In 2012 my publicist challenged me to get out of my comfort zone and dive into the Americana pool. At first I resisted, but the bug bit me, and I started paying attention to some of the great people in this category, like Bonnie Raitt, Lyle Lovitt, The Lumineers, Mumford and Sons, etc. One evening I saw the documentary film "the Big Easy Express" that featured a bunch of new artists playing American roots-inspired music, and I was hooked. The first output from all of this great new input was YELLOW TRAILER, which eventually became the title track of this album. It is a gentle fantasy, that is intended to be charming and somewhat fanciful - but which takes a serious turn at the end. Encouraged by the success of this song, I bought a banjo and started to teach myself how to play it. A mandolin followed, as well as more songs, such as THE BOY WHO BUILT THE MOON, which I really like on so many levels. I really love the sound of the mandolin, especially when played in the fluttery pick style. I wrote and recorded about 20 songs for this album, of which nine were finally chosen. Some were just too "heavy" in terms of loud guitars, while others just didn't hit the right mood. I am really proud of the album, and I spent a lot of time putting them into the order that I think worked best for them. By the time the album was done, 8 months after I started, my collection of instruments had grown to add a 12-string acoustic guitar, a mandolin, fiddle, 5-string banjo, 6-string banjo, and a beautiful resonator slide guitar - aka "dobro." I even added a ukelele (used only briefly at the intro of DON'T WANNA BE LONELY) and a Strumstick (used in the same song), plus a new 5-string bass and a few additional percussion instruments that are used on many tracks. I mixed the album with as little reverb as I could, to keep the intimate sound of being in the same room with the music. The cover artwork was taken from a picture that I took in Galway back in 2009, adding the yellow trailer and pony from the title track. At this point, Americana has become part of my musical vocabulary. There is no going back to plain rock ballads for me anymore. The richness and immediacy of this music is irresistible. I might work some heavier guitars back in, in future albums. But this one is just right the way that it is - not too loud, but still brimming with energy and enthusiasm. It should make you happy to listen to it. I hope so! Special thanks to Ken Thomas for playing some great banjo on several tracks. I hope that you enjoy listening to this album as much as I did writing and recording it. I would love to hear from you - please contact me via my website.