So this record was the beginning of something. Of many things. I wasnÕt sure what at the time... still donÕt really know I suppose. But it was the first true studio recording, not counting the garages and living rooms of my punk rock youth. It was the makings of a train that would gain momentum and not stop. It was innocent and exuberant and nothing made sense. I wasnÕt even halfway finished writing the songs when I booked the studio. I somehow knew that if I didnÕt leap off the cliff then, I never would. No more waiting. My dear friend Jeff Conlon played drums. I still miss his presence in my art. He had this housesitting job out in Moss Beach for a week or so. We took our instruments and had planned to practice incessantly, thus having the songs completely locked down by the time we entered the studio.

As it turned out, we spent more time drinking Coors Light, walking on the beach, and dancing around the kitchen, than we did working out the songs. We arrived at the studio so unprepared, that when told we couldnÕt stand in the same room we panicked, for we only knew the changes in the songs via nodding of the head. And yet, all was weightless. I was home from Spain and so madly in love with being alive. And although feeling a bit dejected from my failed attempt to understand and immerse myself in flamenco, I was on fire. We recorded at a studio in Menlo Park very near the house where I grew up, where I was actually living at the time, for Spain stole my ability to exist ÕsuccessfullyÕ in the western world. America seemed so grotesque and absurd; all the money. I barely had it in me to work a bookstore job three days a week. So I would sit awake until the smallest hours of the morning in the garage, fighting to find the perfect guitar melodies, and learning how to sing...what a mess. It was so cold on those nights, but I didnÕt want to wake my parents. Bundled in sweaters and my blue jacket. Gray scarf and ski hat. Candles lit. The night before I was to record vocals for each song, I wrote the lyrics. Seems so absurd now. I remember thinking that the record would be as good as The Joshua Tree.

Oh the beauty of innocence. I also decided that it would be a good idea to begin drinking my urine every morning, for some say that it fosters longevity and boosts oneÕs sex drive. Fuck that. You wouldnÕt believe how bad it tastes. Anyway, the guy who engineered it was into death metal, which was humorous at first, but became less and less so as time moved on. Shortly after we finished the recording, Conlon found a new ad for his studio that read "HEAVY BANDS WANTED". He must have hated my music. But we had the time of our lives. I still hold the record really dear, for there is such life in it. So amazingly light of heart. The belief is palpable. Thick even.

TRACK LISTING

1. July
2. Anything
3. in Spain
4. Here with You and Me