Thanks for visiting. This site is currently getting redesigned and things are a little messy. If you are looking for something and can’t find it, please email Jason at jason@knowingtrees.com . He’ll do his best to be helpful!
We got to hear Robyn Hitchcock at the South Broadway Cultural Center last week. He’s such a fantastic performer.
He played two sets of music, all requests, with his wife Emma adding some harmony for the last few songs. Then, he played the “encore” in the lobby. It was incredibly beautiful when he started A Day in the Life by the Beatles and everyone gently joined in for a sing along.
I’m so excited to share with you some new music from my dear one, Maria McCullough, and a great friend and wonderful musician, mx puja singh. They have a new album which came out this week called an area of the celestial sphere under the pecan tree
Maria and puja wrote and recorded this music over about a week’s time at our house in Albuquerque, NM. What a gift I was give, to hang around and watch and listen to the process unfold as the songs were coming together.
And, I am honored that they invited me to play my banjo on a couple of the tracks. One of the songs is sītā rām (live) which you can listen to right here.
Purchase the whole album at puja’s bandcamp page, https://mxpujasingh.bandcamp.com/album/an-area-of-the-celestial-sphere-under-the-pecan-tree
Jess Baldissero is not only a good friend, she is one of my favorite songwriters. I was honored that she sat with me earlier in the week to discuss the discoveries and accidents of the creative process. We shared some laughs, talked about good times and hard times and we each played a few songs.
Getting to Know Trees knowingtrees.com · Songwriters' Exchange with Jason McInnes and Jess Baldissero
Three tracks from The Hermit, my debut solo album are streaming during the pre-order period. The full album will be released June 28, 2024 on Bandcamp.
http://joybird.bandcamp.comPick up Jess’s music, featuring her band Joybird, at Bandcamp also.
Musical Dreaming – it’s a practice that I took part in, but had never really considered until some great chats with my old friend John Donahue.
I think about John and his musical dreaming a lot when I meet with frustrated students.
Dreaming with Your Guitar .pdf
They wanted to play more. They’re just too busy. They’re frustrated with the pace of their progress. They’re overwhelmed and don’t know what to practice.
I get it. I feel that way about music all the time. Thankfully, I’ve developed some strategies to get me out of such a funk and this is one of them.
Next time you don’t know what to play, or are bored or frustrated with the same old songs, try some dreaming.
The video is the best description I can make of this process. I’ve also made a .pdf that has some drawings that can be useful, but there’s very little instruction on it.
I hope you find this useful.
“Softer the whisper, I will speak, softer the words, they repeat, they repeat, they repeat.”
from the song Softer
The song began with a gentle and cyclical guitar part. A jangly loop. I recorded the guitar in stereo and then the vocals in the same room. There was also a moment that was a touch stronger and more physical but fit well with the gentle verses. One of the days when I wasn’t feeling well, but felt compelled to work, I found the bass approachable. I remember that day because I found a really nice bass riff to compliment that more physical section of the song.
A few weeks later I recorded friend and collaborator Nic Jenkins on the drum set. It was a casual session with a few takes of each song at Off Center Arts that made me appreciate the ease of the session. Soon after I also recorded Liz Gaylor on the violin, but this time in a different space, at a private library at Los Poblanos. Liz’s violin quietly drones on two strings during the duration of the song.
Softer was mixed alongside the other tracks at my home in Albuquerque with a few helpful ears and breaks here and there. The song’s overall message, an appreciation for the softer approach, was a guide during the process of making the album.
The whole album, Rose Signet, can be found on streaming services.
I think probably everybody has some sort of healing dream. And so as you journey through the different songs, maybe little, little parts of the dream are falling into place or coming true.
Tisa Batchelder
I’m honored to share this audio essay by my good friend, and one of my very favorite musical artists, Tisa Batchelder.
In this essay Tisa talks about her album, Dream Girl, which you can find on Bandcamp.com.
Tisa Batchelder
Album Release Celebration
Wednesday, Nov. 1, 2023
a Martyrs’ in Chicago
One of my most cherished musical memories is of the four of us standing backstage and hearing the sold-out crowd stomping and chanting,
I loved this band so much and this album represents some of my favorite music that I ever made.
It was such a thrill to work with people that had so many good ideas!
As Miki would say, “The classic lineup of piano, banjo and two oboes.”
Our first show was October of 2008 at the Tonic Room.
Our album release show was in February 2012 and our last show was sometime that spring.
And, then . . . I don’t think a decision was made to retire the band. I remember it just kind of happening.
We had taken a long time to make the record. By the time the album came out all four of us were sending our creative energy towards other projects and family life.
It’s a Girl was much more like being in a theater production than any other band I was part of before, or since. Theatrical shows close and so did this band, I suppose.
You can listen to the album for free at bandcamp.
“It’s funny to think of myself as a person who is old enough to reflect on some good times.”
Jonas Friddle
Jonas Friddle joins Getting to Know Trees to talk with Jason about how the good times of the past inspired his new collection of songs, Jug Band Happy Hour. Visit jonasfriddle.com to pick up the recording and to learn about his album release show, Feb. 5, 2023 at Space in Evanston.
One of my music students, Elijah, has offered some music inspired by this time of giving and receiving. Present Time! is Elijah’s musical take on the excitement of opening Christmas presents. Enjoy!
Elijah is in the 7th grade, and has been playing guitar for 4 years. He likes seals and loves to go ziplining.
He has been writing songs with his guitar for 3 years and has been composing with standard notation for one month.
Help a loved one (and/or yourself) start 2023 off with some music!
Contact Jason at 773-369-8268 or jason@knowingtrees to discuss some options. He can work with your budget and schedule!
