FALCON

“Every time a bell rings, an angel gets their wings.”

I’m no angel, but I was given my wings in 1973, and they’ve led me to you.

This is a good time to let everyone know that I’ll be releasing two new records in 2025, one being a “live” recording called “Super Session”, and the other being a studio record of 11 songs that’s taken about 2 years to finish. I think my people will love it – it’s called “FALCON.”

For a preview, click HERE.

Why “FALCON”? Well… For one thing, a falcon is about as noble a bird as one could ever see. For another, my very first car was a 1964 Ford Falcon station wagon that my mother bought me in 1973 with $150 out of her church organ playing sock drawer.

The Falcon took me from Rhode Island to Indiana to college. I’ve chronicled the tale of my old faithful wagon in my song “Made Like Cars” on my CD “Motorcycle.” Rusty, beat, but running, it was nothing to look at, but took me everywhere. I loved that old car.

The new record has nothing to do with cars, but it does have a lot to do with the time period when my Falcon was flying me off to the life I’m still living. It took me to Indiana and Illinois, where I joined my first bands — Morninglory and Hickory Wind. It took me to see Dylan and The Band in 1974, and it took me to Chicago where I first saw John Prine. Indiana is where I met guitarist Phil Keaggy, whose band I joined in 1976, straight out of college. Sure enough, that beat up Ford took me to New York, where the band was based. The Falcon was humble, but it had wings, and flew me towards my dreams.

“Falcon” has a number of songs that reflect on those times, particularly in one song called “Gene”, that speaks of my old college buddy Gene Piertrini, who passed just a few years ago. Sing your grief, sing your joy, the muse has always whispered.

Certain themes are probably due to my age, although I’m not slowing down! But the regrets expressed in one song are universal, as is the love I express in another. I’ve always had a tendency to write from experience, and “Falcon” is largely autobiographical.

There are a few songs that find me walking in someone else’s shoes, like “King Of The Lucky Guys” — about a guy who was a nobody in high school who shows up at his class reunion, and “Ain’t Got You”, with a similar flair. “Impatience” is a look at “a song I wish I’d never sung” and “a note I wish I’d never sent”.

The record has a lot of goodwill — I hope it makes a difference in someone’s life. Perhaps the most important song on the project is called “Lesson Of Love”, inspired by someone who’ll remain anonymous. It addresses a parent who can’t accept their child as they are. I hope it heals somebody’s soul, if not everybody’s.

It’s my good fortune to access the hallowed halls of Blackbird Studios in Nashville a few times a year, and much of this recording was done there, with many of the musicians who I continue to collaborate with — the best in Nashville, if not the world. On January 7th, when the Kickstarter begins, you’ll be able to watch a video that reveals the players, as well as more about the songs and the campaign.

My web designer, Carol Statella, will make sure there’s a way for you to subscribe to this blog and pertinent news, and of course, if you don’t want to remain on our list, you can easily unsubscribe.

Thanks everyone! I sure hope you have a lovely holiday! May you have wings!

Merry Christmas

Phil