My Reflection

Description

Artists:

• Mitch Hayes – Vocls, Acoustic & Electric Guitar, Harmonica, Banjo, Dobro, Percussion
• Randy Seals – Drums, Bass, Percussion, Harmony Vocals
• Jack Carter – Lap Steel, Piano, Upright Bass
• Matty Sheets – Electric Guitar, Harmony Vocals
• Erin Hayes – Lead and Harmony Vocals
• Jordan Hayes – Lead and and Harmony Vocals
• Tom Demer – Fiddle
• On Pop Of The World Gospel Choir – Mitch Hayes, Erin Hayes, Jordan Hayes, Matty “Bass Man” Sheets, Randy Seals
• Horn Section on ‘Second Hand BS – Charlie Humphrey – Trumpet, Adam Colis – Trombone, Jon Moore – Clarinet, Saxophone

1. I Don’t Mind – At the time I wrote this song, I was fighting with all my strength to save a failing long term relationship. It’s really a verbalization of all that I was feeling inside. I kept telling myself, I can take this pain. I can weather this storm. I’m willing to hold on, to keep hope alive. I was willing to do whatever I had to do, be whatever I had to be to fix it, to keep us together. The sense of desperation in the lyrics and in the mournful melody truly reflects the hopelessness and frustration I was feeling.
2. When I Look At You – That moment, when you are looking into her eyes, the one you have totally fallen in love with but have not had the courage to tell her. You wonder. Can you see it in my eyes? How can she not? It has to be so obvious. Still, you wonder. Can she see? Does she know?
3. Second Hand BS – I was with some friends one evening when they began running down another good friend. No, that’s putting it way too nicely. They were completely assassinating her character! Of course she was not there to defend herself. But that’s the way gossip works, which is why I hate it with every fiber of my being. I was so angry that as soon as I got home I sat down and wrote this song. It was one of those times when the music and the lyrics just flowed freely. That doesn’t happen very often.
4. Ebb and Flow – So often when we are angry with someone else it’s because we see in them something we don’t like about ourselves. This is not an easy truth to deal with under normal circumstances. In an intimate relationship it can be even more difficult to do so. Pride always seems to get in the way. It takes quite a bit of maturity and trust to grow through this. Ebb & Flow is about coming to terms with it all.
5. Beside Myself – I wrote this song at a time in my life when I was finding it difficult to like myself. I had been struggling with some personal issues, at home and at work so I decided to get away to a quiet place and spend some time in self-examination. I really didn’t like what I saw, at all. I purposefully wrote this song in that moment, in the moment of introspective desperation. You see sometimes the very act of writing a song or journaling about something painful can bring about profound healing.
6. My Reflection – Getting older, we all have to deal with that one. There’s no getting around it. When we’re in our youth, we don’t give it much thought. We’re too busy feeling invincible and chasing the passions of life. But sometime around middle age we begin to sense the growing shadow of our own mortality. Those pesky aches and pains seem to linger just a little longer and hurt just a little bit more. And our memory, well it’s not quite as sharp as it used to be. Yes, this is one fight a man can never win.
7. You Don’t Know Me – I was just plain pissed off when I wrote this one. The aforementioned relationship was now over and I was living alone in an apartment. I was reflecting on all the arguments and accusations I’d had to bear and I was angry, really angry. How dare you say those things about me. How dare you build that wall to keep me out. If you really knew me, you would …
8. Angel From Montgomery – This is one of mine and Erin’s favorite John Prine tunes, especially the version with Prine and Bonnie Raitt doing it as a duet. We started performing it that way in our shows putting our own spin on it, of course. It has become one of our favorite covers and in some venues, it’s one of our more frequently requested songs.
9. Don’t Define Me – This one came from a Facebook post by a good friend. She was going through a tough time. As if that wasn’t enough she had people telling her how she was supposed to act and what she should be doing. The post said “If it doesn’t define me, if it doesn’t refine me, if it doesn’t align me and a few other ign me’s, then I’m leaving it behind me!” When I read that, I said to myself, “self, there’s a song in that.” So I wrote one.
10. Old Time Gospel Medley – I love old-time Bluegrass Gospel music. Those are some of the best songs that have ever been written, so upbeat and inspiring and so much fun to sing! This one is a medley of three of my favorites, “Will The Circle Be Unbroken,” “I’ll Fly Away” and “Life’s Railway to Heaven.” Erin and I have been known to cover it from time to time. It’s just fun! My parents also love this music and when I decided to dedicate the album to them, this medley just had to be a part of it.
11. Ebb and Flow(reprise) – a fun alternate take.