When I wrote "More to See" four years ago in Athens, Ohio I had no idea where I would be today. It was one of those rare songs that you just kind of regurgitate whole, like at was already written somewhere else and it's just found it's way to you. I later left Ohio and moved to New York to try to "make it" with my band, then quit and started traveling the world. When I started recording this album here in Japan, it seemed to make sense that this would be the first track. I never intended for you to hear "I Know." I wrote it for my wife Christin in a moment of whimsy and I thought of it as something that was only for her. She convinced me over time, though, that it was a good song and that I should play it for other people. Since it was her song, I figured it was also her decision. Besides, as Christin has just informed me, "wives don't usually mind public declarations of love through song." One day I was talking to my friend Lauren and she said she wanted to hear my music. "What do you want to hear?" I asked. "Something that makes me want to go out and do something." I tried to think of one of my songs that was like that and I couldn't. It bothered me because that's kind of my outlook. I already had a good chord progression so I started working on the lyrics to the song that eventually became "Yours on Earth." I wrote "Beauty's Never Ugly" when I was alone in Saigon. Christin had already left for Japan and it was the first time we had been apart since we got married. To me, it's the only sad song on the album. "Haven't Had Not" was the last song I wrote for this album. All the stories in it are true and are about people I know or things that I saw. I'm not very good at making up stories, but I try to make sense out of the ones that I've seen. I also never really meant to do anything with "War No More," but I rediscovered it early on in the sessions and thought it might be fun to mess around with. (Besides, it's only 45 seconds long so I figured it would go quickly.) It was the first time I attempted to record a three part vocal harmony. I wrote "Waiting for My Time" about my grandmother. She's on her way out of here and I thought she might appreciate it. "Origami" is a song about love and sex and the only song I've written that's in an alternative tuning (I'll save all you transcribers a little frustration: DADABE). I recorded the rhythm guitars and vocals in my shower to get the reverby effect. When things were getting really strained in Brooklyn I wrote the first verses and the chorus of "Early Test." I was very confused about the opportunities and choices I had in front of me and my indecision was resulting in a bad case of writer's block. I wrote the final verse about being on my "own time" later when I was traveling in Laos and things seemed a little clearer. The lyrics for "Station" are a bit baffling now but they make sense to me. I wrote it right after finishing college. I didn't know quite where I was going and hadn't found the answers I thought I was looking for. (*Bonus trivia: A few weeks after I wrote "Station" a crappy punk-pop song came on the radio that featured the chorus, "High school never ends." I was pissed.) I don't know if "I've Been Stuck in New York City for Way Too Long" really requires an explanation. It's all right there in the title. Just move there and you'll see for yourself. Like "Haven't Had Not," these are all true stories. All of these songs were recorded on the internal microphone of my Macbook using Audacity. I played all the instruments and sang all the vocals. All of the tracks were recorded either in my apartment or at one of the schools I teach at, so there's plenty of ambient noise to enjoy (listen for the crickets on "Early Test" and the car driving by at the end of "Beauty's Never Ugly").