ChalkBrook

Back in the late 1970's, Bruce picked up the guitar. The piano followed soon after. Self-taught and playing by ear, he never had much interest in covering someone else's tunes. From the start, he wrote his own. This was a time before songwriters like Jackson Browne and the Eagles were so taken up by their political causes -- when most of their songs were about relationships. In encouraging others to write, Bruce often said "the strongest words come from the strongest feelings." And this collection is a personal take on that most popular of subjects. The words span more than two decades. The timeless and universal nature shows in lyrics which were written in the wilder days of high school, yet come to describe the tragedy of a later broken marriage. With echoes of the acoustic guitar sound of early America, the music fits in with more recent bands like the Gin Blossoms, the BoDeans and Toad The Wet Sprocket. Presented here in the "Unplugged" style, one's imagination can add the layers of production to hear Dave Matthews, Bonnie Raitt or pop country. Bruce never cared to perform professionally. Songwriting was enough. And now as the first of some five or six dozen songs emerge in public, the opportunity arises for others to enjoy them.

Jackson Browne, Eagles, Don Henley, America, Dan Fogelberg, Gin Blossoms. Toad The Wet Sproket, BoDeans