Mardi Gras season has just wrapped up and I was looking for something to mark the occasion. “New Orleans Ladies” was penned by Hoyt Garrick and Leon Medica and recorded by Louisiana’s LeRoux in 1978. It became a regional hit for them and made it onto the Billboard Hot 100. Anybody out there remember this one? While it’s technically not a “Mardi Gras song,” it conveys some of the spirit of New Orleans. So grab a cup of dark roast coffee and a hot beignet with a thick dusting of powdered sugar and let’s take a stroll through the French Quarter.

After being away from it for a while, I’ve decided to take a dive back into multitrack recording using a DAW (specifically Studio One 6). To get my feet wet, I wanted to do a project that would be relatively easy but still challenging. I settled on this original song of mine, “Lost in Your Love.” I was thrilled when Gary Schoolcraft agreed to play drums and Steve Urbi consented to add a lead track. I also recruited a couple of other guys I usually keep locked in the attic.

About the song: This is a song about desperation. The singer is in a long-term relationship that he knows he should end, but the controlling love of his partner makes it hard for him to get out of it. (And, no, it isn’t autobiographical ). Hope you enjoy this little production. Lyrics are below the video if you’re interested.

Lost in your love, it’s a feeling I know each time

I look in your eyes—here it comes, that old feeling growing

Lost in the lies of a thousand yesterdays

And the web that you weave tangles me and there’s no escaping

How many times have I told you I’m leaving you?

I look in your eyes and I know I’m deceiving you

I’m lost in your love on a hopeless carousel

And I can’t stop the ride because I can’t bring myself to tell you

Searching my heart, it’s a feeling I can’t explain

I know I should leave, but you take me in your arms again

I’m lost in your love, like a child against a storm

I know I’ve nowhere to go, I don’t know what I’m running from

Lost in the lies of a thousand yesterdays

And the web that you weave tangles me and there’s no escaping

Lost in your love on a hopeless carousel

And I can’t stop the ride because I can’t bring myself to tell you

Lost in your love…

Here’s one for all you relationship long-haulers. Alan Jackson wrote and recorded this country hit, and I was so glad when my friend Marsha McConchie MacMartin suggested that I take a crack at it. I was even more thrilled when she agreed to add her sublime harmonies! “Livin’ on Love” is an unabashed country feel-good song and we hope you have as much fun listening as we had recording it! Here’s a toast to all of you out there who are livin’ on love.

This Shel Silverstein song was first recorded by Tompall Glaser, then Waylon Jennings and a host of others. The humor is a bit sophisticated for my style, but I thought I’d give it a go. Here’s “Put Another Log on the Fire.”