In a childhood bedroom, way back in small-town Texas, a little Snoopy transistor radio was my prized possession. Acquired when I was 9 years old, I'd tuck it under my pillow nightly, plug in a single earbud, and scan the radio dial. Even better were the nights I'd build a tent in my room and create a private listening cave. The hits of so many artists drifted by my ears laying there in the dark; Hall & Oats, Billy Joel, Queen, The Beatles, Christopher Cross, Kenny Loggins, Jim Croce, Stevie Wonder, Van Halen, James Taylor, Elton John, Steely Dan, Toto, Steve Miller…every night, until I drifted off to dream.

Today, I'm still affected by those early musical impressions; the free-spirited AM radio mix, the basking in an surprisingly catchy or moving song. It's almost a tacit, foundational belief to seek out & appreciate all genres of music, sans labels or personas.  I enjoy classical, jazz, hard rock, EDM, house, funk, R&B, country, bluegrass, religious music - It's all blends into something beautiful and inspiring to me.

I crafted this project between April and August of 2020, during the Coronavirus shutdown. As a full-time professional musician, my work was a bit sparse. Electing to use the time wisely, I perused some old spiral notebooks one afternoon, looking for some brilliant but forgotten couplet I might've scrawled out. Using ProTools and a Focusrite Scarlett interface, I  got down to work in my home studio, henceforth christened as January 18 Studios. 

I wrote all the songs, both music and lyrics, as well as arranged them. Re-writes occurred within the process, either to make something more nuanced or powerful - Basically the craft of song-writing, while also recording/ self-producing/ engineering. I played every instrument; all vocals, guitars, bass, keyboards, live percussion instruments, and any drum programming. This endeavor was so fun & creatively singular, once everything was recorded, I decided to push myself and mix the tracks too. Very challenging indeed.

The songs on this initial EP blur the lines between light pop/rock and jazz, somewhat like Sting or other stylish singer/songwriters. Lyrics are as important as melody & production value. I write about city stairwells and natural reverb while playing an acoustic guitar. I get philosophical about a laid back approach to life, wax poetic about morning sex, share snap shots of an impassioned lovers remorse. And, just for good measure, I throw in a funky, group discussion on the caramelization of onions. Seriously.

We all have dreams, big and small. This album represents some of mine. I hope you enjoy listening to King Size Dreams.

- NAJ, singer/songwriter