Bill passed in 2012, but we had been getting together regularly (usually on Sunday afternoons) since around 2009 to do focused sessions. Although some of the music on The Same Place comes from much earlier, even going back to around 2002 or 2003. I feel good that 90% of my overdubs were done before Bill passed, and he had created rough mixes for Robert Schneider and other members of the band right before he unfortunately passed. He had my overdubs mixed prominently in the mixes, so I don’t have to guess whether or not he would have wanted something there, I know they had his seal of approval.

After Bill passed, grief led to us not working on the album, until Robert Schneider suggested we all meet at Jason NeSmith’s studio to work on some material while the cameras were rolling for the Elephant 6 documentary, The Elephant 6 Recording Co. I don’t know what date that was, but the documentary came out in 2022, so it was before then. Then Will and Jason NeSmith started regularly getting together from 2022 to 2024 before Will also unfortunately passed on. I did a few little overdubs after Will passed: some clarinet overdubs on “Timewaster” through a horn arrangement arranged by Jason NeSmith, and some backing vocals. But most of my material had already been recorded before both of them passed.

Dusk at Cubist Castle and Black Foliage were done on 4-track and 8-track machines, but most of The Same Place was recorded on computer.

Those challenges were met by the producers: Jason NeSmith, Derek Almstead, and Ron Kwasman.

I’m on bass on the first song on the album, “Begin Now,” but for a bunch of the rest of the album, I’m on violin, bass clarinet, clarinet, and backing vocals.

I love “The Spinning Continuous,” especially since we played that at our last show at the Georgia Theatre, and you can listen to the live version to hear what we would have sounded like live if we had finished the album in 2012.

It’s the final chapter in what was The Olivia Tremor Control continuum.

We’ve been speaking of releasing an expanded version of Singles and Beyond.

I really recommend people check out the debut Organically Programmed album. I have copies of that on high-quality gatefold LP, cassette, and/or digital download on the Cloud Recordings Bandcamp page.

I’m performing solo at a visionary art environment near Buena Vista, Georgia, called Pasaquan, on October 24th. Also, the 14th annual Cloud Recordings Festival is happening on my birthday, November 21st, at Flicker Theatre. I’ll be performing with a new group I perform with called Ms. Petalsss, and leading my trio with Arianna Petersen and Franklin Russell. My youngest son will also be featured with his group, Dhana Jeera.

I’ve been working on some new studio solo material with James Huggins III. We’ve been making good progress, and I’m excited to release that stuff.