The latest solo album from the leader of The Dream Syndicate. Produced by Chris Eckman

13 MP3 Songs
ROCK: Classic Rock, ROCK: Americana

Details:
The days during my three weeks in Ljubljana were pretty simple. I would wake up early and leave my apartment on Trubarjeva Street and cross Dragon Bridge in search of a good cup of coffee which I would I would sip as I watched the vendors in the open market as they sold cabbage, purses, cheap watches and anything else that might be worth a Euro or two. Iâd watch this panorama of commerce and barter and think about which song I would drag into the daily laboratory that was Chris Eckmanâs home studio.

I had never made a record like this before. I was in Slovenia, far from my New York City apartment and in a musical world that had shrunk down to just two peopleâme and Chris, the multi-talented producer (Midnight Choir) and bandleader (Walkabouts, Chris & Carla). He had been wanting to make a record with me for many years and seemed particularly intent on stripping things down to my voice and my acoustic guitar and then building up another universe from there.

No band. No session players (until later). No passing of the baton in this relay race. Even Chris would hesitate when I tried to get him to play something. Guitar, bass, keyboards, vocalsâif I could do it, I had to do it. And thatâs why âCrossing Dragon Bridgeâ sounds different from other records Iâve done before but also more like the sound inside my head than anything Iâve done before.

But itâs not a record I would have made in New York. Or in Tucson. Or in Los Angeles, Tokyo, Moscow or Mali, Itâs not like a record I would make on the moon or on Mars or in New Jersey. It has the sound and the mood and the sights and the overall vibe of Ljubljana. I swallowed the city whole and then waited for the meal to work itself into a digestive hallucination before spitting it out again each day at Chrisâ place. And then it was back for a pint of Union beer by the river before starting all over again.

When I left Slovenia a few weeks later both of us knew we had something special. And then we proceeded to add the extra bits that would take the experience further. An eight-piece orchestra was added in Prague to a bunch of the songs and a womanâs choir in Ljubljana was added to others. Linda Pitmon, Kirk Swan, Chris Cacavas and Tim Adams (Teenage Prayers) chimed in from New York, Los Angeles and Germany bringing in elements of familiarity from my past and present.

Finally the whole thing was filtered through the creative and impressionistic mixing skills of Tucker Martine (Decemberists, Laura Veirs) and turned into the record that you hold in your hands. Itâs a snapshot, a dream, an acid flashback, a tourist guide, a midnight snack, a morning cup of coffeeâitâs the other world that happened around me and inside my head for three weeks last September. I hope you enjoy taking the trip back there with me.

People who are interested in The Velvet Underground The Dream Syndicate The Walkabouts should consider this download.