THANKS
I’d like to thank SO many people who have had an influence on my life and music… Let’s start with my Mom & Dad, Laura & Adam, Willow, Alana & Dean and ALL my wonderful family members. Extra special thanks to Neil J Young & Ann (aka Sister Helen Earth), to Ellen Pill for all her love and support, to Alan Heller and Joia Nalezny for so much early encouragement, to Reid Shippen for the jumpstart, to Gurumayi, Baba Muktananda and Bhagawan Nityananda, to ZKB for being ZKB, to David Sedlak my BFAM, Robin Steele, and to Peter Tork and Elvin Bishop for the chance to tour and play some amazing shows.
Big thanks to Norman Crumb for all the early drum work, Dale Robertson & Garrett Hoffman for their Rickenbackers, and the Beatles for holding a press conference back when the studio was the old WHK so that I could record all of my vocals in the exact same spot!
Next, there’s Chris Ebbert. He Engineered, Mixed, Co-Produced and endlessly inspired this whole thang. Many electrons bowed to his almighty power. Many thanks to Michael Amadeus Pfaff, Assistant Engineer and Guitar Guru, not to mention just a damn sweet human. And a big thanks to Mike Brown, owner of Lava Room Recording for everything he did, and the rest of the Lava staff who hung in there with me for almost two years while I wrestled squirrels and gave it my all. Many thanks to Andy Mendelson at Georgetown Masters for his fabulous secret voodoo, to Linda Carruth for so patiently helping me realize my vision for the cover design. And Very Big Thanks to the magnificent Joe Vitale for EVERYthing, to Vincent Ruby for bringing his amazing chops, and to the wonderful Anne E DeChant for her beautiful voice and soul.
And the deepest thanks to the outstanding session players and singers who added their heart and talent to Ordinary Miracles: Sarah Bailey, Jon Denney, Jesse Lee Hodgson, Jessica Horvat, Meredith Hudock, Lady Kymberli Jenkins, Chantera Jenkins, Chorrethers Jenkins III, Katherine Joy Haig, Walt Mahovlich, Jason Maloy, Danya Morris, David Sedlak, Dan Wenninger, Jacob Wynne, Priscilla Zietlow and Steve Zombory.
And there were a lot of people literally all over the world whose voices you also hear on this project, and I wish to thank them all with deep gratitude: Roger Abady, Mohamad Al Asmar, Sarah Anita McFall, Mara Atzenhoffer, Grant Baldwin, Claire Barratt, Matt Barratt, Noah Barratt, Mindy Bedrossian, Emma Beekman, Yolanda Bekker, Samantha Boggs, Carolyn Browne, Katie Burke, Arnon Chait, Beverly Cofield, Devin Conway, Kierston Conway, Owen Conway, Carl Cook, Lillian Davis, Don DeBiase, Hasha Dint Abuj, Deloris Dorton, Crystal Evans, Jeffrey Giles, Karen Greene, Grace Grion, Hannah Griswold, Sun Guoqing, Alison Guzman, April Hacker, Jim Hacker, Amanda Hager, Chad Haines, Joe Hartzler, Joel Helman, Nabaasa Hilda, Andrew Howsmon, James Howsmon, Casey Hoy, Joshua Jesty, Bella Jones, Judi K & the 5 Rhythm Family, Morgan Kahn, Samantha Kahn, Jackie Kansiime, Rick Keller, Sheba Komuhangi, Ava Kress, Isaac Kress, Emily Kukura, Melanie Kukura, Ruth Kyomuhangi, Rabbi Enid Lader, Harry Lader, Cat Lally, Matricia Lamb, Patricia Lamb, Tahira Lamb, Jesse LePera, Jon Levin, Katarina Levit, Jeff Libarle, Chelsea Lyons, Rochelle McCrayer, Carolyn McKelvey, Cody Miller, Haley Moncrief, Pat Montgomery, Willie Montgomery, Allison Morse, Dr. Conrad Muzoora, Albert Nance, Dave Nelson, Becky Neumann, David Neumann, Rachel Neumann, the NFTY-NEL Spring Kallah gang, Sam Osborn, Beryl Palnik, Lauren Pankiw, Joel Pendery, John Pendery, Tom Petredis, Hailey Petruziello, Curtis Phillips, Joyce Phillips, Tom Pivovar, Dave Polster, Rick Raffaini, Dana Rienerth, Leia Rienerth, Adam Rosen, Alana Rosen, Claire Rosen, Rhoda Rosen, Carol Ross, Cecelia Ross, Hannah Ross, Julian Ross, Tommy Sanders, Maria Sergeeva, Guy Shappy, Jessenia Silva, Justin Stieneker, Marina Strah, Li Suo Lin, Alexis Sweeney, Hannah Sweeney, Kaela Sweeney, Marla Sweeney, Aramaya Talford, Cristina Tatar, Tom Taylor, Malissa Thomas, Rosie Thompson, Stephen Thornton-Taylor, Evelyn Tumushabe, Night Turyashaba, Alice Twikirize, Larry Violand, Joe Vitale Jr, Irene Walton, Mailonnie Walton, Larry Williams, Chris Wilson, Mary Woods, Iris Wright, Judy Wright, Lilah Wright, Walter Wright, Zhang Yaocheng, Ringo Zeitlin, Grace Zhanghui, John Zoilo, Haley Zoltak, Wangli and the amazing Syrian children of Za’atari Refugee Camp in Jordan.
NEXT: I owe a lifetime of gratitude for the musical influences that shaped me… starting with The Beatles, The Who, Stevie Wonder, Elton John, The Band, Paul Simon, Crosby Stills Nash & Young, Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell, Carole King, John Fogerty, The Good Rats, The Monkees, Peter Gabriel & Genesis, Brian Setzer’s Big Band, Yusuf Islam (Cat Stevens), Van Morrison, Steely Dan, Jeff Beck, Jackson Browne, Blood Sweat & Tears, Chicago, Emerson Lake & Palmer, Tower of Power, The Temptations, David Bowie, The Tubes…
…as well as so many other musicians that meant so much: William James “Count” Basie, Chuck Berry, Tommy Boyce & Bobby Hart, John Bonham, James Brown, David Byrne, Cabell “Cab” Calloway, George Clinton, Joe Cocker, Burton Cummings, Spencer Davis, Neil Diamond, Lowell George, Stevie Gurr, The Guys All Star Shoe Band (Rich Dworsky, Pat Donohue, Gary Raynor, Andy Stein & Peter Johnson), Gene Harris, Jerry Lee Lewis, Freddie Mercury & Brian May, Samuel Moore & Dave Prater (Sam & Dave), Dee Murray, “Little Richard” Penniman, Oscar Peterson, Wilson Pickett, Billy Preston, David Rea, Mac “Dr John” Rebennack, Otis Redding, Django Reinhardt, Smokey Robinson, Paul Rodgers, Leon Russell, Steve Seskin, Bruce Springsteen, Maurice Moss Stanley, Sly Stone, Levi Stubbs, U2 , Maurice White & EWF, Brian Wilson, Edgar Winter, Steve Winwood, Bernie Worrell, Warren Zevon…
Annnnnnnnnnnnnd, SOOOO many people over a lifetime that I want to thank, for their impact on my life, and I can only hope that I can find most of them some day and give them a CD! Linda Amstutz, Karl “KC” Ausland, Massoud Badakhshan, Sandy Balzer, Jeff Barnett, Dr. William Beasley, Lorrie Beatty, Sarah Bedrossian, Philip Belzunce, Holly Benyousky, Michael Blanton, Todd Bolitho, Janine Borreson, Billy Bop Bowman, Gary Branch, Pat “Houndog” Brown, Thomas Burke, Felix Cavaliere, Naomi Chase, Deepak Chopra, Douglas Closson, Maryellen Cudney, Guy Davis, Pedro Dell, Ralph Deluca, Alan Douglass, Robert Drake, Michael, Dylan & Travis Dwyer and Sally Winter, Borg Edelstein, Dustin Elliott, Lauren Ellis, Charlotte Feldman, Chuck Fink, Marvelous Marv Gardner, Matt Glaze, Sheila Glover, Michelle Gockenbach, Lisa Gossels, Larry Graham, John Grossmann, Natalie Haggerty, Gary Hall, Kristi Hampton, KC & Mellie Heller, Gay Hendricks, Bob Hill, Jeff Hnatiak, Kathryn Hodgson, Robert Hoffman, Frank Hogue, Ron Horvat, Steve Howell, Keith Ibara, Greg Inhofer, Bruce Jennings, Cherie Johnston, Joy Lasa & Thomas Karuna, Julie Kassel, Tina Keller, Judi Kempler, Will Kerbusch, Gail Kerzner, Pete Kipley (for the trip to Abbey Road!), John Kolar, Carol & Jeff Kopkas, Pat & Bill Kubec, Linda Larson, Tommy Leatherman, Patty Leiferman, Alan & Jean Lettofsky, James Levin, Lori Lichtman, Mike Liptak, Nilda Lopez, David Maloney, Beth Mann, Craig Marr, Rochelle McCrayer, Mikkel McDow, Sarah Anita McFall, Carolyn McKelvey, Caroline & Allen McMickle, Art Meiselman, Mary Miché, Carolyn Miles, Rick Miller, Kevin Moore, Liam Mulholland, Sam Mullins, Tommy Wadd Murray, John & Toby Nady, Cameron Newpher, Julie Nicholas, Barack and Michelle Obama, Michael Ochs, Mark Orion, Gary Ottum, Nora Owens, Emily Pensky, Jessica Petrone, Joseph Petzel, Dick Powis, Amy Pyle, Mike Q. Qualley, Brad Quayle, Dr. Don Ramos, Karlene Rebich, Tim Rector, John Reinhardt, Steve Renner, Ted Riser, Dale Robertson, Holly Robinson, José-Luis Rodrigues, Alan Sabin, Melanie Safka, Ray Santo, Suzanne Santo, Lillian Sanvido, Dott Schneider, Patricia Schute, Josh Senger, Robert Siegel, Steve Silva, Karen Skubik, Joy Smetzer, Jack Speer, Chris Freewriter Starr, Pete Stewart, Bert Stratton, Sherry Street, David & Deb Suhadolnik, Kathleen Sullivan, Devora Swanson, Chris Sylvester, Beth Thames, Bill Thompson, Annie Thorkelson, Aleksandra Tsybulskaya, Jackie Warren, Irwin Weinberger, Scott Weiss, Parker White, John Wilhelm, Larry Williams, Chelsea Wilson, Jack Winget, Bob Woods, Willow Wray, Mark Wyar, Philip Yassenoff and Dallas Young (without whom I may never have taught myself piano). Phew!
And to all who listen to Ordinary Miracles. THANK YOU! ♡