Once again, in the very dog days of summer and almost exactly two years after the WILSON sessions, the five remaining Near Myths returned to the little studio that could in Wilson, NC. The recording sessions ran from July 25 to July 29. Phil Valera once again served as our co-producer and chief knob twirler, and this time he had an able assistant in Second Engineer Chris Nelson. The sessions benefited immeasurably from the creative and rock steady drumming of Katy's son, Matthew Adams, a Near Myth in spirit if ever there was one. It was hard at times to deal with our fallen comrade Andy's absence, but it was a pleasure and an honor to be able to work on his songs. When Andy learned he had cancer back in early 2005, he went into the studio and recorded vocal and rhythm and lead acoustic guitar tracks for two of his songs, "Salmon" and "Winter Dreams." Then, just weeks before his passing, he made a determined effort to get back to the studio to record guitar (his cherished new Martin) and vocal tracks for a stunning new autobiographical song "(Take Me Back to) Dillard Street." It was his example and inspiration that kept us going. In addition to Andy's three songs, we also have three from Ben ("Even Misery," "Laughing By Now," and "In the Big Picture"), three from Teeper ("Romances," "Jubilee," and "Why?"), and three from Jim ("Piedmont Shuffle," "White Horse," and "Need You Gone"). A collaboration by Ben and Bernadette, "Slip Across the Border" featuring Bernadette on lead vocal, makes the Baker's Dozen. Much as we all have a soft spot in our hearts for WILSON, we're all in agreement that the new album represents a quantum leap in most every way. Phil will be mixing the tracks. We'll keep you posted!