Nowadays, most recordings are created in small studios using computers to both record and generate the music. This has freed us from the tyranny of the big music companies that care only about profits and little about art. It has allowed incredible musicians of limited means all over the world to share their talents with us and give us -- as consumers -- access to a variety of music that just a few years ago would have been unimaginable. However, the explosion of digital music has had one negative consequence. That is the reduction of opportunities for the live and spontaneously created music that occurs only when real people get together to perform. There are many other factors contributing to the decline of live music, to be sure, but the ease with which one can create layer upon layer of synthesized, overdubbed, corrected tracks has resulted in a certain sterility in many recordings. I have been as guilty of this as anyone. All of the CDs that I have released over the years have been produced in this way -- one track at a time, using the computer to play most of the tracks (even those I could have played myself). With this album I was determined to create as *live* a feeling as I could. To start with, all of the cuts feature a strict quartet format: guitar, bass, keys, drums. There is no layering of numerous keys, strings, or brass. All of these arrangements could be played live *exactly* as they are recorded here. Of course the guitar parts are played *live*. In addition, I played all the bass parts *live*. However, I must admit I cannot play drums or piano well enough. So, those parts are still handled via midi programming. However, I paid particular attention to programming parts that would be what real musicians would play, and to rendering them realistically. Ultimately it will be up to you to decide whether I have succeeded in capturing the energy and drive of a live performance. I hope you enjoy these tracks.