I decided to take my education seriously in the beginning of my junior year of college. Making up for years worth of "just getting by" academically required giving up many things that I'd relied on for fulfilling my every day: booze, video games, pot, excessive political website browsing, and sadly, songwriting. Serious introspection revealed an unlikely truth; music was not my passion and songwriting was not my purpose.

I'd gone through a turbulent six years prior to this awakening because my priorities weren't in proper order. If I could go back, I'd probably live in a way that wouldn't allow the time and energy necessary to channel these songs - and that is how I see my role in the song writing process, as a medium, catching the continuously drifting sounds that pass just above our heads. Trapping these sounds precisely requires an inordinate amount of dwelling - an activity that runs counterproductive to the life I'm currently trying to lead.

Still, during that tumultuous period, along with the great Skip Agnew, I'd created a hefty repertoire that I remain proud and fond of, despite its dark origin. In the Spring of 2006, I sat down with Gary Levitt of Young Love Records in New Paltz, and together we decided to create an enhanced compilation of the songs I wanted to remember most. Our aim was different than most recording endeavors in that we focused almost exclusively on personal satisfaction rather than potential commercial success. In reflecting on the past year and in listening to the outcome of our sessions, I can say that I am delighted with what we've created. I stole the album's title from a line in a poem by T.S. Eliot in which he described the goal of Yoga as reaching the still point of the turning world. I've never practiced Yoga, but I can relate to that aspiration, and I believe that I've most accurately discovered songs while in a meditative state, while sitting alone in a quiet basement with my eyes closed - the grim realities of existence distant.

Just now,
I was just there.
I just felt it.
I was sitting on
the still point of the turning world,
where I can see everything.

The Still Point of the Turning World is due out in mid-April.