This CD has been in the works for a long time. It began with a trip to Maui with my wife's family. Before we left, we decided to borrow a guitar while we were visiting. Instead I was lent an Ukulele. An instrument I had never tried previously. I started fooling around with it and ended up coming home with anew uke. A concert Kala that had been gifted to me by my in-laws. I instantly found joy in that little instrument and began practicing as much as I could, often while watching the whale sanctuary youtube live feed, to recreate the feel of the islands in my Cleveland living room in January.
Soon after our trip to Hawaii, I had to travel to Kansas City for the Folk Alliance International conference in early '22. While there I wrote my first first song on the ukulele. Fond of You, I sweet little tune of affection, and I wrote a piedmont style blues tune, Train Wreck at East Palestine, a song about the derailment in eastern Ohio. The song was prompted by a call from Amtrak letting me know that the line was down and I would need to make a new plan to get home. The song evolved in the weeks to come as the state and railroad bowed to each other while ignoring lives impacted by the derailment.
The only other song written prior to 2025 was Let's Do It This Time, another uke inspired tune. This one was fast fun and as funk as an uke can go. The song was based on the Etty Hillesum quote, I no longer believe I can change the world until I change myself".
Etty was a writer during the Holocaust going through a time of personal healing and growth. She believed in nurturing love in herself. She believed in humanity and searched for it in the eyes of her guards at Auschwitz. She knew that she would have to have love in order to care for family and the other vulnerable members of her community. She believed that without love, there would be nothing to rebuild if they ever survived. She was murdered at Auschwitz.
Her quote was the prompt in the Stop the Hate Sing Out program that year. The program is songwriting workshop with middle and High School students throughout North East Ohio. 70 classes take part and awards are given out for the top songs as well as essays and poetry.
My classes have won 3 times and come in second 5 times. Working with these students and hearing what they think is import has been a gift to me. Much of the music contained in this collection was written in the spirit of Stop the Hate.
The production is complete and I wait for the discs to arrive. I have set August 24th as the official release date, which is also the date of a film screening and concert called Singing for Justice, that I will perform in. I will have a concert at Cain Park to celebrate the release on September 5.
See you soon!
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