(Released January 2012)
Musicians:
Dean Batstone – Acoustic and Electric Guitars, Vibes
Earl Slick – Electric Guitars – Earl plays Framus guitars and Orange amps
John Platania – Electric and Gutt String Guitars
Jim Weider – Electric Guitars
Ira Coleman – Upright and Electric Bass – Ira uses David Gage Basses, Fender Basses, D'addario Strings and  Ampeg Amps
Gary Burke – Drums
George Quinn – Mandolin
Debbi Adelman – Background Vocals [‘Northern Eyes’ and ‘The Walk Away’]
The Saturday Night Bluegrass Band - Brian Hollander[Dobro], Bill Keith [Banjo], Guy 'Fooch' Fischetti [Fiddle] & Geoff Harden [Bass].

As a songwriter and oft producer of my own recordings, the challenge for me has always been to get the kind of energy out of a studio performance that I seem to be able to muster live. To that end, I once again tried a few new ideas this time around.  Concentrating on my own performance first, I tried to capture a raw vocal and acoustic guitar track when I was ‘in the groove’ [read:  in the mood, in the zone, not too buzzed, had the money or was in close proximity to a friend’s studio...]. As a result, these songs were cut in five different locations and studios, [The Clubhouse - Rhinebeck, NY, Analog Audio Farm - Brockville, ON, 3 Bays Studios - Red Hook, NY, Signal Path Studios - Almonte, ON and The Isokon - Woodstock, NY] between May and October, 2011.

I then brought in the musicians and in some cases performed with them, in others had them play to my pre-recorded basic tracks, always with the intention of keeping that initial performance in the forefront and staying true to what each song seemed to require, rather than to an overall concept of the album’s sound – in other words, ‘song first’.  
I’m proud of how it turned out – Slick rocking on a couple of edgy tracks, Platania in the perfect melodic zone that made him famous, Weider hauntingly textural with perfect tone, Ira Coleman animated and rhythmic,  Gary Burke solid, with his trademark nuances and feel and The Saturday Night Bluegrass Band trading off in a hauntingly natural musicality that can only come from years of ensemble playing.
We had a lot of fun recording these songs – I hope you enjoy them – SWB.

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Lonely In America

Song Titles (Click song title for lyrics):

Not Jaded Yet Lonely In America Northern Eyes

Shovel Under Load Love Don't Happen Every Time Coat Of Steel The Walk Away

When Cailey Cries Frozen Night She Takes Her Time