"Stumped"

This is the first installment in an 11-part series celebrating 5 years since the release of PUSHKIN STREET, my debut album of 11 "gypsy zest" songs. I'm going to share a post about one track per week for the next 11 weeks, so buckle up!

First up, "Stumped"! I wrote most of this song sitting on the stump of a tree in a Baltimore park somewhere between the Charles Village and Hampden neighborhoods. I remember wanting to write something in an alternate tuning with a repeating theme that opened space for reflective, spiritually-oriented lyrics. This approach was inspired by Frank Hurricaine whose music I had been listening to after seeing him perform at The Zoo (my friend MacGregor Burns' basement).

The lyrics were inspired by unrequited love (many of the songs were influenced by this) and hope ("it's never too late to start again, from the end of the beginning or the middle of the end"). One of the treats in recording this track was having my guitar teacher Brian Kooken play lead slide guitar on the solo. His approach to guitar is, to me, singular -- gritty, raw, and delicate. 
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If you like what you hear, then please consider purchasing PUSHKIN STREET to support grassroots music-making along with my efforts towards future recordings for which planning has begun!