So we’ve released a new record, and we decided to call it “Phoenix”. Well truthfully, it was me (Eric) that decided to call it that. I’ve had the title in my head since I first got the idea to make a new album back in the latter half of 2024. Looking back, I seem to have had the album title in mind, even before I started writing in all cases, for all previous album releases. And I wonder if that has guided the creative process in some way? Going back to 2016, with “Small Town Dreamer” (hey it’s been exactly 10 years since we started this journey!), this album was meant to be a swan song of sorts; my old band Shattervox was in a state of collapse, and I thought, maybe I’ll just do one final ‘solo record’ and then pack it in, and focus on my corporate career. Interesting. Little did I know. Even a mindful person like myself, can’t always predict where things will go. “Small Town Dreamer” was the title I choose, because that is who I am, a small town boy making a go of it, in the big city. I can’t recall if I had already written the song “My Hometown” before or after coming up with the title “Small Town Dreamer”, but there is a definite theme of nostalgia and childhood reflection that runs through the record. Our second album was called “Modern Dystopia”, and that’s also a title that came before the album was fully written. At the time I was feeling the weight of world events and shifting political landscapes, so I was inspired to write an imagined world in which we lived in a kind of modern dystopia. Again, little did I know! Following that, the world continued to shift, and COVID came along and knocked us all on our literal and figurative asses, prompting me to focus on home recording, and smaller projects focused on cranking out singles as opposed to full length albums, squeezing little bursts of creativity between the cracks of a crumbling society. Eventually I would compile those singles into a collection called “It’s A Rich Tapestry”, and again this was a title I had in mind for at least a couple of years before the compilation came together. It originates from a silly inside joke between myself and my former Shattervox bandmate, Frank Miotto. It’s kind of a glib bastardization of the more familiar “life’s rich tapestry” aphorism. And more recent release “Algoma Street” is bourne from the fact that my hometown resides in the district/county of Algoma, which led us to the coincidental discovery that our guitarist Ken Yoshioka resided on Algoma Street in Etobicoke. Once I learned about that nugget, I knew that one day we would make an album with that moniker. And we did: “Algoma Street” was released to minimal fanfare in the summer of 2024. It’s a pretty good record, but not many people have heard it. So that brings me to the current record: “Phoenix”.
I knew I was going to call this record Phoenix, even before starting, and it is a reflection of how I feel. Being an artist is fun, and rewarding, but it’s also quite scary. I mean you’re putting yourself out there, kind of naked for the world to see, and maybe people will look, and maybe some will laugh, but worst of all most people walk on by without even noticing. And that’s hard, and that’s sad. And I think I was focusing too much on that. I know I have always put the right amount of focus and effort on creating the best product that I can, and I have mostly been successful in that, and I have in fact grown and improved, as far as my craft, and production, composition, and writing skills have gone. I may not be great, but I’m better than I was, and that’s growth, and that’s good. But I’ve had to learn that once the proverbial bird (or Phoenix) leaves the nest, you no longer have control over what happens, and you can’t control how it’s received. I can post on Instagram and Facebook, but I can’t force people to click the link, and I certainly can’t force people to listen to the record, and even if they do listen, I can’t force them to like it. There are things we have control over, and things we don’t. And accepting these facts, and embracing them, allows me to feel better about it all, and to feel proud about the product, regardless of how it is receieved or perceived. And I feel stronger. And I feel stronger about my own muscial and compositional capabilities, and I feel especially strong about my band, and I think we feel stronger together. Stronger than ever. Finally. And that’s why I called the album “Phoenix”. I hope you like it.
Spin it on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/album/7e49Qc11BznAPUFqNGCKM9
Tune in on Tidal: https://tidal.com/album/480832781/u
Dig it on Deezer: https://link.deezer.com/s/325HTSSZSJGTGum6oVBkm
Add it on Apple: https://music.apple.com/ca/album/phoenix/1860451396
Eastside Confectionery Records 