Announcing the new album “North Star Harmony”! This one has already become a favorite of mine, mostly because of all the talent compiled in this 12-track collection of collaborations.
When I started my journey in studio work and production, my goal was to attempt to perform all the instruments and vocal tracks myself with occasional guest stars. My album 2022 album “Got It Covered” was originally intended as a “duets” album but I didn’t have enough material (or connections) at the time to pull it off. This latest release, however has a TON of talented singers and guitarists who have graciously agreed to be a part of this album. Here is a breakdown of the tracks and guest performers:
“All Over The World” featuring Sara “Tuney” Nystuen
Sara and I are both huge ELO fans and when we were deciding on what song to perform together, this was one of the songs she had suggested. It’s clearly the most complicated song instrumentally on this album (and possibly vocally as well) totalling over 35 individual tracks of instrumentation, vocals and special effects, this is one that couldn’t have been done without Sara’s influence and ability to harmonize “on the fly”
(Sara currently performs with the bands “Revved Up!”, “The V Gees”, “Femmelectric” and others)
“In The Air Tonight” featuring Theresa White
I’ve known Theresa for a little less than a year since when we started performing together with “Muddcat Melby”. I always wanted to do my own version of this classic Phil Collin’s tune and thought Theresa’s voice was perfect for this song so I turned it into a duet. This was the very first recording session for the album.
(Theresa currently performs with the bands “Muddcat Melby”, and “Shredding Flanel”)
“Break In” featuring Beth Norris Hill
I’ve often said that “Facebook” has kinda turned into the “LinkedIn” for musicians. Beth is one of those singers/musicians that I had “connected” with but hadn’t met in person until about 2 years ago when I saw her band “Sugar Buzz” perform. Beth is a rocker with phenomenal stage presence and energy. This song was actually her suggestion and while the instrumentation is fairly simple and laid back (piano, strings, and bass) it’s the vocals that truly bring the emotion to this one.
(Beth currently performs with the bands “Sugar Buzz”, “Queen of the Ryche”, “Trilogy Tribute Tour” and “The MegaBeth Project”)
“Just Give Me A Reason” featuring Dani Heinert
I’ve known Dani for a few years now when I was performing with her in the band “The Look”. This is the 3rdsong that Dani and I have recorded together – her unique vibrato in her voice is such joy to listen to. I had started recording the instrumentation tracks for this song for the “Got It Covered” album back in 2022 but never found the right person to perform it with me – until now.
(Dani currently performs with the bands “Under The Covers”, “Just4Kix”, and also fills in with others)
“Born Under A Bad Sign” featuring Michelle Hernick and Trevor Melby
I’m not known for being a “blues” performer but I’ve been around many blues artists over the years and knew I’d need help to ever pull off a decent blues recording. Enter Michelle and Trevor. Michelle can sing in multiple genres and has a very energetic stage presence. I performed a show with her last year where she sang “It Hurt So Bad” by Susan Tedeschi and she absolutely nailed it. She is also a pretty good harp player (and does a solo on this track).
Trevor came into my studio with his huge Marshall stack to give this song a true traditional blues feel with both rhythm and lead guitar tracks. He knew what the sound needed to be to pull this off.
(Michelle currently performs with the bands “Spin Cycle” and “Record Prophets”. Trevor performs with “Muddcat Melby”).
“Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around” featuring Patsy Williams and Michael Cohen
Patsy is one of the nicest people you’d ever want to meet (yet another performer who I initially met via social media). After getting to know her a bit and seeing/hearing her perform, I had her in mind immediately when looking for someone to record this classic Stevie Nicks/Tom Petty cover as she has the perfect voice for it. Patsy and Michael (while both on this recording) have yet to meet as they both recorded in separate sessions.
This is the 2nd recording I’ve done with Michael and in working with him, I knew he’d find the right guitar sound and feel for this track to be able to pull this one off successfully.
(Patsy currently performs with the bands “Heroes End” and “The V Gees”)
“Who Says You Can’t Go Home” featuring Jordan Brunsberg and Daryl Hesch
Jordan is fairly new to the Twin Cities music scene but her voice is rich and powerful (I’d say she’s an “up-and-comer” so I hope a lot of people get to know her through this album). I’ve performed with her a few times with “Just4Kix” along with Daryl (whom I’ve known for over 7 years now) and thought the two of them together would help bring this Jon Bon Jovi/Jennifer Nettles tune to life. I attempted to keep the Bon Jovi rock feel but layer that with Jordan and I swapping verses and harmonizing together.
(Jordan currently performs with the bands “Just4Kix” and “Shredding Flannel”. Daryl is currently performing with “Just4Kix”)
“Like I’m Gonna Lose You” featuring Jess Kinzell
I initially got in contact with Jess through a mutual musician friend via Facebook as her band was looking for a keyboard player (and I was in between bands at the time). She’s the only singer on this album that I hadn’t met in person before asking to be part of the project however I had heard and seen her performances on YouTube and knew she would be great to collaborate with. It took us a little while to come up with a song, however this Megan Trainor/John Legend tune was 100% her idea – and it works!
(Jess currently performs with the band “SotaPop”)
“You’re The One That I Want” featuring Tammy Jo
Tammy Jo has become a close friend of mine over the past few years and I couldn’t see doing a collaboration project of this magnitude without her (this is our 4th recording together). When TJ suggested this song for the album I wasn’t sure if I could pull it off instrumentally OR vocally (Travolta’s vocal range is higher that you may think) but we pulled it off and I think it fits us pretty well (we seem to have been recording these “sulty”-like songs lately).
(Tammy Jo currently performs with the band “Top Shelf” as well as a solo artist)
“Cruisin’” featuring Adrianne Prettyman
Adrianne is originally from the Twin Cities where I initially met her while working together at United Health Group (which evolved into my asked her to join the band “The Look” with me until her and her husband relocated to Hawaii two years ago). This is another track that was originally intended for the “Got It Covered” album but I already had 2 tracks on that album with Adrianne (this is our 4th collaboration together). With help from her husband Erik Newman, Adrianne’s tracks were recorded in Hawaii (a couple days before the tsunami warming there!) and sent back to me to final mixing and editing. This song was originally Adrianne’s idea from 3+ years ago so I’m glad we finally got to finish it.
(Adrianne and Erik are currently recording with the band “Space Hug” which originated here in Minnesota)
“Eternal Flame” featuring Kim Wolff
I’ve known Kim the longest out of all the collaborators on this album and (similar to Tammy Jo) I couldn’t do this project without including her. Yet another United Health Group connection, Kim and I were introduced by a mutual co-worker when I was looking for a female singer to add to my band “The Tone Cats” close to 20 years ago. She blended in quickly with the guys and we’ve continued to keep in touch over the years since we disbanded the group back in 2018. This song is one that we used to perform together quite frequently and it was Kim’s idea to finally record it.
This is my 7th collaboration in the studio with Kim dating back to 2008.
(Kim currently performs and records with her husband as “Steve and Kim Wolff”)
“I Do’ Wanna Know” featuring Nicole Pratt and Alex Santoni
Last and certainly not least, the album ends with a band with this lesser-known REO Speedwagon cover from the ‘80’s. Nicole and I were introduced to each other last year by our mutual friend, Eric when Nicole needed some help for a quick recording session. I reached out to her to be a part of this project not knowing what song we’d do but knew I wanted her to be a part of it. Once we settled on this song I needed to find a guitarist to do it justice so I reach out to Alex who quickly accepted and recorded his parts remotely (I think he liked experimenting with a wah-wah pedal!). It’s a great song to end the album with.
(Nicole currently performs with the band “Weekend Rockstar” and “Trilogy Tribute Tour”. Alex currently performs with the band “Revved Up!”)