"Travelin" and about a dozen other songs were, are, part of a concept called "Son of the West," which got started when I was traveling around Nevada, Oregon, Idaho, Montana and Washington playing country music--that was back in the late 70s and early 80s. The songs are not necessarily cowboy songs, but rather dealt with the broader human themes that settled the West: restless souls cutting loose from the confines of expected identities and seeking new homes in a new land. Escape, freedom, searching, settling down in love and building a new family home.

I got the album recorded in my home studio on Bethel, working on it on Saturdays from 1992 to 1994. I was set to release it when it occured to me it would be rather difficult to market an album about the West while living in Bethel, Alaska. That was before the internet. Because on the Internet, it doesn't matter where the hell you are. So maybe in the next year or so I will be able to resurrect the Son of the West collection. I hope to present it as a multi-media adventure on the net, with photos, lyric text, annotations and so on.

Meanwhile, from time to time, I'll feature one of the "SOW" songs on "Uncle Mike's Song of the Month." If any of this appeals to you, let me know; maybe I'll get motivated to work on the web presentation of Son of the West.

--Michael