Now, Then Again…

ALBUM NOTES FROM MY FORTHCOMING ALBUM:

For years my musical voice was silent.  I had lost it along the path of life with no drive to put my ideas to notes or words.  Thankfully my wife with her constant encouragement nudged me back into it.  I have once again found my musical voice thanks to her and so this album is dedicated to you Angie.  I love you so very much!

A little more than year before this albums release, I sent some demos to my good friend and once band mate, Mark Reitsma.  He was so jazzed about the songs that he had an idea to get real drums recorded onto these songs.  He arranged to get studio time so I flew out to Jersey.  His support has been so insanely incredible and the time I spent with him during these studio sessions and that week I will cherish for the rest of my life.  Then in November Mark went back into the studio to add more guitars to the song “Found Here”…it was exactly what the song was missing!  I love you bro and thank you!

This brings me to the next person I must thank and that is Todd “Opie” Kelley for also believing in these songs enough to fly out to Jersey and lay out some killer beats.  A good friend and also once band mate he brought what the album needed. As my wife said after hearing what he did, “it’s almost like you wrote these songs for him to play on them.”  Opie made the songs epic with his amazing skill and after 1 or 2 takes he nailed the songs without the need of edits! I am beyond blessed to have had him to be the drummer on this album.  I will also cherish the time we spent in and out of the studio forever.  Much love to you Opie and thank you!

A special thanks to Ryan at Gearbox Studios for taking the time to educate me on some recording tricks, capturing Opie’s drums to make this album come alive and for the kind words on my songs and recordings.

This album was named Now, Then Again… for it has history.  The song Found Here I wrote while in college.  After Mark and I graduated I went out to visit him in Jersey and we did a demo of it on his 4 Track.  Then in 2018 he came to visit me in Michigan.  I had found the tape and played it for him.  It inspired us to re-record it my studio.  Then 4 years later Opie put some drums on it so that kind of sums of the meaning behind the title.  Now is when Opie played drums, Then was when I first brought the song to Mark years ago and Again is when we re-recorded it 4 years ago.

In closing, I am blessed.  I am truly blessed with talented and supportive friends, family and a loving and very supportive wife and daughter and so all this is is a reflection of my being blessed.  Thank you for listening, reading and for your time.  I hope you were touched and/or found enjoyment. God bless you. Love and Peace.

Rev C The Gray – November 2022

Now, Then Again… Released December 25, 2022!