* Webisode #2 - Behind The Scenes of the Making of The Sparrow and The Crow

As we gear up for the release of William's new album, we'll be posting 3 seperate webisodes featuring an intimate look behind the scenes of the making of the album.  This will all lead up to a 4th webisode that we'll release along with a contest a week prior to the street date. Click here to see webisode #2 behind the scenes of the making of The Sparrow and The Crow. We hope you enjoy the behind the scenes footage!

* The Sparrow and The Crow On Pre-Order

William's new album The Sparrow and The Crow is on pre-order through William's Webstore now! Orders will ship to arrive on or about 9/30/08 the release date for the album. Any physical pre-order purchase of The Sparrow and The Crow will come with a 1 year free subscription to Paste Magazine (compliments of the fine folks at Paste Magazine!) as well as an exclusive bonus track that will be emailed to you on the day of the release. In addition, anyone who pre-orders the album through William's webstore will automatically be entered into a random drawing to receive one of the following prizes:

(1 Winner) A framed, hand written, autographed lyric sheet of the song of the winner's choice and a pair of tickets with meet & greet passes to the show of their choice.

(5 Winners) Will receive a pair of tickets to the show of their choice - we'll notify the winners by email. (winners on a first come, first serve basis while supplies last)

You can now pre-order a copy of The Sparrow and The Crow individually or bundle The Sparrow and The Crow plus The Sparrow and The Crow t-shirt for a reduced discount price.

* Musings From The Beard

On Ginger Ale and Forgiveness

My mother is probably the sweetest soul you could ever meet.

Now don't be mistaken, she could punish with the best of them.  Although my proclivity was towards well-mannered behavior on most occasions, it wouldn't be inaccurate to say that I had more than one wooden spoon broken over my backside.  But to the point, she was and is a sweet soul, with a bigger heart than probably most.

That's why letting her down has always hurt so much.  Still does to this day.

I remember one summer afternoon, my brother and I were still very young (evidenced by the fact that I only had a five-o-clock shadow...so probably about 7 or 8 years old ;), and we were meant to accompany my mother on the weekly shopping trip.  I recall rather enjoying taking walks with my mom and brother, especially in the summer.  And Sewickley was a very peaceful little town.  Similar to most small towns I would venture to think: a mixture of beautiful old pre-WWII homes, locally owned shops, and generally kind hearted people.  So to the market we went, and by the time my mother got to the end of her shopping list (yes, written in braille), we were each promised an ice-cold drink of our choosing.  Being well disciplined and dentally conscious even at that early age :), we quickly returned with whatever flavored generic cola was most near our thirsty grasp.  Our gratitude surely shown in beaming faces.

By the time we got home our treats were enclosed completely in condensation (why didn't we drink them on the way home?), but that was hardly a deterrent able to stand between a young boy and a cold pop. However, a broken tab on the top surely would.  It seems as though my fingers were strong enough to pull the tab, but not yet quite dexterous enough to actually open the can in doing so.  And as I watched my brother enjoy his drink, I plotted how I might be able to get inside the aluminum fortress which held the empty calories that were so rightfully mine.  Karma, however, wasn't quite done with me just yet.

Utilizing the very same manner of genius that lead to my aforementioned "chewing gum" debacle (see previous blog), I decided a butter knife was easily the best choice for opening a yet closed metal can (it really is a miracle I've lived as long as I have).  So arms raised over head, knife in hand, and can helplessly perched on the kitchen counter, I swung down with a mighty force - I mean like He-Man style - leading to a beautiful grape flavored (and purple colored) explosion that covered our (of course) brightly colored kitchen from floor to ceiling.  If I had been aware of the work of Jackson Pollock at that age, I might have thought this would have been a rather appropriate homage.  Unfortunately, I was not.  And it looked more like a huge and sticky mess than a work of art.  This lead to a yelling mother running down the stairs to see what all the commotion was, a laughing brother (still enjoying his drink, mind you), and a painfully embarrassed boy wishing he had used a sharper knife...a softer can...or a less noticeably colored beverage.

And this is where my mom showed her true colors.  Cause I'd have been pissed if I were her.  And I'm sure she was.

But she didn't scream (cause she knew it was an accident).  And she didn't ground me (cause I think she knew how much I loved the summer).  And she didn't even make me feel foolish for making such a careless mistake (cause she knew how much my heavy heart hated disappointing her).  Instead, she walked over to the refrigerator, reached around until she found her own treat from the trip, a can of ginger ale, and quietly handed it to me.  A replacement for the one I destroyed.  So I would still have something to enjoy.  Even though she would not.

It might seem like a small thing, but I've never forgot that day, that trip, or that moment.  And I'd be hard pressed to find more than a handful of better examples of love than that.  Giving up a bit of pleasure for her stupid kid.  Helping me not feel so bad even when she had every right to be angry.  That's just the kind of person she is, though.

The truth is that I've always felt so much guilt over that day and I've never really been completely sure why.  I think I just felt like I didn't deserve the kindness she gave me.  And I know that's never what my mother intended.  But it's just how it is.  And I'm okay with that.  I think someday I'll be able to forgive myself and let go of it.  But for now I like having the feeling to remind me of how much she cared and cares about me.  And if part of the price of that is a pang of guilt to go along with it, I can accept that.  It's worth it to have the memory to hold on to.  Perhaps it'd be easier if we could take the good without the hurt, but then how would we know how good the good could be?  How would we know what we really have if we don't also know the pain of losing it?  And so I'll hold tightly to both of them.  Cause getting rid of one isn't worth losing the other.

* Webisode #3 - Behind The Scenes of the Making of The Sparrow and The Crow

Click here to see webisode #3, behind the scenes of the making of The Sparrow and The Crow. Stay tuned for the 4th webisode that will be released next week along with a contest relating to the webisode. We hope you enjoy the behind the scenes footage!

* The Sparrow and The Crow On Pre-Order

William's new album The Sparrow and The Crow is on pre-order through William's Webstore now! Orders will ship to arrive on or about 9/30/08 the release date for the album. Any physical pre-order purchase of The Sparrow and The Crow will come with a 1 year free subscription to Paste Magazine (compliments of the fine folks at Paste Magazine!) as well as an exclusive bonus track that will be emailed to you on the day of the release. In addition, anyone who pre-orders the album through William's webstore will automatically be entered into a random drawing to receive one of the following prizes:

(1 Winner) A framed, hand written, autographed lyric sheet of the song of the winner's choice and a pair of tickets with meet & greet passes to the show of their choice.

(5 Winners) Will receive a pair of tickets to the show of their choice - we'll notify the winners by email. (winners on a first come, first serve basis while supplies last)

You can now pre-order a copy of The Sparrow and The Crow individually or bundle The Sparrow and The Crow plus The Sparrow and The Crow t-shirt for a reduced discount price.