My name is Johnny, and I've been writing and recording music for the last five years under the moniker Mountain Sons. I don't really like to perform live, but I love the process of recording music and releasing it for people to hear. I've worked to release an EP every year for the past five years, so now we have probably over 50 songs up on our bandcamp page for free (or pay what you will). This post will go into some of the story behind the music as well as links to individual albums for you to get. Lets start at the beginning.
I had just moved down to New York City in 2007 having graduated with an English degree at Siena College in Upstate New York. At Siena, I met a good friend named Seth that had (and still has ) an amazing ear for music production. We parted ways and he ended up on the west coast. When I moved to the city, I was struck with serious agoraphobia and I went through a year of writers block. In 2008, I managed to record an album called Permutations and released it via iTunes and CDbaby and whatnot, and posted a link to it on facebook. Seth caught that and offered to work on producing the music for me. I upgraded my setup, which had been a TASCAM analogue recorder, and began work on what would be our debut album, Mountain Sons, released in 2011. It felt amazing to be working with someone over all that distance (literally mountain ranges) at the speed of light, so mountain sons stuck as our creative outlet. I record all of the albums myself, pass the recorded tracks via email, and he works on the backline using some amazing analogue instruments that he has collected over the years. So its a digital-analogue-digital process, and usually happens really fast. So lets go over the releases in chronological order.
Permutations- 2008
https://mountainsons.bandcamp.com/album/permutations
It was this album that inspired the Mountain Sons collaboration, and one track (World) is on both records. Special thanks to Sean Kenealy for recording mandolin on the standout track Telescopes all the way back in 2008. He also played the cool guitar part on World in this version. I recorded most of these tracks a year after moving to Bayridge, Brooklyn. That year was a tough one. In fact, all of 2007 was lost to writer's block. Luckily, the damn dam burst and this album was the result. Telescopes was the track that made me realize that making music still mattered to me. The tracks are a bit loose, but I remember being really proud of this album when I released it. The end of White Light was a serious advancement in my skills as a piano player, which is still not saying much. Also, the track Max is a musicial interpretation of Where the Wild Things Are. I even sent a copy to Maurice Sendak. I hope he got to hear it!
Mountain Sons - 2011
https://mountainsons.bandcamp.com/album/mountain-sons
Just a few words on this album: This still has the catchiest tune i've ever written on it, Weatherman. It was about feeling homesick and wanting to escape New York City after having lived here for three years. I still had a lot to accomplish, so I'm glad I stuck it out and just put the feelings into the song. The track mountain sons was the last one I wrote for this album, and it is also one of the most personal I've ever written. The main theme is loss of youth, but with a strange window built in looking at the past. I've turned out alright, even though I'm not the same person I was. Moses was a really tough track, I ended up getting a pretty bad sore throat and recorded (also recorded World in the same session) and these two songs have a really Tom Waits style that I've never been able to replicate since. Sometimes it really does pay to push through the pain.
Til the Dawn 2012/ Old Souled Ramblin' Songs 2013
https://mountainsons.bandcamp.com/album/old-souled-ramblin-songs-til-the-dawn
These albums were originally released as two eps that I ended up smooshing together for one album. The standout tracks are "Old Souled Ramblin' Song" and "'Til the Dawn." Old Souled is probably the longest song I've written, and I think it catches the feeling of just letting things happen and trying not to be too uptight. It's structured to reflect the four seasons, framed by a train ride along the Hudson River and actually sailing the Hudson. 'Til The Dawn, by Mountain Sons was written in homage to the S.S. Costa Concordia that sunk in 2012. Also, special thanks to Ryan-O'Neil for his verse on "Fall Of Man" and Jeannette Hodgkins for her amazing Peacock Feather cover!!
Hidden Door, Secret Key!- 2014/2015
https://mountainsons.bandcamp.com/al…/hidden-door-secret-key
This one was written and recorded in 2014/2015, and i'd like to say its the best of the bunch. Titled "Hidden Door, Secret Key!," this album was the most fun (but exhausting) to write. I borrowed a banjo from my buddy and did my best to include it on the tracks. Thanks Dan! Also, gave it my best shot at "Royals" by Lorde, which came out nice. The first track, after the storm, was written for a close friend who passed away unexpectedly. She was a bold and courageous leader, someone to look up to. The hollow was written after a trip to New Orleans, where it felt as if I was Alice falling down the rabbit hole. "Once and All" is a track about fear of commitment. "Amongst the Stars" is a track about a strange dream I had, falling into an underground river after an earthquake and being swept out to sea. These are some of my favorite tracks I've ever written.
Fall -- Coming Soon
https://mountainsons.bandcamp.com/album/fall
The first track, Straight towards Earth! is accompanied by this short story I wrote:
Astro Wilson woke up to screaming.
Damn neighbors again.
He brushed his teeth, combed his hair and put on the coffee.
But the screaming didn't stop.
"Daddy?" a small voice said from behind him, "is everything okay?"
His son peered from behind the edge of the doorway.
"Yes, everything's fine, James. The Greens are just fighting. Do you want some cereal, Champ?"
James padded into the kitchen like only a five year old could, barely a sound. He walked past his father to the French doors that led to the deck and slid them open. The sound of the screaming grew louder. Astro poured his coffee and grabbed the milk from the refridgerator.
"Daddy," the small voice said, "why is the sky not right?"
"Just a minute," Astro said, grabbing remote control and turning on the tv.
Emblazoned on the screen, Certain death.
Meteor.
Headed straight toward Earth.
The screaming wouldn't stop.