California Cool

Run time: 4:14 minutes

In the late 80s, I saw myself in the studio playing guitar as one of my Dad’s session guitarists. I worked quite a bit with Brian Wilson as we developed his yet-to-be-first solo album. I started writing a song for Brian that never was finished, but I still heard it clearly in my head for years to follow. I finally tapped into this idea and produced “California Cool,” A postcard from the Golden State.. or at least an ode to the early 60s using lyrics from my Dad’s hit records. It is a pieced-together patchwork of sonic captions. As with most of my music, I play all the instruments and all the vocals. I’m just layering vocal harmonies until I get them right. The slide guitar was fun in this one; trying to emulate a pedal steel part gives it this shooting star across-the-sky feeling. California is my home and a remarkable place. Its roots are in so many art forms, so many colors, and so many songs. California Cool is part of my story.