“I wanted to make something that I couldn’t hide behind. I was also craving some live music in the midst of 2020 and covid. When I first put this work out it was a departure from the way I had recorded in the past, both for myself and for the sessions I had been involved with. I wanted to look back at this song as a kind of time capsule. ‘Bar Rings’ songs had grown so much from when I recorded them, that I was playing them differently every time I played a set. So with ‘Live at +/-’ I wanted it to be just that: live. I wanted to capture these songs in the way they were written, but maybe not the way they would stay. I brought in Eli on cello for a couple of reasons. Firstly, he’s absurd. One of the best players I've been lucky enough to call my friend. And secondly he knows how to blend into any genre or vibe without losing his own taste. Together we got to make something that feels the way it was meant to. 

 

‘3 Sheets’ was written based on the addiction issues in my family and that I deal with personally. I truely believe that no one is better and lying to themselves than an alcoholic. Something about alcohol seems different than any other drug, and seems like it has this stunning ability to make the user reject the evidence in favor of a more comfortable reality in their mind. 

 

‘Boxcar’ started as an exercise. Write a story about someone. But it quickly diverged into a song about my own insecurities, hopes and fears. It seems I can’t keep myself out of my writing no matter how hard I try.”