The World Yet Made (2024)
This project had several aborted starts across several years. It wasn't until I approached David Facemyre about playing guitar that it kicked into high gear. We got it recorded in a matter of months. I am deeply indebted to Dave for his invaluable help, including working hard on production and mastering the tracks. I am also deeply grateful to Jeff Brown for playing the drums on this project. Jeff would track the drums in Nashville, send them to me and I would add bass and a scratch vocal, then send it along to Dave. The process was surprisingly satisfying.
As we learn where the story goes, we are moving into the future. We feel weighed down by some of the pains of the past. Some of us carry a heavy burden. My concept for this EP was that we are moving into a future that waits for us to shape it. A mystery looming ahead. A world we will make. The world yet made.
Song notes:
The New Sun - I've had the thought for years now, that there are fewer days left to me than days I have lived. Mortality comes calling. And yet, each day, the sun rises and we get another chance to experience life. There is mercy everywhere.
100 Days - One hundred days is an arbitrary amount of time. A little over three months. Enough time for your life to change forever. Enough time to consciously make a life change. Time enough to see all the chances you have to express your love for someone.
Forward Motion - This song speaks for itself. Forward motion. Onward and upwards. Every impulse and thought is focused on it. Into the world yet made.
Medicine – Heartache and sadness. The laughter and voice of a person who can lift your spirits. Understanding the need for this, and being willing to give your laughter and voice to another person. Everyone struggles and everyone needs 'medicine.'
Flying Free - The last year I lived in Nashville, I became good friends with Kip Martin, a renowned bluegrass bass player.Kip was my bar-hopping companion and we talked about everthing, from theology to women. Kip struggled with illness and after I moved to Chicago, he passed away. "Flying Free" is for him.
The Needle's Eye - We are often crushed under the worries and cares of life. We hang on, white-knuckled, fighting our way through it. Sometimes, we try to hide from hardship. Many times our struggles can be defined as trying to squeeze and push through a tight space, like the eye of a needle.
Tonight – This song was with me for many years before I recorded it. The circumstances that originally inspired it are long since gone, but as my wife Jenn says, it's a 'life experience' song. Despair and hope, and hope wins.
The World Yet Made – Once again the concept of a new day and a new world emerges. The EP finishes with the thought that we can discard the things that so often hold us back, keep us from moving forward. "Slowly I'm finding my way, into the world yet made."
