In regards to "Burn It Down Gently", I sometimes ask myself why I'm doing it. Why am I exposing myself to the kind of criticism that this type of music seems to bring. Why am I essentially showing everyone these open nerves? I don't know. I feel compelled to? But I don't don't always feel that compelled, believe me. This album has been complete for over a year. I've had physical copies since December 2016. Yes, I've been hesitant about its release.
I had just finished my album "Fade" when I started getting serious about the songs on "Burn It...". I began the recording process only about 5 months after the release of "Fade," in the summer of 2014. And I completed recording in the summer of 2015. It was an interesting process for me, because "Fade" had so much in the way of instrumentation, details, and layers: overdubs galore, subtle noises, counter melodies, more than a dozen different instruments, ghostly talking, studio tricks, etc., etc. "Burn It..." was recorded live in the studio, acoustic guitar and vocal only.
"Burn It Down Gently" was created as a challenge to myself. I have always admired singer/songwriters, but I do focus most of my musical energy on instrumental music. However, I felt like I had too many things to say, and too many stories to tell, so I started writing lyrical songs. This album is the sum of that challenge. But the real challenge came in recording the album. Since both the guitar and vocals were recorded simultaneously, it left no room for correcting errors. Either the recording was a take, or it was discarded. It took several recordings per song this way, but I believe the tracks feel more cohesive than if I had recorded the guitar and vocals separately. And it's certainly more true to how they sound when I perform them live.
The subject matter of the songs on "Burn It..." have been a topic of discussion, debate, and criticism among my friends and family. The album is dark. (It's called "Burn It Down Gently," right?) I've had people tell me that too many of the songs are about my past relationships. But in truth, less than half of them are. There are almost as many songs about my dad and his passing. I find it vexing that people actually suggest that I write more “happy songs.” As if the content of my lyrics is something they have the right to make suggestions about. My response to those people is that they write their own damned happy songs. I'll take my sad ones, thank you.
I think of "Burn It..." as kind of a lyrical companion to "Fade" which was inspired by loss. And because of it's stripped down musical approach, it's a different way of looking at loss for me. And hurt. Yes, hurt. Most of these songs got me choked up at one time or another while writing them. Perhaps they were a bit too honest. You know when you need to open up to someone and tell them the truth about the way you feel? You know that hesitation? That anxiety? All those reservations? That's what the songs on this album are to me. It's like I've been pacing back and forth for over a year now, and I've been looking like I've had something on my mind. As if someone needs to ask me if I have something I want to tell them. And I do, if they care to hear it.
