I owe a lot to Ryan Fitzsimmons. If I am being quite frank, I may owe the fact that I am still writing songs and playing them out at decent venues to him. When I first moved back to town from college in Delaware I struggle to find gigs, I hosted an acoustic Americana night at a rock club, I played shitty downtown Boston bars that required 98% cover songs (essentially, I could play half of an original, if I snuck it into the middle of “Glory Days” and it was in the same key), and was generally unhappy. Ryan invited me down to Providence to play an all acoustic, no mics, no electricity show at AS220 and that night I realized that places like that exist and I could get my foot in the door somehow.
Fitz is a fucking rockstar with an acoustic guitar. His energy on stage in unparalleled by any other acoustic guitar toting person I have ever witnessed, he is a true powerhouse and a force of nature. His songs are emotional and evocative, but also eloquent and compelling. He is an enigma of sorts, how someone can be so commanding, but also extremely approachable and genuine is beyond me. Most of the time I see him he is breaking strings and nearly snapping the neck off of his guitar, but he is just a sweet and wonderful guy.
Ryan said he wanted to bring in a band, I said absolutely yes. In tow were Laurence Scudder and Jim Larkin. Both of these guys play with about 60% of the musicians in town. I am not sure how they do it, perhaps they have mastered the science of cloning themselves? Larry’s viola playing is unrivaled. His style and the way he has adopted the instrument is unlike any other. How many viola players tote a pedal board along to their gig? Really? Larkin is a one man rhythm section. Equally as talented and genius on both the drums and the bass, the man is just incredible. He played both the upright and the drums on this recording. Luckily, you can overdub in this day and age.
The song choice here was a real treat. Helen Rose has this wonderful storyline and melody, courtesy of Mr. Greg Klyma (with help from Jonathan Byrd). It’s what songwriting is all about, telling a story that is personal yet other folks can latch into and feel. The whole arrangement was just wonderful.