3 A.M. Revelations

First listen of the new album!

Hi pals,

I’m home now from tour. What a run that was. Im working on an essay of my time spent with my Hero and Mentor Steve Earle that should be done in the next few days. Im just waiting on some images and a final draft. It was surreal to say the least. I wanted to say hi and welcome to any new subscribers from those shows, welcome to the Strange Path!

My new record comes out in early September and I’ll be announcing dates this week including a date at the Jasper Folk fest which Im guessing will be cancelled after yesterdays devastating fires. My heart and my thoughts are with our friends there. These are really unprecedented times and we need to start talking about how we can take preventative action to protect our cities and towns if this is going to be the new normal, which in my mind isn’t exactly a natural course. But I digress.

Of course I want to share the new album with ya’ll early as a thank you for subscribing to this little world here. Please consider a paid subscription, it’s affordable and does really help me continue to do this for a living and create better and meaningful content for my subscribers. I pay to subscribe to my favourite artists here, its a beautiful reciprocation.

Without further adieu, here’s the liner notes and album link for paid subscribers.

Leeroy Stagger 3 AM Revelations

1.Mediocrity Pill

2. Count to Ten

3. These Days

4. St Patricia

5. Alberta Stars

6. Life’s A Drag,When You’re All Messed Up

7. Blue Skies

8. Watermelon Pink

9. 1968 Dodge Dart

10. It’s Gonna Be Alright

Leeroy Stagger- Vocals, Guitar, Bass (3) Piano (10) Organ (1) Mellotron(6)

Ryland Moranz- Guitar (1,2,7,8,10) Mandolin (4),Vocals (10)

Tyler Liebe-Guitar (2,6,7,10) Piano(10) Bass (8) I

Indio Saravanja- Guitars (3,4,5) Piano (9) Organ (3) Bass (4,5)

Lucas Renshaw-Bass (2,10)

Pete Thomas- Drums and Percussion (3,4,5 and 9)

Scott Smith- Guitar (3,4,5)

Tyson Maiko- Bass (5,7,9)

Marshall Wildman-Drums (2,6,8,10)

Austin Tufts- Drums (1)

Bramwell Parks-Drums (7)

Dustin Hawthorne-Bass (1)

Jay Malinowski-Vocals (1)

Dennis Ellsworth- Vocals (2)

Rick May-Bass (5)

Suzie Ungerlieder- Vocals (4,5)

Evan Phillips- Vocals (2,7)

Tim Easton- Vocals (7)

Paul Rigby-Guitars (7)

Guthrie Starck-Vocals (8)

Noah Becker-Saxophone (8)

Produced by Leeroy Stagger

“Mediocrity Pill” Co-Produced with Jay Malinowski

Mixed by Leeroy Stagger and Zak Cohen (4,5,8)

Mastered by Sensei

Recorded at Neighbourhood Recorders (Victoria B.C.) Boulevard Recording (Los Angeles) and the Rebeltone Soundsystem (RIP)

All songs written by Leeroy Stagger except “It’s Gonna Be Alright” written by Dennis Ellsworth and Leeroy Stagger. “Count To Ten”, written by Dennis Ellsworth and “Mediocrity Pill” written by Leeroy Stagger and Jay Malinowski.

Photos by Erica Chan

Joel Plaskett printed the vocal for “Count To Ten” on his Tascam 4 Track tape recorder and lent an ear to the mix and offered some great existential advice. Thanks Joel!

Thank you: Coby, Guthrie and Ewan. Kate Wattie, Erica Chan, Mandy Wheelwright, Indio Saravanja, Tyson Maiko, John Raham, Tom Mrnka, Jared Klok, True North Records, Everyone at CKUA, Evan Phillips, Colin Stewart, Ryan Dahle, Zak Cohen and Tim Easton. Thank you to our friends and family for the love and support. Special thanks to everyone who played on this album and to the touring band, Luke, Ryland, Tyler, Geoff and Kyle and Dennis Ellsworth for writing such beautiful songs.

I feel like I’m sliding into my 40’s like a bald tire Miata in a Tennessee snow storm. Slow going and looking for a boatload of grace. The truth comes to me in waves, most of the time I have no clue how to navigate adulthood, parenting and the new music business. I double down on my work to make sense of it all, and still, it makes little sense to me. This is my third attempt at making this record, that is to say, that I have two other records done and “in the can” as the say. I’m sure they will come out someday. The second iteration is a live off the floor seven piece band record that when handed in to my label and management was met with, “This is great but we don’t have any singles” Normally I would ignore this kind of thing, but out of spite I decided to write “Watermelon Pink” instead, that led to “Mediocrity Pill” and so on. I revamped a couple of mixes from the first recorded album that was done in my basement studio here in Victoria (It was destroyed in a flood in 2021) “These Days, 1968 Dodge Dart, St Patricia and Albert Stars” are from that session. My new studio, “Neighbourhood Recorders” is a dream to work in so that’s exactly how this record came about. Four months of tinkering with old tracks, trying new songs, having friends come by, a few weeks of obsessive mixing and existential crises and voila! “It’s Gonna Be Alright” is a song that Dennis Ellsworth wrote for a record I produced for him called “Modern Hope” For one reason or another we decided to leave it off his record. The song wouldn’t leave me alone, so I added a couple of verses and went deep on production with Tyler Lieb and Ryland Moranz and got it to where I finally was happy with it. Dennis wrote “Count to Ten” with me in mind, he cut a mellow version of it and I decided to make it loud for my version. Whats a boy to do?

Existence in these modern times is confusing at best, making a living in the arts is a double whammy post Covid. As a person who has been making art my entire adult life, I find myself at a crossroads wondering where to go next. I have attempted this record three times. That is to say, there are three versions of this record. The two before this final iteration are beautiful and true but didn’t feel like the right thing to put into the world next. How do you sum up your feelings of a world gone wrong, a world at war, more divided than ever? How do you articulate careening into your 40’s during a time when we didn’t gather, scared of each other, learning to live without connection, unsure if we’d ever go back to “normal” and did we even want to go back? The best we could do was to hold on and ride the wave. Yes, that’s it, that’s what I wanted this record to feel like. Like riding a wave, hold on because you don’t know what’s coming next. Stay in the moment and count your blessings as we roll along. This is a record of the human spirit, of suffering and joy. Of addiction and redemption, of heroes and everyday stories. A chance to climb up the mountain and have look around to decide if we like what we see. In the end, hang on tight or loosen your grip a bit. Either way, it’s gonna be ok.

Most of these songs were composed in the wee hours of a new day. The witching hours some might say. I often awake around three in the morning, it used to drive me half nuts but over the years, I’ve learned to embrace the quiet and will often times work on songs or peck away at mixes or writing. I’m just grateful to be here to be honest. Thanks for paying attention and helping me pay the bills and feed my kids.

With Love,

Leeroy