Vernal
An album and a goodbye.
Hey everyone,
Been a while. I suppose I’ve been less sad about my dad this year, and I haven’t felt the need to post on here as much. I guess that’s a good thing. I’ve been busy, doing live sound at a Nashville venue and recording bands in my home studio, and I think my dad would be stoked that I’m not crying on my keyboard. Rosie is well too. She’s getting married, and starting a wine events business in Las Vegas. Dexter, my dad’s dog, is getting older, but for the most part still doing well in Nashville. It’s snowing today, and he’s happy about that, being a Vernal field dog and all.
But I wanted to drop in and let you know I released a new album yesterday, with an accompanying short film, filmed inside my dad’s shop in Vernal during our last night there, before selling the property, in December 2024.
I’m calling the album “Vernal.” It’s five songs, performed solo on an acoustic guitar. One of the songs, “Another Adventure,” I wrote shortly after Cady died (I published the lyrics here previously). Another song, “Stay Lazy,” was written around 2020, after a funny phone call I had with my dad. He had read something about hikers dying trying to climb Mount Everest, and when signing off, told me to “stay lazy.”
The other three songs I’ve had lying around for a while, but they felt right to record in Vernal. “When the Well Runs Dry” is over 10 years old, and was surely influenced by my years helping my dad on groundwater projects, but it’s not about him. “Grandma Song” is a song written after my grandma died in 2012, and recorded for my first album (Rosie requested it when we were in Vernal, so that’s how it ended up here). “Great Year” is another song I’ve had since 2020, and it felt like the right time and place to record it.
The short film, also called “Vernal,” is the visual side of the entire album recording, with a little extra behind the scenes doggy action, property footage, laughing and pie eating. Kaci did most of the camera work, and she seems to be getting most of the positive feedback, honestly. (There are also a couple clips from CadyFest, filmed by my friend Tsvet.)
Anyways, I could easily ramble on about all this, but I’d rather just let you watch the video I spent way too much time working on (video editing is hard). I do intend to record a more intentional studio album with additional songs I’ve written in the last few years about my dad, but for now, I give you “Vernal.”
Stay Lazy,
Jack