Album Notes

Despite his spending tens of thousands of hours alone crafting STARGAZER, which he released in August of 2006, Sean is not altogether antisocial, at least when it comes to music. Indeed, through the years, Sean has enjoyed the privilege of working with a number of gifted artists on an array of musical projects.

In 2000 and 2001, Sean and four close friends formed a musical group they called STEVE. Over a period of about thirteen months, the band—made up of Matthew Jackson, Sean, Logan Ramsier, Nick Robinson, and David Ullman—performed a number of shows and festivals in Northeast Ohio and Pittsburgh and, under the direction of Brian Ullman, memorialized many of their original compositions in the album, IN THE EVENT OF RHYTHM. Though produced only on a limited basis, the record’s sales exceeded even the band’s lofty expectations, no doubt fueled by STEVE’s powerfully engaging live performances.

In late 2005 through the spring of 2006, Sean co-produced and mixed seven tracks on Nick Robinson’s groundbreaking album, AND SO GOD SCRATCHED OUT THE TRUTH, which Robinson released to great fanfare under the pseudonym ANOTHER SOCIAL BLUNDER. Some of these tracks even inspired favorable comparisons to Doves, Muse, and Nine Inch Nails. Sean’s exposure to this project was instrumental in inspiring many of the final touches to the organic compositions of STARGAZER.

After finishing his work on STARGAZER in the summer of 2006, Sean leapt at the opportunity to contribute to David Ullman’s elaborate studio project. By that point, Ullman had already devoted almost two years to what was becoming an all-consuming labor of love. Over the course of several months, Sean worked with Ullman in composing, performing, and recording piano tracks for a handful of songs. Then, in early January of this year, Ullman brought his finished tracks to Lincoln, Nebraska for Sean to master. The finished product, DOG DAYS, was released to great critical acclaim in February: Jeff Niesel, music editor of Free Times, praised the work as an “exquisitely beautiful record,” while Peter Chakerian, Managing Editor of Cool Cleveland, depicted the album as "deep, dark and intensely rich."