Pauper Dreams

Artist Notes: ~ PAUPER DREAMS ~ (formerly "Recent Demos") Why is this album important? It was recorded on 1 & 4 track machines. A "vibe" that is immediate and compelling, I think. This was the FIRST set of pre-WPA demos I did after VoL's demise. Very happy with the tracks. Mostly short songs, they capture the garage spontaneity i was striving for in my work at the time... In some ways, "Talk Around" & "Never Be Another Like You" are as good as any garage recording could be. It's what i love,anyway, about garage-indie bands. Immediate, passionate...and possessing a certain magic. "With Souls As Big As Western Skies," is one set of the most chilling set of lyrics I've ever written. Still love. They grapple with failure, real & imagined and wrestle with a God Who seems absent, distant. "Brand New Skin" is a paean to my mother Mary Alice who had recently gone to be with the Lord. I built an other-world quality into it. Lose, imprecise in a very studied way, i think a lot of this was inspired by Big Star's 3rd album. (Big Star 3) What you're hearing on this "Pauper Dreams" are the first stirrings of a new way of working, delivered in a new format that has become dear to me for it's immediacy and heart-on-sleeve qualities. i think these excursions have made me a better lyricist, a better guitarist and better writer...and it all started here. Peace, Bill