thanks | jon weisbrot, saxophone & more

Jon is a saxophone master, clarinet wizard, flute fiend, and great songwriter and singer to boot! He played on both of our records and has started to play with us a good deal live as well, slinging everything from clarinet to melodica to saxophone depending on the song.

Jon plays in Mistar Anderson (listen to their new single now!). He’s also an elementary music teacher in Columbus City Schools - and his cheerful optimism seems perfectly suited for it.

My most important teacher was my choir director - and I’m sure some students will have a similar experience with Jon in the years to come.

He’s also a heck of a songwriter. He just cut some songs at Oranjudio in the late fall, and I’m excited to listen to them with everyone else.

I appreciate you, Jon! See you at the next rehearsal!

thanks | dru batte, photography

Dru Batte made the photographs for this record, the singles, and this photo I keep using with the words “thank you notes” plastered over it. Along the way, Dru Batte also taught me the difference between taking photos and making photographs. She takes photos, and then she makes photos - from lighting and composition to working directly with the chemicals to develop them (then, sometimes, distorting them into entirely new art objects altogether).

Last year, Dru had one of her first shows at a Chicago gallery. Her project focused on taking photos of artists’ studios without the artists in the room. She did one of these sessions at my home - my entry room is mostly where I write songs.

She came in for the day, asked a few questions, and then asked me to go on a walk for about 15 minutes. I did, and she went to work.

Her work in general, and this work in particular, captures people through the things that they use and the spaces that they use them in. I like making things. She likes making things. And we both like people who like making things.

So, some pictures of my apartment made it into her show. And then some pictures of my apartment were sold at the show. And now, probably, some pictures of my apartment made it into someone else’s home.

So, when we thought we could use some photos for the new record, she was the person to call. She came back and made it happen. That feels nice and good and right. You should probably work with her.

Thanks, Dru!

thanks | stephen forster, cello

Stephen Forster plays the cello. He played the cello on the first record. He played the cello on the second record as well.

One of my favorite times with him was rehearsing in the common room of the old house when prepping for the first record. He asked thoughtful questions about how his part should sound and gently suggested a few edits along the way. He’s got a whole easy, charming, cheerful way about him. He’s a total pro with a beautiful tone and an easy demeanor - so it was lovely to have him back on the team for LP2.

Midwest begins with pizzicato strings. Stephen was really digging into his, and you can hear the percussive slap on his instrument stand out just a bit from the others. I really liked that, and I think of him when the song starts.

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Thanks much Stephen!

thanks | rachael keplin, viola

Rachael Keplin was a newcomer to the string section for LP2. She’s a violist - teacher and performer and all of that. She killed it in the studio recording Midwest and 16B, and was professional and personable at the same dang time.

You can see her perform with Chamber Brews, or sign up a youth in your life for violin or viola lessons. Along with Devin Copfer, she teaches at Suzuki Music Columbus. Rachael also performs in Chamber Brews, bringing classical music to a broader audience. You can donate to their mission here.

You can also find links to private lessons and the things she cares most about at her website, along with these words from her.

“Music is a field full of connections. When we teach someone how to make music, we teach patience, respect, critical thinking, a passion for excellence and instrument technique. These virtues and benefits of learning music are directly correlated with the talent we can learn on our instrument.”

All of those same things came through Rachael on the day of the string session. Thanks for your passion and enthusiasm, Rachael!

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thanks | devin copfer, violin

When we decided that we wanted to track a quartet on the new record, I turned to Devin to make that possible. Devin is a violinist and songwriter, but Devin is also someone to look up to in the city for how she treats music and the people who play it.

Devin plays in bands. Devin writes songs, plays, and sings in Small Songs - one of my favorite local bands. She was a core piece of Oliver Oak - one of my first favorite bands in Columbus when I moved here. She’s also in Fables. They have a new single here. And also BABS and also Waves de Ache.

Devin plays chamber music. She’s a past or current member of the Ohio State Symphony Orchestra, Central Ohio Symphony Orchestra, McConnell Arts Center Chamber Orchestra, Newark Granville Synphony Orchestra, and Columbus’ new Janus String quartet with OSU Prof Mark Rudoff, Nancy Nehring, and Leah Anderson.

Devin plays things in between those that break down fourth walls that allow people to connect with music that they don’t experience often. This is Chamber Brews, where they present classical music in a relaxed atmosphere and have conversations to bridge the gap between performance and audience members. It’s one of a kind, and one of a kind things should be supported. You can donate to their mission here.

And, finally, Devin teaches other people to do all of the things above using the Suzuki method within lessons at Musicologie. If you have a kiddo interested in violin, you should send them to Devin. These are her words.

“Through music lessons, we not only get to know our playing, but we get to know ourselves… We understand that success doesn’t come from outcome, but rather from our journey — and we get to learn how to play the violin as well!”

Devin - thanks much for wrangling a wonderful quartet, leading that session like a pro, and being a shining example of a Columbus musician that we’re all lucky enough to share space with.

thanks | leah anderson, violin

Leah played violin on the record. She describes herself as a part-time freelance violinist, full-time microbiologist. This only makes sense when you find out that she studied both Molecular Genetics and Violin Performance at OSU.

It quickly stops making sense when you realize that she studied both Molecular Genetics and Violin at the same time.

And she’s apparently great at both! I can vouch for the violin. I can’t provide any personal evidence on the microbiology front - but she works for OSU - so I’m assuming she’s killing it.

She also plays violin in OSU’s new Janus String Quartet alongside Mark Rudoff (OSU cello Professor), Nancy Nehring (viola), and Devin Copfer (violin, who also played on the record).

On studio day, she mentioned that she’d never done a non-classical session before our day in the studio - but would do it again if we ever needed. I’ve never done a microbiology session ever!

Thank you, Leah! Thanks for the great session and being an inspiring example of someone with a rich and diverse life. Go bucks.

thanks | corbin pratt, pedal steel

A few things about Corbin Pratt.

He can play the pedals off of the pedal steel, but he doesn’t let it get to his head. He is a remarkable listener - the way that he responds to the music around him is always pitch-perfect. He can be subtle but isn’t bashful when he wants to dig in and take the spotlight.

The point is - he can pretty much do anything, but is tastefully restrained, especially when painting his parts across our (frankly pretty busy) palate of strings, horns, and everything else. He played on the last record, and we had to have him back.

Corbin tracked all of his parts this year from a friend’s basement in Nashville - he moved down there with his wife and son just a few weeks before recording. So, a few weeks into March, we got a bunch of tracks in a Google Drive. It was like Christmas morning, opening up and listening through each take to piece together our favorite bits.

Corbin took the instrumental break in Midwest. Listen to that - and you’ll agree that we made the right choice having him back on the team. There’s more of his work lathered across a few other songs on the record, and we wouldn’t have it any other way.

Corbin - thanks so much for your time, talent, and consideration. Sending our best to little Santiago as well!

an amazing message from a stranger | a new song on friday

I’ve been reflecting on how the last record was received and trying hard not to take anything for granted as we prep for another release. I’ve been keeping two things in mind as I do this.

First - more people listened to our first record than I ever thought would. I peeked into our stats and found the big number to the left - that’s amazing. But when I looked a little deeper, it got a bit more amazing.

Spotify shows you the playlists that you’re on - and the ones you’re not on. We were never put on any big Editorial Spotify playlists, but listeners put us on over 1,600 playlists. Because of that, some of the Algorithm-based playlists picked us up and shared us around - but that wouldn’t have happened without a bunch of people making playlists with our songs.

For that - I am deeply grateful. Thank you very much for listening to and sharing our songs!

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Tess from instagram

The second thing I’ve been keeping in mind is based on a message I received the other day on Instagram. You can read it, then freak out like me.

“Hello! This is random but I had an assignment in class today where I had to pick an album that I never get sick of and I immediately knew I wanted to pick Above The Floorboards. That question made me realize how important your music has been to me for the past 4 years. So I wanted to thank you, because it feels like no matter what I go through I can always come back to your music and that means a lot.”

We made someone’s high school record.

We made someone’s high school record.

We made someone’s high school record.

We made someone’s high school record!!!!!

I had records that I loved in high school. I still love them, mostly for the same reasons. The records that I loved in high school carried me through difficult years and hard lessons and just plain loneliness. The records that I loved in high school shaped my love of records in general. They shaped the kinds of songs that I gravitate to today. My high school records were by The Mountain Goats, The Decemberists, Local Natives, The National, and Bright Eyes. They were by The Tallest Man on Earth, LCD Soundsystem, St. Vincent, and Jackson Browne. They were by Michael Kiwanuka, Sharon Van Etten, Arcade Fire, and Sufjan Stevens. They were by The Magnetic Fields, Frontier Ruckus, Blind Pilot, and Bon Iver. They were by Ezra Furman. They were by Fionn Regan.

Those songs helped me understand myself and songs at large. But I only had the opportunity to talk to a few of them to say thank you. So, it’s amazing to think that (1) we had that kind of impact on a real human person and (2) we would never have known if they didn’t reach out to say something.

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This is where the metrics conversation breaks away and I get a little less anxious about our new release.

I care about a lot of people hearing our new record - but only because I think that 0.01% of the people that hear it might find it really important and helpful, like our high school pal on Instagram. So, heck, I’m excited to share the first song next Friday. Maybe more people will listen than last time - maybe fewer people will listen. Maybe I’ll be needlessly embarrassed - maybe I’ll be overly prideful.

Regardless, I think I’ll focus on this small message from a stranger. I think I’d like to hope that some of these songs will find long-term homes in a few people, providing some sense of solace in a hard time or sweetener in an easy time - and something to reminisce on at a later time.

Wow, I love songs.

The first single of our second record comes out in exactly one week. We finished it in the Spring, and I’m just plain delighted to share it. If you like it, share it with someone or put it on a playlist.

Or just send a message my way.

i have a friend named Tom Ebner whose name is also Nemo Bathers

Tom Ebner is a friend of mine. We met going to college in Nashville. I left the university after a year and transferred to OSU, but he stuck things out. And we kept up after going our separate ways.

Tom put out his first EP. It’s under the name Nemo Bathers. You should follow him on social media (bandcamp|insta|spotify) and give him a listen.

I’m not a very good letter writer, but Tom is. He’s consistent. He’s diligent. And if I send him a letter, I know that I’ll get a letter back promptly. I’m not as good at writing letters. I let them sit, get back in a month or so. I’ve let our connections lapse and have to restart them the next time we actually talk in person. He’s also taught me that that’s ok. It’s ok to fall down sometimes. It’s ok to feel bad sometimes. Lord knows we've both been on the ground our fair share.

Tom and I also share songs. I wrote Ohio mostly because of an informal songwriting challenge based on a text message. I’ve probably heard more in-progress songs from him than I have from anyone. And he’s probably heard more of mine than anyone.

The first track on his first EP is one of my favorite songs to come out in the past year or so. I put it on repeat sometimes. It makes me happy. I’m going to write out the lyrics as I hear them - like someone just invited me into their house, made tea for the both of us, waited for the steep, then sat down on a plump couch to start a conversation after writing letters back and forth for a few months.

“In my dreams, it feels so far in the back of my mind… like I’d bought enough time between the windowpane you shake in vain and my eager dancing feet. All my wounds are coming clean.
She sits still. I take her picture in the withering light; she smiles at the sight of a squirrels chase. Lovers race in the tree branch above, but I never saw her fall in love. 


The irony of fate is some things never change, and when we notice them they always come too late. The golden days will hide behind the average haze while we wonder what we’re missing in this game. 


So, if you don’t mind, sing something kind to me now. Rediscover the sound in the breaking light of our morning bloom, shaking dust from your hide as you float across the room.”

— “Overture” by Nemo Bathers

Thank you, Tom. Thank you, Nemo. This is one of many photos I snapped in quick succession to startle you while we hung out with your very good dog.