I think it is about time that I talked a little about the excellent guest musicians that appear on our latest record A Telephone Built For Two. It's always nice to have some additional artists to add their own colors to a project. I can't thank these three enough for lending their time and talent to us and helping to make these songs what they are.
F. Alex Johnson plays that wonderful pedal steel part on "Periscope". You may know Alex from his insane guitar playing in Drunk Stuntmen or as part of the Young At Heart Chorus band. Alex is one of the greatest guitar players that I have met but he also is an excellent songwriter and he has an honest and sincere singing voice.
It was Ken Maiuri's idea to have pedal steel on the choruses of this song and I immediately thought of Alex after remembering seeing him play that instrument at various Drunk Stuntmen shows in the past. He came over to the studio and in a very short span of time, came up with and played these parts.
Check out Alex's song Heidi from Drunk Stunmen's album Iron Hip: 
Lesa Bezo is the voice and the writer behind all those hits from The Fawns. Lesa was kind enough to share her singing talents on two songs. She sings on the choruses of "Periscope", and if you listen really closely, on the end of one of the verses there's a real ghostly harmony. That's her. She also takes the high notes on the choruses of "Feel Like I Should", singing one octave above me.
Another great songwriter, Lesa is currently working on material for the next album from the Fawns and her and I might be embarking on a record of duets. We might be. We might not be. It's a secret. Or it isn't.
Check out Lesa in action here with the song "Would You Stop?" from the Fawns album A Nice Place To Be:
Chris Collingwood sings harmonies on "Feel Like I Should" and "This Time It Looks Good". You know Chris from the hugely successful and critically loved band Fountains of Wayne. Chris has been a great help to me in my recording career. I made the album "Henning's School for the Dead" entirely in his studio. We were/are also in the band The Gay Potatoes together. I've been a fan of Chris' singing for years now. He's got a crazily smooth and human voice that has since influenced a lot of the budding young artists of today.
Is it weird that the guest musicians on this album are three of my favorite songwriters? Chris has penned a few modern classics as far as I am concerned. "Troubled Times", "Radiation Vibe", "Red Dragon Tattoo", "Hung Up On You", and "Valley Winter Song" will always be on my play lists. ("Hung Up On You" was a Gay Potatoes song).
To hear "Valley Winter Song" from the Fountains of Wayne Album Welcome Interstate Managers, you can just watch TV and wait for the new L.L. Bean commercial or you can click right here:
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