No that isn’t me. I’m old and moldy.
Why return to a neglected Blog? Why waste time writing something no one will likely ever read? Maybe because I just can’t cram my thoughts into a Twitter box. And this is good therapy. I need lots of that.
The return also must mean I’ve got a smidgeon of discretionary time on my hands. This is rare. Not much, but enough to screw off for a few minutes and tap away.
Now then…back to blogging. Rusty, but here goes…K, I’ve just had the best time. For years now I’ve admired and loved the music of the extraordinary composer/ mandolinist/ songwriter/ singer Chris Thile. This is a man who simply oozes music from every pore. He is the most interesting and naturally ginormously gifted musician to come along in a very long time. Anyway, so yup, I’m a fan. Check out his Bach on YouTube. Transcendent. Check out his new record with the Punch Brothers. Check out his record How to Grow A Woman From the Ground. You won’t be sorry on any account.
A project for Disney came along recently where they somehow came up with the idea of putting us together to see what happens. (thank you Matt Walker!) What a blast. The young mastermind welcomed me to his Brooklyn apartment where we worked on 3 songs and then recorded demos into my laptop with me sitting on the floor engineering and the mic perched on a bowl of apples. It sounded surprisingly good! The next night for a break we went to Thomas Keller’s Per Se in NY, the temple of foodie perfection. If I Twittered, which I don’t, I would have tweeted the following…’working all day with a genius…then at night being fed by one. A good day.’
Later that week we went into Avatar Studios in Manhattan with Chris and the rest of the Punch Brothers (save for Noam. Sorry dude, we’ll get you the next time around. Nothing personal about the banjo.) and Frank Filipeti of James Taylor fame engineering.
It was one of the most fun days I’ve ever had in the studio. Chris and the boys are a bit scary in that they really do seem to read each other’s minds. The pace at which they worked out the most intricate and complex tunes was mind-boggling. Then throw in a great drummer and the brilliant Gabe Kahane on piano. It made for an incredible day in the studio. If that weren’t enough that was followed a few days later by a string date at Abbey Road in London where we finished the tracks with a nice size string orchestra.
I can’t really put into words how fortunate I feel to get to work with such incredible musicians. Unless you live under a rock, you’ll hear it soon I promise. Not gonna tell you where though…
Blog out.