I began recording ‘Get On The Bus’ in the early spring of 2008. My original intent was to record a conventional disc of children’s music and I wrote 22 songs with that idea in mind. As the recording proceeded, however, the project began to take a slightly different direction. Many of the songs that began as relatively simple compositions began to take on different personas as they became increasingly layered in the recording process. At some point, continuing to define the project as a collection of children’s songs became a creative limitation so I moved to the more liberating description of ‘A Collection Of Childish Songs’.

I continued recording through to the end of November 2008, at which point, I became so oversaturated with the project that I lost my point of reference and set the music aside indefinitely. Normally, when I reach that point I do not return to the music and, as a consequence, ninety percent of my music is eighty percent finished. To my surprise, in the spring of 2010 I developed a renewed interest in the project and thus resolved to complete it. I resumed recording in the early spring of 2010 and completed the project in November of the same year – interestingly, the identical period of time as the first major thrust. During my second major focus on the project, it continued to evolve beyond my initial description and so I further qualified the music as ‘A Collection Of Mainly Childish Songs’.

In most cases the actual music was written very quickly. While I spent more time on the lyrics, the bulk of my time was spent in the studio, experimenting with different sounds and variations on themes.
Generally for me, after the recording is done, the hard work begins - the mixing and mastering. At times I find this process excruciating as I usually end up questioning every subtle nuance of the song and often end up chasing my tail only to end up where I began. The process moves at a glacial pace. I spend so much time on this aspect of the process because I think it is important to appreciate the discrepancy between capturing an idea, and manifesting the best possible incarnation of that idea. In my opinion, many great ideas fall into the canyon of poor sound quality.

In order to avoid my music suffering a similar fate, I dedicate myself to the technical aspects of music production, attempting the best approximation available to me within the limits of my equipment. I have a long way to go yet.
As a result of the many transformations these songs have endured, they now emerge as a relatively eclectic mix of tunes. They were born out of a sense of play and spontaneity and, therein lay the childish element. Taken together, they represent a collection of somewhat odd songs spanning a wide variety of themes. Although they range from the more traditional children’s fare, to what might leave some straining to make connections between the music and a children’s theme, ‘Get on The Bus’ is a family of related songs. They represent a period of creativity for me that I will look back on fondly. I hope you enjoy them.