PRODUCTION NOTES
The inspiration for CUT TOO DEEP is the current state of the social, cultural, and political divide in our country. The political and ideological rhetoric that dominates our national conversation saddens me as it focuses on how we differ as opposed to how we are the same. The pandemic had us shut in and disconnected from one another while being fed our streams of information that don’t include differing opinions. It seems to me we have lost the ability to create the space to disagree with each other in a civil manner. CUT TOO DEEP imagines America as a sick and wounded patient perhaps “too far gone to treat”. I am optimistic about human spirit but wrote this while in a cynical mood and in the chorus I entertain what I believe is possible: recovering lost hope, finding faith in each other once again. I don’t offer any solutions in the song but, I my opinion, America certainly needs healing.
I wrote a basic musical framework of the song on piano with the intention of bringing in some co-writers to breathe some outside life into the song and with the help of TIM LAUER and TONY LUCIDO I think it’s much better than if I had written it alone. We were at Blackbird Studio “E” and I sang a verse and chorus on piano for them and then let Tim take over on the keyboard (Tim is a first-call session keyboard player in Nashville) and he immediately locked onto a synthesizer sound that formed the basis of the track. Meanwhile Tony (a first-call bass player) came up with a fantastic bass part which really lifts and drives the chorus.
I like to think our country hasn’t been cut too deep to be repaired and perhaps better than before if we use patience, listening, kindness, and love as the treatments.
The idea for LONELINESS came out of the results of a study which said loneliness has the same impact on mortality as smoking fifteen cigarettes a day, making it even more dangerous than obesity. And also data that suggests social media and our online lives are boosting our levels of loneliness. I laid down a demo in January 2020 and then the pandemic locked us all down and in many cases isolation became a major part of the public health crisis. I don’t offer any solution in the song, I’ll offer up other songs for that, but it’s clear loneliness is an issue in our society and tied closely to poor mental health. We are social animals, we need people, and for sure the pandemic brought this into sharp relief.
I wrote YOUR STORY during the pandemic when I was thinking about the children of the world, including my own, and how their lives had been completely turned upside down in a way that was completely new for their parents as well. We were all trying to figure it out together. Coincidentally, I had been doing some reading on Stoicism, including Meditations by Marcus Aurelius, his notes to himself and ideas about the stoic philosophy the essence of which is: We cannot control what happens, but we can control how we respond. I see the song as a message to my kids about managing challenging times, where things are out of our control, with grace. It’s really all we can do to control the narrative of our lives in pursuit of a peaceful life amid an often chaotic and confusing world.
The song THE WAY OF LOVE was inspired by Episcopalian Bishop Michael Curry and his ideas about the way of love. He then wrote a book — Love is the Way: Holding on to Hope in Troubling Times. I wrote the tune during the pandemic and bounced many ideas about it with my co-writer and producer, TIM LAUER. During the summer of 2020 I felt there was so much anger, divisiveness, sadness, frustration, and hopelessness in the world and in our country and I wanted to provide a touchpoint and roadmap for myself on which to stay focused. I think Curry nails it when he asks us to ask ourselves a question about any particular action: “Does it look like love?” I’m trying to use this to keep me centered as a husband, parent, friend, and human being.
I wrote LET THE LIGHT IN looking for a way to express that the only way we can find love, and the light that comes with it, is by giving it. The first line sums it up “To let the light in, we gotta let the light out.” When we give light, fully with a loving and willing heart, without expecting anything in return, we receive light. It’s a simple song about empathy and love and it didn’t need to be any more complicated than that. In my mind, it didn’t need a bridge, it just needed to make its point clearly, musically and lyrically, and be done. I was fiddling on guitar and ran into the musical figure and just built it from there.
CUT TOO DEEP
Chris Donohoe, Tim Lauer, Tony Lucido
Victor Indrizzo — drums, percussion
Tony Lucido — bass
Kris Donegan — electric guitar
Ross Collier — therevox
Kaleb Jones — backing vocals
Tim Lauer — drum programming, mellotron, synths
Chris Donohoe — backing vocals
LONELINESS
Chris Donohoe, Tim Lauer, Tony Lucido, Kris Donegan
Victor Indrizzo — drums, percussion
Tony Lucido — bass
Kris Donegan — electric guitar
Dave Levita — electric guitar
Bobby Campbell — programming and synth
Tim Lauer — electric guitars, acoustic guitars, programming, keyboards
Kaleb Jones — backing vocals
YOUR STORY
Chris Donohoe
Victor Indrizzo — drums, percussion
Kris Donegan — electric guitar
Bryan Sutton — acoustic guitar, mandolin
Bobby Campbell — programming and synth
Tim Lauer — synth bass, synths
Kaleb Jones — backing vocals
THE WAY OF LOVE
Chris Donohoe, Tim Lauer
Victor Indrizzo — drums, percussion
Kris Donegan — electric guitar
Ross Collier — omnichord, therevox
Tim Lauer — synth bass, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, keyboards
Kaleb Jones — backing vocals
LET THE LIGHT IN
Chris Donohoe
Victor Indrizzo —drums, percussion
Tony Lucido — bass
Kris Donegan — electric guitar, acoustic guitar
Bobby Campbell — programming and synth
Tim Lauer — programming and synth, acoustic guitars, electric guitar, piano, organ
Kaleb Jones — backing vocals
Engineered by Ross Collier, Victor Indrizzo, Tony Lucido, Kris Donegan, Dave Levita, Bobby Campbell, Chris Dohonoe
Recorded at Blackbird and then home during quarantine 2020
Mixed by Tim Lauer at Dogwood Studio with Ross Collier
Mastered by Richard Dodd
