After moving to Lambertville, NJ from South Orange, I wanted to find local musicians to play with. I was advised by friend and former Smoove member, Gregg Weiss to record the songs I had written and put them out there to see if I could find other musicians with similar tastes. Well, I ended up producing a whole 13-song album, with lots of help from my friends. Upon finishing in the summer of 2004, I dropped off a copy to the Fireside Tea House. Next thing I knew, I was in the audience at a Fireside performance, as Matt Pillischer sang Frame of Mind Rag. Shortly after, High Hearts were formed. (Thanks, Gregg!)

I never had enough money to put the record out and promote it… and there are a few things I still cringe at while listening, but overall it’s a great album that should be out in the world. I don’t seem to get tired of hearing the songs. That’s a good sign.

While I played many of the instruments such as acoustic guitar, mandolin, wurlitzer piano, slide guitar, and percussion. I also did most of the production work, with the help and tips of Andy Averbuch.  I could not have made this record without the help of some amazing people, so I must give credit where credit is due. Three of these tunes (The World, I Surrender, and Streets of Berlin) were recorded with Smoove at Randy1Kenobi Studios in Hampton, NJ (Thanks Randy!). Jason Bonthron, Smoove’s bassist also added bass on a number of other tracks. Where Jason left off on bass, Matt Kresge took over, adding the sweet melodic lines you hear on Voices in My Head, Do It Myself, Test My Luck, and No Moon Tonight. The really sweet guitar licks are by Andy Averbuch.  The banjo rolls are courtesy of Tom Larkin and the dobro is Max Crandall. I need to thank Greg Meyers and Max Crandall for helping me learn how to play the mandolin (which I was learning while recording this). Finally, Aylin Green (my wife) not only sang on Down is Up, and endured my long hours in the studio, but she also created a lovely cover for the album which I’ll post here for download soon. Thanks to everyone who helped with their support and feedback!
All songs are written by me except for Streets of Berlin, which was a spontaneous instrumental collaboration in the music studio among myself, Jason Bonthron, David Hollander, and Marty Lowe.  Test My Luck was inspired by and shares some obscure likeness to a tune by Andy Averbuch called Alphabet City.

Now, without further ado…

Listen to the Voices In My Head