Hi friends! I wanted to do something to make up for the missed week I had, as well as snag last minute donations for The Brennan Center, so here's a bonus track: "Found Out About You" by Gin Blossoms

I'll be frank: Gin Blossoms is one of a handful of reasons I'm here right now. They were the first band that made me realize I wanted to play guitar. Hell, they were maybe my first real conscious understanding of a rock n' roll band. Pick up the guitar, turn it up, and make catchy tunes forever. I have listened to this song since my parents got New Miserable Experience back in 1992, and when I was about 20 years old, I had this album cover tattooed on my arm. This band changed my life, and made me want to make music. I don't know if I can ever express how much that means to me.

For this song, I wanted to try and just throw it together quickly. I wanted it to just be fun and simple, but as with all the best laid plans, that wasn't exactly what happened. I was privileged to have Mr. Mike Drew back on guitar, which we knocked out while he was tracking for "Undercover". Also, my common-law husband, Brett Praskach laid down the bass in about 2 or 3 takes while sitting on the floor. After that, it was a little bit of a challenge. This song is very sparse in a certain sense; there is no strumming rhythm through the song, but there are constant guitars. Trying to add extra pieces ultimately had to be very careful and precise, because the wrong element just wrecked the feel. Thankfully, I found a nice little balance of guitar work that served the song, and tinkered with different mic levels to get the taste right. I even tracked the guitar solo two separate times, because I got a Bilt Revelator (wonderful guitar) with a telecaster pickup configuration, and it just sounded better for that part.

This was another instance where the vocals held me up for a couple weeks. I had probably two straight weeks where anything I tried to record vocally just came out AWFUL. I couldn't stay on pitch, control my breath right, or feel any part of the song. All I felt was frustration and shame, because as any creative person knows, we're all frauds just waiting to be found out, and in that moment, I was convinced I had just lost the ability to sing well and I was just done. But then, after taking a deliberate break, one song started working, and then the next, and I got back in the groove. It's funny how a song you've sung along to for most of your life can be a whole new animal on a recording, but I'm happy about what eventually came out.

So today is the last day of September, and thus we're set to start focusing on a new charity, but I want to make sure I pitch this one for one more time.

Last night was the first Presidential debate, and I couldn't bring myself to watch it, because I already know who I'm voting for, since I dropped off my ballot that morning, and I couldn't bear listening to that fucking vile piece of trash lie for 90 minutes and be treated as if that wasn't the case. This is the most important time in our country's history; a time which we literally have never seen, where we could revert back to an oppressive dictatorship, as if the last 250 years never actually occurred or mattered. So this bonus song is going up. I'm not changing the price of the full album, because I want anyone interested to help me support the Brennan Center, who are part of our coalition to be better, and protect our democracy.

Thanks, as always, for reading my rambles and listening to my silly project. Be safe, and let's protect each other.

Cheers!