"Coal Train" is a project that was written over the course of two years. The first year I spent living in Madison, WI and the second year I found a home in Chicago, IL. The music is centered around the lyrics, through which I try to tell tales of personal experiences and the greater lessons that I learned through them. I owe my collaborators a great deal of credit, as their input and talents made these tracks so much more than what I could have produced alone. Below is a short description of each track and what it means to me personally: Coal Train Coming: Coal Train was originally written for Project M, a songwriting competition created by Madison radio station 105.5 FM. For this round, each contestant was given an emotion to write a song around. Mine was anger. In "Coal Train Coming", anger is manifested in the runaway train, which starts soft and distant but quickly accelerates into chaos and destruction before wrecking itself out on the rocks near town and ends with a plea for redemption by the ruined driver. This song is a favorite of my fathers, so this recording is dedicated to him. Nature & Grace: This is a song for the indecisive. It focuses on the complexities of the choices we make and the far reaching consequences simple up or down decisions can have on the rest of our lives. What can we do when there is no black and white answer, only varying shades of hypotheticals and unknowns? King on a Broken Throne: How can you be sad when you have everything you could ever need? Despite everything we have and everything we have achieved, every person feels the pull of regret, remorse, anger and depression throughout their lives. We modern kings and queens suffer in spite of ourselves. Kings and queens of nothing. Holy Ghosts: This song addresses the spiritual conflict I have felt throughout much of my adult life. I grew up with church and still maintain a spiritual relationship with religion. Organized religion and its many flaws, however, have long been the target of progressive ire and often for good reason. Misogyny, homophobia and oppression are the hallmarks of traditional religion that I despise, but I can't help but see the good that religious organizations do for the global community. I've long struggled with the competing feelings toward church and religion described in this song, forever chasing holy ghosts. Gods, Greater and Lesser: When I moved to Chicago in 2016, I took a job with a nonprofit organization tutoring freshmen and sophomores in algebra and geometry at Harlan High School on 97th and Michigan. At Harlan, I was lucky enough to help coach the Louder Than A Bomb team. LTAB is a spoken word competition that gives high school students a platform and stage to express themselves. I worked with some incredibly talented students who committed themselves to the craft of writing and produced some phenomenal work. This song is for them: Ice Cold, Blue Smoke!! The Good Man: Based on the eulogy former president Barack Obama gave for Rev. Clementa Pinckney, this song was written to highlight one of the greatest displays of humanity I have ever witnessed. In the aftermath of the Charleston Church massacre, the families of the victims came out and publicly forgave shooter Dylan Roof for murdering their loved ones. This level of compassion seems almost unimaginable to me, and I wrote this song to remember these incredible people and their commitment to loving their fellow man, no matter what. Credits: Coal Train Coming: Phillip Amsden-Guitar/Vocals Rio Mutasim-Vocals Spencer Adamson-Piano John Averys-Vocals Thomas Fagan-Drums/Bass Nature & Grace Phillip Amsden-Guitar/Vocals King on a Broken Throne Phillip Amsden-Guitar/Vocals T.Z.-Vocals Thomas Fagan-Drums/Bass Holy Ghosts Phillip Amsden-Guitar/Vocals Spencer Adamson-Organ Thomas Fagan-Drums/Bass Gods, Greater and Lesser Phillip Amsden-Guitar/Vocals The Good Man (Gorham St. Sessions) Phillip Amsden-Guitar/Vocals Coal Train (Acoustic) Phillip Amsden-Guitar/Vocals All tracks apart from "The Good Man" were recorded in Chicago, IL at Big Wet Studios and produced by the supremely talented Linus. "The Good Man" was recorded in Madison, WI and produced by Jakob Gnirke.