Album Notes

I was raised on Music. My father played marimba and organ in a popular local 3-piece jazz combo- The Versatiles- for 30 years, and my mother has been singing with a church choir, since high school, to this day. My Dad started teaching me on our livingroom spinet when I was a toddler (I wanted to be just like my Daddy). I started formal lessons in the second grade- from my Mom's choir director, of course. Most of my Aunts and Uncles, and even my father's parents and THEIR siblings- sang as well, so at family get-togethers we were literally surrounded by harmony. On Fridays, after dinner, my Dad would come home from work and we kids would load his equipment into the Vista Cruiser while he cleaned up for his playing job, at a local club or party center. So joining a cover band that played on weekends seemed like the natural and necessary thing for me to do. After more than 20 years of that happy lifestyle, I decided it was time to perform and record some of the original songs I have been writing since junior high school- though that very early stuff was left in the music room at home...I wish my Dad was here for this at-long-last accomplishment, and I hope you enjoy listening!
Half the tracks on watertalk are pretty much solo performances, but the band tracks feature performances by some of my best friends- who happen to be some of the finest musicians anywhere. All the songwriting, piano, lead vocals and most harmonies are my work, and Byron Nemeth contributed all guitars as well as produced, engineered, mixed and mastered this cd. On little rivers and number nine, Wanda Sobieska added violin, Deanna Brzozowski sang backups, Tim Sprow added drums, Jeff Anastasia played bass, Carlos Jones added bongos, congas, guiro and vibraslap and J. Scott Franklin played trumpet. On barfly, she walks away and touch me, you'll hear performances by Karmi James on cello, Pete "Pedro" Dell on percussion, Cholly O on bass and Rob Hunter on trumpet.