The Source: My Mother and the Foundation of Music

It all starts with my mother.

My mother, born Ceci Reiser, was a professional vocalist, writer and producer of Broadway-type shows, as well as a ballet dancer. I grew up in a house that always had a piano. My mother produced one-woman shows such as The Emancipation of American Women in the Musical Theatre and performed these songs for Officer Clubs on U.S. military bases around the world.

She was always singing. She was exceptional as a blues singer. She taught me great lessons about music and songs: the genre did not matter if it was a good song. A good song is a good song.

Learning to Appreciate Great Music

I was a young kid when The Beatles arrived in America. People may not know now, but there was a segment of society that looked down on them, saying they were just noise. But my mother said, “No, these guys are really good.”

I remember listening to the vocalist in “Great Gig in the Sky” from Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon. My mother stopped in her tracks and asked me who that was because the vocals were so exceptional.

Later, she fell in love with one of my favorite bands, Little Feat, because the music was fun and the lyrics were entertaining.

My Mother’s Musical Legacy

My mom contributed great vocals on the original recordings of “By Your Man” and “It Makes The World Go Round.” She continued to sing until she passed away at the age of 98.

I have video of her, sitting in a wheelchair, singing during her last public performance at a party where a friend and I were playing music for our friends.

She was the source.

Finding Music on My Own Terms

Choosing Athletics Over Music

My mother did not want me to pursue a life as a professional musician. She had seen too much drug and alcohol abuse in that world.

That was okay with me because I just wanted to be an athlete.

I stopped taking piano lessons at age seven and did not play an instrument again until I was seventeen. A football teammate and I decided we wanted to learn guitar despite being teased by our fellow players for our “sensitivity” in playing music.

College, New Orleans, and Musical Discovery

I took the guitar to college and learned to play from songbooks. I attended college in New Orleans, where I was introduced to the city’s incredible local rhythms and sounds. It was awesome.

A phrase from my college piano teacher stayed with me:  “Learn to play what you like.”

So I dove into the music of Neil Young because it resonated with me. At first it was the acoustic guitars and banjo, but then my mind was blown by Young’s electric songs. Both styles were inspiring.

The lyrics were equally important. They told stories and carried meaning. That fascinated me.

Folk Music and Storytelling

Through Bob Dylan, I discovered Woody Guthrie and developed a love for folk music that told stories or made a point.

Still, music remained a pastime. The real world was calling.

After graduating from college, I needed to either continue my education or get a job. I chose law school in California, where I played in my first band with fellow classmates.

A Life-Changing Connection to the Earth

Outward Bound and Self-Discovery

I eventually settled in the Western United States after a life-changing experience during a 24-day Outward Bound course in Oregon’s Three Sisters Wilderness Area.

After about seven days of trudging through the mountains, something clicked. I realized that my connection with the Earth was my true reality, and I felt completely at peace with it.

I fell in love with the Earth and became an environmentalist.

Becoming an Environmentalist

I joined the Sierra Club and spent time hiking throughout the Sierra Mountains.

But I did not want to be a broke spiritual mountaineer.

I wanted both worlds. I wanted to pursue a successful legal career while continuing to stay connected to nature.

When I was single, that balance worked well.

Freefall and a Return to Music

A Personal Turning Point

When I got married, I thought it was time to grow up. I focused on making more money, buying a house, and preparing for children.

But after four years, my marriage ended.

I found myself in a period of freefall, questioning who I was and where I was headed.

I needed a way to express what I was feeling.

Songwriting Becomes Essential

So I threw myself into music.

I took guitar and vocal lessons, read books on songwriting, and began writing and recording songs on a handheld tape recorder at home.

For the first time, I was writing my own songs.  I also started performing at open mic nights in coffeehouses with my acoustic guitar and harmonica.

Creating the Songs That Became Unshelved

During the two to three years following my divorce, I wrote and recorded the original versions of the songs that would eventually become Unshelved.

About twenty years ago, I compiled these mostly folk-oriented songs, along with a few electric tracks, onto two discs and shared them with friends and family.

Then they sat quietly “on the shelf” for nearly two decades.

Bringing ‘Unshelved’ to Life

Brulen’s Game-Changing Contribution

Everything changed when my friend and law client, Bruce Bierman (aka Brulen) — an accomplished music producer, sound engineer, songwriter, performer, and inventor of computer technology — unexpectedly sent me his version of the song “Fossil Fools.”

It was stunning.

What had been an amateur skeleton recording suddenly came alive, as if air had been pumped back into the song’s lungs.

The song was alive.

Reimagining the Songs

Bruce thought the other songs were strong as well and suggested producing his own versions of them.

He ultimately produced twelve songs. Those are the tracks that appear on Unshelved.

These songs had sat on a shelf in my garage for twenty years.

Why revisit them?

Why These Songs Matter

Like my mother always said:  “If it’s a good song, it’s a good song.”

If only one person connects with just one song, then this entire endeavor has been a success.

I try to be honest with myself.  Do I love these songs simply because I wrote them?

Or are they genuinely good songs?  Time will tell.