Mike & Karen Achenbach -
Old friends of mine from the Reading jam scene back in the day, and more importantly the parents of the projects' drummer Zak Achenbach. Zak was 17 when we first started with the band, not much older at the time of the basic track recording, which was done in Mike & Karen's garage. As a matter of fact, those two allowed us to gather in their garage every week, affording me the time to develop my guitar and writing skills and actually produce the music we eventually captured there in their garage outside Mohnton, PA. We were loud, and it was the first year of my infant daughters life so I was continually tired and ornery, and it went on and on for years, and those two were nothing but gracious, helpful and supportive. I cannot thank them enough for their kind generosity, support, warmth & good vibes and of course providing a great place for a bunch of very loud musicians to get down to business and create without distractions - I could not have done this without the Achenbachs.
Chris Kew (Q)-
I've talked about Q's involvement and importance to this project previously here in the blog, but I just want to state how comforting and helpful it was to have someone I know, trust & respect, both personally & professionally, be there for me constantly & consistently whenever I needed advice, help or just someone to think something through with. And let's please not forget his world-class playing on display throughout the album, which he donated with grace and aplomb. His involvement instantly doubled the depth and quality of all the proceedings, took it all to another level and that point is never lost on me. (read Q's thanks below)
Cory Heller-
...and speaking of donating world-class playing with grace and aplomb...I've also spoken here about Cory's involvement too, and his importance to Telectro but really, he came in and did his takes, on every track, in one run through. He so totally got what was needed in the music and performed it intuitively, adding the most beautiful colors in the process. Although we've known each other from around the Berks County music scene for many, many years, I don't typically work with Cory, sadly, so for him to commit himself to the project in such a complete way is a bit more than astounding.
Ray Hoffman-
Ray helped me start the Magnetic North Project. We got together weekly at his house in Kutztown for quite a while to play and plot, and we collected a solid line-up over time. He also held the groove on all those far-out jams the band would do, and created a solid place for our minds to wander. Some of those jams burned new ground for me, and that whole experience was completely creative and organic, culminating with Telectro. It wouldn’t have happened without Ray Hoffman.
Julie & Liliana Kehr-
My wife and daughter gave me the endless supply of love needed to make this kind of music, they make my whole life music and help me be me. I can't type the right words here.
Casey Shearer-
I'm not sure this album would have happened without Casey, who started booking shows for me in the greater Berks County area. Even starting out he produced results
for me, and as The Magnetic North Project became ready to start playing out and needed gigs, Casey hooked us up in spades. And it was those gigs that enabled us to move forward. Casey's always been there for me when I needed help, and I will always appreciate his belief in what I do and willingness to listen.
Tom Flannery -
Part way through the
beginning of album production my old musical pal Tom Flannery and I started
hatching a plot to write and produce a duo album together, a grand idea that I’m still
partial to (and looks like will happen very soon.) We actually wrote a nice chunk
of material together online, but over time it became clear I did not have the time or concentration to see the project through to its organic, natural end. I was kind of tethered to the general area I lived in the first
couple years of my new daughters life, and confined at night to either a more local gig or
into my basement studio to work, a process that went on for about a year and a half
longer than I originally thought. I am indebted to Tom for his patience, and
for wanting to pick the thread back up and work on in the time after Telectro is released. Tom is a great & talented writer that I'm lucky enough to call a friend.
Bill Stetz-
My old compadre, Bill and I just had our 20th anniversary of playing music together, I never take for granted the luxury of having Bill in my life, his love, laughter & playing have been consistently there for me every time; one of those people who just makes your life better by having him in it.
Scott Murawski & Anthony Hannigan-
File under 'donating world-class playing with grace and aplomb' - I'm so lucky to play with musicians of this caliber, it makes me a better musician myself, and they're both so much fun to hang out with. Their largely improvised parts on Telectro bring a clarity & propulsion to the music at hand and large I could find nowhere else.
Zack Roth & Zak Achenbach-
-These great young players from the Magnetic North Project were key to this material being written, developed & ultimately rendered to tape. Zack's guitar playing & Zak's drumming were endlessly inspiring, and there is absolutely no way this album would have existed without them. Bill Stetz-
My old compadre, Bill and I just had our 20th anniversary of playing music together, I never take for granted the luxury of having Bill in my life, his love, laughter & playing have been consistently there for me every time; one of those people who just makes your life better by having him in it.
Scott Murawski & Anthony Hannigan-
File under 'donating world-class playing with grace and aplomb' - I'm so lucky to play with musicians of this caliber, it makes me a better musician myself, and they're both so much fun to hang out with. Their largely improvised parts on Telectro bring a clarity & propulsion to the music at hand and large I could find nowhere else.
Zack Roth & Zak Achenbach-
Charlie Borruso-
Q brought Charlie in to do the mastering and I'm so glad we got him. Not only is he world-class at his job but I found out he had been enduring a lot of personal heaviness during the process and still delivered perfection, I am very thankful for his involvement.
Chris Kew would like to thank-
Meg Eisenhower, upright bass luthiers Wayne Holmes and James Condino, Keith Roscoe of Roscoe Basses, Acme Cabinets, Jack Trifiro from Victor Wooten's Productions, all the people who had to listen to the bass tracks of this album over and over and over again, and finally, in Memoriam, Billy Constable, whose friendship and musicianship has and will continue to effect, inspire and shape my playing forever. Billy, you will always be missed.
Honorable Mentions-
Dave Light - Co-pilot #1, always, always there for me.Bob Coons - donated some beautiful & interesting guitar, though I never met him.
Matt Cullen - local musical compadre of great talent & support
Mitchell Roth - warm & supportive extended band family that filmed & photographed the us, and well, and went above and beyond.
Josh Meshley - brother in arms who lent a helping hand more than once during album production.
Tom Moran - Tom deserves a nod, he's provided me with some nice professional opportunities in my life that I will always be thankful for, as well as the sweet gig and support he gave MNP at a time when it was needed.
