"Like Trees In November" genre: Acoustic
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	One of my favorite compositions in DADGAD tuning.
	MP3.com CD: Surface Tension - buy it! CD: Surface Tension Credits: Michael Earhart - acoustic guitars
	Story Behind the Song In October of 1996 I was commissioned by Rev. Bayard Pratt, then pastor of Aldersgate United Methodist Church in Arlington, Texas to compose a song for the Christmas Eve service. The idea was to play the song at the end of the service while the candles were being lit, and then to play 'Silent Night' with everyone joining in the song. With the exception of one year, I've played it every Christmas Eve since. The guitar is tuned DADGAD, low to high. In April of 2001 I jokingly signed up to compete at Guitar Center's Guitarmaggeddon competition. I played a variation of this tune during the Arlington, Texas store competitions and (big surprise to me) ended up advancing to the May regional finals in Dallas, Texas. This song as it is written is not very technically demanding, so I felt compelled by my competitive nature to flash it up in order to appear worthy standing next to the electric guitar players. I ended up throwing every tacky, show-offy, cool sounding technique I could come up with at it! The evening was a lot of fun, the other twelve players were friendly and phenomenal, and Guitar Center treated us like pros. I fondly refer to the flashy version of this song as 'Like a Kitchen Sink In May'. I might even record it someday. Anyway, back to the song. 'Like Trees In November' was recorded twice, once on August 8 and then on October 22. This song was well rehearsed going into the studio, and each version took no more than 4 hours to complete. I recorded the first version without using a click track; I wanted a free flowing feel to the tune and I thought that would help. Unfortunately, my tempo throughout the song varied wildly, rendering it unacceptable. So, the click track was employed during the October 22 session, and that's the version here. Approximately 3 minutes into the song there is a neat bit of studio trickery, courtesy of Nick Wallace, my engineer. The song shifts to an Fm9 arpeggio with a flat picked single string solo. I told Nick I wanted to hear ghost notes fluttering back and forth in the stereo field, with the volume ebbing and flowing. So, he sampled the entire single string solo part into the computer, flipped it backwards, processed it through the Eventide and then put it on an available track. He then manually moved the faders and pan controls in real time during mix down. The effect is almost subliminal; headphones really bring it into focus. I think it's a totally cool part of the song. The flat picked solo was borrowed from the August 8 session. Even though the tempo was faster than I wanted, we felt the performance was really there. Nick was able to cut and paste the solo in parts, grafting them onto the new recording. When I perform this song in concert I employ a Boomerang phrase sampler so I can solo over loops. The Boomerang is a great tool.

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