Diesel and Rhyme Vinyl Album

Scarlett Jane:  A love song to my older daughter.  She's weirdly attuned to the emotional states of others, especially her dad.  She can identify my mood before I can.  Creative, soulful and sarcastic. I’d love to grow up and be like her.

Phe: A love song to my younger daughter.  Quiet and sensitive. Enigmatic and sweet.  Honest and hilarious.  

Righteous:  This is the oldest tune on the album.  I’ve tried to record it before. Couldn’t find the proper spices for this particular soup (til now).  The march on the snare, the lumbering bass and Erin’s divine vocals made it click.  Always nerve wracking to re-visit old lyrics, there’s the concern that it won’t hold up, that it was too topical for that time.  Turns out that arrogant conviction and dismissing the opinions of others… timeless. 

Artsakh: Also known as Nagorno-Karanagh, this is what the Armenian people call the disputed South Caucasian territory where their ancestors have dwelled since antiquity.  Defeated by Azerbaijan in 2020, Armenia had to cede territories and hundreds of families were displaced (just as many Azerbaijani families had to leave their homes in the previous war).  The entire population of this exclave This isn’t a song about politics, but a song of loss: lost home, lost heritage, lost soldier son.  Ara Dabandjian on oud. 

Ambergris:  It is an understatement to say Gor Mkhitarian is a huge songwriting influence, he is indeed the reason I became a songwriter.  This is one of my favorite Gor tunes.  I have previously created English texts that preserve the meter and rhyme scheme as well as the meaning of Gor’s songs.  This time I simply set a fresh text to his music and tweaked the vibe.  The song is about dementia.  A man in the throes of desperately trying to find meaning and connection as memories fade. 

Duane:  There are characters who simply loom so large that you cannot help but try to capture their essence.  A big man, a big beard, big calloused hands and a big laugh.  A masterful storyteller, a gentle soul, my dad’s tormentor and best friend.  My dad believed in Duane’s skills as a mechanic and driver, so much so that he invested a good portion of our college money into a pulling tractor that Duane built.  I love everything about that decision. 

Infamy:  A song about impulsive behavior.  A song about an uneven power dynamic.   A song about doing the regrettable and not regretting it. Real feelings, perhaps a fictional scenario. 

Muse:  In order to pursue my sweet day job, I had to take a significant hiatus from songwriting.  In this song I depict the songwriting muse as jilted lover.  I confront my doubts that she will still be there when I come crawling back… 

Play God:  in trying to emulate our spiritual heroes, things always seem to go awry.  I’ve always been struck by those who adhere to Jesus’s sermon on the Mount but secretly prefer a vengeful Old Testament god.  I have always been drawn to biblical language, there’s a weight to it. Despite a secular upbringing  I’ve always been attracted to the art, architecture and music of the orthodox liturgy. Can’t shake it.  The odd meter, weird rockabilly outro are a nod to Gor’s influence. 

Intertwined: The original idea was inspired by image of two figures at Pompeii who were preserved in their final embrace as they were covered by volcanic ash.  I like the idea of the “molten flow beneath”:  the anger, anxiety, jealousy and rage that can bubble to the surface  when you’re weak. There’s an impulse to protect the people you love from these ugly traits by keeping them at a distance.  But then there’s that person who accepts your volatility, embraces you as you are and leans into the fire.