Chris Marshall - Starting Out

'...wonderfully inspirational country-tinged music that avoids country music cliches. 'Starting Out' is a small gem of a record, unique, Oregon to the core, and I look forward to whatever Marshall comes up with next.' - Matt Love, Nestucca Spit Press The five-song collection is an exploration of life experiences: physical and metaphysical journeys, passion, pain, friendship, faith. It's the work of a man who found his songwriting voice when he unlatched his cerebral cortex from the process and engaged his heart instead. "I tried so hard in the beginning to write songs that would honor the tradition of the artists I admire, namely songwriters like Sam Cooke and Jackie Wilson," Marshall admits. "They possessed such an unaffected, uncomplicated writing style." His own lyrics frustrated him at first because they weren't as simple and clearcut. But once he let go of expectations that he should write or sound a certain way, Marshall freed his muse and let in all of his influences, including writers and philosophers like Walt Whitman, C.S. Lewis and Soren Kierkegaard, as well as musical icons like Dylan and Kristofferson. In the process, he's developed a sound he describes as "uniquely American." The record was recorded at Type Foundry Studio in Portland, where seminal indie-folk artists such as M. Ward and Laura Gibson have worked in the past. Engineered and mixed by studio veteran and Type Foundry co-owner Jason Powers (The Decemberists, Nick Jaina, Langhorne Slim) and mastered by Timothy Stollenwerk (AA Bondy, Mississippi Records) at Stereophonic Mastering in Portland, the record possesses a regional flair while adhering to the more beautiful elements of American country music. The opening cut, "Atlanta," is inspired by a trip he and his brother took to Nashville, where he played at the Bluebird Café, followed by a drive to Atlanta to see the Braves play. "The trip gave us both a strong sense of that unique brand of the American wide-open," he says. "There was a freedom inherent in the journey." The title tune, "Starting Out," is about self-discovery. "By the Wayside" was written after he learned a friend had developed a drug problem. "Wait There" is about the uncertainty of waiting. And the closer, "I Found You," is a sweet declaration of love. "My hope is that this new set of songs will communicate the freedom of spirit that I have approached them with, and that folks might somehow be able to share or connect in some way with the journey I've taken to get here," Marshall says. "Starting Out," an aptly named work of touching music by a promising new voice, is all about journeys of one sort or another. Come along. They're journeys you'll want to share.

1) Atlanta
2) Starting Out
3) By the Wayside
4) Wait There
5) I Found You