My new single, “Back on the Ride,” is out today on all the streaming platforms worldwide. I hope you’ll check it out! It’s the first song and title track off an album I plan to put out next year. More singles to follow in the next few months.
I wrote it about a dozen years ago, initially with the idea of pitching it to a band that I’d seen playing around New York City at the time. I find the prospect of writing for others inspiring; it frees me up from the feeling that I need to write for my own voice, in my own style, and even from my own point of view. Paradoxically, I’m often able to write a little more personally when I can tell myself I’m not writing for or about myself.
In the end, I never pitched the song to the band; I liked it too much to give it away. I’ve used this writing-for-others trick many times before and since to get songs for myself!
It’s a song about selective memory: the way we tend to romanticize the past and block out the bad memories. Sometimes it’s helpful to remember that the good old days weren’t good all the time.
Much credit is due to my longtime friends and collaborators who out-did themselves on this track:
@bustedstring (Vince Federici) on electric guitars,
@dusty_reins (Dan O’Neill) on bass, and
@gradyhossmusic (Lance Davis) on drums.
In addition to vocals, I played piano, synths, and hammond B3 organ.
Recorded at East Room Recording (Kensington, Philadelphia) and
@cambridge_sound_studios (South Philadelphia)
Engineered and mixed by Drew Taurisano
Mastered by
@mikeabiuso at
@behindthecurtainsmedia (Brooklyn, NY)
Cover design by
@lesleybarth
Thanks for listening!❤️
