Many fans have asked me for something they could buy at my live shows, and ... HERE IT IS .. This album is a thank you for your love, encouragement and support. Trouble Is, is a collection of original songs (and 2 covers) written over the last 35 years. Some of them have been recorded before as far back as 1977. I have never been satisfied with any of the past recordings and I really felt that these songs deserved to be heard in some polished finalized form. I feel this album is a definitive representation of my work as a whole. It's like a what I might play at a live show, but with many of my talented friends joining me, and big sets and costumes on some of the numbers! Its like the Charles K Brown and friends TV special.
We started recording tracks in 2008 in Nashville, TN at Glastonbury Studios (Freddy's Apartment) and finished recording tracks in Collins, GA at Motherlode Studios (Freddy's House at Roy's Hideaway). Along the way we also imported tracks from our friends in Philadelphia, PA - Tuscon, AZ - Macon, GA - Kenosha, WI - Adelphi, MD - Buffalo, NY - Savannah, GA - Johnstown, PA - Chicago, IL and Brooklyn, NY. We finished mastering the first pressing on December 8th, the anniversary of Freddy's CD release for his album "Break the Silence" and the day that we tragically lost John Lennon.
Freddy Freeman was instrumental in bringing this project to life. I brought him the songs and together we crafted new arrangements for the material. We spent many hours discussing how each track should sound and what kind instruments each one needed, where things should come in and out etc. We both used our knowledge and love of 50 years of popular music to try and evoke feelings of nostalgia associated with the songs. Freddy was wonderful at realizing all these visions. He also did mastering, drum programming, recording, mixing, played some keyboards and guitars, and sang a lot of backup vocals. He was my producer, engineer, partner and co-pilot on this project. Freddy and I also had another partner on the project. His husband Jay did a lot of dropping what he was doing to come and help us with drum programming (we call him a beat consultant because he would come in the room and say to Freddy " a real drummer would never play that, they would do this ... ). He was also our live percussion master, playing djembe, shakers and tambourines, as well as lending his voice for backup vocals. Jay also did and amazing job putting together the graphic look of the album, designing logos and layouts for everything and incorporating a drawing by artist Adoom Cusack for the cover.
Make sure to read over the credits page for information on ALL of the incredible musicians who contributed their time and talents to this project.
The main thing is, I wanted the songs to get heard. I want people to free to comment, to post, to write reviews and rate and hopefully buy a CD or digital download. A portion of the proceeds will go to help Bearapalooza be able to continue to give new our community a platform to express their unique talents and share in the brotherhood that has brought me so much and helped bring about this album.
The main thing is, I wanted the songs to get heard. I want people to free to comment, to post, to write reviews and rate and hopefully buy a CD or digital download. A portion of the proceeds will go to help Bearapalooza be able to continue to give new our community a platform to express their unique talents and share in the brotherhood that has brought me so much and helped bring about this album.
Thank you all for listening
