Hopening

Rob Klajda has been writing and performing music for- oh who am I kidding, I'm writing this myself- enough of the third person. I wrote my first song when I was 12, now I'm 52 & I haven't stopped yet. I've watched the next big thing happen several times, and I've always been a little bit ahead of it. I live in Lansing, Michigan, and for the last 15 years or so I have played in a Celtic Rock band called The Lash. We have released three discs of original music, and have played all over the US. Before that, I was in a variety of bands performing original music, from punk rock to reggae to folk. I don't limit myself by genre. I like all music and I want to play it all, and I'm getting close to doing that. I've played on both coasts of the US and many points in between, for crowds of thousands and crowds of ten. I don't have a list of awards and accolades, but I've probably done a gig somewhere by you, wherever you are. I still play with The Lash, as well as a couple part time bands- The Hardwires and The Simpletons, and I do many solo acoustic shows. My influences are many, but some of the people I look up to as a writer are Pete Townshend, Steve Earle, Elvis Costello, Ray Davies, Guy Clark, Bob Dylan- and a few hundred others. My music is derivative in the sense that I don't deny my roots, but I don't really think I sound like anyone else. My first solo release features 18 of my closest friends, who just happen to be an all star cast of Michigan musicians. Hopening began life as a collection of 99 songs (yes, I have that many and more in my back catalog), but that turned out to be an overly ambitious undertaking for me at this point in time. I pared my list down to 17 songs, and headed to Epiphany Sound Productions in Dimondale, Michigan (a big-time studio in a tiny town) to record my basic tracks with a rhythm section. Over the next 6 months, I fleshed out my songs with a wish list of musician friends. It was a convoluted process, often recording the arrangements backward, sideways- my co-producer Jon Herrmann told me I make records the same way Quentin Tarantino makes movies, ie, out of order. But it worked, and if you didn't know better, you'd think the tracks were recorded live with a well rehearsed band. Well, mostly. Abby Murphy-Vocals Andy Callis- Piano, Farfisa accordion, Vocals Andy Wilson- Trumpet, Chromatic Harmonica Betty Wiltshire- Piano Bill Bartilson- Electric Guitar Bob Bryan- Drums Corrina Van Hamlin- Vocals Drew Howard- Pedal Steel Guitar Jason Scott- Drums, Percussion Jeff Starr- Electric Guitar Jen Sygit- Vocals Jerry Lew Patterson- Electric Guitar Jon Herrmann- Bass Josh Rilko- Mandolin & Vocals Juliana Wilson- Vocals Lindsay Lou- Vocals Mike Lynch- Accordion, Organ Rachael Davis- Vocals Rob Klajda- Lead Vocals, Acoustic Guitar, Banjo, Programming All songs written by Rob Klajda Recorded at Epiphany Sound Productions Produced by Jon Herrmann and Rob Klajda Mixed by Jon Herrmann Mastered by Bill Bartilson.