Write my own liner notes?? That's not easy for me..I'd rather let the songs speak for themselves..but maybe some explanation is necessary. I do want to tell you how I feel about music. It's always had a power with me to break my heart or lift me to the heights. Sometimes those two things happen together--I know that sounds like a contradiction--but when the notes fall just right, to me they are sort of magical--like stars scattered in a perfect array--and the beauty leaves me with a deep longing. Maybe it's because the music brings a very brief glimpse of "heaven" or perfection that can only be momentary in our present existence. And so along with the intense beauty, for me there's always the longing. Joy and pain aren't contradictions when that happens... A song that is like that for me is The Left Banke's song, Walk Away Renee. My song, Closer To Renee, is an homage to that song, always one of my favorites of all time. Infinite Worlds was inspired by mysticism handed down from ancient Mexico, teaching that we perceive only a very narrow band of the phenomena surrounding us in the universe, and that beyond all explanations given, the universe remains full of mysteries to be experienced, not explained. The mystics believed that through focused effort, the mysteries could be experienced, but that at their deepest level, they would always remain unexplainable. For years I've wanted to write a song that would be a time-capsule of certain memories, some of them familiar to many, but others familiar to only a few. Troost Street Days pretty much does that. It's based on experiences of my friend Larry and me in the days when giants like Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, and Jim Morrison roamed the earth.. That Farm in Kansas is a true story about one of life's main Rights of Passage. Enough said. Never That Far From Alone came to me in my sleep. 99% of the time, song-writing is not that easy for me...I plan on getting more sleep in 2015! Spirit Clinic, for me, is not a song about a physical place, though it could certainly be that for other people. It's really about devoting yourself to your passion. The Spirit Clinic for some could be a church; for others it could be a mountain top, a garden, or a garage. It's wherever you can do what feeds your spirit--it's where your passion lives. Sometimes for me, inspiration comes from just a matter-of-fact statement somebody makes, that I like the sound of.I Mean Every Word came to me in that way. Of the nine songs on this CD, it was the first one written. When All Is Said And Done was written for my daughter Stephanie, of whom I am deeply proud. Nothing Left But Love goes back to the idea that music has the power to stir you and lift you. Even the pain and longing I spoke of come from love...for me it can be transcendent and so intense with emotion that joy and pain aren't really opposites anymore. It's a feeling that words can't really describe, but I'm glad I've tried to put it into words for you...I've never tried to do that before, and now I feel like maybe I understand it a little better myself. My hope is that you'll find something here that you like a lot. With that hope in mind, I keep writing every day, searching, waiting, and hoping...aiming for the day when I'll scatter stars in a perfect array! Best wishes and Happy New Year, Michael Chapman, January 1st, 2015!