Colorado, Iron & Wine and a Little Push

Listening to some Iron & Wine today forces me to recall where I was first inspired by the artist and given an extra boost towards recording my own album. In a basement bedroom where my longtime friend Mike Rossi and I stayed in Boulder, Colorado, I melted away into the sounds and melodies of Sam Beam, happily realizing the power in his The Trapeze Swinger. I loved every minute of it. And there were a lot of minutes to take in! He proceeded to show me more songs and I remember disappearing in music and feeling very inspired.

Mike and I talked a lot that weekend about music, life and my progressing efforts on What To Keep & Let Go. It was October of 2008, two months before I met with Dave Eastman in Weston to begin production, that Mike and I sat in the airport and talked about my record and how it was so important to me to get it started. I was turning my ipod wheel down the list of songs in my Dylan Duncan folder to review the material that would soon become full pieces. Having not shared with Mike some of the songs, I ventured for him to have a listen. His favorite ended up being, not to my surprise, Bicycle on the Ice and he since has taken a fond liking to the demo that included an AOL Instant Message tone that was captured the morning I recorded it on my iMac. It was here that I think his interest in the project grew and he helped to push me towards doing it. At the time, I was coming out of a long stint of "indulging", we'll just say, and it wasn't really getting me anywhere productive. I recall our conversation as being of a "buckle down and get this done" nature; a realization that time is too short to not do what you really want to do, that you need to see something through to the end no matter how scared or "not ready" you are.

So with that little boost of confidence, I flew home to Boston, MA that autumn with a deeper urge to get started on the record. It wasn't a month later that I began discussing with Marcin about the producer he knew in Weston.

I can't really explain what made me recall this event other than how a particular song or artist can simply bring you back. That day feels important to me and I wanted to share it with you. Maybe someday you will find yourself waiting for a flight, discussing your dreams or goals with a friend and be changed and inspired when you return home. I hope so.

Thanks Mike for that extra push. I think it helped me more than I realized until now.