I recorded a few new songs this week and bundled them into an EP called “LOCAL MUSIC”
These songs are the product of porch sitting at night and in the early morning. After writing “Flashlight” last November for the banjo, I took to tuning my side guitar to EADGBD so i could play banjo songs and guitar songs without changing instruments. I found that playing in this tuning felt natural, and allowed me to play the top like a banjo and the bottom like a guitar. It suits me well.
All were recorded live with a Zoom mic and my phone in April 2026, either in my office or just outside. Minimal background vocals added after the fact, but it’s basically just what you’d hear if you were here. A rooster cameo in one song because it’s hard to avoid.
I called this collection “LOCAL MUSIC” because these songs are about as “local” as you can get. They are inspired by and reflect the beauty of Western North Carolina where we live. In “Flashlight” when I sing about pulling up to the bar room there is a particular bar down the road I have in mind. When I talk about paths getting overgrown in “Bramble Weeds” there are specific paths I have in mind (and metaphorical ones too).
And they’re local in the sense that they are personal. They are local to me. “Flashlight” was written in response to two conversations—one with my wife and one with my priest. “Better Life” is my wrestling through a lifetime of habits and selfishness and efforts and hope and hopelessness. When I express “I want a better life for you” it is personal and true, and when I sing it I hear God’s voice expressing it to me and I’m changed a little through the process.
The videos below are from the takes that made it to the EP
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