Fittingly, this albums and the songs were written and published in what would, at the time, unknowingly be my final days in the tranquil yet tainted paradise of the Big Cypress Swamp.
In a departure from my first two albums, these songs evoke a sense of a place that is neither here nor there, but rather everywhere — and inescapable.
Or was I in the midst of a major escape act?
All is revealed in the final song.
As for my fourth act (i.e. album)?
Making three albums was a major milestone. To me, with its release, I’d made it, much like Nick Drake. Or is that a curse? After all, the third was also his last. Thus begging the question: After over a year without playing a song, will there be a fourth?
My guess on that is that you never know and I wouldn’t rule anything out.
I don’t know much, but I’m inclined to spill whatever I do out at the campfire
After an intense and prolonged period of songwriting – often deep in nature, in areas that have yet to be mapped, and sometimes but not always by a campfire – I am finally nearing completion of my second studio album. It’s theme? Much like my first album New Pangaea it strikes deep in the heart of what the Before Phones Movement (BPM) is all about.
Unlike New Pangaea, my second album takes on thornier topics that many other songwriters would shun due to their complexity and controversial nature. For example, with The Lusitania, I believe I official and forever knock the Titanic (including the movie, and quite possibly the soundtrack – although I’d love to collaborate with Celine Dion) off the top spot and elevate the sinking of the Lusitania as the most tragic and memorable maritime disaster of the past 200 years. Why? Because it’s also an antiwar protest song. Even more subtly, another song on the album – Old Jim Dill – recounts the personal devastation wrought by the Great War, also know as the War To End All Wars, or just WWI and how he, at least partly, overcame it by finding comfort in a nature retreat.
But I digress …
Tentatively, in our studio sessions, we’ve been referring to the album as simply “The Green Album,” although that may yet change. Other names being batted around include Preserved, The Blue Album (long story), Green on Green, and To All My Fans, With Love, Bobby Angel.
People often ask me: “Bobby Angel, what’s your favorite thing about your second album?” My answer is always and unequivocally the same:
Performing the songs to connect their meaning to others. And also, I must admit. I’m kind of itching to do a third album. So it feels good have the second one done, or almost done. As much as I’m an “ad hoc go with the flow” type of guy, I’m equal parts a finisher, too. That’s my secret to songwriting. Get it done and then move on. The longer a song sits the more it starts to lose its original intent. Songs in their truest form capture a moment and just flow.
Bobby Angel
A “moment catcher” is what a good song is.
At least that’s my theory (for now).
Remember the Rule of the Ninja: Never fear, never doubt, and never over think.
And if we’ve seen it once we’ve all seen in a thousand times. It’s that patch of trees that looks pretty enough, although it may be infested with invasive trees, and littered with trash. And no it’s never that big patch of woods, just a remnant of a larger contiguous mass or woods that got gobbled up by housing developments of various types.
Ugliest Forest, the Interview
Why and how that patch of woods escaped development is anyone’s guess. Maybe it got held up in a real estate dispute, or maybe the owner was holding out for a higher price, or maybe the zoning laws were still being hashed out. Whatever the case, the patch of woods survived, and even thrived as judged by the birds and the bunnies and the mice (and maybe even a bobcat). And then just like that, in move the bulldozers …
And the woods are gone.
Well howdy folks, and I’m completely freaked out. And you know why. The fringe middle. The silent majority. Why are they so quiet?
The only known antidote: Get up and brush it off. And I don’t speak from experience. I’m only saying it as a last resort. These past few months I’ve been going through a song-writing lull. The good news: I’ve seriously gone through my archive and put my songs to memory. I am now capable of playing any number of song sets. The problem is: I’ve left a lot of half-baked songs languish on the window sill. I’m not saying I’m not going to eventually get back up on the horse and gallop full speed ahead. But there are times I wish I was a full time nature-folk balladeer instead of doing the balancing act of being a hydrologist, every night campfire host, performing late night campfire concerts, maintaining a podcast and also trying to put the finishing touches on a fourth installment of a major literary work. Bogged down? Only to the uninitiated. There’s an old saying: If you want something done, ask a busy person. The corollary is: being bogged down is just a momentary state of finally breaking through to the promised land.
It’s a new dawn with Candidate Burt Silver, but only because he stayed up all night to see it
Especially just after a beautiful sunset over the water. Bobby Angel brings it on this campfire concert. His three song set includes (1) There Goes Bob Three, (2) Marsha Marsha and (3) X Marks The Spot.
Try not to overthink a song. Go with what pops in your head, run with it, and don’t stop until you cross the finish line.
Please create a channel in YourChannel page first.
Fan mail rocks, in a folksy way
The truth is: Any piece of mail that isn’t a bill, or junk mail, or some other promo offer is a good feeling. As much as I like receiving a letter in the mail, probably my first love is writing letters myself and sending them loose into the universe of whoever I’m sending them to. If I had a nickel for every letter I wrote, I’d have a lot of nickels, even dimes worth. My point: We all deserve fans and we all deserve mail. Letters to and from friends are a priceless form of art.
The campfire is always crackling and visitors are always welcome at Campfire Park
Such was the case with Bobby Angel at this campfire podcast. He thought he was setting up camp at the Barron River only to find out, or start to develop a hunch, that he was actually along the banks of the modern-day canal. Not that it stopped the singer/songwriter from having a quality campfire. His 2-song set includes (1) One More Melaleuca for the Road and (2) David Moody Blues, plus campfire deep dive into the history and many mysteries of the road, the river, the old railroad grade and the canal.
Join singer/songwriter Bobby Angel around the campfire for songs and story-telling. | 
