This all started when Bill told me he thought we had enough new songs for another CD. I went home and counted about 80 or so (not all worthwhile and not all finished) and had to admit it was time. Then a fortuitous meeting with the wonderfully multi-talented Bob Harris sealed the deal. He and I jammed for a few hours one day, got excited, decided to work together and not only record at his studio, but to work live with as few overdubs as we could get away with. And that is what we did. I think the total recording time (including dubbing in some banjo, fiddle, accordion, and a little percussion) was only about 6 hours. It was an incredible amount of fun and I think that shows. We sent some songs to fiddler extraordinaire Gary Oleyar and he sent back some kick-a** fiddle on them that just put them, and us, over the top. Thanks Gary, you done good. And, especially, a big thank you to Bob Harris whose talent and enthusiasm really made this happen; damn... I wish I could play guitar like him. Here is how it all ties together: There is the Tex-Mex vibe in Livin Will Kill You and Talking Spanish In My Sleep, with Bill’s cooler than Tequila accordion pumping out it’s magic on both tracks. A touch of Newgrass on the 5-string with Pendleton Breakdown, named after the street I live on not the blankets although I do have a Pendleton blanket and it is a mighty cozy beast. A bit of Country and Western slipped in with Your Husband Led Me To You and I Stepped On The Moon, which isn’t about Neil Armstrong although rumor is his first words when he stepped on the moon were in reference to his neighbor’s sex life. Some fingerpickin’ guitar and a fun tune straight out of a juke joint, After All These Years; you may never look at cell phones the same way again and you might even look at your honey with fresh eyes. Then a slide on over to Appalachia for some songs inspired by all the great music that seems to live and breath in the very ground down there. When I Heard Hazel Sing is about the amazing Hazel Dickens and a true story from the mountains of West Virginia; Jimmy Take The Liquor Out will have you strapping on your brogans and hotfooting it across the kitchen; Give The Devil His Due is a dark mountain story where, for a change, the woman gets the upper hand. And heading back up to my northeastern neck of the woods, a few songs that pay homage to my Irish/New York roots and to anyone who grew up with a stoop to sit on or fall off of for which I offer some warnings in The Falling Song. The Wild Geese Return started out as an exercise in DADGAD to write an Irish flavored song about a local pub that held Irish sessions; it quickly became clear that it wasn’t gonna be about a pub. Witches Walking is another DADGAD song. I had that claw-hammer banjo lick on the guitar and was struggling for a lyric when the witches from Macbeth showed up and took over. I was born a couple of days before Halloween and know better than to ignore a witch; three of them together can have pretty much anything they want... so I gave them this song. For us, this turned into a trip across America soaking up quintessential American roots music and spicing the songs with bits and pieces of it. It is a taste of who we are musically as a country and where Bill and I are currently at mixed with a bluegrass sensibility, folk leanings, and a taste for tradition. Speaking of taste... I love to eat, I love to travel, and I love to try local food whether its dim sum in Hong Kong, oysters in Galway, or gumbo in New Orleans... but sometimes you just want to stay home and have a hamburger sandwich.