Album Notes

Turning off the stereo would be the healthy thing for Justin Hulsey's songwriting career, but the more he listens to other songwriters the more opportunities he has to create something new. While writing songs in high school he studied the elements in music that affected him. Hulsey learned from Jackson Browne's blunt honesty about love and cruelty, and Thom Yorke's ability to wail nonsense into meaning and it moved him to an extraordinary yet clear style of music.

In the last three years Hulsey has developed the ability to make his music in any environment. He thrived within a small community of songwriters in a town more known for its athletics than its arts and then moved to one of the most music-savvy cities in the world. While studying literature at a state university in Kansas he realized the importance of structured writing and worked on turning his experiences into poetry and then the structured lines of verse into lyrics. His decision to move from Manhattan to Nashville was not based on a dream, but rather an opportunity. Being surrounded by musicians and learning about a multitude of people stretched his view of the world and how he wanted to be a part of it. Exposure to a variety of songwriters, musicians, producers and listeners encouraged him to reject the easy recipe for a hit single and to stick with his formula of "me figuring out me and making it universal," a challenge he's seen taken on by the likes of Hemingway and Steve Earle.

Throughout his recording career he's worked with artists from the local scenes in Wichita, Manhattan, and Kansas City, Kansas and understands the importance of ownership and trust. Instead of writing a handful of songs and rushing to record, Hulsey's realized the importance of letting his music grow, in himself and the world around him. Learning from past producers who had a tendency to make albums more "radio-ready," Hulsey's beginning to trust his own songwriting strength and playing music that represents his journey through each day.

Hulsey's created a "wall-paper" theory when it comes to writing songs. He focuses on his words and tears away at them until he has the truth from his heart written down on the page.