Have Yourself a Brooding Lo-Fi Christmas

Now available on CD Baby  you can purchase my 2011 Ep, Living Room Session.  This record is what the title indicates : songs recorded in my living room. Me, my guitar, and one microphone recorded live off the floor. Truly lo-fi. I love the simplicity of this recording and may revisit this production style in 2016.  So, if the holiday season gets you down, with its rampant consumerism, credit card debt, and surfacing of deeply-hidden family issues, my record may just cheer you up.

I kid. Actually, I really enjoy Christmas, though I could do without the materialistic aspects of it. Which strikes me as funny as I write this because I am asking you to buy my record! 

But, on that subject, I was reading a post from a friend online the other day, and she said that the best gifts are those made by independent artists. This is so true! Whether it be music or art, or even furniture, supporting those who are making their own way with their craft has a real impact. First, the financial benefit for the artist. Second, the money goes straight back into the local economy. Third, the social message it sends. I support the arts. I support community. I am not a slave to the corporation by giving gifts made of pieces of plastic that have been shipped over from China.

So, swing on by CD Baby and download Living Room Session. Six songs of dark, brooding, lo-fi, anti-folk goodness. What could be more Christmasy than that!

1. The Less You Seem To Know -  a psychotic breakdown in a big box store 3000 miles from home
2. Par For The Course - about getting old ( the title is in tribute to my late grandmother. Par For The Course was one of her favourite sayings)
3. A God I Can Call My Own -  an agnostic gospel song
4. Bleed That Pig -  raping the planet is just no good
5. Lonesome Highway - a dark secret, a hidden past, a fork in the road between calamity and redemption
6. Never Been Seen -  quite possibly the saddest song I've ever written about what else, mortality 

My two cents : Favourite albums of 2011

I've been reading a bunch of "Best Of" lists , some with which I agree, and some that I can't comprehend. Anyway, I thought I'd share with you some of the albums released in 2011, that I believe are really worth checking out.


Centro-matic - Candidate Waltz - centro-matic.com Follow @centromatic


A great Rock and Roll record from one of my favourite bands of the past few years. You don't hear much about these guys up in Canada, but if they ever make it up here on tour, I'm going.






My Morning Jacket - Circuital - mymorningjacket.com Follow @mymorningjacket


Took a while for this one to grow on me. Give it a chance and you will be glad that you did.







Fleet Foxes - Helplessness Blues - fleetfoxes.com Follow @fleetfoxes


They've stepped up their game from their previous release.I was hesitant to believe that they could. Lyrics have improved greatly.






David Bazan - Strange Negotiations - davidbazan.com Follow @davidbazan


This guy is a songwriters' songwriter. Crazy the way he weaves his ideas together in a 3 minute pop song.





Wilco - The Whole Love - wilcoworld.net
Follow @wilco


Hey, it's Wilco. They aren't re-inventing the wheel here, but this one is better than their last release (which was still pretty good).