Hear stories of risk takers on the songs in my fifth full length album, Life is for Taking Chances, out on your favorite music streaming app!

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Take this Chance!

Life is for Taking Chances is an album comprised of songs I wrote over the past eight years. These songs just didn’t fit with the projects I was working on at the time so they hit the back burner but they finally found a home together on this album!

For example, the forth song on the album is “One for my Romeo Y Julietas” which is about a loan shark who really likes cigars. He has two cigar cutters one for his favorite brand and the other for the fingers of people who don’t pay him back. When I wrote it in 2013, I was working on my Commandeer EP which was VERY different. 

One of my goals when recording this album was to have a similar sound to all the songs and make it sound complete when listened to as a whole. 

My last album, In Vacant Dates and Intentions, was recorded over a year and I released one song every month. It was fun to make an album like that but the songs sounded different and like they didn’t belong together. Life is for Taking Chances is much more grounded and sounds like a complete project. 

The art for the album was done by Christopher Butler of butlerdigitalstudios.com and he captured the essence of the album perfectly with a character who may have just done something a little stupid and risky but as the dust settles his smirk says he has no regrets.

I’m also working on a CD and vinyl release so check the album merch available below and if it’s not there, it will be soon!

You will also find all the lyrics to songs on the album below if you want to get deeper into the stories.

If you have any questions about the songs and their stories feel free to message me or comment at any time and I’ll do my best to answer!

Thanks so much for listening to my new album! I hope you like it!

Album Merch

Life is for Taking Chances lyrics

1. What’s After?

The door opens heavy and the pen drags dry
And deep breaths have only helped the bubble grow to this size
Is it better to burst or continue the hurt from inside?
Cuz there’s no telling what’s next and no way to check over the rise

The past starts to fade
As I close out the chapter
The present’s a haze
And I don’t know what’s after

I step out in the sun skeptical of the shine
I know I’m never alone still I want this path to be mine
But I don’t know which way and already feel behind
What can I do in the light while I still have the time?

The past starts to fade
As I close out the chapter
The present’s a haze
And I don’t know what’s after

It’s the same what after as it was before
And I did ok back then
The worst voices say “you think you got struggles now
Just wait to see what’s coming round the bend”
I smile and say “let me tell you what’s after”

I can take this chance and make my loved ones proud
Show every possibility
And there’s no failure fear that can hold me down
Since I’ve already shaken free
So watch and let me show you what’s after

I step out in the sun, excited by the shine
I know I’m never alone but still the path is mine

2. One Shot

I come in off the trail with Wyatt, Bat, James and Virgil
We were thirsty for some whiskey but had not a penny to our names
My boots were too dusty and my muscles too tired
To sit with some inbreds and lie through my teeth for a few card games
The other four boys got a table and I mosied on up to the bar
They often joked there was more silver on my tongue than in all of Tombstone
I said, “barkeep!… we came in only with our guns and good looks
I ain’t good with a broom, ain’t good with the books but a drink would liven up our weary bones”
He said, “empty your wheel gun out on the bar
And we’ll see how many rounds there are

It’s one shot for one shot
And I only deal in .45s
So with one shot for the whole lot
That leaves with one shot for your life

I looked at the bullets but I looked longer at the bottle
And as much as I hated to part with those five rounds, life’s for taking chances
So I told the boys we had a deal and they all came up for their drinks
Then my eyes stopped at the stairs and Big Nose Kate and I were exchanging glances
I last saw her when the Rangers took me from her bed
But she helped me escape before they could get the rope around my neck
She walked over to where the mouth breathers were playing
And one spouted a curse at her cuz they didn’t have a whole deck
I said “you have one shot to apologize
Or I’ll put my one shot between your eyes

It’s one shot for one shot
And I only deal in .45s
One shot is all you got
That leaves you with one shot for your life

Then he said something dumb like he don’t apologize to whores
So I figured he was asking for all the things that would come next
I still had my whiskey in hand when he reached for his gun
But he was all wrist and it’s all hips so I kept my word, à la tête
Now I was empty and didn’t spill a drop
Then his friend made a move but I was quick to my knife
He knew he’d been beat at the shine of the blade
I finally drank and said “give me your bullets and I’ll let you leave with your life”
Before he ran he let them fall on the ground
And I bought the boys and Kate another round

It’s one shot for one shot
And I only deal in .45s
So with one shot for the whole lot
You got one shot for your life

3. Dusty Vines

The blood of the land is in the body of the west
And you can tell around harvest time
The fruits of labor make it a grand one to savor
Along with the struggle in the vine

You can make it on down to the Cochise County line
With the arid air in your nose
Taste the toils and triumphs and feel the trails of the migrants
Without leaving to see where it grows

(pre chorus)
I raise my glass up high
Come on and raise your glass to the sky
And toast to the whole desert wide

(chorus)
The west is still wild when you look on it for miles
But there’s a new kind of goldrush this time
Bringing the riches straight to your lips
Its the wine from these dusty vines

This has been the land of fighters since we learned what it offered
And its always rewarded the tough
These vines would make those old gunfighters proud
Surviving no matter how rough

For in this old desert you gotta take what you can get
And get while the getting’s good on the land
When the hard winds bring in the rain from the south
You can get clusters that fit in both hands

(pre-chorus)
(chorus)

I’m going up on the mesa with my dusty vino
And watching the sun go down
I revel in the land’s beauty and the wine in the glass
And the fact that it came from its ground

(pre-chorus)
(chorus)

4. One for my Romeo Y Julietas

I’m familiar with your kind my friend
and it’s unlikely you’ll have a respectable end
Me? I’m a businessman
And I know life like this cigar in my hand
Too many people don’t know if you cut it too high
It will unravel and leave you dry

I keep one for my romeo y julietas
The other for your fingers
You say you want more money for a trip to vegas
I have no confidence that you’ll come back to see us

Man, I thought you were smarter than this
My only interests are cigars and interest
You’re good for it is all you say
But you ain’t won nothing since that horse Lucky Day
So you see my dilemma now and the need for collateral before you leave town

I keep one for my romeo y julietas
The other for your fingers
You say you want more money for a trip to vegas
I have no confidence that you’ll come back to see us

I’m beginning to get impatient here
As you compromise my wealth
Since you don’t use those fingers for counting cash
I guess I will just help myself

Part of my living comes from gambling on the gamblers
And I like to keep those who keep a good handle
But you become a bad hand, so I’ll give you a bad hand
Instead of folding you and making you a dead man
If you’re still looking to leave here with green
You better be willing to part with your pinkies
Yeah while I wait for you to make some digits
You’ll have to leave some digits here with me

I keep one for my romeo y julietas
The other for your fingers
You say you want more money for a trip to vegas
I will make sure that you come back to see us

5. A Cheshire Shows

I heard the rusty gate swinging
Through the cracked window, that you climb right in
Homeroom thoughts in the morning
Carried through, now it starts with the first button

Lay down, Lay down
With no company between us
We don’t have much time
Heels on the stairs and there’s creaks in the truss

Oh grab your clothes and wait in here
Til I return
Only in first throes
A cheshire show
I’ll make her turn
So we can be alone

Tell me where we were
I don’t remember how to draw it out
It starts with our love
And we are free now to build it up

Lay down, lay down
With no company between us
Shining through the first time
Steps on the stairs and there’s creaks in the truss

Oh grab your clothes and wait in here
Til I return
Only in first throes
A cheshire shows
I’ll make him turn
So we can be alone

This love, this love , this invincible love
We crash together no mold for our throes
Take for the dawning of our love
Now you must turn like a chehsire shows.

6. Nightcrawler Rehearsal

It looks like it’s just practice
As they’re crawling ‘cross the floor
Slipped in through the skylights
Just to pocket Marlboros
They move so graceful in the night
But leave thousands in the drawer
It’s done for the deed and not the dollar

Watch them protect their silhouettes
Staying quiet and staying low
Just watch how they move
You can tell they’ve watched you before
As you watch them on the tape
And wonder what they came in for
Looks like it’s rehearsal for the night crawlers

The night crawler rehearsal is on you
The corner stores are not the cursed on fools
Their plans are universal gone through
And stealing power
The night crawler rehearsal is on you
No need to lock up the purse and jewels
Aiming higher with a thirst for truth
Are the night crawlers

They only hit a town once
And they’re all a different stage
Up here in New England
There are plenty of places to play
You can’t even hear the tool bag clink
As they make their escape
Looking like they hardly caused a bother

Someone said it takes 10,000 hours
To be an expert at your trade
But you have to work smart
And you have to work late
It’s tough not to wonder what they take
When they finally get paid
But it’s still rehearsal for the night crawlers

7. Bust Out: Early, John

When I got sick of running they damned my soul to Diamond Point
Stamped ulcered and unclean
That world-old fear cries testaments to the free
To keep its shiny sheen
What can a poor, sick man without friends or money do?
They call me bust out early John
And you can bet your health I won’t be here for long

She heard me in the capital playing mandolin through the wall
And she’d sing along
But in the dissonance of Feds, press and neighbor folks
She couldn’t find the song
I’m so tired of it all. If only they’d let me go home
They call me bust out early John
I’ll show my feared face again on the capitol lawn

I’ve got the world behind me
I’ve got feelings and tastes
You’ll only find me when I want
And I want to show you ain’t chaste

You catch the news and I’ll catch the Route 1 bus
We’ll see who catches it worse
All the true stories are sleeping beneath their trucks
Laying blind to the purse
I won’t be the last and I’m certainly not the first
You can call me bust out early John
I frighten Capitol crowds who sing Capitol songs

They gave me cold shackles when I needed a warm hand
Calling my acts tragedies
I was poked and prodded, locked up and shipped out too
Then taxed for my maladies
No matter the results I’m cuffed as a carrier
But the call me bust out early John
And when you come back with the meds, you’ll find me gone

Men shrink from me
But only when informed
You’ll only find me when I want
And I want to say you been warned

8. Twist of Spirits

Maybe it took too long to get here
But we always knew along the way
The end was never hard to see
A turn through the years sees us overcoming fears
On summer nights and rainy days
Tying it up from the west down to the east

We continue our own revolutions
And make the change we want to be
With each spin we tie it in so we can go to world’s end tethered to each other’s souls
We build the thread to support and defend
All our hopes and dreams
With each spin we tie it in since the first sip of gin our love only grows

We are a twist of spirits
And tonight we take another spin around
Wound down in a time of our own
We are a twist of spirits
And there is no telling where we can be bound
Found as we look back to see how we’ve already grown

Yes we grow in a time of our own
Finding holes in the standards we’ve learned
And thread each needle eye we find
As we tie the knot and drift in thought
To the point where our spirits stir
Rising em up with your hand in mine

We can walk out to find our flaws are gone
We are just better as one
We got strings to build all things to see what tomorrow brings and let the adventure flow
You’ve seen us tread and it’s not in our heads
Wind at our backs and faces toward the sun
We got strings to build all things tip our heads back and sing as our love continues to grow

We are a twist of spirits

And tonight we take another spin around
Wound down in a time of our own
We are a twist of spirits
And there is no telling where we can be bound
Now that we are finally home

9. Watch it all Burn from the Lake on Our Inflatable Sofa

I barely made it home
Everyone has lost control
Thanks to the earthquake and the mysterious plague
I believe it was a sign
When I found what the looters left behind
Relax my love we shall soon be safe
So let’s use all the air in our chests
And simply float away from this mess

Yes let’s just go out on the lake in our new inflatable sofa
And watch the world end
I got some beer and trail mix
To go hold us over
Til it’s safe to start again
Darlin don’t shed a year
The apocalypse is here
But we can still grow older
We can see it turn
And watch it all burn
From the lake on our inflatable sofa

As we push off from the shore
We can see the world’s at war
Just by how beautiful the sky is tonight
The ash and clouds above our heads
Reflects a yellow and a blood red
From the cities on fire and out of sight
If it’s going to go this way, let’s try to win
And find a good spot to throw the anchor in

So let’s just go out on the lake with our inflatable sofa
And watch the world end
I brought my fishing pole and propane stove
The bass don’t know what’s in store for them
Darlin don’t shed a tear
The apocalypse is here
But we can still grow older
We can see it turn
And watch it all burn from the lake on our inflatable sofa

10. The Suffocating Evil

A crooked shield on a crooked cop
Kneeling down to evil stealing freedoms ensured
The forgery is his motto of protection
Since the suffocating evil was allowed to serve

The crooked shield goes crooked to the top
There were four on Floyd but POTUS makes five
Condoning shots fired at his citizens
Already in fear for their lives

Broken and breathless
To finally see change
The suffocating evil
Stays knee deep in hate
Keeping people down
In constant pain
If there’s no justice
Then the evil remains

The power seethes this evil
Don’t be deceived by this evil
A disease to the people
Can’t breathe with this evil
It’s the suffocating evil

Reinforcements arrived to back the stranglehold
Uniforms of peace turned to uniforms of war
Dozens out for change put in chains before the killer
So we start suffocating evil to be no more

Start suffocating evil out of every crooked place
From every suffocating street where evil’s shed a tear
And most of all to take away the evil’s air
And elect not to have evil in office next year

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