If you are a fan of physical CD's with liner notes then you are in for a treat. The physical version of this album includes a 20 page liner note booklet with photos, lyrics and an essay about the album. For those of you who are buying the physical album, wait for the liner notes and don't read any further! For those of you who are doing the digital thing, here is the essay from the liner notes: I walked into Tiny Telephone recording studios in San Francisco's Mission district for the first time on April 12, 2014. Two months earlier I had booked 10 days at the studio so I could record my first 'official' CD. The few unofficial CDs I had made up to that point were of the quaint DIY variety, produced in my basement, yours truly at the helm of each instrument, each decision, each knob and fader on the mixing console, each desktop-published ink-jet graphic, and each burned disc that was handed out to close friends and family. Those self-produced gems had their charms, but the time had come for something different than the home recording treatment of yesteryear. The newfangled mayhem of a legit day job, highly dependent offspring, unruly backyard hedges, etc. Had bumped 'home recording' to the rock bottom of my domestic priority list. I had a stable of new songs at the ready, but If I was ever to record them as something other than rough demos I needed HELP. Thus, on January 14th, 2014, with spousal encouragement, I emailed John Vanderslice, the owner of Tiny Telephone. I told him I was a singer-songwriter with a hankering to cut an album. I told him I had just my basic songs (vocals and guitar), limited time, and that I needed help with production and in lining up session players. John was quick to respond and said Tiny Telephone was just the place. He suggested I reserve 10 days to complete approximately 10 songs. I said OK. He said he needed a deposit. Spouse said OK. I said OK. OK! After speaking with John Vanderslice about Tiny Telephone I made no further inquiries into other studios. Tiny Telephone seemed to fit what I wanted. First of all, I needed to get out of Dodge. I wanted to complete all ten days of recording at once and envelop myself in the process without facing my everyday distractions. That would have been nearly impossible had I stayed in town. Secondly, Tiny Telephone was an analog recording studio. Two inch tape was their game. I am by no means an analog snob, but taking a little trip back in time sounded like a fine idea to me. Why not? An antiquated tape machine rather than the ubiquitous computer monitor? Sold. Third, John Vanderslice was prompt in his responses, professional, enthusiastic, and encouraging. He gave me confidence that we could pull off what I wanted to accomplish. And he kept saying I was going to have a great time. Some friends were skeptical. 'What? You don't know them and they don't know you or your songs and you are just going to go up there, sight unseen, wing it, and hope for the best?' Um, yeah I guess. So at 8 am on the morning of April 12th, 2014, with my two boys still asleep in their beds on a lazy Saturday, I packed my last few things in the car and thanked my wife Melanie profusely for her indispensable role in my pricey, Quixotic adventure that was sure to put off the bathroom remodel for yet another year. I took the 101 Northbound and headed for San Francisco with my trusty Martin DM and enough clean shirts to avoid the laundromat for ten days. The recording session was to begin in earnest upon my arrival after the four hour drive from San Luis Obispo and John Vanderslice was true to his word. As soon as I walked into Tiny Telephone John introduced himself, assistant engineer Laurence Wasser, and session drummer Jason Slota. Then John told me to grab my guitar and we got to work. He set me up in an isolation booth with a vocal mic and a guitar mic while Jason sat at the drums in the main tracking room. John asked through my headphones what the name of the first song was. I said 'Bless Her Insecurity'. He told me to play it through one time so Jason could figure out a drum
