First Time

Matthew Davies

Why “Middle Child”? Well, I am one, I’m raising one and there’s a song on the record with that title.

It’s summer in the Wisconsin. I rode my bicycle the six city miles to my studio this morning. Through the gentle Sunday morning silence of our Eastside neighborhood. Down the path that follows the coast of Lake Michigan. Onto the deserted downtown streets. Past a bar under the highway overpass(just opening or never having closed from the night before) Due west on the final stretch surrounded by sleeping factory buildings, tired sex workers and the unapologetic grime of National Ave.

The sun pours in the large windows of the studio on the south-east corner of a converted factory building and the piano keys, amplifiers, microphones and champagne sparkle drum kit seem so peaceful on a morning like this. It’s here on the fourth floor, with a view of the modest Milwaukee skyline, I recorded “Middle Child” over the past few months. For better or worse, I made every sound that you’ll here on these ten songs. The recordings vary sonically, from the multi-layered reverb-y sound of songs like Hero Plan and Wild Heart to the folksy jangle of Get It While You Can and Hawkeye. Empty House is the most minimal piece. Just me at the piano with a harmonica.

Some of these are dream songs. Some are confessions. Others are completely fictitious. They are about wanting what cannot be had. Having what you want and discovering it’s not what you need. Creating a past in the holes of memory and looking forward with optimistic enthusiasm.