Album Notes

Almost five years in the making, Off the Spring is the public debut of composer/drummer/keyboardist Justin Radford. It was written in the fall of 2004, after a viewing of the film version of The Who's Tommy. Originally just a Midi score, it became Radford's senior project as a pre-requisite for graduating high school. It sat on the shelf for several years, as Radford bounced from one musical project to another. Finally, after building a humble home studio, Radford began laying the drum tracks down in February 2008. It was a long journey to find the musicians who were capable of playing this epic project, but 16 months later, Off the Spring was a finished production.

The album was originally conceptualized as a film set entirely to music, much in the same vein as Tommy or Jesus Christ Superstar. The composition itself was based on a screenplay that Radford wrote. While originally desiring to make a rock opera on film for his senior project, the film aspect was soon dropped for logistical reasons, and the idea never resurfaced, leaving just the music for the world to enjoy.

Off the Spring is the story of a high school girl named Hillary. Her parents kill themselves for reasons never known, sending Hillary into a dark depression, alienating her friends and pushing everybody away. Bishop, a new student to her school, takes a liking to her, and eventually gets Hillary out of her funk. This further alienates not only her friends, but her spirit, and whenever her relationships seem reconciled, something new and dramatic takes away the moment.

Featuring the talents of Jesse Cox, Liz Hodgson, Margie Hodgson, Ali Ippolito, Valerie LeBlanc, Stephen Smith, Jeremy Winkler, and Ky Fifer.