The Snow & The Salton Sea

The ice storms seem to come through these parts about once ever ten years or so. It started with the freezing rain on Saturday which turned the whole town into an ice rink. They shut down the highways and everyone had to stay inside while the snow piled up. I love the snow but don’t do well in situations like these. I have to remember that it’s alright to stop moving and just watch a movie or some other relaxing bullshit. Writing helps, that’s what I’ve been doing to keep the cabin fever at bay.

Even before I decided to re-record “Never You Mind” I would think about the song “Slow Down” in times like this. I thought about it a lot at the start of lock down in 2020 when there was literally nothing to do all day. I didn’t write this song, it’s by a great band from San Diego called Boilermaker. I honestly have no idea what the song is about but always loved it. There was something about the way the title was pronounced that was calming, like deep breathing in a meditation. It would calm me down. I also liked the lo-fi quality of the original so I tried to keep that sort of vibe when I tracked it again. Check it out…

The limited edition vinyl of this album is available here

But, there’s something else I’d like to discuss.

In October of last year I decided that I would write 1000 words a day towards a new book project. Those pages inspired me to write ten songs over the course of November that correspond with those pages. The stories and songs are about the six months at the end of 2022 into the start of 2023 when my depression and my drinking created an ouroboros that put me in the hospital. That particular story ends with me getting sober and ultimately getting my life back. The epilogue isn’t really a part of what I wrote about but I just wanted you to know that I’m not in that place anymore. My recovery is a work in progress but I’m at a point where I feel like I can write about what happened to me, or rather what I did to myself.

I’m calling this project “The Salton Sea” and my vision is an album and book of the same title. Not a concept album, it’s nothing that annoying. The stories and the songs just go together and they are all about a specific time in my life and what I went through. I guess that is a “concept” but I’m sure as shit not gonna call it that.

I’ve started documenting the process of creating this project and will be posting updates on the paid side of this newsletter. Drafts of stories, demos of new songs, videos of recording and updates every week. If that’s something you’re into then please subscribe. All of my regular posts will remain weekly and free. This project is gonna take a good amount of extra time and honestly needs a bit of funding to get off the ground. Hence the paywall.

The first installment of The Salton Sea will be this Friday. I hope that you check it out. I’ve never documented a project from the start and I’m excited to share the process with y’all.

Stay warm. Be well.

-pryor