| STORY OF LE' IMAGINE' CAFE It was November of the year of 2000 and fall was breaking into gray of winter. I was having a hard time emotionally. The house was empty with the kids away at school and the wife and I were edgy making the adjustment. As usual I was sitting in my studio, on this particular day pondering life, seemingly uninspired and tired of writing songs for no one, when the phone rang. It was Laurie, lyricist and wife of writer-producer Nathan DiGesare, both close friends. She knew instantly by the tone of my voice I was on low ebb and insisted I come over to write a song, explaining it would make us all feel better. I resisted to no avail and reluctantly agreed, got in my car, taking the twenty-minute ride in the driving rain, over to their place. Nathan hardly looked up when I arrived. Slumped behind his keyboard and computer, doodling, I could tell he wasn't in great spirits either. We half-heartedly greeted each other as I plopped myself down on the couch in his studio and listened to what he was playing, feeling like I was wasting time. At that point Laurie walked in with a pot of coffee and told us to wake up, we were so talented and should get busy writing a song for Donna, my wife. We drank the coffee and tried to come up with something but nothing excited us. At some point they both went inside the house leaving me alone in the studio. Bored, I walked over and sat behind the keyboard, the drum sounds were up and still thinking Donna, I programmed a beat. Moments later Nathan returned and upon hearing what I had said "Hey, I like that". Finally a spark!!!! Moving me out of the way he sat down and started playing chords to the beat and I started singing a melody, we were on it now. It was coming quickly and the song seemed to take on the mood of the rainy day. When Laurie returned I shouted, "we got it"!!! Quickly updating her on the melody and words I had thus far, I moved into the vocal booth and started singing. Within the next hour the three of us had finished the song, vocal, track and lyric, pretty much the way it is on the record. The only real change we made was adding the accordion solo just before mastering. It was recorded and inserted into the mix two and a half years later. Of course, we all tried to get Donna to record it but she refused. Till this day insisting the song is mine not hers, just the same way I had years ago declined singing "On the Radio" even though at the time, she had pushed me to. I knew the song was hers. Could you imagine? Le' Imagine' Cafe is such a pivotal song for me because it served to remind me of who I was as an artist and could still be. It became the impetus for the entire "Rainy Day Soul" project. WHY RAINY DAY SOUL? |