Small Matters and my Uncle Ed
You may notice that on the album cover (the work of Emily Chen, by the way) that my name is spelled out in reel-to-reel tape. That's because of a tape I found in my parents' basement that had sat unnoticed for almost 40 years.
Edward Clynton... or Eddy Clynton... was my uncle.
My Uncle Ed was a member of the Canadian band “Witness Inc.” in the 1960's and 1970’s. After a series of radio hits and opening for Roy Orbison, the group was doing well. But Ed eventually left the band to embark on a solo career. Sadly I never met my uncle, as he was killed in a car crash in Northern Ontario before I was born.
But on that reel I found in my parents' basement were, unbelievably, never-before-heard demos of him performing his own folk and country tunes. And the mystery of that moment got me thinking about what we DO in fact leave behind, when we pass on. This album scratches away at that question, and others. How do you connect to someone who’s no longer here? What about all the questions that remain unanswered? These songs came out of that journey.
Two of the songs on the album are in fact covers of my uncle’s work. Other songs use lines of Ed’s works to jumpstart new songs. And then there are songs of mine that seemed to fit the theme of the album, examining how we carry on after any loss.
But, as I mentioned, the album is called "small matters of life and death". So it's about life, as well.
I've got a new one of my own to celebrate. :)
Hope you like what we've done here.
You may notice that on the album cover (the work of Emily Chen, by the way) that my name is spelled out in reel-to-reel tape. That's because of a tape I found in my parents' basement that had sat unnoticed for almost 40 years.
Edward Clynton... or Eddy Clynton... was my uncle.
My Uncle Ed was a member of the Canadian band “Witness Inc.” in the 1960's and 1970’s. After a series of radio hits and opening for Roy Orbison, the group was doing well. But Ed eventually left the band to embark on a solo career. Sadly I never met my uncle, as he was killed in a car crash in Northern Ontario before I was born.
But on that reel I found in my parents' basement were, unbelievably, never-before-heard demos of him performing his own folk and country tunes. And the mystery of that moment got me thinking about what we DO in fact leave behind, when we pass on. This album scratches away at that question, and others. How do you connect to someone who’s no longer here? What about all the questions that remain unanswered? These songs came out of that journey.
Two of the songs on the album are in fact covers of my uncle’s work. Other songs use lines of Ed’s works to jumpstart new songs. And then there are songs of mine that seemed to fit the theme of the album, examining how we carry on after any loss.
But, as I mentioned, the album is called "small matters of life and death". So it's about life, as well.
I've got a new one of my own to celebrate. :)
Hope you like what we've done here.
