You are always right where you are supposed to be.
I have been living by this saying for a very long time. It helped me get through some truly tough times. No matter what you are experiencing, you are experiencing it for the right reasons. You get hurt to get stronger, you get redirected to help you on a new, more fruitful path, or maybe you are in a truly inspiring and healthy place.
The latter is where I presently sit. I am in the control room of Ivy Sound in Muscle Shoals, AL with 4 of my best friends on the planet. We are working diligently on creating new music, picking up where we left off about 22 years ago. I’ve been trying to soak in every moment of this process. Every minute that one would think of as mundane, the setup, the discussions, the meals, the coffee. I made so many mistakes not being in the moment before, and luckily now I have a chance to get back a few of those missed opportunities.
This idea of the band getting back in the same room is not new, but it was met with resistance. Not by the band members. By cancer. Our singer has had 23 operations for throat cancer and cannot sing. Thankfully he is cancer-free and has bounced back to his amazing self again. This presented some new challenges. Without a mouthpiece, what can one do? Do we move any new music forward or just leave the past in the past?
Years ago we put out a record called ‘Something Good’ produced by YouTube star Rick Beato. We toured on the record for all of 6 weeks, and the band stopped doing shows a few short months later. It was the end of an era for us. For me, the thought of not having a band certainly stung. To truly understand where I was mentally, the term ‘lost puppy’ comes to mind. It took a little while for me to find my way and get into a good musical place again.
After I moved to Nashville and toured the country on someone else’s bus, I had lots of thoughts about the old band. I would think about shows we did, places we would pack to the gills, and I would cleverly smile when ticket sales for my old band were better than sales with my current situation. I was amazed at how much our old band conquered, how far we still had to go, and how there was no feeling like the one I had with them. The good feels would come close when I would sub for Sister Hazel, another Southeastern touring band making the rounds at the same time as us. I’ve known them for 25 years, and they feel as comfortable as my own band, which always gives me some needed therapy when I hang with them.
A short time ago we had an interesting proposition thrown our way. The old band was offered a distribution deal. Finally our old record would see some movement. At least movement into the digital world. Not wanting to just release something old, which would actually be ‘new’ for 99.9% of the population, we wanted to be who we used to be, which was an innovative and fun band that liked to surprise our fans. We decided to get together and record new music for this release.
Our singer has partnered with a gorgeous studio in Muscle Shoals, Alabama called Ivy Manor. It’s an all-inclusive former mansion that is now a world-class studio. Wait? The band should all meet up, and stay in the house, fraternity style and make a new record? Count me in!
I walked into the house and immediately knew this was going to be an amazing experience. The facility is incredible, and the history of the home is right up my alley. Dan was the only band member here, so we had lunch then went upstairs to get to writing. This session was going to be fast, and with nothing musical really talked about beforehand. I wanted a quiet place away from anyone else, just to wrap our heads around all that was about to happen. With its soft sunlight and calming, stylish decor, the writing room upstairs was our spot, and immediately my favorite room in the house. Before we started in with our guitars we just sat and talked. It was almost confessional for the two of us, and after a few minutes we jumped in. I’m pretty sure we all had the same excited feelings about this process, and also had some natural looks in the rear-view mirror.
Tony showed up a few hours later, and at dinner that night, the three of us jumped onstage with Dan’s son Eli to play one of our songs. I was sort of worried if I would get through, but muscle memory took over at that point. It was as if we hadn’t missed a day. Skeeto showed up the next morning. Within a few hours of his arrival, we were set up in the big room jamming together. Although he had no voice, Dan was still leading the session, and honestly, we didn’t think of Dan not singing. We were making music again. We started plowing through and the game was afoot.
We jumped back in effortlessly. Ideas flowed, and soon we were just pushing through like we always have. We started hitting on all cylinders, and I had a moment during this process where I honestly started to well up. I told you before there is no feeling like this band. It’s real, it’s sincere.
When you are on the road for 200 dates a year for 7 years, you take a lot for granted. You spend a lot of time together, which is good and bad, and sometimes you lose the gravity of the moments. For the past week we have been working, but also reliving those moments. There are a lot.
The big question you may be asking is about our vocal situation. We’ve tapped some incredible talent to possibly jump on this record, and you’ll know who will tackle that task when the time comes. In the meantime, I will say that we are doing our best to have fun and bring some great new music to the world.
For those scoring at home, we have had the time of our lives. We are grateful that we can sit in the same room together (there are a lot of bands that can’t), and we are genuinely having fun. This whole thing makes no sense, but that never stopped us before. We thrive on the ludicrous.
Personally, I needed this time. I needed to be with my friends again, and I needed to be in a musical situation with some different direction. The purpose of this session isn’t to try and make a radio super hit. The excuse of writing songs is a little convenient for us, but we’re not complaining. We get to turn back time without having to climb in the van and drive 12 hours. We also get to give back something small to our friends who have stuck with us for our career (which has now spanned 4 decades…)
If you are a musician or a band wanting to track and get great sounds, Ivy Manor is your place. I cannot sing its praises enough. This is a great destination studio, with good people and good coffee to boot. There are no excuses here: you live here, so you WILL get your work done.
I’ll keep you all updated as we have things to talk about. Thanks for the many people who are waiting on this project, and I hope we live up to your expectations. We want to do this as many times as time and you will allow.
See you on the road!
