mike lawson

I began work on the "Ticket to Fly" project in the Spring of 1992 with my producer and friend Fred Bogert (Jorma Kaukonen/Vassar Clements/Trout Fishing in America) in Nashville, Tennessee. Beginning with the recording of the New Orleans flavored Judgment Day Rag, we began a four year recording odyssey enlisting the aid of some of the finest names in the psychedelic, pop/rock and blues music community. The project was recorded entirely in the historic RCA Records building at 30 Music Square West in the suite once used for mixing, overdubs and vocal performances for most RCA Nashville recordings until the late 80's.

The next song recorded, Following the Moon, first appeared on my long out of print 1989 Psychotronic Records EP release, Underground. This Nashville re-make of that track presented a different arrangement from the earlier version and showcases the guitar soloing of songwriter/guitarist Stuart Ziff. Ziff went on to co-write Thinkin' Problem for Country Artist David Ball, which soared to the number one position on country charts for a respectable spell across the USA, garnering him recognition and numerous writing awards in the industry. Ziff was a cranky but nice guy I traveled with during the year I worked with Tom Wopat (1992).

Next on the recording schedule was Georgiana Starlington. Natives of North Alabama who frequent Interstate 65 will recognize the name as that of a highway exit for the cities of Georgiana and Starlington, Alabama. I drove past three particular exits on that highway during my college gigging years and saw these exits that looked like the names of women. They were the Grace/Garland exit, the Kimberly/Morris exit and the Georgiana/Starlington exit. The name Georgiana Starlington just struck me as the one that sounded most like the Southern Belle who could break your heart. I wrote it while riding in the back of my long time friend and bass player Stan Rawls'van returning from a gig in Tuscaloosa with my old jamband Potatoe Pharm. Joining me on the track, adding a smoking slide guitar solo was my friend Dennis Robbins. Robbins, formerly of the Detroit rock band The Rockets, is also one of Nashville's most talented songwriters, co-writing such mega hits as Garth Brook's Two of a Kind, Working on a Full House", "Get Me to the Church on Cumberland Road" for Shenandoah and "Just Say Yes" for Highway 101. Dennis Robbins really defined that song with his signature slide playing, he has the magic touch with that bottle neck.

I also had the good fortune to also be joined for four tracks on the album by Rock-n-Roll Hall of Fame member Jorma Kaukonen of Hot Tuna fame. A year or so after Fred and I got start on the project, I introduced Jorma to Studio C in Nashville where he recorded his first studio solo album in over a decade (The Land of Heroes-American Heritage records / distributed by Relix Records. The first tune Jorma played on was "Songs Are Fine." This song was originally written by friend and drummer Todd Davis, who would play it with me at various college pubs, pool halls and convenience stores turned "hot new college original music venue." Years after these shows we brought it back out with a different arrangement written together for the project. The same is true of the song "Old Jack" which I also adapted and did a little tweaking to. It also features solos by Kaukonen, who also appears on two other tracks on the album, "Now I Got You" (also released previously on "Underground"; and "Every Single Minute".

Every Single Minute was among my first ever attempts at co-writing. It was co-written by former Fleetwood Mac guitarist/vocalist and solo artist Bob Welch (best known for his platinum selling album "French Kiss" and top radio hits "Hypnotized", "Sentimental Lady" and "Ebony Eyes"). Welch joined me in the studio to play the main solos heard on the song, with the other guitar fills being provided by Jorma. He did a great job of showing me how to write with somebody else and I'll always appreciate that.

Two more songs also came from the earlier "Underground" effort, "Now I Got You" and "War You Choose". "Now I Got You", is a blues song in a slow, shuffle, swing tradition featuring the guitar solos of Jorma Kaukonen and some hot Hammond organ work by Merl Saunders. Saunders is famous not only for his work with Jerry Garcia and Grateful Dead, Mike Bloomfield, Vassar Clements, John Kahn and a host of others, but also for over 30 years of other significant contributions to the music world. He agreed to put down some tracks from his favorite San Francisco studio using the marvelous technology of the ADAT recorder. The tape was sent to Merl, who laid down a couple of passes in and returned it to Nashville for mixing on a state-of-the-art hard disk recording system.

"War You Choose" has a wonderfully fabulous slide guitar tone on it contributed by recording artist. guitar genius and Blues giant Joe Louis Walker. Walker was in Nashville mixing his then latest release "Blues of the Month Club" with blues legend and producer Steve Cropper, and joined me in the studio, laying down the tone that really makes this track stand out on the project. He played a "Fan-Electro by Novax" guitar, a fabulous innovation by Novax Guitars featuring two "lipstick" pickups and a fret board of slanted, or "fanned" frets. He gave me the guitar after the session. How cool is that? His performance is spectacularly tasteful, complemented by Nashville session saxophonist Doug Renaldo.

"What Did That Bring?" is among the more mellow tunes on the release, an "un-ballad" with a feel akin to the music of "The Band". It may have been the final track on the project, but in August of 1995 the music world lost one of its greatest members and one of my biggest influences, Jerry Garcia. Soon after, we recorded my arrangement of "And We Bid You Goodnight," a traditional spiritual song that the Grateful Dead, among others, have performed a variety of versions of over the years. I recall hearing the Dead sing it acapella, bringing goosebumps to my skin, and also hearing them just tease in and out of it in a jam. It was always special to me, as my memories of following that band will always be special to me. Joining me on the recording is Todd Davis, Catherine Craig and Fred Bogert on backing vocals making this very moving rendition of the song a fitting way to close out the project.