I respect the folk protest song tradition, and I’m politically active, but music and social commentary were streams I usually didn’t cross.Then Renee Good and Alex Pretti were murdered on video in broad daylight on public streets, and our government lied shamelessly about it. I couldn’t do another concert without having something to say. So I got writing.
I debuted Where Liberty Lives a week later. Erik Balkey, an artist rep with Hudson Harding Music, was in the audience. He wanted to push it out to 200+ radio stations. The catch? He needed a final master in 6 days.
The next night I played Liberty in my Cheers – a small, rural bar in Pennsylvania. The atmosphere was electric and the song earned a standing ovation. I knew it needed to be heard. So I got recording.
I recorded in my home studio, with the legendary Mark Dann mixing and mastering. Laurie MacAllister (of Red Molly) added beautiful harmonies. Bigger Beast Records offered to distribute it.
I wanted to release the track quickly. I had the concept for a lyric video made entirely of protest signs. I cranked it out using AI photos in less than an hour. And it looked great. But AI creation – for all its efficiency – would undercut the grassroots rallying cry. So I put out an SOS.
In six days almost 50 people helped me make over 75 lyric protest signs. Some – including Ellis Paul and Laurie MacAllister – made their signs at home and sent videos and photos. Almost 40 of us gathered together at a local farm to create the rest. Filmmaker Mike Covino captured footage of the process. The result is more than a lyric video – it’s a community coming together to speak truth to power.
Support Where Liberty Lives by downloading a copy for $1 at my Bandcamp.
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THANK YOU!
