From Russell:
hello,
well you will be pleased to know it looks like I will release an album
soon that doesn't have "what's her name?" on it.
what you possibly won't be pleased about,nor understand fully until
you hear this record,is that tofog would seem to have dissolved/evolved.
while that holds certain disappointments,they pale in comparison to
the joy of writing unrestricted,of talking from my heart and mind
simultaneously about things that are important to me now,right now,in
this time of my life,not when I was younger or dare I say it less
world weary/wary,but now, as a 41 year old father/husband/lover/man.
the band on this record is Dave Kelly,Stewart Kirwan,pb Berton,Bones
Hillman(bass) and Stuart Hunter(piano).it was produced by Alan
Doyle and is being mixed by Nathaniel
Kunkel.at this point in time,we are calling the record "My
Hand,My Heart",as in what I have written comes from there.Ray
thinks its too soft,but he hasn't heard the whole record yet,and quite
frankly it is soft.gentle,expressive,thoughtful...soft.
the album touches on varying subjects,my beautiful wife,past relationships,my
son,people I know,family tragedy,immigrant cane cutters,vilification,a
choral requiem for a dead friend,my contribution to the genre of drinking
songs(the title track,My Hand,My Heart),optimism,and perspective.it
is without doubt the most satisfying record I've ever made,and I know
when you hear it you will be seduced by its beauty.
on April 19th Raewyn the song mentioned in the gq article, will be
released as an I-tunes single.we will begin to pursue a traditional
release when we see how that goes and hear your reaction to the song.
our relationship with Artemis has not been a successful one,we need
to find a champion in a company with wide distribution to simply make
the record available.an individual or group of people who are as much
in love with the music as I am.
if we don't feel a real connection is possible,we will go back to
mail order,which I'm also happy with.bruno less so,because he has
to lick the stamps.
the I-tunes release
is an important first step to finding a home for this record .please
be cool about giving up your two bucks and not file sharing.we'll
take a straw poll on making the lyrics available prior to hearing
the song,or simultaneously,let
bruno know your feelings.
I've chosen to release this song first because it is the first song
Alan
Doyle and I wrote together and it is the only song I've ever written
that has made both men and women cry,think,and call their parents
.usually in that order.i have e-mails from sting and billy bragg,two
of my song writing heroes that give testament to the quiet power of
the song.
we will post those closer to the date of release,and when you read
them I believe you will understand what a breathtaking validation
they felt like to me.
this record is fresh,relavatory and graceful.
I know over time there have been a lot of fans who don't seem to understand
that fitting the music in and around my day job is very tricky,and
sometimes the expectation of formalized corporate structure for my
music is just unreasonable.
for me,music is its' own reward .anyone else's enjoyment of it is
purely an extension of the experience I've already had as a writer.i'm
not out to foist my music on anyone,but i would like a clean and simple
way for you guys to get it easy.maybe that is i-tunes?
I've taken the opportunity that the postponement of eucalyptus gave
me and I've poured my heart into songs instead.Alan Doyle is the first
magical music collaboration I have experienced,the type of synergy
that I experience all the time with other actors or directors or screen
writers like akiva goldsman has always eluded me in music,with only
snatches of time spent in the white light of veracity in creation.writing
painted veil comes to mind. there are 5 crowe/doyle songs on this
record,5 examples of seamless,resonant, common ground collaboration.one
of Alan's songs that tofog murdered regularly,is here in it's true
to lyric state.Slaid
Cleaves a young genius from Maine who I first heard in Austin
Texas contributes a song as does legendary Canadian songsmith Paul
Hyde.the title track was composed and recorded in the wee hours
of the morning as songs of that genre should be by Stuart Hunter and
myself. there is one self penned,a choral piece,written originally
on a beer coaster in Dublin.
I'm typing and yawning,studio hours don't really suit me.i like waking
before the dawn,not going to bed after it.yeah,call me a fuddy duddy,I
don't care.you may have noticed,I've been called worse.
there is no real master plan for world domination,if you guys like
the record we will do our best to tour in the summer.it's been too
long I'm missing your crazy,obsessed faces.and here's another thing,I
hope I get to hear you singing along to this stuff.we have the best
sounding audience around.i am in negotiations with Dani and Charlie.by
the way Dani is in the studio as we speak,i think they were doing
bass tracks today.
wow,,just thinking of a summers night in Austin,a whole new world
of music to play you,all these new stories to tell,the glisten of
your laughter,your voices rising to meet the Texas moon,sweat pouring
off my fingers...well,we will see huh?
let bruno know if you want us to tour to your town.
RC
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