Music
Making Father's Eyes
In August of 2007 I had an opportunity to record a full-length record at the venerable Skyline Studio in New York City. Produced by Delmar Brown (Sting, Gil Evans, Miles Davis, Jaco Pastorious, Dave Mathews, Peter Gabriel), the record features 12 tracks of totally original music which fits not easily into any one genre. This is the story of how the record was made.
I started playing guitar seriously in September, 2005 when I was approached by two friends who expressed interest in getting together to jam. All three of us played the guitar. As the worst musician, I was left to the guitar as one moved to bass and the other to singer/front man. We flirted with some U2, Green Day, and Johnny Cash covers but I had great difficulty following along and perceived I was not long for the band. Between songs I would play some simple melodies that I had figured and was encouraged to write lyrics. During the next few practices, I had the outlines of a few songs in very rough form. I soon became fascinated with the creative process of putting lyrics to melody and began writing in earnest.
The singer knew a drummer who had toured Europe back in the day with a punk band and we became a cumbersome and discordant foursome. The drummer took a very serious interest in my material and further encouraged and fostered its growth. I called the band Shed. I was not keen for covers and the band happily expired after our first gig which occurred in May of 2006. The record would reflect that I was asked to leave the foursome. I thought it was my band. The message came by email. I understood completely. Unexpectedly, the drummer elected to stay with me. Thank you Neal Witmer.
The next several months were inspired as I strained to match the intensity and dedication of my singular band mate. One acoustic guitar player and a crazy punk drummer creating original music… I was out of time, out of tune, and out of my league but I picked up the essentials quickly enough. In July of 2006 my father passed and I became seriously depressed; writing music became a catharsis. By this time I had written at least 40 songs. I practiced regularly and escaped into the music.
In May of 2007 my oldest sister suddenly passed and the devastation was complete. My family crumbled as my depression turned to despair. My life changed forever. As my sister lay in a coma, I sat in my studio and cried. I wrote Lean on Me for my mother and later that evening walked dreadfully into the local guitar shop to lean on an old friend. I had known Mark Ross for about 10 years. He is the local legend on the music scene having toured and recorded successfully as the lead of Queen Bee and the Blue Hornet Band. I played a few of my songs for Mark for no particular reason. Up to this time he had no idea that I was writing and playing. No one really did. I remember playing Tell Me and Father’s Eyes for him between customers. On the spot he offered to produce several tracks at a local studio and so that process began in earnest.
After recording several tracks, I became focused on finding a sax player for a song I wrote called Shenandoah. I had met Stephon Alexander after seeing him play live in Downtown State College, Pennsylvania. I did not know anything about him other than he played really great. I approached him after one of his gigs and inquired whether he would be willing to play on the track. He became intrigued and we met to rehearse.
Several weeks later Stephon and I met on a Tuesday at a local bar and he related that he was recently in New York City having dinner with some major players when he mentioned to them that he was impressed with my music. Delmar Brown was at the table with Stephon and expressed interest in hearing what I had written.
We stepped from the bar onto the sidewalk of Beaver Avenue at about 1:30am as Stephon called Delmar Brown. “Here, Phil…its Delmar he wants to talk to you.” “Hey, are you the cat in Central Pennsylvania that Stephon has been talking about?”
That Friday I met Delmar at the Algonquin Hotel in New York City. That Saturday we recorded four tracks at Skyline studio with my makeshift band. A few days after the sessions Delmar called and asked me to send him anything else I had recorded. Several days after that, he called and offered to produce a full length studio record. It was his vision to build a sound around the songs that I had written and he began scheduling the best musicians in the world to play on the record. Will Lee, Hiram Bullock, Jonathan Mover, Michael Hill, and Delmar himself would ultimately contribute to Father’s Eyes.
Through the recording, mixing, mastering stages…east coast, west coast, Las Vegas, Manhattan, Nashville…assembling a team to advance the project. Then radio promoters, designers, engineers, accountants, lawyers, publishers, publicists…and now the music to the people.
It has been an intensely personal three year journey. Some time ago I read that a true artist has an irrepressible need to render. With little insight, less understanding and no real experience upon which to draw, I have come this far.