About two years ago I was talking with my daughter's school counselor Mr. Dye when he asked me about the Studio. “Midas Touch Studios - Is that you?!” he asked. I said Yes. 

Then he told me about a gospel song that he had written many years ago called “Not What Was Written.” David (yes, school counselors have first names!) had the song recorded in a pro studio, but unfortunately the only copy he had was corrupted and the master had been lost. 

I told him to bring the song over and I would get started on it. I figured it could be salvaged with some cleaning. 

I have the “damaged” version for you right here so you can listen to it just the way I did. 

But be prepared…

For the first 10 seconds, you will hear pretty strings. And you will think, “This isn't so bad…”

And then…

About 30 seconds in, the wheels come off with mud and distortion.

There's a beautiful track in there, somewhere. But I wasn't going to be able to get to it. 

I was going to have to rebuild it. 

And so I set about laying down the drums, bass, keys, etc. 

The whole nine.

I didn't set out, however, to mimic what was on the original. 

I wanted to add my own “seasoning” to the song - as much as David would allow. The song did go through a revision, and then we reached a point where both he and I were satisfied with the outcome. 

And so I present to you…

Not What Was Written BEFORE 

Not What Was Written AFTER      

CAUTION I recommend dialing back -10 on your volume, especially on the BEFORE track. It seems SoundCloud might have given the tracks a bit of a boost. 

Both hyperlinks are harmless, they will take you to my SoundCloud ONLY! 

Feedback is considered a gift here. 

The song is used with permission from David Dye

In May 2025 I trecked from Dallas, TX, USA to Peter Gabriel's Real World Studios in Box, Wiltshire, UK. I can write an entire book about my experience there, and the wonderful people I met. For now, the words Dream Come True will have to suffice. 

Calling Carolina by The Black Tennies was the outcome of that experience. It was originally released on 07/04/25 and the great Tim Oliver did a fantastic job on the master. But I had it in my mind to see what I might bring to a master of the song since I had the premaster version of it. It wasn't until November that I found a space in my schedule (and mentally) to take on the task. I finished the project a month before Christmas, so I set it for a Christmas release date. But the release was delayed by a few hoops and some red tape. It is available now on all major streaming platforms, so please enjoy! 

At the same time, I worked up a remaster of After The Storm. This also has been released on all platforms this week. Enjoy!

From May 29 thru May 31 I was at the famous Real World Studios in Box, Wiltshire, England. I was paired with ultra-talented, supremely prolific Chris Harris ( headfirstonly.bandcamp.com ) for the purpose of writing a song. On Day 1 Calling Carolina was nothing more than a .txt sketch in the “Orphans” bucket of my laptop. By Day 3 Chris and I had finished our work, assisted in no small measure by producer Steve Evans AKA “the Wiz” ( https://www.soundbetter.com/profiles/45688-steve-evans ). 

So privileged to have my name attached to this project, and I really enjoyed working alongside these talented people. 

Permit me to introduce you to the team that helped make “Calling Carolina” happen: 

Dan Neale - Drums (Massive Attack, Liz Cass)

Jim Barr - Bass guitar (Get the Blessing, Peter Gabriel, Portishead) 

Chris Harris - Lead guitar

Steve Evans - Producer, additional guitars, mixing (Robert Plant, The Proclaimers)

Adrian Utley - Rhythm guitar ( Portishead )

John Baggott - Piano (Robert Plant, Massive Attack, Portishead) - Especially check out 37 minutes in…