When I was initially playing with the main guitar theme, I was accompanied by – inspired by? – the Jimmy Buffettesque, RP Chester feel and rhythm that "anchors," no pun intended, the melody. This particular RP track had the option of adding an actual – emulated? – wave, moving over the beach in some Margaritaville locale. So, the title, "Wave Lullaby," seemed to fit the atmosphere perfectly. But then, when it came time to record it, we decided, inexplicably, to remove the faux wave sound. … [Read more...]

When I first brought this song to Fett near the end of 2025, he told me, "I could never play that song." I suppose it has a fairly complex finger-picking pattern that I play with a pick, but it wasn't complex to me, because I had been using this technique for about 60 years. It was 2nd nature to me, automatic, muscle memory stuff. But ask me to break it down, or teach it to someone else, and I'm lost. I used to joke that I had to come up with my own originals, because it was too hard to learn … [Read more...]

It may come as a surprise to some that my greatest musical influence is, and always has been, Joni Mitchell. I have deeply steeped myself in her compositions and recordings since I was 14, and I have owned or listened to all her albums (19 studio albums, plus live albums, and compilations). When many people think about Joni Mitchell, they’re familiar with her first two groundbreaking releases A Song to a Seagull and Clouds – both beautiful, folk albums – or her wonderful radio hits, like “You … [Read more...]