throughout as well. While some people may need more instrumentation for their listening pleasure, I see 'Of The Dust' as another chapter in the storyline of my albums. It was a bit risky and it took chances. But it's honest.