At first my idea (which I still think would be great to pursue somehow) was to follow the path that a dollar bill takes through the lives of people and all their weird, warped and wonderful ways (prostitutes, drunks, music, banks, etc.) But I couldn’t quite figure how to do that without writing a full length novel instead of a limited amount of lyrics to flow with a melody. So then I was imagining scenarios just involving alcohol…….which did not require as much imagination. -Hymie

I wrote this thinking about the refugees I know and love personally, and the risks involved in their flight, including some who have been shot at, kidnapped and tortured. I was also thinking of their sadness and regrets from having to leave their motherland. This is a melting of their stories as well as a general narrative for all who must flee and seek refuge elsewhere. -Hymie

This is a song I wrote about my father and about our mostly non-existent relationship. He was the first mate on a boat that delivered supplies to oil rigs in the Gulf of Mexico, staying at sea for weeks at a time. Since alcohol was not allowed on the boat, it was a job he could keep, and did keep for several decades. He died in October of 2024. I never played the song for him or told him that I’d written it. My father requested to be buried with his pistol, saying he didn’t know what he’d meet up with on the other side. I don’t know what he met up with either, but I hope that he can hear the music wherever he is. -Brandy

This is the first song I ever wrote. I hummed it to myself for twenty years. It had a different chorus and one fewer verse before finally being born into the world in this form. It's about continuing on one's journey and persevering through the challenges, but it also recognizes that we don't forget the early injuries and abandonments. They are deep in our psyches. We function and we may even be super successful, but we have stories we don't want to tell and people who we would prefer never to meet again. -Brandy

This song is a bit of an homage to Syracuse, New York, but also to all the people who stay in less that perfect towns and cities because their memories are there. In my case, I moved to Syracuse in the late 90s to go to graduate school. I thought it would be a two year stint and that I'd move quickly away to wherever my career took me. But life has a way of surprising us. I met my husband, we bought a house, our first son was born. It became my home. I stayed. -Brandy

This melody had been gnawing in my brain for a few years even before he passed, but Leo Crandall was my best friend and musical soulmate. We played, talked, laughed, wondered and created for eighteen years and I still miss him. I even talk to him once in awhile (people think I’m on a hands free device or crazy but I care less and less). Brandy came up with some much needed words after realizing what it was about. Her voice swoops in and sails through to take the lead toward the end. I knew I needed a lot of testosterone for this one and found that in my son Carter’s band, Winds of Change. So bad ass. I got to play drums with my son and they nailed it. In the end, this was a perfect storm for me. -Hymie

I woke up with part of this song going through my head from a dream. The first part is sweet and innocent. Then a prophetic interlude goes into a darker fantasy in which I imagined all the rich and powerful out there (without a moral compass) just waiting to devour the vulnerable. I've always loved the drummer Zigaboo Modeliste and his grooves. This rhythm is an homage to Sissy Strut from The Meters. -Hymie