Hey, It's Ian Gregory Blain here with a little behind the scenes for this album. This album has been in the works for almost a year, and for me, this album represents all the amazingly weird things that have happened in 2015. The album has morphed many different times, and gone under several titles, including The Life of Music, or The Glory Isn't Mine. Actually, those two were going to be two separate albums, put together for a double release. I'm glad I didn't do that. As I got further on the production of the songs, my vision started to grow for just how big a project like this can be. I've made two albums before, both in 2014. I saw those as a way to get my music and creativity out there, but I didn't spend a lot of time on them, and they were released just days after the last recording was finalized. My vision for this album is to be able to say "This is the one. You know, this album will be a major turning point in my career." With that being said, as I look back at this year and at this album, I can see a lot of change in my music, and the way that I play it. For starters, I bought a Roland GR-55 guitar pedal, and it has helped me to incorporate different instruments on almost all of the tracks you will hear. This ranges from the xylophone in America, to the accordion and organ on Brothers in Arms, to the electric guitar in Eleanor Rigby. This has helped me make the transition to a full band sound. What people don't realize is that there are many sounds that you can barely hear, but adds so much to the overall sound of the piece. The recording of "Brothers In Arms" took me two very solid weeks of adding individual parts on here. For instance, if you listen to the organ, you might say that it's simple, and adds a good background to the piece, if that. In reality, I treat every track with the care that it deserves. Instead of playing a whole verse, I separated the organ into two tracks, and individually sustained and placed each chord to be accurate. I did that for the whole 7 minutes of the song. The actual title "Mind The Gap" came from my Trip to Europe, and my experiences there. Actually, the album is released exactly six months from when I started my trip. You can see the saying plastered all over subway systems across Europe (a picture of such a subway is on the cd itself), informing you that there is a small gap between the platform and the subway car. But it took on quite a different meaning for me. You could say that my gap would be the Atlantic Ocean, and the vast differences in culture, and the way things are run. If you notice, about half of this album has a worship element built into it. The song choices were derived from my musical influences, and I have many great artists that have influenced me in different ways. If you were to ask about my specific fingerpicking style, I would say that the music of James Taylor, Jim Croce, and Simon and Garfunkel is inspiring for my live work. So far as musicality and the more technical side of things, Billy Joel, The Beatles, Kansas, and Dire Straits has helped me gain a deeper understanding of music. However, I feel like I need to use these talents for the glory of God, and to help reach people in need, and so I look up to artists like Chris Tomlin, Hillsong, and of course, the Mid-Cities Worship team, which as helped me become a better leader. I really am blessed to have had so many people work on my videos, help me musically, and even those that give me a little encouragement along the way. We've been able to exceed any expectations that I had for this project, and I hope that I can keep doing more. Thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoy the album! Ian Gregory Blain