Blog

May 14th, 2026- 

Well, you all haven't heard from me in a while. 

I have been very busy, mostly in my personal life. The Winter Green cover contest is cancelled. I have run out of money, so I need to start working again. Just finished school finals so I am finally free from that impedance. As for the music, I have not been as productive as I would have liked since the last blog... I am in an almost constant writer's block. I can't think of anything anymore. Luckily, I have a quite extensive collection of music that I had written when I was a little more creative and I am pulling from that for my first record, but obviously that will not fully cut it. I have a certain sound that I want my album to have, mostly faster and upbeat. In this recent drought of creativity, I have only really written slower, piano/ acoustic guitar-based songs, with less-than-happy themes like heartbreak, depression and death. These songs are still a piece of me, and I will still be releasing them, but due to the fact that they do not sound anything like my other songs, I have decided that I will be taking a break from the production of my album and instead focus on recording a short EP with these misfit songs. That will be my next release, hopefully followed closely by my album. 

I am in a band now, called Motorvehicle. I will be putting a lot of my future songwriting towards this project, we are even in the works of recording an album, so solo stuff will slow down (which means nothing, given the fact that I only have one song).

Goodnight to everyone. 

March 14th, 2026-

It is a beautiful Sunday morning here in Charlotte, NC. It is a crisp 68 degrees Fahrenheit, sunny day with a few clouds in the sky. I have been enjoying this day, mainly by popping "3D Country" by Geese into the CD player and taking in the weather. 

On days like this I like to reflect on the things that I have done and all the things that I have to do. I have so many ideas for songs that I write down in my notebook or my phone, but none of them ever get fully fleshed out, and I think I know why. I have only actually fully finished one song, but I am constantly running into runners' block, where I have no inspiration/ desire to finish a song, mostly due to the fact that it's too similar to a song that I know, or I plainly don't like it. I love the idea of songwriting, recording, producing, making promo material, etc. The only problem is that I kind of suck at those, at least in my own opinion. What I really want to do is play a show that people will come out to see and make a record that I am proud of, even if it is just one. In order to do that I have to actually write, record, and produce the songs that I have started- and for some reason, I find it so hard to do that. For example, it took me an entire day just to record one guitar and one vocal track for "Winter Green". I was/am trying way too much to chase perfection. Sometimes, I listen back to a collection of old demos that the band that I'm in made almost a year ago (bandmate GL and I agreed that these demos were cool, but not what we were looking for), and I am very fond of my contributions. I think I have it in me, I just need to stop trying to make it perfect. In the future, I will not be rushing the process, but I won't sit on the tiny details for too long.  Plus, I have a small catalog of songs that I think will shape up well, and I am getting in the studio to do just that. 

I write all of this to say- 

My album will be coming out within the first few weeks of summer this year. 

Enjoy these amazing spring days. 

PS- I know that I talk about the unnamed band that I am in a lot, just know that more updates on that will be coming very soon. I work with an amazing songwriter, and we have a new project coming very soon that I am already proud of. Don't touch the dial!

March 8th, 2026-

Well, the contest starts today! Can't wait to see where this goes. In other news, I would like to reflect on last year and its musical taste. What better way to do that than list some of my favorite albums that I "discovered" in 2025, along with my favorite track from the album. Some of these I found through collaborations with other artists, recommendations from friends and fellow musicians, or just shopping around the record store, pulling out random CDs that happen to be gems. I actually have most of these on CD, all but "Some Guys" and "No Rewind". Does anyone other than me use CDs anymore? Anyways- 

Album Name (Year of release)- Band/ Artist name- "Favorite Track"

• Fairweather Friend (2024)- The Umbrellas- "Gone" 

• The Worst You Can Do is Harm (2002)- The Long Winters- "Samaritan" 

• When I Pretend to Fall (2003)- The Long Winters- "The Sound of Coming Down"

• Putting the Days to Bed (2006)- The Long Winters- "Hindsight"

• Getting Killed (2025)- Geese- "Au Pays Du Cocaine"

• Smoking Monkey (2003)- Jonathan Coulton- "Overhead"

• One Christmas at a Time (2012)- Jonathan Coulton and John Roderick- "Christmas with You is the Best"

• Some Guys (2019)- Jonathan Coulton- "The Things we Do for Love (Cover)"

• No Rewind (2001)- The Orchestra- "Say Goodbye" 

Honorable Mentions-

Sunday Afternoon, by The True Loves- I got free tickets to a show a few months ago, which happened to be The True Loves from Seattle. Before the show, like I do before every show, I researched the band to find some information on what I was about to watch. I saw that they were a "Jazz" and "Folk" band. I don't hate folk music, but I generally HATE Jazz, so I was not exactly exited to watch them play- Holy smokes, they were incredible. So good that I bought their CD after the show, before I even bought a CD player, and the band signed it. Great night, great show, great record. The only reason that it is not on the list is because due to having no lyrics, I do not listen to it unless I am in a certain mood or focusing on something. 

Artificial Heart, by Jonathan Coulton- This album is 18 tracks of heaven. 10/10, no skips, perfect album in my eyes. I think it just shows how great JoCo's songwriting is, even when he is not writing about zombies, monkeys, spaceships, etc. I have listened to this album over and over and over, while training for my first marathon, during road trips, in school, and more. Seriously, if you are reading this, and you have not heard this album top to bottom, do it right now. Ok- now that you are back- you see what I mean, right? So... why isn't it on my list? Because I have been listening to this album since late 2023 (I think) and it has been my most-listened-to album every year since. 

There are of course other great albums and artists that I started listening to in the years prior, such as ELO, Jellyfish, They Might Be Giants, Owsley, Sondre Lerche, Gordon Lightfoot, The Beatles, Paul McCartney and George Harrisons solo work, the list can go on forever. These are just some more recent releases that I recommend listening to, of course also don't forget "Winter Green" by Me. 

Have a great day, enjoy the long weekend. 

March 6th, 2026- 

I am very happy with the feedback and support that I am getting for Winter Green. The other day, my good friend, who is also a very talented musician sent me a cover of the song, and it was really good. I am working on a rock version of the song for the album, but it did get me thinking about just how many ways someone could take a simple acoustic guitar and a vocal track. I've decided to do a cover contest, with the winner getting a free T-Shirt. It is a very interesting experience hearing YOUR song being covered. Anyway, for archival purposes, I will put the details that are on the main page down here-

"WINTER GREEN" SONG COVER CONTEST!!!

WIN A FREE T-SHIRT!!!

What is it?!?!- Due to the crazy amount of support for my debut single, "Winter Green", I am hosting a cover contest. You submit your cover, it goes onto the website, then I decide which cover I like the best. Whoever wins get a free limited-edition T-Shirt!

When is it?!?!- Submissions open on March 10th. The winner is chosen on April 1st. 

How do I submit?!?!- Email YOUR FIRST NAME, followed by the MP3 file, to HandersonRecords@gmail.com

What do I even do?!?!- Whatever you want. Make it a rock song, a soft piano ballad, heavy metal, a lullaby, Punk, Folk, whatever... but make sure that the full song is covered- and NO AI ALLOWED. AT ALL. That is the death of one creative humanity. 

*Your cover/first name will be posted on the website*

Email any questions to HandersonRecords@gmail.com!

Thanks for all of the support!

Well, I hope I get a lot of submissions. In other news, I am still writing for the new album and will be producing for my brother's record, which is also coming out on Handerson Records sometime early summer. Goodnight. 

February 10th, 2026- 

The website is fixed, and Winter Green is headed to a streaming service near you!

That's right, I finally finished the song, and it is set to release on February 14th, 2026. (The day of lovers). Why did I choose Valentines Day? Well, the song is about lovers, so I think it fits in. 

Anyways, I still have some small kinks to work out, but I am very happy with the result so far. The final master sounds slightly under-produced... and that is kind of the point. I wanted it to have that "live acoustic performance" sound. I am also very bad at mixing. I guess it works out. Once I finish my full-length LP, I will get a professional to mix it, but for this single it achieves the desired sound quite well. That's it for now, folks. Goodnight. 

January 30th, 2026- 

Here we go! Yesterday morning I finally got to purchasing a domain so that once I make music, I will have a "hub" where it all can be found. I am working on getting my home studio finished so that I can start work on recording some music. I have so many ideas written down and a bunch of horrible demos in the archives, soon I will be able to realize some of these ideas fully and bring them to life. I do have a single coming out in the first 2 weeks of February this year, titled "Winter Green". My first serious release. It is about a guy who falls in love with a girl at a coffee shop- Cliché, I know- but what he really admires about her is how calm she is in the busy world that we all live in. While everyone else is freaking out, or "losing their leaves", she is composed. This last week we have been out of school due to snow, and I wrote this song while staring out the window, realizing the unique characteristic of some plants/bushes that do not loose leaves during the fall and winter. Sometimes mother nature is quite poetic. Anyways, I am going to go to sleep now because it is almost 12:30. Goodnight.