Easy Roads, Easy Skies One of the Lonesome Ghosts Give Me A Light Sweet Mary Jane Been Drinking Don’t Leave Me Alone Come Back To Bed You Are Me Bright Lights Anywhere But Here

Easy Roads, Easy Skies 2006 CD only $5.99

Around the middle of 2005, copies of the “Easy Roads, Easy Skies” began circulating around the Vancouver music community, receiving great reviews from those that listened. Slowly but surely a band was formed and started playing the songs from the record and others from Jonathan’s back catalogue. The band started more for the music at first, just enjoying playing the songs without the pressure of shows and touring etc. However, it didn’t take long until a debut show was booked at The Main in Vancouver, which ended up being a brilliant night of booze, country rock and good times.

The history of the debut album “Easy Roads, Easy Skies” began as a bunch of new songs that Jonathan had written in late 2003. At the time there were no particular plans to record an album yet the new songs seemed to be flowing at a steady pace. Jonathan and John Simmonds decided to work on some recordings in the winter of 2004 to explore some of the new song ideas which had a particular classic country rock sound to them. A large number of the songs which made up the record were written just prior to the beginning of pre-production in a number of hotel rooms in lonesome winter mountain towns while on the rod for the early part of the winter.

The bulk of the recording took place in a small oceanside house in Sechelt, BC nicknamed “The Beach-house” during March of 2004. Cold rainy nights and rough tides raged outside while inside by a large log fire the record started to take shape. After some additional recording and mixing back in Vancouver the record was finally complete by the end of the year.

The album’s themes deal with heartbreak, lonesomeness, life away from home and late night drinking but also celebrates the hope and excitement of overcoming difficult times and the dismal hand life sometimes deals.

The album is inspired by and indebted to some of the great country, folk and rock records of the past. Neil Young’s “Harvest” and the self-titled record by The Band were greatly influenced the feel of the record. More modern classics such as Wilco’s “Being There”, “Hollywood Town Hall” by The Jayhawks and Whiskeytown’s final studio album “Pneumonia” were also great influences on the shaping of the songs and the music.