SONG STORIES - HOME

Our latest album “Home” was a two year project that started in early 2022.  The album is a collection of original songs of various genres with collaborative input from a variety of guest musicians.  Here are more detail about where the songs came from and the guests who participated. 

 (Note - you can access song lyrics on the “MUSIC” page and read the bios of players on the 'SPECIAL GUESTS" page.)

Try Again –

This song started with a guitar lick from Doug and grew from there.  A fun collaboration that focuses on the extremes that sometimes show themselves when you lose yourself in love – and that even when it’s gone, the memory of those strong emotions can inspire you to pick yourself back up and try again.   This song echoes a “classic rock” vibe and  is reinforced by the lead guitar mastery of Ed Gorham and the rockin' keyboard parts by Mark Ballard.

So Real –

For Sue and Staci.  Doug was inspired by whiskey campfires along the St. Lawrence River to write this tale of great love and great loss, and the coping mechanisms we sometimes employ to see our way through it all.   Sometimes life doesn’t make a lot of sense, but holding on to what’s real and true – even if it’s not physically there with you – does help.    Kyle Lemieux  sings lead with his smokey, soulful vocals.   Brendan O'Connor plays drums on this one with Ed Gorham adding haunting electric guitar chords and an emotional guitar solo.

Variations –

The inspiration for this song came from one of Ann’s voice students, who told her a story of a dance teacher and his unique way of giving encouragement.  Ann changed the background a bit, but the message is the same – that our life’s journeys are filled with variations that teach us and guide us on our own unique path – and that’s okay.    Our live gig percussionist / singer - Jack Jennings - delivers a wonderful gritty lead vocal on this tune.  Jeff Ingersoll makes a guest appearance on pedal steel guitar.  Brendan plays mandolin and Doug is on banjo.

Wild Card Blues – 

Doug picked up a Regal Resonator guitar back in 2023 and with the guitar in “open G” tuning, came up with this progression for a jam session.  Brendan added a mandocello part and the tune was born.  Guitarist Ed Gorham added a lead guitar melody line to round out the tune and we liked it so much we decided to include it as part of the album.

Next – 

Ann woke up one morning filled with angst about the next chapter and her place in it.  In her case, it was about retirement and moving to a new, yet old location - closer to her childhood home but just far enough away that it all seemed untold and strange. This song came pouring out that morning, and we realized in looking at the lyrics that it could be the story of many endings and new beginnings - moving on from college life or the end of a relationship - so many of those moments in life where the future is foggy for a while until it is embraced.   Mark Shiner lays down an awesome drum groove for this tune.

Reno – 

For Don.  Ann wrote this song to honor her nephew, who lost a brave battle with Stage 4 colon cancer last year. The story is told from his point of view – and echos the arch, the ache and final acceptance of the journey home.  So grateful for Kyle Lemieux’s heart-wrenching vocal on this one.  Brendan plays drums on this tune, with Bob Wallis on keys, Jeff Ingersoll on pedal steel and Doug on banjo.

Out of this World – 

This song was a true collaboration – Doug started it as more of a jam tune, but Ann felt that the lyric was starting to tell its own story and needed more.  We enlisted two incredible singers – Conor Shatto and Fiorella Fernandez –  to sing it and wanted to bring a uniqueness to the style of the song as unique as their voices.  After many nights in the studio, the song began to weave a journey of two people questioning their relationship and ultimately deciding that it was worth fighting for.    Ed Gorham's guitar work on this tune is stellar.

Little Hills – 

A friend of Doug’s asked if this song was the result of an LSD trip! Lol!  Actually, you just never know where inspiration will come from – in this case, it was from various conversations Doug had with folks along the way (a sister complaining about a friend who likes to put his feet on things, a mechanic saying that our brake pads had dead mice fried on them…). Leave it to Doug to take these disparate ideas and create a song around them!     The tune is kind of a stringed instrument free for all.  Jess Stark on fiddle, Jeff Ingersoll on Dobro, Brendan on mandolin, Ed Gorham on lead guitar, and Mark Ballard on keys.

This Time –

Doug wrote this shanty vibe tune- about a sailor’s journey to find his lucky break and the perils he encounters in the pursuit - and sent it to his son Brendan, who reworked some of the lyrics and gave it a style all his own (including Brendan singing the lead vocal).   Special guest Jay Darks plays the haunting guitar solo on this one and Brendan adds some nice mandolin work.  The ability to share, learn from and collaborate on music with our children is truly one of our greatest joys.  

Scotty McCue –

Doug found  an early version this tune on a live jam recording with Brendan from 2013.  Brendan had the melody established and we decided to frame it with an arrangement.    The middle section is an ode to Grateful Dead jams (think “The Other One”)  which has a bit of that celtic vibe.  Great infectious jig !

One True Mile -

Ann wrote the lyric of this song a while ago to comfort a friend who was going through a difficult time.  At the time, she shelved the tune, as the melody for the chorus proved elusive, until Doug wouldn’t stop nudging her to finish it.  And she is so grateful that he did.  In the end, she leaned in to her Irish roots and the melody took wing from there.  Her favorite parts of the tune are the bridge where she sings a duet with her son Conor, and the final chorus with the “O’Connor Pub Singers” and the joy and laughter that follows.   Special guests on this one include Aimee Mumford on the celtic flute,  Jesse Stark on violin, and Jack Jennings on the Irish drum.