February Fables

It has been a long time coming, but February Fables is almost done.  Back in 2007, a friend told me about a songwriting challenge called “FAWM” (February Album Writing Month).  I decided to give it a shot and went on to write 10 god awful songs..  Banking on something my Mom used to tell me, that “you have to get through the bad to get to the good”, I went on to write 14 more disasters in 2008..  Convinced that it couldn’t get any worse; in 2009 I signed on to the official website (Fawm.org) and gave myself a theme: Fables.  I would choose from hundreds of Aesop’s Fables and give them a modern twist.  

Armed with a Tascam 4-track and a pretty serious caffeine addiction I finally made some progress.  Sometimes waking up early to lay down a vocal track before work.. other times staying up late trying to get a banjo part just right.  By the end of February, I had some tunes that I was actually proud of.  

In 2010 I continued the theme and finished the challenge with 14 more “February Fables”.  The songs were there, now I just needed to put the album together and re-record.  I approached Jeremiah Nelson, good friend and songwriter extraordinaire, and asked if he could help me put together a band, record, and release this thing.  He agreed and has since been the driving force in this project.  

Working with a stellar line-up (Jeremiah Nelson on Electric, Shawn Drake on Violin, Luke Bassuener on Drums, Tom McCarty on Bass, and Andrew Hartman at the board) we picked a rainy day to record six live tunes at the Blast House in Madison, WI.  The remainder of the songs were recorded at Jeremiah’s Apt Studio in Madison, WI and at my home in Stoughton, WI.  

With the exception of a few string parts, everything is recorded and mixed.. within a week it should be mastered and ready to print.  February Fables will have a physical release on Friday, February 4th at Kiki’s House Of Righteous Music.

A verse to put my mind to rest.. a moral to bring out the best.