The Sky is Cyan

Back maybe about 20 years ago I was at a weekly Houston area gathering called Metro. Typically there would be a speaker, think early Ted Talks, and some live music. The guest musician that night was a man who I would enjoy many cups of coffee with over the next few years named Seth Woods. As he approached the stage with only an acoustic guitar, a friend leaned over and told me he looked like me in 30 years. We had the same crazy hair and scruffy beards. As luck would have it, I was able to get to know Seth over the next few years. It turned out that we had some mutual friends. When I told Seth this a while later, we realized we were within only a few months of each other! We both had a good laugh about it, but I have to admit that Seth got the short end of that joke. 

A few months after this performance, Seth's debut solo album came out, called The Sky is Cyan. Largely acoustic and electric folk, the lyrics are introspective and brutally honest and transparent. The songs go from deep and earnest to silly and happy-go-lucky, but the lyrics never feel forced or contrived. My favorite song on the record is called Boston. It is a song about moving away and starting a new life, but realizing that life ain't easy anywhere. Life it turns out, follows us wherever we go and life is what we make of it. I can listen to this song on repeat for hours.

I didn't know it at this first meeting, how could I, but over the next few years I would get to know everyone involved with this record, and develop great friendships with all of them. Like Seth, there would be multiple cups of coffee to be had over the years, multiple conversations about music, books, and life. Maybe that's what I liked most about those days. The connections and conversations. We would hang out in a coffee shop all day and then go out for late night pizza to keep the conversations moving. 

I would even write and record my own EP called Longing for September under the moniker Nate Bonassin in the same studio with the same engineer a few years later.

Fast forward to this afternoon. I was driving home from work and The Sky is Cyan came on my iPod. Suddenly, I was 20 years younger. It's been close to 15 years since I have talked to any of these guys, but being in my truck, listening to Boston, it took me back to an easier time. The worst thing we had to worry about back then was where the next cup of coffee was going to be. It made me want to reevaluate a few things and see what could be done to make life simpler.

Being in my truck, listening to Seth, made me want to grab a couple of sleeping bags and my wife, and drive out to the desert to go camping, as one of Seth's lyrics on the record goes. There's something about going out in the wilderness and leaving it all behind for a few days that brings a level of reinvigoration back to you when you need it most. 

This is a great record to listen to next time you find yourself on a road trip. Maybe you won't know where you're going, but that's half the fun of a road trip. I can promise you though, that this record will get you where you need to go.