This track is probably my favorite off of Reflectere, not only because I love the song, but also because so many of my pals from the west coast perform on it.
The song was written by the Austin, Texas based"American Folklorist, Not a Singer-Songwriter," Peter Keane.
The title and spirit of the track can be traced (like many great songs) back to the Carter Family's early recordings, specifically, "March Wind is Gonna Blow My Blues Away."
Keane's website states that he's"semi-retired" as a musician, and he has made most of his recordings available under a Creative Commons license, which I think is exactly what a Folklorist would do--and I love him for it.
I had the pleasure of seeing Peter Keane perform at the 2001 Hiawatha Music Festival when he was still touring. The first album I bought of his was Another Kind of Blue, and it was in near constant rotation at my place in Marquette from 2001-2003 until my friend, Torie Bunn, shared a copy of his album Milton Street with me, which I loved just as much as Another Kind of Blue (to be clear--I think all of his albums are excellent). I recorded "Sunday Street"off Another Kind of Blue back on my first solo record, No Shame, in 2003, and "Wind's Gonna Blow My Blues Away" off Milton Street became a favorite of mine after going through a tough split in 2007. I've had it in my set list ever since.
Nowadays it's hard not see everything through the lens that's the global pandemic. From that vantage, the song's meaning to me has shifted, but the message that things will get better (eventually) has stayed fixed.
Nearly all of this track was recorded in Ventura, California in early 2019. It features Rick Clemens (of VSB) on up-right bass, Bill Flores on pedal steel (Bill is a Ventura music scene legend, a second generation steel player, multi-instrumentalist, and all around great guy), and lastly, my great Portland music pal, Matt Cadenelli, on the snare with a few brushes.
The vocal harmonies and dobro parts were tracked in Eau Claire, Wisconsin in early 2020.
This Sunday, May 17th, I'll be releasing the 13th and final song off Reflectere, "Purmamarca."
More on that track this Sunday...
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