from university hill, overlooking the interior city of fairbanks and south to the white peaks of the alaska range, then onward in all directions... we think of ourselves as travellers, yet it's been twelve years since we settled here. twelve calendars filled by northern days and all that comes with the territory. with the occasional jaunt to the lower 48, the even lower americas, the countries of former czechoslovakia, the caucasus, zimbabwe, thailand, australia, and new zealand. all these times wander their way into song and story here and there. Secret Grey City is infused with the northlands --- the spirit, the music, and the musicians --- but the subject matter is largely elsewhere. and most of the songs are not actually rooted in a particular locale, even when a particular locale may be named. this is a collection of 17 songs from the last 5 years of songwriting. we've written about a hundred songs since 1995, and many of them were recorded in one form or another and gathered together in about 6 other "albums." but this collection has been polished for a wider public presentation: rearranged, professionally recorded, mastered, and packaged. a good song shines without such things, but the improved sound quality certainly doesn't hurt. and the scope of the recording allowed the beautiful contributions from many of our local pals.