The Path to “A Very Fine Line”

For three decades, my core occupation has been conveying stories about the environment and other subjects through journalism, books and blogging. But there are some subjects, situations and feelings that just cry out to be sung instead of typed. That fact has led me back to one of my first loves – music. “A Very Fine Line,” a collection of 10 of my songs, was recorded and mixed from February through September, 2013, in the Beacon, New York, studio of Joe Johnson, with contributions from a batch of brilliantly musical friends, including the songwriter Dar Williams, mandolin wizard Mike Marshall and virtuoso fiddler Bruce Molsky. You can learn about all of the contributing musicians below.

My musical journey began with my parents, who both enjoyed singing informally – mainly folk songs and sea songs they learned through their shared love of sailing and my dad’s time in the Merchant Marine. My father’s baritone rendition of the Banana Boat Song – “…come mister tallyman, tally