The Afterlife Sessions

Recording The Afterlife Sessions felt   like something I was always meant to do.   Growing up on the farm, I was surrounded   with acoustic music. Don Messer’s Jubilee   TV show and artists like Gordon Lightfoot   and John Denver coming over the radio in the   kitchen, were part of the sonic landscape.   In the last few years, the idea of making   an album built entirely around acoustic   instruments kept resurfacing.  

 Meeting and performing with Ryland Moranz   and Dan Fremlin is an important thread in The   Afterlife Sessions story. When a friend hosted   a house concert for them, I joined in for a   couple of songs. Those few moments playing   opened the door, and the idea of recording   together became part of our conversations.   A performance at the Cowichan Valley   Bluegrass Festival in June 2025 gave us the   focus to make it happen.  

 Afterlife Studios has a notable history, being   the modern incarnation of Vancouver’s iconic   Mushroom Studio—a space where I recorded   three previous albums. Returning there was   familiar yet different this time. With owner/   engineer John Raham guiding us, we took   over the space and made it our own. Dan   and Ryland brought sensitivity, along with   their brilliant playing and multi-instrumental   palette of acoustic guitar, banjo, mandolin, and octave mandolin. My long-time friend   and upright bassist Rob Becker joined us, and   on the final day, fiddle master Trent Freeman   added his magical touch to what became The   Afterlife Sessions. Those four days became   a moment in time that stayed with me long   after. I hope you enjoy The Afterlife Sessions   as much as we enjoyed creating it.