released February 9, 2010

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All songs written by Mike Walker

Recorded, Mixed & Mastered by Marc Bert

Cover Artwork by Mike Walker

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Mike Walker - piano, synths, sampler, percussion, guitars, wine glasses, lyrics & vocals

Nick Falco - wine glasses

Anthony Sanders - bass

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This 6 song EP is a condensed version of an album I started making in 2009. Right around the time that I moved to Chicago I was writing many songs on the piano for the first time. I was aware that my skills with the instrument were very low but it was quite exciting trying to write songs on a new instrument.

The original album had 15 tracks in total. However, upon its completion in early 2010, I did not release it online due to a complete loss of confidence. The harsh fact that I ultimately realized is that the majority of the songs on the album were just not very good. And that was no fault of Marc, who once again recorded mixed and mastered the album. A lot of the time I think he was sort of humoring my weird ideas and experiments, even if he thought some of them were a little half baked. I'm very grateful that Marc always encouraged me to try any idea that popped into my head, no matter how unorthodox or outright ridiculous it may have sounded to him at the time. He was a great mentor and guiding force.

Despite losing confidence in the original 15 track version, I did come to realize that there were a few gems buried in the muck and after many years of letting these songs collect dust I have decided to cut out all the fat and re-release it as a 6 song EP. Although the songs are far from great, I feel that they deserve to be released because they are a starting point for something and I don't need to feel ashamed of where I started as a songwriter. All the songs that remain are the ones worth keeping. At least I think so anyway.

This album also marks the last time Marc Bert and I would work together. Looking back on my early solo period, I really see now how much of a godsend Marc was for me. Working with him on my first three releases was so much fun and he taught me so much about the art of recording music. By the time we started making this one, we were getting a lot more ambitious about how and where we recorded. The first two releases were all done in the bedroom of the small apartment he shared with Nick Falco. But this time around he took his mobile equipment to a bunch of different locations, my favorite of which being the nave of a big Methodist church in Mt. Prospect, Illinois where we recorded drums and a beautiful Steinway grand piano.

I love the sound of all the tracks Marc and I recorded together in these early solo years. They all have such a loose feeling to them while still sounding very clean with just the right balance of polish and rawness. I didn't know that this would be the last time I would work with Marc but I was also starting to use Garageband around this time after buying my first MacBook and I suppose Marc could see that I was beginning to become more interested on recording more on my own. I was still just 19 and had so much to learn and I think Marc wanted me to get out there and figure it out for myself.

It was the end of one era and the dawn of a new one. The first decade of the new millennium was over and the 2010s would see me abandon making music under my name and form the collective You Me & The People which eventually would evolve into Nature's Neighbor. But now that so much time has gone by, I really look back on my solo era with a lot of fondness and even a hint of pride. I'm glad that I can preserve this first era of my musical life instead of sweeping it under the rug. To me, it feels like the prologue to an epic story. These three solo releases are where it all started and I had no idea about the amazing musical journey I was about to embark upon in the years to come.

~ Mike Walker