hello curious person (for who else would have clicked on such a ridiculous subject line? it looks like a typo that should read 'death row release' or 'worrier released') i can now officially say that my third solo album, entitled 'worry row', is at our favorite manufacturer. and, with just a few more details to hash out, it should be back from the plant in new hampshire within 15 days. www.superdups.com is a great family-owned company with whom i have had nothing but great business interactions. i recommend them to anyone in need of duplication services. sorry to those of you who had been wondering what had happened to my yearly streak of releases. i guess i am no bob pollard. or prince, for that matter. 'i'm only me, not someone better' to quote ray davies. 'worry row' was intended to be an EP, with just 7 songs - 'don't kid yourself', 'never look back', 'consolidation' were all recorded and mixed towards the end of 2008. by spring 2009, a few more songs had popped up - enough at least for me to hold off on the EP release in hopes of having a full-length cd of material ready to go by year's end. which i missed by several months. but it's done. there are 14 tracks - the last of which were recorded over the christmas holiday and the earliest of which (the songs 'just dangling' and the original recording of 'for dear life') date back to late 2007. erik sanden of buttercup is this release's special guest, supplanting marcus rubio, who had played violin on a song on my last cd. he sings the chorus, actually, he SAVES the chorus, on the song 'unlikely'. i played everything else as usual; the tiny musical hitler in me relishing each beat like a dutch bicycyle. i dedicated a song to wayne coyne of the flaming lips with the best of intentions but secretly hoping he'll maybe listen to it if i send him one. this recording was mastered by carl saff, who is a mastering engineer based in chicago. he had done some test masters for buttercup's latest record, 'the weather here', and i really liked his work. so that was a nice treat and, considering the quality of work, quite afforadable. i recommend him highly as well: www.saffmastering.com i had many friends whom i spoke with about the artwork for 'worry row' over the nearly two years it took to make; justin parr, moriah trumps, michele monseau, jimmy whipple. but when the time finally came to get rolling on it, i used the services of chuck kerr, who had just recently completed the artwork for the two other major recordings that took place at my studio over the last two years; marcus rubio's 'oceanic tremors' and cartographer's eponymous debut cd. he did a fantastic job. thank you to moriah, justin, jimmy and michele for your patience and offers for assistance. thank you to everyone who has listened to my music, even just a few seconds out of curiousity. i do that all the time while i'm online. but every once in a while, i hear something i really connect with and that's always a very pleasant experience. so, if anything like that ever happened while you were listening to one of MY songs? i would be flattered and humbled. see you soon, joe http://www.bedlambrecords.com