John Herdt - The Winter Candle (2017)

After the “Horizon Miles” CD came out my life took some hard turns and I wasn't sure I was going to make another album. I'd keep playing guitar but just do it for myself. After a break spent studying learning materials I had saved up I started to record just for the fun of it and ideas started to come again. At first I recorded the kind of pretty, slower tempo cinematic stuff that is part of my trip, but after our move from the Denver area to the western slope of Colorado more up tempo ideas started to come and I got on a roll. This happens with me, I've done so many albums and so many times I feel like "that's it, the ideas have dried up" and then it starts to come back on it's own while I'm just trying to stay in shape on the instrument.

I'd like to propose sort of a warning with this material. Odd for a sales pitch but I'm honest and don't want anyone to feel ripped off. If you bought any of the John Herdt & Wally Z albums you'll have heard more reverb and screaming lead solos than you will hear on The Winter Candle. I used mostly clean tones, with the few distortion tones having only light overdrive. That doesn't mean I'm not still a rock guy, I just used tones closer to the ones I practice with. Some of the tunes have some pretty nifty solos so I hope you give them a chance.

As far as where my head was at during the Odyssey of making this album, I always like to write some stuff that could be used behind scenes in move soundtracks, especially like in the 1960's and 1970's when the music was written specifically to fit scenes. I also decided to write shorter arrangements, to pack as much of a little world into three minutes instead of five and get on to the next one. Then if you like it spin it again. I love the pop hits around 1970 like Shocking Blue's "Venus" that I can play over and over. But filtered through a guy that has Tommy Bolin and Ronnie Montrose benchmarks. And digs spaghetti western and spy move soundtracks. And the Rolling Stones. And The Ventures and The Shadows. In a bar out on the prairie in the old west. I'm comfortably numb. I'm a freaking prism, can't shut it off. rock ON!