Willie is a tunesmith.

So I learned Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain. It was the first full song I learned on the guitar. The first song I learned how to strum and sing at the same time. The first guitar solo I ever learned. 

Been playing it since.

I visited Ventura last week. 

It was a trip listening to Feelin’ Fine while I cruised up the PCH from the airport.

The songs on this record have gone through a lot. They persevered for over three years until finally making themselves known in the world as you hear them today.

Thank you, all.

For riding with me on this sonic highway. 

We’ve only just hit the road. 

Let’s roll our windows down and blast this music out into the world.  

If you’ve followed along since I launched the Kickstarter, you’ve witnessed a small example of what it takes to create a record.

Creating, sharing, and appreciating art is a communal endeavor.

This record could not have been made without your support.

I invite you to join me to celebrate our success.

Algorithms feed us art now. We discover art, for the most part, individually.

But I’m not sharing music with an algorithm.

I’m sharing music with people.

…

Let’s make word of mouth great again.

I’ve been asked this question many times. It’s a good question. I like it because at any given moment it makes me reflect on what this whole project is doing to my heart and my mind.

The recording sessions are finished. All instruments and vocals are tracked – one step closer to getting the music in your ears.

The time in the studio was a thrill.

But Dillon and I decided to play a little jazz with the day to salvage our time together. We bought a rug at Target and found a spot out in the woods on the edge of Nashville at Percy Warner Park.

I can’t do this anymore, Girl says through the phone. Boy’s stomach drops. He hears a voice calls out flight details over an intercom. She’s in an airport. I’m going to stay with him. I love him, her voice cracks. She composes herself. Please, don’t call me again. 

Meet me in Malibu, he says. Girl hesitates. Boy holds her gaze. Neither Boy nor Girl can know whether the flame sparked between them will burn or blow out.

Something catches his eye up ahead: a girl reads under the light of a lamp on Cafe’s patio. She’s alone. He floats towards her. When she looks at him, a faint tune rings in his ear: is it a siren or a song? 

Boy sails Rose north. On his way he calls Friend to catch up. Friend recently returned home from the other side of the world. He retired from working as a Marine for Uncle Sam.

Boy decides to live a life he won’t forget.

But listening to Clapton play this particular performance reignited something in me. There are few sounds like that of a pure, well-placed note struck on an acoustic guitar. 

Each track is a page in a chapter of my life that began with a faithful leap into the unknown and ended with brutal heartbreak. The EP attempts to capture the moments and emotions of someone taking it all in stride.