“Rock and Roll's simple, don’t mess it up” 

Not Tim Ellis’ exact words but his message to me. As I took notes out, songs took off. This song was one of those the band nailed on the first pass. The magic is the musical arrangement Tim and I carved out.

WHAT IS MUSICAL ARRANGEMENT? 

How full are the drums? What type of electric guitar sound? How much keyboards, when and what type? This and more was the musical arrangement. Tim would describe it as follows. The artist, me, was the architect. He was the general contractor managing the subcontractors and the interior decorator picking the curtains and carpet and blinds and paint. Many great bands have one guy who knows all the riffs and great licks of all time and how all the greatest musical arrangements were done. And as a result, could invent an arrangement in moments pulling various elements together in his head in an inspirational blink. That was Tim Ellis my producer, musical arranger and lead and rhythm guitarist.

DEVELOPING MY UNIQUE SOUND

Tim Ellis said he wanted to embellish me with the music. He’d say “Don’t change the way you want to sing it, the music will form around you.” Listen to the last note of Tim Jensen’s Saxophone and my spoken word VOTE on the song Protest And Vote. It sounds like I’m the sax because my voice is so low, and the music formed around it. Tim Ellis gave this song a timeless feel of the Byrds folk vibe that’s why it feels so warm. He also matched the music to the emotion of the song. He was a master. He put in and doubled a great guitar riff which makes the musical hook of the song. Troy Welstad on keyboards is like a great Ringo Star, but on piano. He can knock out amazing solo’s but he thoughtfully gives each song what it needs. His piano stands out on this song.

The pressure  I was always fretting about which 14 songs we’d prep to make and squeeze in on a two-day band recording session. I was in prolonged agony of eeny meeny miny mo because you never really know which ones will take off in studio production. I always had about 40 songs prepped at a time but had to wait about six months to get a studio band session because Tim was so booked and he didn’t really get the 100 song rock opera zeitgeist until I came up with the opera name REDEEM THE DREAM, The Rock Opera to Save America. At that point, he made more time to help me finish the opera. I loved this song when I wrote it and knew its meaning, but after it came out so well, I realized it was the soul of the opera. Because I made the opera for 300 ordinary hard working men and women that make America run every single day. It captures our daily struggle to make our lives better.