e·lec·tro·a·cous·tic
iˌlektrōəˈko͞ostik/

adjective

1.involving the direct conversion of electrical into acoustic energy or vice versa.

In a world where everything is a click away, fast paced and immediate. I made a double album full of rich songs that in some epic way, begged you to slow your life down and give a deep listen.

USBlues was written in troubadour fashion of observing the insane political climate our country, The United(?)States, is going though. I've never been a political person and remain an outsider in a country ready to build a wall. But I couldn't help but write and sing about my observations. Call it poetic, spiritual, protest music!

I just finished my new album called Daylight. It's a very personal record for me, as far as lyrical content goes. It's not trying to sound like anyone or be like anything. It's 10 songs, recorded in my living room with my live band in San Antonio... The music was made underneath white Christmas lights and a blue light sparkling mirror ball throwing shapes all over the walls. We used acoustic and electric guitars, djembes and percussion, fretless bass and we sang our hearts out. It was meant to be whispered in your ears through headphones or pumped through your car stereo on road trips. And at its best, Daylight is meant to give us some hope in the form of sound and melody... Into your ears, through your veins and straight into your heart. ~ Chris Taylor 10/14/14

Just before I passed by the Travelers Hotel sign here in downtown San Antonio... I was telling myself that I don't want to write and record songs anymore. It just seemed silly. I have so many records for you to pick and choose from... so why do you need one more?

Then, I saw the sign: Travelers Hotel.

By the time I got to the car, I had all these characters in my head... these sounds and ideas of sounds. I knew I had to start recording and writing. Oh well.... I guess giving up making music is NOT in the cards for me.

I realized that even though I love you guys.... my fans, friends, supporters, encouragers.... I wasn't writing this music for you. I was writing it for me! It saves my own life, my sanity, my heartbreak and my own internal struggle in this life.

But the rewarding part of it all is the fact that you guys are right with me and for that - I am so grateful!

This album is officially 12 songs - ending with Forgiveness
But for the digital version I've included 3 Bonus Tracks for you as well!
The original 12 songs clock in at 1 hour and 1 minute.... so you are definitely getting the grand tour of Travelers Hotel.

All the lyrics and guitar chords are included here as well.
Download away.
Crank up the car stereo.
Slip on your headphones....

Sha la la la la

Creatio Ex Nihilo

Creation From Nothing

This album is meant to be listened to with headphones or while driving in your car with no interruptions. Psychedelic Meditation. Poetic Soundscapes. Guitar Vibes and Chaos with Beautiful Melodies underneath.

It was my vision to use this down time in my life to create a record full of instrumentals and soundtrack pieces for movies that have not been made yet. I was to create these tapestries of music for others to play over. I was to be the Mad Conductor, singing and humming the melodies for Mitchell's guitar or Onel's saxophone to play. But I also let them run freestyle over parts of songs and that made them even more three dimensional.

Before there was any music for this project, there was silence.
In the midst of silence, there was creation.
Creation was born from nothing... or was there always something within the silence?

Recorded in Nashville, TN with the Ragamuffin Band. It was one of the best times ever with such a creative team around me. Rick Elias and Mark Robertson produced this record. And I was ready to throw down & not make any excuses for my vocals or my lyrics. I know - the album title is a mouthful - but man... it packs a punch!

It was 1998. I was in Nashville making my first "solo" record. But I had some of Nashville's finest musicians at my disposal. So I played them Bob Dylan's Time Out Of Mind and Radiohead's OK Computer before we started to record. I knew they were in a different league than me... so I was going for similar textures, vibe and feel. Like if those two records collided and got mashed together. Listen to the end of Deep Reasons Why and you hear Radiohead vibe... Listen to Jesus Is Alive and you will hear the groove and texture of that Dylan record... Then add me and my vibe and perspective to the mix and out comes Down Goes The Day. Don't mistake this for a "Jesus Frees Us" record. This has got more questions than answers, more doubt than praises... but when I DO praise - I really mean it.

Hey yawl,

As I sit here listening to these songs, I realize how long it has been since I last heard this music. I am doing my best to recall the finer details about the recording of these songs from 20 year ago or more. As I recall, this collection of songs is made up of 2 different sessions between The Waffle House Studio in New Braunfels and Edit Point Studio in San Antonio. If I remember correctly, Matt Slocum had not yet moved to Nashville or maybe he had come back to NB for a brief period of time and in that short stay we gathered to lay down the recording you hear now of the material we working on in an effort to release a new CD. Matt had rented out a small room on the second floor of a small office building right near downtown New Braunfels. I must have passed this building a million times en route to any number of venues I have played since that night we recorded in there. Matt also had me come in and play drums on a couple of songs for some other group that was recording some new material as well. He didn't stay in that space very long so I'm not sure how many bands recorded upstairs there, but I was on 2 of the projects during that time. I wish I could remember who those guys were. I don't think I ever got to hear the finished project.

I believe that the Waffle House session happened prior to our booking time at Edit Point and it was at this time that I was really trying to learn how to listen to the structure of the songs that Chris was writing and figuring out how to contribute musically. I wanted be taken seriously as a drummer and I don't think I had quite yet figured out that *rests* count as notes too. I'm a little zealous in some of my fill-ins and I hear my time waver a bit on some of these songs. I don't recall if we tracked with a *click* or not, but I've always been able to play with a click so I'm thinking maybe these were without a click. (Or maybe we did use a click and I wasn't as good as I thought I was. Ha!)

I'm going to offer my take on these songs in the order that you see them here. Seems this is how I remember (roughly) hearing them in song order on a long lost cassette or CD burn somewhere. These remembrances are somewhat selfish in that I recall my own individual parts and what I was thinking and feeling at the time and how I was trying to approach these songs. I'm happy to have these recordings see the light of day in some form but I'm also a little sad that we never were able to put out one more release. Love Coma sort of dissolved without any real resolution and it feels now like it was put on a shelf. Not in a bad way, but almost as if to store it away for a later time. I'd love to have had the opportunity to perform these songs live more than we did.

The memories I have of my years working with Chris Taylor are happy ones I will keep for a lifetime and I am grateful for having had the opportunity to have made the music we did together. We got to play some really fun shows and record some CDs and travel together meeting a lot of great folks and seeing a lot of fun together. I owe him a lot for allowing me to have a platform from which to launch my career. The same can be said of Matt Slocum for inviting to record on that first Sixpence CD. Nobody could have known the kind of success Sixpence would enjoy nor could I ever have imagined that those early experiences would help me to become the player I've grown into today. I'm not sure where these old recordings will wind up or who will hear them, but my hope is that whoever hears them will enjoy listening to them as much as we enjoyed making them. I hope that at some point in the future that Chris Taylor and I can collaborate on some level and maybe revisit Love Coma where we left off. I'd love for Mattingly to be a part of that journey and hopefully Matt Slocum could find the time to be involved as well. Curtis is still kicking about Central Texas too so I'm sure we could enlist him to be a part of this as well if we can ever find the time to all come together in a room to write and record. With any luck, maybe Mike Roe would also want to be a part of something fresh - I've not yet mentioned him and he was a big part of our band before we ever met him. His music shaped us in ways he will never know. Meeting him and working him and ultimately befriending him is something we are all glad to have experienced. He needs to be involved in some way too. Life happens and we all have jobs and families and responsibilities but the spark for creativity still burns in all of us. Keep your eyes peeled. We may surprise you sometime with some new music after having spent 2 decades apart.

Much love, amigos.

- Doddsy