Writing. Recording. Performing. Writing. Recording. Performing. Writing. Recording. Performing.

Spring '09 - Heat of the night production continues offline. Bone Dry and Out of Place, the first song I ever wrote on guitar, is dusted off and joins the playlist. It will be a rocker.

Winter '09 - I finally surrender to a song that has been trying to get out since the september. Long Long Track is born. We record it top to bottom in three sessions, with Richard Hammond laying down a sweet sounding acoustic bass. Steve Elliott adds some fine lapsteel to both Ragged Hole and Long Long Track. A second session with the girls adds voices for Sawdust.

Fall '08 - We push further into I'm Still Sinking, recording flute and horns as well as a track of body percussion. We begin production on Heat of the Night. It will be one of the biggest productions on the CD. A full horn section will be needed. A spark of an idea leads to a divergent path. Heat of the Night will have a video - a live-action / 3D animation production. I plan on getting my hands wet with this one.

Summer '08 - A break for travels. In the rolling hills of Tuscany, I pen a new song about one of her storied sons.

Spring '08 - Sawdust and the Mud is finished. Ken has gotten a remarkable sound on my voice. It is deep and intimate but sits well above the mix. We bring in 'the girls' - a female chorus of three, led by Jamie Leonhart. Watermark has its choir.

Winter '08 - Watermark has been tracked. By the song's ending refrain, it's soundstage is as wide and epic as I had imagined. Todd Sickafoose's bass and Catherine Bent's cello become an orchestra of two. I can still hear a female chorus that needs to be coaxed out. Production on Breaking of a Heart is begun.

Summer '07 - Looking to be a uber-productive season. Studio sessions are booked. Ragged Hole is a fully formed cut, awaiting just a couple touches of mandolin and lapsteel. We begin to lay down I'm Still Sinking. It is an unusual arrangement that needs to be discovered as we proceed. We have a solid start with Dan Rieser's inventive use of wood-on-metal. Bennett Paster lays down a transcendent B3 track for Watermark.

Winter '07 - Recording continues. We begin Sawdust and the Mud. Ken Rich is at the helm. Catherine Bent records a pair of cello tracks and Jim Campilongo lays down a twang-e-delic telecaster track. Dan Rieser supplies the ever-creative drum tracks. I decide to learn the Irish whistle to lay down a mournful pipe on Skies So Blue.

November '06 - Our second Rockwood gig and it's a keeper. Catherine Bent has taken on the cello duties and she really shines. Shane Row is on loan from Paula Valstein's band. Gary Rivenson steps up to the plate on bass. And Michael Leonhart surprises everyone by playing (really distant) trumpet from the bar. My one and only regret is that we didn't record the show.

Fall '06 - I've begun to work over at Grand Street Recording, under the excellent navigation of Ken Rich. There are already a number of really, really fine players involved in the studio sessions. And I am really excited with how things are coming together. Parenthesis piano and cello tracks are recorded.

June '06 - we saw the maiden voyage with a solo set, plus special guest Martha Colby on cello, at the Rockwood Music Hall in NYC. (There are still a few Mp3's from that show posted here on the website)

                                                                                                                                                                -Frank