Journal

Veterans Day - Thank you to our Veterans and families of Veterans for your service and sacrifice.

Sun, 11 Nov 2012 22:40:49 GMT

Nov. 11, 2012 - Another busy day in the office, studio and road today! We'll be posting another excerpt from the Kites To Fly liner notes this evening but wanted to first say thank you to all of the Veterans and their family members.

Countdown to Official Release! Celebrating the Songs. Saturday report!

Sat, 10 Nov 2012 21:07:59 GMT

November 10, 2012 - A note from Tonya: Last year, Don wrote a song called "Maybe Someday You Will". It's going to be on his Spring 2013 CD release. I love the melody and there's imagery in the lyrics that hits sad and beautiful all at once in a subtle yet powerful way. Dan Fogelberg was a master in that department. Today I'm sharing a short excerpt that Don wrote about Dan's "Heart Hotels" from his November 1979 Phoenix album. "Heart Hotels" is song one on disc one of the Kites To Fly Double CD. Enjoy your day! From Don about "Heart Hotels": One of the great characteristics of Dan Fogelberg’s lyrics… never afraid to talk about the different rooms, chambers and contents of his heart.

Countdown to Official Release! Celebrating the Songs. Happy Friday!

Fri, 09 Nov 2012 19:09:06 GMT

Nov. 9 - Hello Friends! This is another note from Tonya...Today's excerpt from the new Kites To Fly liner notes is a passage Don wrote about Dan Fogelberg's "Run For The Roses" from the Innocent Age album of 1981. Have a great day, friends! "I’ve decided that it is impossible to watch the Kentucky Derby without thinking of this song. Dan Fogelberg wrote this song especially for ABC Sports and the 1980 running of the Kentucky Derby. Interestingly, Dan used a unique technique as a songwriter here — the listener is actually the horse he’s speaking to. This could be a risky thing to do for many songwriters, but not for Fogelberg, as it totally works. I really love the harmony violins that Tom Yoder plays here, especially the note choices we made together at the end of the tune."

Countdown to Official Release! Celebrating the Songs.

Fri, 09 Nov 2012 19:07:34 GMT

Nov. 8 - Today I thought I'd share an excerpt from the liner notes Don wrote about a song called "Scarecrow's Dream", a Fogelberg song from the Nether Lands album released in May, 1977: This is a beautifully haunting song that I listen to every autumn. Only Fogelberg could convey lyrically how it feels to be a lonely scarecrow, affixed, unable to experience all of the great things in life that man gets to enjoy. “I hang in the hopes of replacement, castles tall, I build them all, but I dream that I’m trapped in the basement,” “Between the worlds of men and make-believe, I can be found.” There’s obviously no escape for this inanimate, man-like, thought-filled, human wannabe. In my opinion, this song is a masterpiece. I’ll never look at a scarecrow the same way again.

Countdown to Official Release! Celebrating the Songs. And UPS!

Wed, 07 Nov 2012 20:11:25 GMT

Nov. 7, 2013 - Hello Friends! This is Tonya writing this morning, and according to my iPhone, our shipment of CDs from the manufacturer is local! "On Vehicle For Delivery"! It's an exciting day around here! Today I decided to share an excerpt from the liner notes Don wrote about The Sand And The Foam from Dan's 1981 Innocent Age album. Don sets it up by quoting lyrics from the song: “Time stills the singing a child holds so dear, and I’m just beginning to hear… gone are the pathways the child followed home, gone like the sand and the foam.” I often witness my two-and-a-half year old nephew Cam having fun, singing nursery rhymes with my 75-year-old Mom when she babysits for him. These are songs she used to sing to me as a child. They bring back great memories. Dan was right. All too soon, we give up the music of our childhood. And those little trusty paths we took home before it got too dark — they’ve all grown over.

Countdown to Official Release! Celebrating the Songs.

Tue, 06 Nov 2012 18:05:57 GMT

Nov. 6, 2012 - This is Tonya writing with a countdown report! We are one week away from the official release of Kites To Fly and to celebrate, we are featuring excerpts from the liner notes, written by Don about the songs he selected for this project. Today we share his notes from LONGER, the huge hit from Dan's Phoenix album released in 1979. “Stronger than a mountain cathedral” — pure Fogelberg. In my research for this project, I read that Dan wrote this song while lying in a hammock in Maui, looking up at the stars. He said that the song was just “drifting around the universe, saw him and decided that he’d be a good home for it.” The gift of a moment like that is almost as beautiful as the song itself.

Oct 30 - Final track list and guest musicians announced! Album cover released!

Wed, 31 Oct 2012 05:30:00 GMT

October 30 - Hello, post-Hurricane Sandy, to all of our friends! We were very fortunate here in Maine over the last couple of days, although we have heard from our CD manufacturer in NJ that the storm will have an effect on our expected delivery this week. We are waiting to learn our ship date, but anticipate it to be any day. As soon as we receive the first shipment, we will immediately ship out all pre-orders with our thanks for the huge support. I know that some of you have been waiting for the final track list, so here it is, in order! Can't wait to share the finished product, including graphic design by Peter Shevenell and photography by Susan Lessard Raftice.

Disc One:

1) Heart Hotels
2) Illinois
3) Stars
4) Scarecrow's Dream
5) Make Love Stay
6) Longer
7) Hard To Say
8) Changing Horses
9) Sutter's Mill
10) The Reach
11) Forefathers
12) Run For The Roses

Disc Two

1) Part Of The Plan
2) Tucson, Arizona (Gazette)
3) Missing You
4) The Power Of Gold
5) The Innocent Age
6) Days To Come
7) The Sand And The Foam
8) To The Morning
9) Leader Of The Band
10) Same Old Lang Syne
11) There's A Place In The World For A Gambler

Guest Musicians: Todd the Rocket Richard, Tom Yoder, Sumner McKane, Tonya Shevenell, Dan Merrill, Kris Rodgers, Dave Rowe, Tom Dyhrberg, Tom Snow and Jonathan Edwards

Mid-September Update from the Studio

Thu, 27 Sep 2012 01:00:00 GMT

Hello friends,

We recently announced 13 of the 23 songs from the upcoming double CD release:

Heart Hotels from Phoenix
Longer from Phoenix
There's a Place in the World for a Gambler from Souvenirs
Changing Horses from Souvenirs
Part of the Plan from Souvenirs
Leader of the Band from Innocent Age
The Sand and the Foam from Innocent Age
Run For the Roses from Innocent Age
The Power of Gold from Twin Sons of Different Mothers
Tucson, Arizona (Gazette) from Windows and Walls
Missing You from Greatest Hits
Make Love Stay from Greatest Hits
Sutter's Mill from High Country Snows

We will be announcing the remainder at the end of September, but we were very pleased to recently receive permission and the license to record a song from Dan's final CD, Love In Time. Days to Come was one of a special collection of songs that was released following Dan's passing. The project was released in 2009 and this was one of our favorites from the album. We felt like it was an important piece for our collection; so important that we made the decision to push our mastering sessions back and extend our recording timeframe. We hope that you will feel that the wait was well worth it! Thanks, as always, for your huge support of our music and specifically this very special project.

Album Title Announced!

Fri, 10 Aug 2012 01:28:40 GMT

Great progress has been made in the studio this week and we are happy to announce that the name of the new double CD project is Kites To Fly: Celebrating the Music of Dan Fogelberg by Don Campbell. The name was inspired by a conversation that took place in Columbia, MO on Friday, March 2nd, following a visit to Dan's hometown of Peoria, IL on March 1st. Don will be sharing that story directly with you soon but we are excited that the artwork for the album is taking shape and that very soon you will see and hear it for yourselves. Our advance sale begins on Monday, August 13th, Dan's birthday.

Progress report from the Studio

Thu, 02 Aug 2012 01:44:11 GMT

It's a busy week here on the coast of Maine, and around a full moon concert aboard the Casablanca cruise ship on Casco Bay (Portland); an opening performance for Jonathan Edwards at the Maine Lobster Festival in Rockland, and a performance for the USS Miami Recovery Effort Team at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, Don continues to work on the double album. Yesterday was spent working on vocal tracks for "Hard to Say"; and today he was collaborating on the album's most recent addition (a secret!). We'll keep adding new notes as we countdown to the advance sale, scheduled for Monday, August 13th, Dan's birthday. Thanks for reading and sharing! Tonya

New Music Samples Posted!

Thu, 26 Jul 2012 21:26:48 GMT

July 26, 2012 - Hello Friends! Today we posted a song sample from both of Don's upcoming new albums, the Music of Dan Fogelberg CD and his new original music CD. To listen, please visit the Music page of our website to hear some of Don's recording of Heart Hotels, a song written by Dan Fogelberg and originally recorded on his 1979 double platinum selling album, Phoenix. Also, please find a sample of Honeymoon Strong, a brand new song written by Don for his original music project. We are also excited to announce that the pre-sale for the Music of Dan Fogelberg DOUBLE ALBUM will begin on Dan's birthday, Monday, August 13th. Additional news and info will be avaiable in this journal over the coming days!

A Visit to Dan's Hometown in Peoria, IL - An Intro to the Fogelberg Foundation of Peoria & Memorial

Thu, 14 Jun 2012 20:50:00 GMT

On March 1st of this year, Don and I hopped in the car for an eight hour road trip north from Nashville, TN to Peoria, IL. We were excited to visit Dan Fogelberg's hometown and to see the Memorial that was designed, developed and lovingly dedicated in his honor at Riverfront Park along the Illinois River. We had learned of the Fogelberg Foundation of Peoria over the winter and reached out to one of its founding members, Hugh Higgins, before we embarked on our trip. Hugh very kindly reached back and gave us a personal tour of the Memorial site and of some of the special places and landmarks around Peoria. The Foundation is a non-profit organization created to honor the musical legacy of Dan Fogelberg. It maintains the Dan Fogelberg Memorial site, sponsors events in the community such as this year's 3rd annual Dan Fogelberg Celebration Weekend and works to support fine arts and create opportunities to spread awareness of prostate cancer testing and research. The photo below of Don and Hugh Higgins was taken at one of the special places we visited, a sacred spot near two pines overlooking the Illinois River where Dan spent time as a young man at "the beginning of a journey". You can learn more about the Fogelberg Foundation at www.dfpeoria.com