Our new cd “The Road Not Taken” is finished and out the door to Americana and roots radio stations around the country. This cd was quick work. We wrote it and recorded it over the summer of 2015. I sang lead on 9 of the 10 tracks and my cohort Daria Chick sang lead on the remaining track. Daria’s vocals throughout the cd, however, prop up mine. She really gives the songs a sly country flavor. Kudos to Daria
Many thanks also to her hubby, Ronn Chick. Ronn produced and recorded these songs and played many of the parts. Ronn’s inventive work allowed us to record the cd at a quick pace and relegated me to mostly guitar solos and color guitar parts along with a handful of acoustic parts. And a special shout out to Ronn's steel guitar work. His lines in "Unraveling" and "Another Side of Lonely" are heartbreaking.
Founding member Dave Stricker played his usual outstanding bass parts (just listen to “Jump On A Train” and try not to dance).
We did not have any guest vocalists for this cd. Our good buddy Loren Lee was on the shelf this summer with a nasty case of pneumonia. Loren sang “Buckle Up” and "Hard Times" among other songs on our last cd.
We did welcome back Ex-Shoeboxer David Wall who contributed lyrically and musically to three songs on this cd. His lyrics gave the songs much needed depth and also injected a shot of humor.
Check out the lead off track "Swinging Door" and the aforementioned "Unraveling" and "Another Side of Lonely."
We were able to resurrect an earlier recording, “Don’t Cry,” and remaster it for this cd. “Don’t Cry” features longtime Shoeboxer Stephanie Pranzetti Cox on vocals and our former drummer Miguel Lyons-Cavazos. Stephanie now resides in Texas and Miguel is in the San Francisco area. We miss them both.
We hope you love the new cd as much we loved recording it. Many of the songs deal with the road not taken in life and the choices we make. We hope you join Shoebox Letters on that journey.
