Open Up My Days - debut album
My debut album is dedicated to healthcare and essential workers, who courageously put themselves at risk to make life possible for everyone else in the Covid years. My 5 originals and 5 songs each speak to various dimensions of our shared life experience. The title song’s YouTube music video you see here is a good place to start, or just listen using the song links found below for each song at no cost, or using your streaming platform of choice.
“Open Up My Days” … As we were deep into Covid late in 2020, I ‘d seen enough struggle, experienced multiple false-starts, and had heard enough confusion in a year that was overly politicized, full of wildfires, and so on and so forth. It wasn’t hard to find words for this song, yet it was hard to decide what NOT to say. I settled on communicating an “honest slice of life”, and whether each of us experienced these same things I sing about, or not, someone very close to us did. Play Now or Connect to your streaming service
“Bring It On” … This is my cover of a Willie Nelson song that’s buried behind his bigger hits. I particularly like it’s spit-in-wind “we gonna beat this thing” kinda vibe; sometimes you’ve gotta look adversity in the face and laugh at it. I play a slide-guitar to add an alternate vibe to the song, getting the guitar to sing along with me in parts. PLAY THE SONG ! or Connect to your streaming service
“It's Your World Now” … This is my cover of an amazing circle-of-life song by the Eagles that I recorded for a good friend who could not be with their dying parent during COVID. The song is from the last album from the original Eagles, called Long Road Out of Eden, and prior to his death Glenn Frey stated that “of all my music over the decades, I hope my family and fans will remember 3 lines in this song”. People are leaving this earth every day, and the vast majority would want their loved ones to go forward in the ways this song encourages. PLAY THE SONG! or Connect to your streaming service
“Sweet Home” … Covid has really magnified the value of a good home and good people to be with in that home. I traveled for business as a young adult, and found it thrilling for a while. Then, my attitude changed. Even though I love consulting and meeting with people, I didn’t enjoy being separated from my family for more than a few days. I wrote this song to describe that feeling, which has only grown stronger after 39 years of marriage. I’m a lucky guy, and I know it. PLAY THE SONG ! or Connect to your streaming service
“Stuff That Works” … Through tough times in life I’ve found my foundation in straight-forward things. This cover song is all about “what really matters”, as folk/Americana legend Guy Clark (RIP) wrote about life in his simple and endearing terms. Having not owned a new car until I was 60 years old (verse 4), this song really speaks to me, and it’s a great reminder of what really matters, particularly during challenging periods. PLAY SONG ! or Connect to your streaming service
“Prayer In Open D” … This song was written and performed by Emmylou Harris decades ago, as she’s graced the airwaves with her vocal range for over 50 years. Although done at a different point in our history, this song speaks to the despair felt by so many, while reminding the listener that hope always exists, with faith. I covered this song because I believe it offers a good message at a time when so many people have lost hope. I kinda don’t care what your faith is, I just want you have faith. PLAY THE SONG! or Connect to your streaming service
“Bend Stars” … My wife Lisa is from Bend, a large town in Central Oregon, and the region is just plain awe-inspiring. I wrote this song to convey that feeling I get every time I’m driving over the mountains from Portland and start the descent into the high desert. Just beyond every busy city’s lights, there are places like Bend that offer an crucial escape from urban fatigue. On this song, I’m playing a steel string guitar, with a studio musician accenting the song with electric guitar and a touch of bass. PLAY THE SONG ! or Connect to your streaming service
“By The River” … This is a cover I did of a Bob Seger song, which like Willie’s song (above), most people won’t know, because of his bigger hits. But his words are just plain beautiful, as it takes me back to the times of walking, riding, rowing, or fishing along the river with my kids. A reminder of the opportunity to experience something special no matter where you are in the country, 20 minutes outside of just about every urban center is something naturally amazing, where people can hang out, by the river. PLAY THE SONG! or Connect to your streaming service
“I’ll Always Wish” … I wrote the words to this song late one night in 2019 after the unexpected passing of a close friend’s child. A year later, at the outset of COVID, I lost a good friend, who was clearly struggling with mental illness, but whose demise I couldn’t stop. It was then that I wrote the music for the earlier written words, with the song offering a reconciliation of complex feelings from unexpectedly losing people I cared about. I suspect many millions of people can relate to my losses, and who – like me - will “always wish”. PLAY THE SONG! or Connect to your streaming service
“A Love So Right” … This song is a tribute to all the people out there who had to adjust major life plans during Covid. I wrote this song for my daughter Natalie, who made the very difficult choice to travel to France in the height of the pandemic shutdown, leveraging France’s “lovers visa”, in order to marry her love of the past 7 years, a fellow artist Gilles Rousell, in a civil ceremony that only allowed a few “witnesses”. While deeply pained that we could not join our first-born in this rite of passage, we’re pleased with the outcome and how they demonstrated to the world how to make lemonade out of lemons. I collaborated with Natalie’s brother Nick Nourigat, who played lead guitar and consulted on the musical theme. The song is more jazz/soul, to fit their vibe for this life event, and the music video was produced by Natalie’s brother Neil Nourigat (Lisa Nourigat content advisor) to showcase their courtship and the wedding event we watched over Instagram Live. Connect to your streaming service to just hear the song, or play the music video now streaming on YouTube —->>>