Album Notes

It all started on a camping trip...
...near the shores of Lake Tahoe during the summer of 2002. For three nights in a row we played songs around the campfire, losing ourselves in the melodies and lyrics we had written throughout our lives. By the light of the fire, Jevon made a suggestion: "We should record these songs."

In November we grabbed that chance in a studio on the California coast. Amazingly, this was right near a beach in Aptos we visited many times as young kids. We would load up in an old, beat up Rambler and drive over the hill from San Jose to Sea Cliff Beach. There is a cement boat there we used to climb on, now partially submerged in the waves. We see this cement boat as symbolic of the songs we had written years ago - a solid part of our lives and yet we'd half-forgotten what they meant to us. They were slowly getting covered in the busyness of "sand" we call life.

Being in the studio, remembering, sharing, felt good - hopeful in fact. The sound of our acoustic guitars was always a part of our lives growing up and now we were going to put those sounds and the lyrics in a form that would not be forgotten. We dusted off a few old love songs, lingered over the meaning of others and were inspired to write a few new ones. A lot of dear friends started showing up and contributed as well.

We hope you enjoy this musical journey.

Mark Millan and The Mystic Seamen