I started playing tenor sax in 6th grade band, and had to quit for lack of money. I didn't really want to. Life then took me will-nilly all over the place, from Wisconsin to Texas to Colorado to New Mexico to Wisconsin to Mississippi and Texas again, back to Wisconsin, and finally to Illinois. I was born in Beloit, WI in 1962, and currently live in the far Southwest Chicago suburb of Plainfield. I've been in the US Air Force and held numerous jobs in between, and currently work full-time as a telecommunications technician for a long distance carrier. In 1996, I purchased my 1966 Selmer Bundy tenor sax for $94.00 in a Beloit, WI pawn shop. It sat in my closet until 2003, after my mother passed away. Later that year, I started taking a few lessons, got the sax refurbished for about $250.00, and started trying to find sounds I liked. I've worked on a few song covers of Art Paul Schlosser's work of Madison, WI - he is an old high school friend, and one of the few people I feel close to creatively. I feel it was a great honor to be allowed to work on Art's projects, and you can find those songs on CD Baby. Recorded entirely on my laptop with hand-beaten percussion, Earthlife is fairly pure and raw. I had to record sax, percussion, and vocal tracks separately, and on a couple of songs multiple tenor sax tracks. These are not songs I could perform live, at least not as they exist on the album. "Pachamama Prayer" is all about my love for the natural Earth and our need to heal her. "Sparklers" is a fourth-of-July song that celebrates our country and freedom, both prescious things we all need to take responsibility for and preserve. "Twilight" comes from years of working the night shift, as does "Night Owl." All of these songs have a bit of an other-worldly sound to them, and to me they express my personal mysticism through music as best I am currently able to accomplish. You won't find a lot of polish and pomp here, just raw music from the heart. At present, I am working on growing my saxophone skills, and searching for a way to express a natural spirituality through my instrument. I hope you enjoy, and thank you for listening. Sincerely, Dan Stafford