This double CD is representative of Comfort Food's progress since the release of our first CD in 2010 So what took us so long to release a second CD, you ask? Well, Vicki and I have spent the last five years trading off writing binges in between gigs. Between us we have come up with enough new original material (plus a few of our favorite covers) to fill two CDs! Hence the title, Double Helpings. Not only do you get two CDs filled with what we consider our best work, you get it all for much less than you'd expect to pay for this much music. And just how good of a value is this (you ask)? For starters, it was recorded at one of Chicago's finest studios (King Size Sound Labs) by one of the finest engineers in the business (John Abbey). Not to mention it was mastered by Grammy Award winner David Glasser of Airshow, in Boulder, Colorado. But that's only the beginning. We had a lot of help from our friends. Not only did John Abbey play bass on many of the tracks (as well as provide some nice guitar work), beautiful harmonies were sung by Jamie O'Relliy, as well as by Amy Dixon-Kolar, who also contributed some fine guitar work to accompany her sweet vocals. Then Mark Dvorak played banjo on a few tracks and provided some excellent guitar work on a couple more tunes. Our talented friends include Dean Milano, who joined us on upright bass on a few tunes, and Jim Polaski, who did triple duty on mandolin and accordion, along with handling most of the photographic duties. We also had the honor of recording with Nashville studio musician (or more accurately, magician) Robert Bowlin, who displayed his award winning skills on violin, mandolin, and cello.   Finally, we have once again enlisted the services of our favorite graphic designer and good friend Jen Shilt, who did her usual excellent work in making the Comfort Food CD look good enough to eat. Having an original painting by local artist Steve Fisher is a real bonus and having that picture as the front cover really puts it all into focus. Last, but certainly not least, we are eternally grateful to another great friend, Allan Shaw, for releasing our CD on Wind River Records. We're very proud to be on his label.