There and Backstory

After returning from NYC Paul gave a number of interviews with radio stations in Buenos Aires. The following is a composite. Thanks to the interviewers: Marcos Cavellino from FM Radio Universidad, Alejandro Saikevich from FM La Redonda y Daniel Gomez Oscoz from FM Radio Cadena Rio.

Interviewer: Of course, We have to ask, Why did you come to Argentina?

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Paul: The short answer is, I was in search of a quiet place to read a good book, and write some songs.

Interviewer: You work as a Consultant, no?

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Paul: Yes. I wanted to find a way to combine my two passions, Knowledge and Music. So, I started a one-man consultancy PRC International to help companies in Argentina that are beginning to enter the global market.

The consultancy offers educational tools, such as Critical Thinking, Problem-Solving, Effective Communication, Leadership Development. I also served as a Language Provider, teaching English, exam preparation, and writing and editing company websites. In short, a dream come true.

So I used the money from the consultancy to pay for studio time and musicians to make another dream come true, record my own songs.

Interviewer: Nice. And you recorded three albums before There and Back, no?

Paul: Yeah, I formed a partnership with Javier Fraccione of Kamestudio in Buenos Aires, La Plata. We recorded three albums of my songs. Technically, neither of us knew what we were doing and could have cared less. We were having the time of our lives. Still are.

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Interviewer: I've seen you perform three times and recognized a number of the songs on those records, but not from There and Back.

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Paul: The songs for There and Back are all new. I wrote 15 songs and chose the nine we did. Ah, but, Fire On The Mountain was a song you've heard. I'd been doing that live for a few years and in different versions.

Interviewer: Ah, that's right. The song in Spanish.

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Paul: Actually, it's an old Grateful Dead song. They're a band from way back when. Though I like them, I was never a big fan. But I've always loved that song. And I like the idea of "an original cover." Meaning, if you're going to do someone else's song do everything you can to put your mark on it. So I did a Dead song in Spanish to a Regatone beat. And I put on a horn line of my own that I thought fit. And that's what we chose to close There and Back.

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Interviewer: Well, so tell us some more about There and Back, how it was put together, etc.

Paul: After lots of time working together in the studio, and our confidence in the material at an all time high, I contacted Mick Rossi (Paul Simon, Sting, Phillip Glass), to send some songs and ask if Mick would be interested in recording with me. Mick said yes, and another dream was about to come true, as I've always been a big fan of Mick's and always wanted to record with him.

Then I contacted another great musician, Van Romaine (Steve Morse, Enrique Iglesias) who also attended William Paterson College. Van also said he'd like to be a part of it.

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Mick added three other NYC greats, Erik Della Penna on Guitar and Michael Bates on Bass and Dean Sharenow behind the board, and we were off.

Neo Old School

The studio was booked for two days with the idea being to record as much as we could with the time that we had. Neo Old School. With one exception the songs were recorded in one take with me singing live with the band.

Interviewer: Did you produce the album?

Paul: No, not really. The idea was to record live in the studio. If you have the musicians, studio, and songs, the record will produce itself. There was very little post-recording editing. Of course we had very little money. But even if we'd had more we still wanted something that plays completely against how music is recorded now. More like a sketch than a painting.

It was a very special two days. But there was a lot going on beforehand putting it together with Mick Rossi, and even after, keeping in touch and seeing about possibly recording again. Hope so. Anyway, everyone was great. They all got behind me and the songs and I'm so glad we did it and that Javi was there with me.

He and I have worked really hard together for the last few years recording my songs.

There and Back: More Than Some Songs

Interviewer: This was more than a recording though. There was a cultural angle, no?

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Paul: Yes, of course. It's not every day a singer-songwriter from NYC who lives in Buenos Aires comes up from Buenos Aires with his Argentine partner to record his songs with a group of world class musicians and engineer in a first class studio in NYC. Or, maybe it does happen every day. What do I know?

No, seriously. The idea there was put in question form:

What's the point of complaining about walls if you're not willing to build bridges?

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I'm not a political person, never have been. And neither is Javi. The main reason in my case is because things aren't primarily political, they're primarily cultural. So, it made perfect sense to put the focus there.

It's just a small project. So we look at it in two ways. Big things have small beginnings.

Or, even if it stays small it will always have been a great experience for us. And we hope to do it again.

Interviewer: Let us know if you do. You're always welcome back and thanks for that part about building bridges.

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Paul: Thank you.