Seven years ago I was a frustrated, alone, self loathing artist playing any gig that would have me, subsequently becoming more frustrated as a result of playing shitty gigs to no one, and just overall unhappy with music. Since then, and the past year in particular, a lot has changed. Music has changed my life. It has shaped my life, personally, professionally, emotionally, socially. Pretty much most aspects of my life are touched or impacted by music on some wavelength.

I have met incredible human beings and proudly consider a lot of them my closest friends as a result of music. These people have affected me in a way that I cannot truly explain nor begin to comprehend. Some of my happiest moments (aside from the day I met my wife/my lover/my best friend of course) have been forged with an instrument in my hand alongside many of those people. Some of my darkest emotions have been cast on by the facility of being able to write a song…a Dan Blakeslee smile also has the same effect on dark emotions. Some of the very best people I know I met on a stage in a tiny bar, or was deeply moved by in a listening room or coffee shop, or fell in love with their songwriting by being asked for a CD review.

I count my blessings every day I get to make music with and better get to know these people. I want to appreciate these folks more, I want to support these folks more,  I just want to help people hear the words that those folks have to sing and say. If I have learned anything in the past couple of days it is that music is a healing force, it brings people together, it can expunge sadness with joyful noise, but we aren’t invincible.

To the artists who contributed their talents to this project and shared songs from people they felt need to be heard. To the folks who wrote the songs who inspired these songwriters to cover them. To Andrew and Sam at Riverview for their endless patience and the amount of heart they put into the recordings. To Steve and Eric at Dirt Floor for their generosity and kindness and mastering this project to help it see completion. Dan Blakeslee for the killer album art. The folks who reached out to help when we needed it to complete the project. And in this instance, most importantly Connor Millican for documenting it all and for bearing with me through this process. We have some great things to come in our collaboration together.

This project is the little I can do to help shed led on some of those wonderful people who have impacted me in such profound ways. This is the first, but I hope not the last of the Locals Covering Locals project. There is much more noise to be heard and songs to be sung. It’s my little way of saying “listen!”

I hope you all do…