Nearer the Water

Mark your calendars, folks: Linden Tree near the Water is scheduled for release on November 4, 2017. Details on the CD release show coming soon. I'll be playing a ton of music that night—the album, some great new songs and a choice selection of my favourite covers—on guitar, dulcimer, mandolin and harmonica.

With the help of artist and photographer friends who wish to remain anonymous and the fine folks at Indie Pool and Bandzoogle, I've been immersed in designing the CD package and ancillary stuff (website, one-sheet and so on). Releasing an independent CD, even on a small scale, is hard work. But it's been fun, too, as I find myself having to stretch in unexpected ways. Why, this week I even did a sketch in Microsoft Paint in an effort to point my designer in the right direction. "Kindergarten Klimt," I've called my naive style, and believe me, I hope to retire after just the one drawing. (Artist and designer were hired for a reason!)

This week's breakthrough: I've found my font, the typeface I'll be using on the CD and promotional materials. Not giving too much away other than to say it's been used in a music-related context before (many years ago) and you'll love it when you see it. I sure did.

A little teaser for you: yes, there will be a single and yes, it'll be released on 7" vinyl, just like we did in the good old days. The songs are "That '70s Lifetime" b/w "Lady Air." For now it'll be a (very) limited run—short-run vinyl being quite expensive—also released on November 4. To whet your appetite, here's my video for "Lady Air." Featuring captions because, well, that's my day job and whenever I encounter a video, I can't help but caption it.