“The Dept.9 Sessions” EP releases everywhere on September 18, and I’m so excited for everyone to hear it. The EP is comprised of 5 of my best songs, recorded live-off-the-floor by studio maestro Stew Kirkwood at Edmonton’s state of the art Dept.9 Studios. All of the songs on the release have accompanying videos captured by videographer Marc J. Chalifoux and his team. The video for the first track “Jake’s Big Top Lament” was released on September 4:
The EP features my all-star band, all of whom played on last year’s full length release “Morning Stars Mournings Hush”. The rhythm section features Mike Silverman on drums (Deep Dark Woods, Kacy & Clayton) along with Tom Murray on bass guitar (Old Reliable) while Alice Kos (Goldtop) sings and plays keys. There were some special guests on the sessions as well: my old bandmate Hank Engel (from Idyl Tea) is featured on “Stuck in Another Time” and Gavin Dunn (The Hearts) plays pedal steel on three songs.
The release will be available on all digital streaming platforms on September 18, but you can get early access on my BandCamp Page:
The EP could be considered a companion release to last year’s Morning Stars Mournings Hush, and the overall vibe and art work (by Dennis Lenarduzzi) reflect that vision. The EP contains new versions of two songs from the 2025 album, “On This Night” and “Stuck In Another Time,” as well two songs from my back catalogue, “Jake’s Big Top Lament” and “Go Out,” and a longtime live staple, Richard & Linda Thompson’s “Wall of Death,” sung as a duet with Alice.
The original intention when we first entered the studio on January 18, 2025 was to simply make some live-in-studio videos to help promote the Morning Stars Mournings Hush album. It was incredibly refreshing to simply play the songs live rather than use the meticulous overdubbing approach I’d taken on the full-length album and, the resulting recordings had an undeniable spark to them. The videos ended up tallying some impressive numbers on my YouTube channel, particularly in Sweden and Germany. With that wind in our sails we decide to go back to Dept.9 for a second session on March 2, 2026 and cut 3 more songs for an official release.