This Must Be Hello 1. Cabernet
2. Fool Like You
3. Unfolded
4. Left Side
5. Haven
6. Boundless
7. Blackberry Road
8. After All
9. A Life Like Mine
10. No One Way
11. This Must Be Hello
This Must Be Hello, released May 2007, wraps up my first couple years of songwriting, during which I frequented the open mic and cafe scene in NY's Capital Region. Some of the songs are personal, true stories, and so for me, looking back at the album can be nostalgic and a little bittersweet--like reading an old diary. I still see it as a "beginning," though a second CD is quite a ways off...
Making the CD: This album doubled as my senior project as a music major at Skidmore College. I recorded and edited all the tracks, mostly with Adobe Audition on my laptop (PC), then mixed them with Protools at Skidmore. I welcomed guest musicians Sarah Mahoney (backing vocals), Dave Scheffel (harmonica), Andrew Brown (cello), Melissa Molfetas (alto sax), and Torey Adler (electric guitar) to add some richness and variety to the CD's overall sound.
The other half of the project was to accurately transcribe all 11 songs into sheet music. If you're interested in having any of this sheet music, contact me. [Tracks 1 and 9 also have chord symbols; the only part not included is the electric guitar on track 6.]
After finishing up with school in December '06, I revisited all of the tracks, polishing the editing and mixing. Larry DeVivo at Silvertone Mastering mastered the final disc, and Matt Ramos Photography did the photography for my graphic design.
Thanks to everyone who's bought or will buy the CD since it came out! Having my own CD was a big goal for me and I'll always be happy I finished it.
Click the song titles on the left for lyrics and other information. In player, most recently recorded songs at top.
"We can be free by refusing to participate in the culture of consumption and comfort and instead choose to participate in a culture of experience, truth and creativity."
