Quality Time
Tracks:
Although this is my fifth release, "Quality Time" feels like it is my debut record. It started out as a simple session with just me singing and playing guitar, with a little harmonica here and there, just laying down some songs. In fact, we did all of the basic takes live and most of them were first takes. I couldn't do the vocals separately, because I knew I'd lose that feeling and energy you can only get with a live take. Ultimately, this simple session turned into a record I am very proud of, thanks to the help of my friends, Fred Gillen Jr. and Red Molly. These songs are very close to me and I'm really happy to share them.
Liner Notes:
"There's a black tornado, black tornado, spinning around in my body sometimes." Dan Bern
What if someone had slowed down Jackson Pollock? Sat him down and said, 'OK, calm down and lets plan out this work of yours, so we can make it the best it can be, with composition and color harmony, maybe even make it MARKETABLE..." Jackson Pollock took those cans in his hands and started flinging paint around because he HAD TO. He threw paint as if his life depended on it because IT DID. Great artists make their art because they HAVE TO. The 'Black Tornado' cannot and will not be contained.
We recorded the basic guitar/voice for eleven of the songs on this CD in one session. Anthony never even used the toilet or drank a glass of water during that session. As producer, I could have said, 'OK, let's slow down here and talk about this song, really plan what we are doing here...' Anthony trusted me completely and if I said that we should slow down he would have gone along with it. I had to ask myself, 'Why isn't this kid even stopping for a drink of water?' The answer to that question was pretty clear to me. When the muse runs, you try to keep up! The real job of a producer is simply to facilitate the artist doing and being the best HE can be. I sometimes perform concerts with Anthony da Costa. It is pretty near impossible to keep up with him, both creatively and in energy, and it is always a great challenge to at least TRY to keep up. As producer of this record, I hope I kept up and otherwise stayed out of the way. A CD is round and spins very quickly when you press play. If you hear a tornado when you play this CD, then I must have succeeded at my little part of the job, which is really just to keep the tape rolling. I can tell you Anthony succeeded at his because I was there and I heard that cyclone turning and churning.
Fred Gillen, Jr., Singer/Songwriter and Producer of "Quality Time"
