A man came to me in my dream. He held a sharpened No. 2 pencil in one hand and a spiral notebook in the other. I didn’t catch his name, but he was interested in knowing about my new album. So, we sat at a marble table atop the Eiffel Tower (remember, this is a dream) and he asked some questions. I’ll call him the Interviewer.
Interviewer: You’ve been writing and recording original music for a few years now. What made you switch to cover tunes?
GR: I love writing and recording original songs. That said, I played for many years in a cover band called StationWagon, and I got to thinking recently about going into the studio and recording some of my favorite songs by artists I admire. I didn’t want to make note-for-note recordings of these songs, so I came up with the concept of a songwriter playing the songs in a dream.
Interviewer: For your earlier albums, you worked with a band, but this album presents a more stripped-down approach. Talk about that.
GR: I’ve known Jules Leyhe for a few years. He’s a fantastic guitar player and all-around great guy. As I thought more about this album’s dream concept, and as I played more with Jules, I realized it would be cool for just the two of us to make this album. Performing as a duo (me on acoustic guitar and Jules on electric) allows us to present these songs in a unique way. Towards the end of the project, we brought in Elisa Wendell to add her amazing vocals on some of the songs.
Interviewer: How did you meet Jules?
GR: Let’s see. It was right before the COVID-19 lockdown, during that time when some businesses were shutting down and some weren’t yet (but they’d probably be closing soon). I’d scheduled a recording session at Tiny Telephone with another guitarist. As it turned out, that guitarist couldn’t make it. Fearing it might be a long, long time before I’d get into the studio again, I scrambled to find another guitarist and that led me to Jules. We did that session and a few others over the years. And we became friends along the way. So it all worked out.
Interviewer: How did you decide on the songs?
GR: Now that the album is finished, I’m surprised that I didn’t struggle more to choose the songs. I love so many different songs (and so many different types of songs), and I have so many favorite artists. But these songs came together very quickly—like they were meant to be on this album together. “Isn’t It a Pity” is the only song that I added later in the process. I knew I wanted to cover a George Harrison song, but I wasn’t sure which one. Then I heard Jules playing slide guitar on “Isn’t It a Pity” and knew it would fit right in.
Interviewer: What was the process like for making this album? Did you rehearse the material or just show up at the studio and have at it?
GR: When I was sure about the song list, I wrote a creative brief that I shared with Jules and Audio Engineer Danielle Goldsmith. Jules and I met a handful of times to run through the songs. A couple months before recording, I had an opportunity to work for a month from northern Spain. I didn’t want to forget my tunes, so I asked the guy we rented our house from if he could find a guitar that I could borrow. Now, whenever I think about this album, I’ll recall the month I spent playing a loaner guitar in a beach house in Galicia. Not a bad way to practice.
Interviewer: You also included two original tracks on the album?
GR: That’s right. “The Dream” is an improvised instrumental that sets up album’s concept. I then end the album with the “The Dream Returns,” which features sounds that Danielle or I have recorded over the years. Like seagulls on Ocean Beach and kettle drums and various analog tape manipulations. Danielle is great at weaving these types of pieces together into a compelling soundscape.
Interviewer: Congratulations on the album. How do like the view from the Eiffel Tower?
GR: Thank you. It’s amazing up here. All I need now is an Aperol Spritz.
“I’ll Cover You in My Dreams” is available from Bandcamp, Spotify, iTunes, and other services.
Learn more about:
Jules Leyhe: here
Danielle Goldsmith: here