ben wakeman : : Journal

Sweet Release

November 6, 2006

So, after 3 years of labor, "Waiting for the Light to Change" finally made it's way into the world to be greeted by a packed house at Eddie's Attic for the release party on November 4th. I could not really ask for a better night, the band was stellar, the crowd was generous and I managed to keep from choking too bad after months of not performing.

CD Release Party at Eddie's Attic

Kevin Leahy sat in on drums, Kris Dale played bass, Tom Willner was on keys and Charles Williams played lead guitar. We only managed to squeeze in one rehearsal before the show and I was a bit nervous about things hanging together, but these guys are truly awesome and all my fears were put aside three bars into the first song of the set. It's such an amazing pleasure to play with such brilliant musicians who are so comfortable and mature. Leading a band like that is so effortless because they are always four steps ahead of you, anticipating every change and contantly listening to where the song is going.

CD Release Party

It was a great ride while it lasted, but it was far too short. Just as we were starting to get warmed up, it seems like the set was over. CD Release parties are like weddings, or the birth of a child because you get to see a whole bunch of people that you rarely get to see all in one place. There were friends, family and fans from really far back in my career who showed up to help me celebrate.

Now that it's done, and things are quiet there's always a little bit of posts-partem depression, but I can honestly say that things are different this time around. I feel so incredibly blessed and I am so proud of the new CD that I'm just happy it's out there. More importanly, now that it's out there, I can move on and write more songs. Releasing a record is not unlike harvesting. You've worked for a long time growing this crop of songs and feeding them and until they are ripe and harvested, you are tethered to them - responsible for them. Now that they are out in the world, I can let them go and turn my eyes back to to open soil to plant more seeds. It's an addiction. Thank you for enabling me ;-)