In early October, 2004, I decided it was time to record my first album. I had several original compositions stashed in the ever-deepening files of my mind, and for several months I had been anxious to work them into a CD, but hadn't been able to seriously commit to it.

I made the project a priority in my busy college-life schedule, and set to work. But where to start? I had very little experience with this sort of undertaking, and although I had an idea of some of the tasks ahead of me, I didn’t know where I should start, what would come next, or where to go. I eventually dug up my short list of connections in the music industry and found two names that looked promising, Swil Kanim and Fred Strickland. Good thing! The help I got from these two laid the framework for the entire project: I got names for recording and duplication, plus advice ranging from hiring guest performers to protecting my copyrights to promoting the finished product: my album is indebted to the generous, selfless help that these two individuals provided over a few phone calls in October. Thank you.

I ended up recording tracks 1-9 at Ironwood Studios (now called Avast) in Ballard (Seattle), and track 10 at Hanzseck Audio, also in Ballard. Bonus tracks 11 and 12 were recorded at a church in Wisconsin during the summer of 2002. (These were part of a little CD I made for fun: I thought it'd be cool to have a couple of the actual recordings on the album, even though their quality isn't the same.That's why they're bonus tracks.)

The CDs were duplicated by RealTime, also where the cover was designed. (Please see CD Credits for more info.)

I have been immensely surprised and pleased with the reactions I receive when I mention that I produced a CD: most take me seriously and are very excited and curious. That makes me happy! I know that I enjoy this sort of thing, but never expected so many others to be as enthusiastic and supportive.