Sounds From Home

(quoted from Mike Allen) "Sounds From Home" started off pretty aimless. It was me sitting at my recording console and wanting to be creative without much of a solid direction in mind. All I knew was that I wanted to start writing again but was also vigilantly aware of how much I didn't want to make "Mold" Part Two. I actually didn't set out to write another album the way I did with "Mold" after "Cirrotic". To be honest, after "Mold" was released I sorta thought my days as a solo artist were over. I went through what seemed like an eternity of dry spells. Nothing interested me. The sounds, lyrics, and music I was so desperately trying to create seemed a bit forced and uninspired. I began questioning my own identity. I had essentially given up and was more than happy to look to the future as a married man and possibly a father and let that take me wherever it may. As far as music was concerned the well had seemingly dried up. This left me feeling both terrified and relieved. Terrified because I had put so much emotional stock into being "a musician" that I hadn't much of a clue what the hell defined me without it. Relieved because maybe it meant that another doorway of opportunity was about to open. And open it did, but in the most unorthodox of fashions. Two weeks after I got married I started working at a nursing home as a CNA. The particular unit I was assigned to was one which was designated for individuals with Alzheimer's and Dementia. I had some knowledge of what these two terms meant prior to my employment at the home due to the fact that three of my four grandparents had succumb to similar fates. However, nothing could prepare me for what it would be like to care for these individuals while the disease ran its course. It was a beautiful and heart wrenching experience. Rewarding yet punishing. "Mold" was a collection of songs that I had written based on experiences that I felt had molded me into who I was at the time of its release. "Cirrhotic" was an alcohol fueled attempt at capturing how damaged myself and my perceptions had become as a result of my battle with alcoholism. "Sounds From Home" is an album about people: healthy people, not so healthy people, everyone in-between and the one thing that we all have in common; no matter who you are whether it be a wall street banker or a cognitively disabled person....all any of us are trying to do is simply get by, make it through somehow. Everyone has challenges. Some may seem more demanding than others but what most of us cognitively healthy people tend to overlook is the fact that our most sought after end result isn't much different than from those who were born with a fundamental disability. Basically, in closing, all I'm trying to say with this album is that we're far more alike than we'd care to realize. That runs as deep as you might think it would but only if you'd give it the chance.