As I write these notes, I realize that I've been playing guitar for nearly twenty years, and what a treat it has been. I'm still learning and still having fun. I tried to pick up the tempo with this project since "Better Slow Down" was generally mellow and introspective. Most of the material is in standard tuning, except for the slide guitar pieces, and played with my bare fingers instead of finger picks. All songs were composed and performed by myself, and recorded live using a Taylor 314 and Martin OM 16. The majority of this music was written during a period of major change in my life. At the beginning of 2006, my two year old son was diagnosed with autistic spectrum disorder. This news arrived as we were expecting the birth of our daughter in October 2006. For awhile, I was blown away and went into a pretty dark place. Fortunately, I didn't stay long. We all pulled through, especially my son who has and is still making enormous gains. The music on this disc was a guiding light, and it developed fast and furious (at least for me). It gave me strength and a feeling of comfort at times. Music has tremendous healing power, and I'm a believer. I hope this music has some therapeutic value for the listener as well. At the same time, I think the songs stand on their own as a solid listening experience. In other words, I don't think you have to be aware of the extenuating circumstances to enjoy this CD. It will hopefully make people want to get out the guitars and play!