I strive to be real in my music, and to relay feelings found only deep within the human heart. Unlike many other song writers. I don't write for only one genre. To me... music is much about the mood your in. If your sad you might not want to play a country song for example, because it might remind you of your hurt, but then again....maybe you might prefer to play it because you desire to be soothed in your spirit by working through that hurt and not running from it. Yeah it can get pretty complicated at times. I've done the same thing kinda....when writing my songs. The song Stranded is our most anointed song and was written after I returned one night from ministering at a local jail. As I sat down at my dinning room table I could still feel the pain and hopelessness of the man whom I had talked with that night. Tear's rolled down my eyes as I sat there remembering this man's sorted tale. I really felt for him and I asked God for a song that would tell his story to the world. Well...God did help me that night, and I hope your also blessed when you hear that song. It's the only song I've ever written while crying....lol. Maybe that explains why it's so anointed. Songs written out of extreme pain or feelings do sometimes come across in a far deeper way. Some of my songs were written as I'd drive my big 18 wheeler Semi down the highways. Some I wrote at home or on the front porch. One song, "If God does a Miracle" I wrote during a bad thunderstorm....while another I wrote after waking up from a very vivid dream. I still could remember the melody and some of the key words from the dream. The song is called, "Why do you lie" It asks this question of us all and is a rather deep song. It's a song, however, that I doubt I would have ever written during my daytime hours. The theme of lying never once crossed my waking mind, but it did during my sleep. I hope you enjoy that song....it's a bit dreamy....lol, but has a great message. The song, "March on my Soul" came to me at 3am in the morning when I was in bed reading my bible. It's one of my older songs.....written way back in 1994, but was only produced in 2009, and only in 2016 is it being released through CDbaby. Yes....songs are timeless in nature, and March on my Soul is more timeless then most. It makes a good companion to the song Stranded. Stranded people need to keep marching forward. None of us should ever quit or give up. If we do that....what real good is going to come from that? The song, "Devil Your Days are Numbered" came to me back in Sept 2007 while I was in the shower. I was really ranting away in the shower and telling the devil off. Then I paused and said to myself....."Hey...that's a song!" With dripping feet I quickly walked on my beautiful wood floors to get to my portable cassette recorder, which I was still using at the time. I did this without delay, so as to not forget the melody and lines. Yeah...there I was all wet in my living room with a towel around my waist.... singing a song to the devil, while water was dripping everywhere. Was it all worth it? Well...you decide... and go listen to perhaps the hardest rock song on my album. Yeah....the devil does rock, but in my song he also dies!!! ( The final jokes on him! ) Currently I'm living in sunny South Africa and have been since March of 2008. I mean't my wife Judy on a Christian dating site and we both decided it was best for us both if I moved here. I was living in sunny Florida at the time and never gave Africa much thought. I was born in W.Va. and raised in upstate Ohio near Cleveland. An American through and through, but God does work in unusual ways. Judy had been working in South Africa's music industry for over 20 year's at the time, and she felt led to stay in South Africa if it meant helping me with my music. At the time none of my many songs had even been professional produced. So.... I moved to sunny Pretoria South Africa and within six months I was sitting in a studio producing my songs for the first time ever. God used Africa to move my music ministry forward. He used a South African arranger to help bring them to life....as I never had even imagined. During the recording process we had other musicians come out and share their awesome talents with us. To produce this album in the states with the quality that was used would cost a small fortune, but God touched most to offer their talents for free. I was amazed, and humbled greatly by the wonderful generosity of these South African friends of my wife....whom I might add....became my friends as well. I remember one lady who was referred to us by another artist who came out. My wife didn't know this person. She rocked up at my arranger's home studio driving a really nice car. Before she came out she did say that based on this other persons nice comments about me she would do some backing vocals for our album at a lower then normal price. I really needed some good solid female vocals and so I had some stash in my pocket to give to her after the recording session was done. This young woman sang her soul out and did a really professional job. I felt so blessed that she came out. She even sang on an extra song or two. As I walked her to her car I handed her the money and said, I'd try and get more to her because she sang on some extra songs we had not planned on her to sing on. Well....what happened next surprised even me. Smiling.....this young lady handed me back my money and looked me straight in the eye, saying, "Thommy I can't take money from you for this album" "That worship song you had me sing on.....well....it's the best worship song I've ever heard" "It really touched my heart singing it!" "I just can't take any money from a project like the one your producing here" Then she added...."Please let me know when it's on the store shelves. I want to buy a copy" Yeah....she didn't even want a free copy.... Today this woman is a very much sought after backing vocal to have on top rated albums. She earns her living doing that....but with this album, "Stranded No More... she took a pass. Isn't God good!!! Yeah... I could go on and on about the many miracles that happened to get this album produced. Sometimes I've asked God why he didn't allow me to produce it in America. I don't know all the reasons, but I'll just say the doors for that to happened never once opened up for me. God had to move me across thousands of miles of ocean first, and then even with my wife Judy's extended connections....it still took us six whole months to find the right fit in an arranger. God is usually not in any big hurry.....ever noticed that? But when he leads us He doesn't make any mistakes. My arranger Adrian turned into being my best bro here in South Africa. A real friend and comrade in arms in the fight for truth and really good soul stirring music. He's an anointed music man himself and was a church worship leader for many years. Had I stayed in the United States our paths would have never once crossed. They say that Paul and John of the Beatles had a magic going on between them, and that's what I think was going on between me and Adrian. A Holy Ghost kind of magic that you don't experience everyday. Together I think we really made a team and when you add all the other great South African artists who gave of themselves. It really is easy to say......that Stranded No More is unlike any album you've ever heard or will ever hear. It's truly a blessed project forged in the furnace of God's grace, mercy, and love. I'll finish this up by telling you about song number 4 on the album. I wrote that song for my wife when we were still dating from afar on the internet. We had not yet mean't each other. After we had a slight misunderstanding I feared I might lose her. At that point I had no real contact information about her. Just her profile on the dating site. I quickly wrote down the song Elohim's Girl and sent it to her with me singing acapella into the camera. My daughter helped me send it, and I prayed for a good response on her part. The next day I was overjoyed when she wrote back and told me, "I think I'm going to start calling you my lovey" My song did its work.....it got me out of trouble and it won her heart. I hope you enjoy that song as well. You'll see that at the time when I wrote it I considered myself nothing more then tall grass growing on a long lost hill. Well....today that tall grass is now married to that single rose. How romantic right? lol.... Cheers everybody..... I hope you like my read here. Consider buying my album....and when you do you'll be buying a small piece of my life....and of Africa. Which reminds me..... I didn't even tell you about the brother from Zimbabwe who narrates on my track called "African Wisdom" Want a piece of Africa? Buy that track! It's not a song per-say, but as a bonus track on the album it goes a long way in forging great race relations and in sharing this man's love for God. I wrote the piece, but in the studio God came over him, and so he adding many comments which we kept. Yeah.....like I said at the start.... I like to be real. Being real is where it's at! Have a blessed day you all... Thommy Sides Sept 21, 2016 in Greylingstad South Africa