#timing ep

After far too long, I'm excited to announce that Timing EP art prints are now available for $10 at the HWN online store. I was concerned that prints would never do the original watercolor justice, but I am incredibly happy with how these came out. They're printed on 12x12" heavy stock matte paper with a white half-inch border, perfect for hanging in an inexpensive LP frame like this one available at Target (if you're in the USA, that is... if you're not, and you don't have Target, I mourn for you).

  Perk: Each order includes an immediate digital download of the song "Timing."

  I'm also excited because this announcement gives me the chance to tell you about how the album artwork was created: A few years ago, I was doing what a lot of young drummers do—perusing the website of SJC, a custom drum builder in Boston, pining for equipment I'll never be able to afford. They were running a cool Artist Series segment where they would bring lesser-known artists in and have them paint drums. When I came across the Caleb Morris snare, I was immediately struck by his style; even more so when I clicked through his online portfolio. He has a way of rendering people that I've never seen before.

  Fast-forward to October 2012, the onset of the Timing EP recording process. I had always wanted to work with Caleb, but didn't quite know where to start... turns out, all it took was a phone call. Caleb was so cool about it. We agreed that I'd send him the lyrics to the title track, along with what was at the time an extremely rough demo recording. He was able to create between 5-10 art concepts from that, and together we narrowed it down to the final piece. All in all, he spent about two months on-and-off drawing, revising, and painting.

  Here's the thing: I don't understand how art works. I don't know how one dude can make water and color do that. The print is pretty much actual size to the original, and if you look closely, the level of detail is just ridiculous. I love it, and I hope you will too.

I'm usually not quiet about this, but it begs repeating: I was lucky to spend my undergrad years attending Luther College in the quiet town of Decorah, Iowa. The community of musicians there is unbelievably talented and supportive - it was such a musically healthy environment to be in as I ventured into songwriting. Not many people outside of the Midwest know about Luther, but their ensembles are nationally renowned. I was a percussionist in a few of them during my time there.

Believe it or not, they came to me about doing an interview for their student newspaper. I gratefully agreed, and it went live in yesterday's issue of Chips. Luther College is very dear to me, and this is really an honor.

The response to the new EP has been insane this week, and I am so grateful for all the feedback. Here are a few reviews of the Timing EP from some truly amazing writers and friends: Charlotte Krol / Spires Magazine - http://bit.ly/10PLnwI Carly Samuelson - http://bit.ly/12533tf Jamison Murphy - http://on.fb.me/UMGzJs All of these people are worth following regularly, and here's why:

I met Charlotte Krol while abroad in England, and she is one of the most knowledgeable music writers I've ever met. Her music blog, Charlotte's Web, routinely exposes me to artists I never would have heard otherwise. A short list of the ones Char has introduced me to: Foals, Warpaint, Laura Marling. It's worth noting that she's an absolutely hilarious, fun-loving, brilliant human being.

For a while now, I've read Carly Samuelson's blog like the goddamn newspaper - a newspaper that has a completely random delivery schedule, and after you read one issue of it you sit staring out your front window waiting pathologically for the next. I was going to cherry-pick an example of one of her posts for you, but I can't even decide on a favorite. Just click over, start scrolling, and accept the addiction.

It's no secret that I'm Jamison Murphy's pianist; our bro love runs candidly rampant throughout the Interwebs (and has even been caught on film). But I never asked him to write a review of my new EP - in fact, Jamo has been 150% supportive of my solo work since long before we collaborated. The difference between you and I, of course, is that I've heard all of his unreleased material... let's just say I can't wait to be a part of the first full Jamison Murphy album. Start by watching the music video for "Chapters," the first single we recorded as a band, and then just peruse his YouTube channel.