Description
“Paws of a Bear” is my 8th studio album. I have been working on it for nearly a year though some of the songs have been written along the road for the last few years, like “Blood Moon” which I wrote after visiting Yellowstone when the forest fires in Idaho and Montana colored the moon red every evening. When I started recording the album I had a very clear view that I wanted it to be very stripped down, acoustic and that the songs and lyrics would be the focus, not covered with a big production. My pedal steel player (also dobro and trumpet) Tim Fleming came over to Germany to record his parts with me last Fall, and bit by bit I have eased in the other instruments. (Fun fact! Tim was Laura Brannigan’s bass player back in the 80’s). You can hear that the pedal steel really is the featured instrument on the recording, not counting my voice.
All in all I would say that this album has a strong focus on the theme of home. I guess it’s something that I think about more now that I am on the road playing some 120+ concerts a year. (This year’s tour is the World Tour, with stops in New Zealand, Europe and the USA). The contrast between choosing a life on the road versus staying in your home town, working and raising a family is something that intrigued me when writing the songs.
