March On

Sorry I’ve been a little quiet lately, folks, but it’s February Album Writing Month, and you know what that means.

Every February, a couple thousand songwriters gather at FAWM.org and challenge themselves to write 14 songs in 28 days.

(Full disclosure: I haven’t attempted this in a leap year, so I’m not sure what happens then. Bonus track? Director’s cut?)

Last year I completed the full 14, and at least half a dozen of those songs are now in my regular live rotation and part of the new recording project. Songs like “Burn the Ships” and “Have You Read the News?” were born there.

Coming into this February, I wasn’t so sure. I felt a little sluggish at the end of January, and my hand injury had been acting up. I set modest expectations.

Naturally, I ended up with 18 songs – four of them collaborations with friends, new and old. And once again, a good half-dozen are very likely to make their way onto the new record.

There’s a particular energy to FAWM. It’s the time pressure (a song every other day, minimum) combined with the generosity of an incredibly supportive community. And if you’re picturing only acoustic singer-songwriter fare, think again. There’s everything from spoken word to rap to pop to indie to alt-country to metal. It’s wildly eclectic. It’s a little chaotic. It’s completely inspiring.

So: look forward to hearing songs like “The 526,” “April,” “Unmet,” and “Dutchtown.” And if you’re feeling especially generous (say, by helping me make this record? Please? Pretty please?) I may just share some early versions as they take shape.

In the meantime, and for as long as the FAWM site remains live, please enjoy “Damage,” a song I co-wrote with Carley Baer, an incredible singer-songwriter from Portland.

For context: she wrote or collaborated on 59 songs this year.

Some people just don’t mess around.

-Chris