Still Standing Still is a collection of songs from the last three years. Having had the opportunity to focus on making a purely acoustic, solo record last time ("Mystery Water" ) I wanted to get back to a fuller sound and one that involved my  band. I've been fortunate to be able to work with the same musicians for a long time and I can't say enough about what fun it is to play with them. Ducky (drummer) and Chris (guitar) have played with me for over fifteen years- Scott, the new guy, has been with us about 6 (if I'm counting right). They really make the songs come together both live and in the studio. Even though it is technically my band it really is our music.
Everyone contributes in their own way, and they are all much more musical than I am. I get the song headed in a direction with lyrics and melody but they really put it together in terms of parts and arrangement. We love working out new material and do it without any fanfare or practice for that matter. It seems to work better that way.

The Songs

I won't ruin them by trying to explain what they're about. The themes are pretty wide ranging. Some very happy family stuff and some dark stuff. I was reading a variety of books during the writing of this record but the one that probably made the biggest impression was Cormac McCarthy's "The Road." There are a couple of songs about childhood memories, characters and places in my old neighborhood on the southshore of Boston. Water imagery, something I have used a lot in the past, is pretty much absent. There are a few songs about what you learn from not going anyplace which is kind of where the title came from. And a few songs, as usual written from other peoples perspective. I always think these are the more interesting songs since I get pretty bored saying "I" over and over again. I finished the last three songs for this record holed up in a hotel room in Maine on a beach, staring at the ocean, walking around, watching Red Sox on TV.It feels good to have it done. Making records is like any other project you take on. It can get obsessive, frustrating and filled with excitement at different points. As an independent artist you have to take responsibility for your own work. Geting it done right and making sure someone has a chance to hear it. I've always liked the DIY way of doing things. The group of people it takes to do this is pretty special. And we did it together which is even more gratifying.

You learn something new every time.


Recording
I'm lucky that two members of the band also happen to be studio engineers by day. I have tried every combination of working with both Ducky and Chris in the past. This time we decided to record the basic tracks at Chri's converted barn in North Reading, MA. Basics are the beginning, you get everyone in the room at the same time. We invited our friend Tom West to come and play organ. He is incredibly talented and has great intuition when playing songs. We got an awful lot done in one weekend and then it was overdub time. I went back several nights to do vocals and  acoustic guitar parts while Chris squeezed in electric guitar parts between sessions and late at night. Chris's studio is a great place to hang out. He's got an incredible collection of vintage amps and guitars hanging from every available wall space. Next we took the files to Ducky's home studio on the shore of Medford historic Wright's Pond, where silent films were once produced in the 1930's. Ducky's state of the art pro tools recording system fits right in to his cozy home studio, where he keeps a growing collection of gold records he's produced proudly displayed in the upstairs bathroom.
We recorded a few extra things including Ducky beating his stomach to fill a percussion part on "Holes" and our buddy Mike Dinallo adding a slippery little solo to the same tune.Mostly though Ducky was in charge of mixing which means shaping the sound, levels, and over all texture of the record. Ducky works fast and furiously on everything he does and throws his whole heart into every song. The combination of Chris doing basics and Ducky mixing really worked well on this record. They gave it a big, warm sound, that is very representative of what we sound like  live. Exactly what we were going for.

Photos
Stan Grossfeld did a great job and was very generous with his time. We had met through a mutual friend about a year before when Stan asked for permission to use "Mystery Water" in a photo peice he was doing for Boston.com. As a return favor, I had the audacity to hit him up for photos and we got together after one of the many,but more beautiful snow storms we had this past winter. Stan had me walking around in his back yard in a foot of snow followed by a great lunch with he and his family. Stan is a photo journalist of some renown. He's been a senior photographer and editor at the Boston Globe for years, has more than a few books of photo journalism published and has won two Pulitzer prizes. Not to mention he's a great guy and has a great family!

Cover
I've known Noah Eckhouse for about twenty years. Noah and his lovely wife Catherine used to come and see us at The Plough all the time. Over the years we've become good friends as have our kids and wives.
Noah can figure just about anything out. And seems to love it. So when I asked him if he could do the layout he said "sure." He did a great job and has a great eye of his own. Noah has been such a supporter of the music over the years he is like an honorary member of the band. We are lucky to have him on board!