all is well

There have been a number of big life changes since my last batch of original song recordings titled Goodnight Nobody. This holiday season I wanted to share some of the songs that have been stewing in the interim. This six song set titled All Is Well documents earnest affection for close companions and dark nights of the soul. Two of the songs are inspired by lyrics given to me by an old friend while battling his own demons. 

This little project has been an opportunity to reacquaint myself with the joys and frustrations of home recording with limited resources in a dark corner of a cluttered room. It has also been an opportunity to shape and find the voice of these songs that have been slowly evolving over the years. The songs were all performed, recorded, and mixed in December 2017. I screen printed a limited edition of hand made sleeves for the CD version. 

You can listen and purchase by clicking below. 
Peace, friends.

for no one (or welcome to the new age)

On a cold night in the twelfth month of the two-thousand and fifteenth year of our Lord, armed with nothing but his tone-deaf acoustic six-string, American treasure - singer-songwriter-noisemaker - Joel Rockey entered Space Station Caleb (the current ramshackle recording facility employed by The Mustard Room Sound Recordings) with the intention of recording tracks for a handful of new original compositions. However, in a twist of creative defiance, he let the tape machine roll as he instead plowed through an assortment of songs written by other people. No one else was present. No one cared. And yet here it is forever documented in this collection of zeros and ones for no one to listen to ever. Welcome to the new age, nerds.

i am bleeding, hear me rawr

Collaboration is the name of the game. For thirteen years now, i've given home-recorded and assembled gifts to family and friends during the holiday season. Some of these collections of song were assembled over a period of time. Some were written and recorded within the two months leading up to christmas eve. Some have been collaborations with family and friends. One particular project was a collaboration with my four-year-old daughter. This year, i asked the people of the internets to flood my inbox with song requests. I then asked folks to vote on the songs that they would most like for me to record. 

After the voting ended, my wife and kids and i migrated north to settle into a century-old house in need of a whole lot of love. Eventually, the list of songs elected by the people of the internets began reminding me of the project that i'd promised to deliver. Late nights and early mornings became prime time for recording these modern day standards until lo and behold i gave birth to a short stack of compact discs. I'm thankful for all those who took the time to participate in this project. It was challenging, inspiring, and a whole lot of fun to make after spending so much time hammering away at this old house. Enjoy this aural monstrosity RIGHT HERE, RIGHT NOW.

Welcome to the new year, beautiful broken people!