Carpe Diem was a band that originally existed from late winter 1993 until spring 1997 or so, evolving from the ashes of Cold Shot, which was primarily a blues cover band. I had just left the band I was in, Surface Tension, and was tapped by guitarist Jon Weinhagen as a last minute replacement for their singer, Joe Green, who they had to fire just days before a gig. This gig was a battle of the bands and we actually won (in spite of our soul-desecrating performance of "All Blues"). We continued on throughout the fall of 1992, playing gigs in the area (including one memorable evening opening up for local legend, Root Boy Slim), and we recorded an EP called Phuck, which was never distributed until it was released on the BG label in 2005.

Bassist Eric Weinhagen left the band in the winter of 1993, which coincided with the recording of my second solo album, Welcome To Dreamtown. We had a triumphant farewell gig - "Eric's Last Stand" - and then spent the next month or so, scratching our heads and trying to sort out our next move. Attempts to procure a bassist were not successful so I lost two strings and, armed with a pile of fresh, original material, we took the remains of our band and turned it into a powerhouse trio called Carpe Diem (i was really into Dead Poets Society at the time). That band destroyed basements and eardrums all over the South Alexandria area (and rarely elsewhere) and we built up a very small, but somewhat rabid following. We rehearsed frequently, and played a handful of gigs and parties, but never quite figured out how to push ourselves further. Drummer Josh Arenberg left the band in 1995, to go to college, and was replaced by Kevin Ivers, and we plugged along, in that lineup, for about two years, jamming and rehearsing almost every day, but never once playing a gig, and rarely hitting the "record" button. We did venture to Richmond VA in January 1996 to record an EP which we put out on cassette (CD release came to the BG label in 2005) but we still never pulled ourselves out of the basement and the band soon fizzled out, as Jon was working on his doctorate and Kevin & I moved into different musical directions, playing in a variety of settings before eventually ending up in Ebb.

Ebb broke up in May 2001 and it was at that point that I embarked on a solo career that has led me to release over 80 albums, while never again utilizing other musicians (or making any money). During that same time, Jon began a career as an economist and raised a family. Occasionally we would get together to jam, which was always fun, but never as often as we should have, or would have liked. Soon, technology and world events would present us with a solution.

As the world entered the covid era, and had its first experience with mass lockdown, there was a lot of lamenting of plans that were never realized, and somehow it occurred to Jon and me to look for some kind of collaborative music program, one that would allow us to jam, or otherwise work on music, from the remote setting of our respective pandemic lockdowns. We came across this iPhone app called WaveJam, which is this cloud-based 16-track recorder, that can be run by anyone involved in the session. I knocked out a few things on there, sent them to Jon, and thus the seeds of the revitalized Carpe Diem were formed. Attempts to rope both of our previous drummers into the project proved fruitless, but we had fun making this lo-fi collection of songs.

My main rule for this album was that I wanted it to utilize material that had never released on album before, and so I trawled my archives looking for lost gems, while at the same time occasionally writing new songs directly to the app. Before long, we had 17 songs in the works, songs that went in many different directions, most of which eclipsed anything we had ever done as a band, our first time around. We spent the summer of 2020 tinkering with this material but then took a step back from it, as I buried myself in a million other musical projects. Eventually the WaveJam app started getting glitchy, so it came time to finalize the project, lest we lose it. There were thoughts about releasing all 17 songs as some big epic free-for-all, but instead went the all-killer-no-filler route. What we have here is a collection of nine new songs that find two lifelong friends and cohorts making music again, for the first time in a quarter century, and having fun with it. In fact, while all of these songs came from my archive, there were several instances where Jon's guitar parts came to redefine the song, which led to him receiving co-write credits on all but three of these tracks.

"Fonky Chonk", the first thing we did, was recorded specifically as a warmup, so we could get to know the app. This song was never intended to be on this album, especially since it had just appeared on The Shadow Walker. However, when the time came to sequence this set, this song's presence was demanded. Elsewhere, "Blind-Eyed Betty" is a brand new song that paints a perfect picture of what life was like in the early days of the pandemic, when the world was on strict lockdown, and even the most bustling areas were nothing but tumbleweeds. "Inside Voice" is a song that was completely improvised, chords and lyrics, as it was being recorded, and then we built upon it. That song deals with the scourge that is loudmouths-on-the-internet and features what is arguably Jon's greatest solo.

"Kites Of Spring", "Like Old Times", and "Not Just The Blues" all existed in lyrical form since 2007. Finally they were set to music in 2020, recorded immediately to the app, and plugged into the Carpe Diem universe. These songs turned out quite well and I am happy to see those neglected words get their due. "Like Old Times" is especially poignant in that, though it was written long ago, it perfectly sums up a reunion such as this.

The rest of the material that we tackled was drawn from various hidden corners of my archive, including the epic "Miss You Over Chattanooga", which closes this album. The acoustic guitar was recorded in a sauna, and that gives the track that expansive sort of feel that the music demands. Similar in feel to the old Carpe Diem staple, "Cry", this song has potential to be quite the space-jam vehicle. We look forward to being able to test that theory soon.

There are an additional eight songs that we recorded that, for one reason or another, did not fit the feel of this record. At least a few of them will get theirs pretty soon, on some sort of EP.

While the original Carpe Diem's focus was as a live band, this new reboot is geared for recording, and lots of it. One of my greatest regrets is that the original Carpe Diem did not record more - one album, one EP, and a handful of live and rehearsal tapes is all that we have. It is time to make up for that oversight. These socially-distanced times call for it, as do the constraints of being two dudes in their late-40's. There is already another album that is mostly recorded (on the same Zoom machine that I do all of my solo recording) and there are plans for further collaboration, perhaps in a more digital realm.

We are also hoping to snag ourselves a rhythm section and get down to some in-person jamming before too long. It would be great to hear these songs in that setting. But that's for later. Right now, the now is NOW, the air is warming, the trees are budding, and the Kites Of Spring are flyin', high and mighty.

We've missed you. Let's catch up.

-CA, 3/25/21