My time in the band supported a heavy case of wander lust that continues to this day. We played all 50 states, Europe, and more in our 12 years on the road (and another 5+ or so doing fly dates). Suffice it to say that my work, along with a healthy curiosity for things that are foreign to me, has taken me all over the world, and still, there is so much to explore.
I’m now on a 14-hour flight back from a part of the universe I’d never seen before, and I'm reeling from everything I saw. Travel always ignites something for me, usually resulting in a new melody, whether I’m longing for home or grasping a new frontier.
Most of the time, these travel songs, which I affectionately call my wilderness years songs, are about the people I met along the way. So often it's the taxi driver, the bartender, the stranger who inspire me; I'm drawn to the bare bones of love and joy and pain in the human experience.
I don't know why it works this way. Maybe the theme is that I gotta keep moving. Truthfully, that’s part of what I'm trying to figure out. I can’t tell if I’m a shark or a river, both keep moving. I’d much prefer to be the latter. Because it's never the same river twice, right?
Today’s offering is a tune called "Tangled" circa 1998 that I started in my home studio, then took to McKendree’s in Franklin, and then to NOLA, where I finished the demo with the help of my friend Spider Mike “Nappy” Napolitano at his apartment studio above Check Point Charlie. It’s a departure, I think, considering what we were doing as a band at the time. A river explored.
I’m just grateful there is so much unexplored territory out there waiting for me.
I'll make sure to send back some songs from out there.
Yours,
JR
JR, you have an absolute Gem here with this song. How can this be not worthy of a release? Thank you for digging it out, beathing some life into it, and getting the tune "untangled" for our enjoyment. Best post yet.
Lovley dubble voice. Great song❤️ Did you ever play i Sweden?