88 Strings is intentionally arranged like the epitome of an ’80s love song. I wanted to capture the feeling of hearing a new Richard Marx or Air Supply track for the first time on the radio that you just knew—knew—was destined to be a number one. Since those types of songs, like 88 Strings itself, are often heavily piano driven, the title is referencing the 88 keys of a piano and the strings they strike to make the notes.

The above, though, makes it sound like the composition was intentional—which it very much was not. On a summer morning some time in July or August of 2011, I awoke from a dream where the bulk of the song had been conjured by my slumbering brain. I spent a day or two fine tuning what it had given me, and shortly thereafter, Molly and I began recording it.

So stretch out on the soft white sand, breathe in the salty air, sip your New Coke, then crank up the volume on your boombox and listen to the third track on Love & Latte while the sun sinks into the Pacific.

ETC was mostly written around the turn of the millennium. Of all the songs in this collection, it’s probably the one where the influence of my all-time favorite singer/song writer, George Michael, shines through the most. A little jazzy…a little R&B…it hopefully makes listeners want to move their feet. Lyrically, ETC is loosely based on a real relationship—that obviously did not end well.

Although the song was written circa 2000, I didn’t get around to recording it until 2018. There were a couple of attempts in the intervening years, but it never quite came together. The version that appears as the second track on Love & Latte was when everything finally jelled.

When Molly and I first started recording music together fifteen years ago, she lamented that the subject matter of nearly all my lyrics was heartbreak and dysfunctional relationships. She said I should try writing “something happy”.

As we were bingeing the TV series Friends at the time, the idea of writing a song in the classic Singer/Songwriter style that told a story set in a cafe had already been—ahem—percolating through my brain for a while. Once I had the nudge from Molly and the setting, the story—and the song—practically wrote itself. It’s become a favorite among friends and family over the years.

The version that appears as the opening track on Love & Latte has been remastered, but is otherwise the original recording we made in a tiny bedroom with only a digital piano, a microphone, and an ancient PC.