Page 10 - ION Indie Magazine MarchApril 2022
P. 10
TB: Your debut album ‘Burn The Ships’ CM: I met Danny Jones through one of our
reached #5 on the Billboard Heat Seekers team members, John in Houston., who is a
chart. Talk about the making of that fantastic publicist. Danny has been a
album. pleasure and inspiration to work with. He
really brought those songs to a new level in
CM: We made ‘Burn the Ships’ at the famed ways. We got on together very well and
Sugar Hill Studios, here in Houston, TX. things just felt extremely comfortable but still
Sugar Hill is one of the oldest currently in a way that pushed me. Hearing stories of
operating studios in America and has hosted him sitting as close to SRV as I was to him
legends like The Rolling Stones. The reason cutting guitars was just wild and I think
we chose to work at Sugar Hill was to having so much respect for Danny made
collaborate with Dan Workman, who those sessions even more sacred to me. I
produced and mixed the album. I met Dan came in respecting the work and determined
when I was probably 14 or 15, and he to make something we were all proud of.
mentored me with sage advice and
encouragement at that point in my journey. TB: The album includes a cover of the ZZ
It seemed to just make sense to work with Top ‘Jesus Left Chicago.’ How did you
Dan when it came time to make our first full- decide to include that song?
length record. We recorded one song in a
stand-alone session months previous to the CM: Part of the inspiration behind the entire
recording of the rest of the record. We ‘Back to Blue’ EP was getting back to my
wanted to get a feel for what we were roots in blues and rock. I wanted to include
making and how we would go about it and a sort of tribute to the music I grew up with
captured ‘Timing’s Everything’ completely and it’s almost impossible to grow up in
live. The rest of the record was recorded in Texas without hearing ZZ Top. I’ve always
a 7-day stint where we cut one song a day loved that specific track and when I was
from drums to final vocals each day. It was a younger, I remember being excited in a new
marathon that we were thankfully over way when I first heard the transition from
prepared for. Steve Christiansen engineered ‘Waiting for the Bus’ into ‘Jesus Just Left
those sessions along with Drum Engineer Chicago.’ I also wanted to put our own touch
Josh Applebee, mastered by Steve Mcnare. on it by exploring new sonic textures for the
song. It was the last song we did guitars and
TB: You followed that up with the 2021 EP vocals for on the record and I’m really happy
‘Back To Blue’ working with Danny with where that journey took us!
Jones, who has worked with Stevie Ray
Vaughan, Patti LaBelle, Etta James, and TB: What is your writing process?
others. How did you get hooked up with
him for the EP?
