The "Dead Man's Cake" blogs, issue #1.

Hello.  I’m proud to announce the release of my new record entitled “Dead Man’s Cake.”  It’s a very personal, autobiographical concept album, mainly consisting of rock songs, with some elements of other genres including jazz, funk, blues, world music, and even a touch of country music.

I’ve previously put out three other CDs on my independent record label “Hounds of Renown Records,” all very different from each other.  This is my first new release in over seven years.  It’s also the first record I’ve done where I’ve written all the words and music, and where I’m singing lead vocals on every tune.

I feel it’s the best musical work I’ve ever done.  It’s a record which I think finally gives a proper sense of my abilities as a songwriter, composer, arranger and co-producer.  I wrote horn section parts for all four saxophones – soprano, alto, tenor and baritone – and I solo on each of the four saxes on various tunes.

I’m fortunate to have worked with amazing people who helped me bring it to fruition, including a great band of sought-after London session musicians, my co-producer Richard Lobb, artwork designer Graham Foster, and others.  We worked hard to make the best record we could.  I believe it’s a thing of beauty.

It took around three years, from the time I started writing the songs until its release in January 2012.  But in another sense, it’s been over 40 years in the making.

With this record, I finally found the courage to tell my story, parts of which are quite difficult to tell.  But the time was right and circumstances were conducive.  Encouragement from friends and loved ones helped create a safe environment.  All that helped enable me to face my fears and find my voice.

In upcoming blog postings I’ll talk more what this piece is about, how the songs were written and how the record was made.