Jaded Camel is the first collaborative effort I've put together with another musician. The name of the band, "Thick and Thin," comes from my being tall and thin, and Will Shannon's being short and stocky. The music, itself, starts out with a bit of a tribal flavor. ..if that is possible without drums. ..and from there, the music drifts further into uncharted territory. Melodic Freestyle, you might call it. There is some stuff with my version of a boogie-woogie beat, followed by some more native dance music, that just makes you want to put on feathers and face paint and dance naked around a fire in the dark. Other tracks just kind of skip-dribble along in a happy little shuffle. Some tracks might be called Ambient Wanderings. Some are minor dabbles, but most of Will's stuff is intriguingly articulate, with subtle twists and intonations counter pointing the percussive beat he puts into his instrument. Shannon, himself, is as captivating as his music, and I'm deeply honored that he took the time to record this CD with me.

Our combined music is much different than that which I make by myself. It is as if I get to play, yet the sounds resulting from my playing are as if I were someone else. ..kind of like a lazy alter-ego that gets to do less, yet sounds like more. The common ground, that Shannon and I found we could meet on, was much different, for the most part, than that on which I normally tread. It is easy to get stuck in your own ruts, when by yourself, and it is a kick to have such a talented player make me sound good!

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