The recordings on this CD are a collection of songs that go way back to the days as a youth thru the years that have swiftly passed by. The songs help me to reminisce about life and the things that happen in life. It's a common story we all share of being young, growing up, experiencing life, getting older and looking back at our lives as we look into the mirror and reflect. In this CD i wanted to reflect and create songs in as many genres as possible and talk about life. Music is music and I don't think we should be forced to say that our music has to fit a specific genre. It's just too limiting and music & the arts is all about being creative. The CD begins with a fictional story of a single guy looking for Ms. Right to spend life with. I just love all types of music and as I wrote this song I wanted to set the mood of this song to a blues type of style. Putting this song together I laughed as I pictured Madeline Khan in "Young Frankenstein" after an intimate evening with young Frank and how she playfully strutted joyfully. I had fun with the mood & words of this song and can just picture Madeline Khan strutting to the beat of this song. Of all places to find someone the story happens at the drive thru at a fast food restaurant at "A Quarter To". Song two, my instrumental surf tune/music tries to capture the "Adrenaline Rush" of riding that perfect wave and the days of surf bands like the Ventures and songs like the "Theme from Endless Summer". Someone asked, "I didn't know you surfed!". My retort back, "I don't, but I did body surf at Sandy's a couple of times! What a rush!! I could just feel the adrenaline!!". The third song? Your typical break-up in a boy-girl relationship. I remember it well and looking back I can laugh now, but it was so painful at the time. Now as I look back I tried to poke fun of the situation. I remember it well, "Cry, Cry, Cry"! Song four, "Don't Stop This Feeling" is just a happy song. When you really sit down, think and count all of your blessings everyday, it's just happy. I wished life was always like that but life is what it is, but when life is good you just don't want that feeling to end. "My Dream Came True" tries to go way back in time to the period of songs of vocal groups with an emphasis on harmonies. I wanted that old vintage sound, something like the vocals of classic vocal groups like "The Vogues" and "The Lettermen". The next song is a simple song with chords I just love. When you go thru so many years in life you realize one thing, that even though we're different we're the same. We feel the same, want the same things. It's a simplistic conclusion in the song "Never Knew". Some chords stick to you over the years, chords you just can't forget. I had dabbled in these pretty chords on the keyboard for many years and then suddenly one day the idea of doing an instrumental came to me. Sometimes it's best to just keep it simple. I really enjoyed putting this song together, "One Day and Forever". One recording/story that pretty much summed up life on this CD is an anonymous poem written by an elderly woman who passed away in Scotland put to music. Someone asked me a great question as to why I sang it thru a man's voice with the poem intact thru the eyes of a woman. Couldn't I have changed the words to be masculine instead? I'd thought of that but I found the poem as it was just perfect to reflect and reminisce about life. The integrity of this anonymous woman to me was important. It's her story, but It's a poem I feel we can all identify with, male or female, whether sung as a male or female. Life is an amazing journey. I chose the fictitious name "Sadie" for this woman who eloquently wrote a poem about life in the winter of her life. "That's Life" is a song set to a more rock format. Life can be pretty tough for sure and I know that when they are good times are right around the corner. Life can be good too but again for sure not so good times are right around the corner to. But I suppose that's why it is what it is. "The Girl Who's Everything" was originally written over forty years by my friend Brian Oka. We met in middle school and Brian is and was never one to be lacking in words and expressions. He wrote this song for a girl we all knew in school who was the apple of everybody's eye. She was the cool chick, who everybody liked. As you can tell by the words of this song she was definitely the girl who was everything to Brian Oka. Brian had written the verses but I just felt like a chorus with missing. I added a chorus, tried the song in a hip-hop beat for some reason and found it an interesting combination. "Without You" is another song originally written over forty years ago by Brian Oka. Brian is blatantly unabashed when it comes to expressing himself and this song stayed in my memory all these years. Brian writes about a break-up with one of the loves of his life and beautifully writes about how hard it was. Brian wrote the verses and I added a chorus to this song. The final song on this CD sums up things about life. "Wonderful"!! When you look back life is amazing but it goes by too quickly. Can't believe that in the blink of an eye how quickly things pass. I hope you can sit back, listen and "Reminisce" while you listen to this CD. Thanks for reading!