New Age Blues

Collection Contents

#		Title	Length
1		Empowerment	6:44	Play
2		Beyond	3:03	Play
3		Evil Ways	4:32	Play
4		FEAR!	4:42	Play
5		awakening	1:48	Play
6		Set It Free	3:54	Play
7		(keyboard madness)	0:21	Play
8		Life's Journey	4:17	Play
9		Crooning in the Afterglow	2:53	Play
10		Dolphin Suite	2:39	Play
11		Why?	5:28	Play
12		Balance	2:10	Play
13		17 G (tribute to Jerry)	6:37	Play
14		Against the Grain	3:00	Play
15		Summer Wind	4:25	Play
16		Soul Truth	8:06	Play

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Description

*** SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT May 2004 ***

New Age Blues is NOW AVAILABLE on iTunes!

Track Descriptions For New Age Blues:

EMPOWERMENT - One day I went into the studio, turned on my equipment, and heard this strange sound emanating from the speakers. It was some type of technical malfunction but an interesting sound none the less, so I decided to embrace this strange occurence by running it through some spacey effects like a flanger and phaser. Then I plugged my Les Paul in and started improvising along. The strange sound was actually in the key of E minor, so it was fairly easy to play along. However, what was interesting to me was how classic blues phrasing blended so evocatively with this New Age Ambience (thus the term "New Age Blues"). Then, something truly remarkable happened, I pressed play on my sequencer and it turned out that the sequence I had loaded up was this Native American inspired tribal groove thing that was in E minor as well! I later realized that I had a cool opening piece for the album...

BEYOND - This song expresses my sentiment about looking beyond the the things of temporal existence, the physical world, the constraints of primal impulses, and so on, in order to experience a deeper connection with the Creator, God, your Higher Self, or any other perception of spiritual being you might have that is beyond the ego and the material world. It also illustrates my belief that there are probably other planes of existence beyond the world as we know it...

EVIL WAYS - is basically a simple blues groove that became the background to a spontaneous rant about man's inhumanity to man. I know we've all heard this before, but have we listened? The world can be a better place, but we must start with ourselves. The profuse profanity prevalent throughout the piece isn't intented to be offensive, it was just an honest reaction to watching the news one day...

FEAR! - expresses my belief that in order to fully realize out potential as individuals and be true to our highest selves we must face our deepest fears. By the way, the song rocks! Just "three chords and the truth!"

(awakening) - This is just a simple but heartfelt prelude to Set it Free. The guitar was improvised live over a sequence in my studio. Not perfect, but I thought the vibe was there...

SET IT FREE - articulates my desire to liberate my soul and be true to my higher self. It also incorporates lyrics from a poem my great grandfather wrote entitled "Life's Journey", which is about holding on to your values and ideals as you progress through life and feel tempted to compromise yourself for material gain and other "things of the world"...

(keyboard madness) - Just a little "ear cleanser" to help brace you for the next track...

LIFE'S JOURNEY - Inspired by a poem that my Great Grandfather, Robert Hance wrote addressing the evolution of our personal growth from the cradle to the grave. We can choose a path of darkness or light, the world of matter, or the world of spirit. The song merges intense industrial metal sounds with the words from Great grandfather's poem and my own reponses and augmentations to his speculations. My friend and producer Steve Evetts improvised the wacky guitar...

CROONING IN THE AFTERGLOW - was "concieved"after I had been party to a particularly beautiful and meaningful experience and that I am fairly certain resulted in my daughter Brianna. The song was improvised one track at a time starting with a simple Bongo part, then built up with the flute, open tuned guitar and so forth...

DOLPHIN SUITE - Picture yourself under a boat on a river, where tangerine trees... Ooops wrong song! Seriously though, imagine being underwater watching the sun's rays filter through the water's surface as Dolphins meander gracefully about you...

WHY? - Dedicated to Mother Earth. Why do we treat her so badly? Isn't the mere possibility of catostrophic enviromental degradation enough to compel action? Even if only for selfish reasons? Am I really a radical because I'm addicted to fresh air, clean skies, and pure water? Let's think about this...

BALANCE - Balance, moderation, and tolerance. Three principles I deeply believe in. Manifested here by a friendly, spirited piece that I improvised one day as the morning sunlight cascaded through my window...

17 G (Tribute to Jerry) - Another experimental improvisation I conducted while reflecting upon my one and only experience at a Dead show. Aptly entitled, because 17G was the name of the section of parking lot we were in...

AGAINST THE GRAIN - a chronicle about the struggles we endure as we journey through life. Something I'm certain many of you can relate to! The song is also about carrying on despite all the harsh inequity and disappointment we must overcome. Finally, it's about living in the moment and enjoying the here and now...

SUMMER WIND - Did you ever drive a car late at night in the rain during a long drive to or from somewhere unfamiliar? Did you ever feel turned on and intoxicated by the sensuality of a warm summer breeze? If so, this mystical groove vibe like improvisation might be your sound track...

SOUL TRUTH - I caught this song while I was just about to leave my home for the evening. Again, it's another spontaneous improvisation that just kind of flowed right out of me. It was almost a bit eerie recording this one...