Happy birthday to my EP!

Happy 1st birthday to my debut EP, “Will Play for Coffee!” In honor of this anniversary, I’d like to share with you how this album came to be.  

Recording a live album was one of the most terrifying, humbling moves I’ve taken professionally. A while back I had a plan to record an album, but I was so scared because I didn’t know where to start. My starting point, then, was writing songs...which I also didn’t know how to do. For three years I would write a verse and a chorus, hate it, and try again. 

At the time, I was playing cover gigs all over town. I used a music stand and lead sheets because I thought I had an inability to memorize music. And then, if I did finish something resembling an original, I rarely let anyone hear it. This cycle continued until October 2016. 

It took a solo road trip of 4500 miles for me to stop being so damn afraid. On that trip someone gave me the idea to record a live album, and to stop doing covers. Only originals. I only had 3 originals finished at the time, but I listened to some solid advice.  

After the trip, I booked a show for January 19th, 2017. That gave me three months to not only curate an event, but to write enough originals for a 60-70 minute set, and have my songs polished enough to record live and push out to the world, or to whatever tiny sliver of the population that would hear it. 

I was able write my songs and record the live event, but that truly was just the beginning.  

Not many people know this, but I almost didn’t release WPFC. I was so disappointed that I ignored what I considered to be crucial technical details that I thought it would be an embarrassment to publish it. Thank God I had some close friends talk me out of my nonsense. As you’ll notice if you’ve listened to the album, the title track didn’t even make the cut, but the album title can stand alone. 

This album has been the catalyst that has helped me book gigs, earn a grant, and release more music. It’s given me the confidence to keep moving forward, and to realize that something doesn’t have to be perfect to be shared. And, most importantly, it has helped reassure me that I want to keep chasing this career. Sure, it would be nice to make a living from my tunes, but I hope I never forget the joy of being happy to play for nothing more than a cup of coffee. 

Thank you to every. single. person. who has helped support me along the way. Thank you for listening, buying merch, coming to shows, or following my journey. 

Happy birthday to “Will Play for Coffee.” You can listen on Spotify here: 

https://open.spotify.com/album/0iRg0gRjdhwc249t0Kha8j?si=62Rv26MF

-L