To say that Traveler’s Dawn has been on the back burner for a number of years doesn’t begin to cover how far this project fell from my intentions for it back around 2005. An acoustic gig here and there and a recording session now and then has been about the extent of my involvement over the past few years in the music scene that once felt like home and was where I wanted to make my living, at the time. One great thing about music though is that it is a gift that never leaves us, even when we mistreat and neglect it. It is in our souls, and fortunately in our muscles and our fingers when we pick up a guitar in the evening, even when we haven’t played it all week.

Ever since my life went six shades of crazy back in 2006 and the second iteration of Traveler’s Dawn disbanded for good, I’ve been wanting to get together material for a second record. I wanted to learn from the lessons and abundant mistakes of my first time around, and allow myself to grow away from old influences some and into a new phase as a musician, as a songwriter, and as a person; and I wanted the music to grow with me. I had a lot of help the first time around, and the self-titled Traveler’s Dawn record never could have happened without that amazing summer I spent in Tulsa with PJ, Ben, Josh, Monty, JM, Dave, and everyone who supported me through the process. It’s not like that record is a masterpiece or anything, but for a first effort and not knowing what the hell I was doing half the time I’m still proud of it. The guys up in Wisconsin; Adam, Travis, and Ryan might have been able to help me reclaim that and move forward, but I didn’t let them. I’m not sure why except to say that I had my head stuck pretty far up my back door at that time, and the right combination of available time, money, and inspiration never came together again over the next few years. I didn’t know what to do; and, rather than fighting for it, I let it slide and I just moved on to other things.

This isn’t a sad story though, and I don’t want to tell it that way. Life has taken some wonderful twists and turns over the past few years and has never ceased to surprise me. I think sometimes about the different directions things might have gone if I’d have handled everything better, but when I look at where I am now it is hard to feel anything but grateful for what life has given me. Some mild embarrassment might be in order for my behavior at intervals in that past, but overall the memories are good ones and I hope I’m forgiven for the rest.

So, what I’ve come the long way around to write is that I think the time has come to share some new things, to bring to light some of the half-finished songs and new recordings that have marked my numerous attempts to motivate myself to resurrect this project over the past half decade. I hope, as always, that some of my tunes might find their way into the soundtrack of our lives.

DH