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What if your national anthem was a sad song? Discuss the hows and why nots.

Non-French speaking American falls for troubled French "Lolita" in France or somewhere. Mayhem ensues.

This was written very quickly. Almost everything came out in neatly wrapped little sections. 1st verse. Then chorus. Then 2nd verse. I just got my ego out of the way and kept singing and strumming. Then, the bridge came down (all I need is all I got…) and I was sure I had something good.

I had this little idea. Kind of a Paul McCartney, Tom Waits-y kinda thing. My buddy Jedd Hughes came in with the end idea fully intact. The same key as my idea and everything. I love it when that happens.
Studs Terkel wrote a book called, "Working" that I love. I love to hear people's stories. Where they started out, what they've endured and survived, and how they got where they are today. These stories inspire a lot of my songs. And they drive me to be a better human being.

Vince and I were writing and he had the verse part and melody. I liked it cause it was different and had some intrigue going on. We needed a big chorus so I dove in and found this one.

I can best sum up this song with the lyrics from the bridge.
"It's the chance I take. It's the choice I make. And the choice I make is mine."

Wrote this with Ben and, again, you can hear that voice of "conscience." The bizarre thing is that most of my lyrics come from a subconscious place.  I had most of this idea already and Ben helped me smooth out the rough edges.
We are in a tough situation here in America. Many of us are too proud to admit we have serious problems. We are afraid to question. Afraid to doubt. I read a quote recently by Elie Wiesel, "the opposite of love is not hate, it's indifference." We have way too much indifference going in here in America. We need to wake up and take a good look around.

This song is dedicated to red wine and feminine beauty.

Trying to capture that feeling you get the first time you lose someone you didn't know you needed so badly.

A love song for my lovely Lori. Simple and true.

Written with my friend Ben Cooper. Ben and I have this strange connection. All of our songs seem to have this strong sense of "conscience" behind them. I started strumming this chord progression and singing, "do oo oo oo oo" and thought, "that's fun, keep that." This song was written in probably 40 minutes. We just got out of its way and let it flow.

Lori and I were out in Santa Cruz in '08 I believe. We were hiking along the ocean and we found this beautiful, secluded alcove. The waves were crashing on the shore, it was probably 75 degrees, blue skies, we were stretched out in the sand and it was heaven. Months later when this song idea hit me, I just put myself back on the shore, in the sand with the person I'm in love with. Then the song came easy.

It hurts to watch someone you love destroy themselves. I had a dream that a lost, loved one had "made it out."
This song is dedicated to all the warriors who are fighting addictions and demons every day every minute every second. Keep going folks, 'cause it's all worthwhile.  And the ones who "make it out" have a powerful story to share. We all need you and your powerful stories.

I had an idea. I thought it was perhaps too simple and plain. Rose liked it. In about an hour we had a song.
The song is about being in a situation for a long time and then, suddenly waking up one day and realizing you have to leave that situation immediately. That's only happened to me a few a times in my life, but it's a powerful experience to get that feeling in your gut, and then try to muster up the courage to make that move. Change can be scary. The vocals on this were recorded that same afternoon. Take 2 or 3, I believe. Love it. One of my favorites to perform live.

So many things we wish and long for. I guess this song is about the "kid" in all of us. And how important it is to keep the "kid" alive.

I had this musical idea for a month or two, then Matthew and I were scheduled to write so I showed it to him and he liked it. We were totally on the same page about how the song "felt" to us. We just had to work to make sure the lyrics somehow captured that "feeling."

This song was written and recorded at home in Nashville. It took about a half-hour one morning to complete. Everything came very fast, lyrics and melody, the vocal take is one of the first takes from that morning. We added live drums and overdubs in Toronto later, but most of what you hear is that morning.

This one was written and recorded very quickly. I remember feeling very moved by something that happened in my family. It was deeply emotional. Despair and Hope bubbling up inside me, driving me to express my feelings in a song.

This is my Africa. Again, Kensington Market in Toronto is a wild, vital place.

Written and recorded in Toronto as we were mixing the record, this one was shot "from the hip" as Gary would say. Ben Pelchat and I collaborated quickly to create the soundscape. The lyrics were written in a flash. This album is essentially my musical travelogue from the past 5 or so years. Welcome to bigredbutton! Has a Middle Eastern flavor that I believe was inspired by Kensington Market in Toronto where we recorded it.