From the recording Our Apple Valley Home
Composing (although it really feels more like just noodling) and recording acoustic instrumental pieces is actually one of my favorite musical things. Then add the idea of writing around a theme of my family, my home and our local area...well that just makes it even better.
I’ve been working on instrumental pieces for a new album for nearly a year now (as of Apr 2013). This title cut (Our Apple Valley Home) is the first we’ve actually taken in the studio though. It is simple but hopefully, memorable. Not trying to win any flash awards here or set any speed records. :) Just enjoying the moment while I play.
Apple Valley is unique. Yes, we live here, but it’s more than that. In an area that’s dotted with small towns, the tiny Apple Valley community is nestled, almost imperceptibly, in-between two of them! I have no idea how many people live here, but it’s certainly less than 1,000. Probably closer to a couple hundred.
It just feels different here. It feels…slower, I think. And there’s something special about the spirit of timelessness that comes from a place where you can slow down and listen to a Bluejay cawing, or hear the wind blow through the oak leaves, and smell the rain right before it sets it. You can’t grab hold of those kinds of things in the city. You just can't.
So our home is in Apple Valley (unincorporated), GA, and this song just felt like our home to me. Slow and relaxing, not too big, not too small, not too fancy, not too plain. It's all the things I enjoy and appreciate, wrapped up in about 3 minutes' time...if that's possible. I love it here. And I hope you can get a small part of what we love about our lives and this place, when you listen.
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To download a copy of Our Apple Valley Home for yourself, then head on over to CD Baby and make it so. :) And thank you!!! - http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/rickyfitzpatrick11