Next Best Emotion is an upbeat, jazzy instrumental that Fett calls, "Two minutes and fifty-eight seconds of pure joy." I liked the chord progressions developed in this piece, and I think it's one of my more interesting and surprising bridges, but I couldn't figure out the rhythm to save my life. Enter session drummer Ron Krasinski, who, intuitively, gave it the percussive architecture it needed. When that all came together in the recording studio I was elated. The song title is based on The … [Read more...]

I have been inspired by so many musical artists, representing a dozen different genres, throughout my life. I listen to music practically 24/7 and even sleep with a headphone headband. I replay favorites, make a hundred playlists, and keep discovering the incredible songwriting talents of so many new, young artists. It's really hard at 69 years old, because none of my contemporaries share my passion for artists like Holly Humberstone, Sam Fender, The 1975, Gretta Ray, and Emily James – or even … [Read more...]

In an earlier period of my life I was way into the music of Todd Rundgren. I always appreciated that this artist could write lovely pop gems like "I Saw the Light," "Can We Still Be Friends?" and "Hello, It's Me," and be the same artist that wrote some loud rockers like "Black Maria," "Utopia Theme," and "Bang the Drum All Day." One rocker in particular really caught my ear: "Determination." It was driving, with terrific rhythm and lead guitar parts. I loved and still love it. I'd been playing … [Read more...]

     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...]