The Players

Tim Kirker

“With this record I tried to do things the old-fashioned way as much as possible while still utilizing the benefits of 21st century digital recording. We cut the drum tracks and most of the acoustic guitars at Metrosync Studios and everything else we cut at my home studio in New York. I used the hard disk recording system as I would a tape machine. I’d roll a track from the top, and try to knock out a guitar or vocal part in one or two takes. No going back cutting and pasting. If I couldn’t nail it in a couple of takes, I’d move on and try again the next day. I really tried to preserve the human feel as much as possible. There are lots of mistakes on this record and I’m proud of every one of them!”

Michael Cartellone, Drums and percussion

When Tim and I first played together many years ago, it was in a cover band, playing other people’s tunes, the hits of the day. I was immediately struck with his professionalism and admired his musicianship. That admiration continues to this day. Tim was the one who stood out as a creative force back then and quickly blossomed into a prolific songwriter at a time when most of the musicians in our sphere wouldn't have had the courage to try such a bold move. When he asked me to play on some new material in the fall of 2002, I immediately said yes. I knew it would be a great experience.

At that time, Tim was writing the songs that would eventually make up this record. We hauled my electronic drum kit to his home studio and tracked 11 songs over the course of a few days. Like always, he had a batch of great tunes in the works and we had a blast molding some drum parts together. Of course, everything has its price. As we packed up the kit, I discovered that my drum pedal had dug through the rug we put down and there were major scrapes and gouges in his nice wood floor. Oops. Sorry buddy.

Fast forward to spring 2003. We're now in our hometown of Cleveland, Ohio, where Tim and I will spend a few days recording drum tracks at Metrosync Studios. It was just Tim playing guitar and singing in an isolation booth and me in an adjoining, big room at the drum kit. We saw each other through a soundproof window. As always, we completely clicked musically, anticipating each others next step. The tracks flowed effortlessly and we knocked out 11 of the drum tracks in one day. Let me assure you, that is rare. This chemistry is directly related to all the years we've played together. We had the good fortune to develop as musicians side by side. That creates an unspoken musical bond that will always be.

I'm very proud of this record. I feel Tim is at his absolute best. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

Greg Wooten, Bass (tracks 1, 3, 4, 5, 7, 10, 11)

OK....how great is this? I'm on a train heading from Milan to Paris (I know...sounds like a made-up-for-liner-notes kinda' thing, but this is REAL!), listening to my trusty life-changing iPod. I'm crankin' an almost-final mix of "In a Different Version of My Life," and experiencing full body goosebumps inspired by Tim's fantastic, pulled back wah-wah guitar solo. And all of this is happening while I'm working on some notes I'd been asked to contribute to TK's new CD (along with a little bass playing). A great moment in time for me. Nice view, too.

So.... here it is, and here we go again. Tim and I have been doing music together for a long, long time. We cut our musical teeth together back in high school. It started when I responded to an ad looking for a "bass player into Zep, Nugent, Stones." (I guess I'm dating us!) Fast forward through loads of gigs, players, cheap pitchers of beer, persistence and disappointment. Now it's summer 2003. Tim's working on a new record of original material, and he's looking for a little help from his friends. I have to admit, when Tim asked me to dust off the Jazz bass for this new project, I was a bit hesitant and a little intimidated. I hadn't played much bass over the past few years, but he convinced me it was like riding a bike— "cake," he said. You know what? He was right, and the ride felt really good...fresh, too. Hey, when in doubt, tune it down to "D" and ask yourself: "What would Tony Levin do?"

The songs were strong and I really got into it. Honest, inspired tunes from the most creative, prolific songwriter I've ever had the pleasure of working with. He's done it again, and I'm thrilled to have been a part of it. So...when's the Greatest Hits disc coming out? It's long overdue.

Okay, time to get on the train again. This time it's the "C" or "E" to 23rd st. What a ride it's been.

John Papa, Bass (tracks 2, 6, 8, 9)

When I first went through the songs Tim presented I was hoping that I would get to play on "Time" and "Wish I Could" and in fact spent the majority of my time working on those two. As it turned out, Greg and I split the bass duties not by the songs themselves, but by where they fell on the demo CD Tim gave us. Luck gave me the two I wanted most and they both just felt really natural for me. Cool songs and I was really flattered Tim asked me to play on what turned out to be a great disk...