Album Notes

Here's my story. I started writing songs when I was in college. I was a kid then, and did things for the sake of doing them - everything was an open door. Almost all of the songs I wrote then reflect that.

I graduated and stumbled around the country, living in some pretty interesting areas including hermit-like in the forests of the Santa Cruz Mountains and grizzly-like in the rough hills of Jackson, Wyoming. The songs I wrote during that time differed from the songs I wrote in college in the sense that I was no longer a meek adolescent but part of "the world" - reality had changed from a sweet-sounding violin to, at times, a screaming siren (in my ear). The songs I wrote during that time illustrate my change.

After my time in Jackson, I got serious and decided not to let life be something that was "beyond" me but stand up and try to live in a way that reflected what I thought to be true. I've recently started writing songs in the sense that they're not songs I need to write but songs I choose to write.

Recently, a friend sent me a bunch of recordings that I had thought were lost: these were songs that I had intended to put on albums someday and to release, but because of a “breakup” with this partner, never got around to. “Vault Songs” is an assortment of songs taken from a “recovered vault” – seven DAT tapes found have produced some wonderfully recorded moments with a wonderful friend befriended. Ranging from the thoughtful, pensive, and melancholic to the aggressive and dark, this album reflects so many truths about the past…about a past that has been lost so much on the road. It’s funny however, how things can fall into your lap, like these recordings have, and will celebrate that time which I thought was lost. So here’s to memories, the promise of what once was, and what can be, and to “Vault Songs”. Thanks for your ears.

Mark Gothard