Album Notes

I was born in London and while at Bristol University started playing in folk clubs in the West Country of England. After college I joined The Fred Bloggs Band and toured Europe's U.S. military bases singing pop, rock, funk. We made a vinyl EP which you can sample at the Fred Bloggs Band website, where there are also some pics of the band from the 1970s.

I moved to Los Angeles in the 1980s and pursued a career in education. When my children were young I taught recorder at their elementary school.The songs on Nothing Between Us were written in 1990s and were inspired by the environments of England and Southern California, and the inner changes I was going through. They were recorded on my home studio.
Here is a rundown of the tracks:
Walk In Love is a feel-good folk-poppy sort of tune about that feeling of being part of the larger spiritual plan. I’m afraid that there are a few puns in this one about the 134, better known as the Ventura freeway, plus an accordion in the mix.

The title track, Nothing Between Us is one that I perform at gigs and really was the anchor of the whole album, which hopefully reflects the subtle energy of the nearby natural desert environment. School Of Love is a sort of hip-hop spiritual pop song, built around a keyboard and Spanish guitar riff. I enjoyed doing the harmonies on this one.

I Thought It Was You is just me and piano in a jazz ballad style, with bass, sparse drums and sax solo. It was inspired by a walk on Hampstead Heath in London. Walk On Water has been layered with quite a few synth tracks and is probably the most techno song on the album. It was inspired by walks with my kids in the summer to the local swimming pool. Here are the lyrics:

Walk on Water

1. She is walking to the pool on a sweltering August day;
Craftsman cottages and Crepe-Myrtle trees they line her way.
Sunlight dance on water, the turquoise pool’s aglow,
Like a David Hockney painting she saw long ago.

And she dives, into the oneness she goes,
Alive, as power of pure love flows…… (and she says)

Won’t you walk on water with me
Sail eternal seas,
Drink the magic water
And let love set us free.

2.He is on the ocean, sailing into the blue,
Contemplating hidden treasure he’s found in you.
Sea lions guard the harbor as he sails into the bay,
Carried on a friendly current where dolphins play.

And they dive, into the oneness they go,
Untied from limits and lies we know…….(and they say)

Won’t you walk on water with me
Sail eternal seas,
Drink the magic water
And let love set us free.

oooooooooooooo piano instrumental oooooooooooooo

Br. They will walk on water like some lost art,
And they will try to change this world into one heart.

In contrast, Magnolia is meant to sound very English, and was recorded without any embellishments, just acoustic guitar with “bongo-guitar” percussion. It is one of my back-to-nature songs. January is about winter – the “other” season in Los Angeles. Bare trees and silver sky. The final track, The Gentle Wind is an acoustic folk song where I was trying to get a sort of Crosby, Stills and Nash sound.

I sometimes perform these songs at local venues. My last gigs were at Eagle Rock Arts festival and at the Blissful Soul, a local craft store which has now gone completely online.