The Glow She Leaves Behind

Every time I step out of my car onto the crushed-rocky surface at the end of Ben Jackson’s (producer extraordinaire) very long and narrow lane road, I almost have to gather my bearings to remind myself that I’m not in my native Southern Illinois.  In front of me, a non-descript, faded yellow aluminum outbuilding.  To the left, a lean-to in which one might want to park an old red or green tractor.  To the right, the aforementioned rocky lane road complete with a chain link fence and a happy-to-see-me barking dog named Linus.  But what differentiates this scene from any Southern Illinois farm landscape is the sweet sound of violins warming up inside the building.  I hear them and I’m flooded with a certain amount of excitement mixed with extra angst (a feeling of angst in the studio is typical for me)…heart pounding…mind teetering with doubt…just as I enter into the large tracking room.  (Side Note:  If you’ve ever seen the film “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire”, walking into East End Studio is no different for me than the scene where Harry Potter ducks into the Weasley’s tent at the Quidditch World Cup ….what you see from the outside is not quite the same as what’s on the inside). “But why the extra nerves?”, you might ask.  Well, not only were we recording strings for a new single I wrote called “My Ever After” (a song written for and inspired by my wife, Nicole), but Karen, my manager, & I decided that we should also shoot a music video all in one fell swoop to maximize the ‘ole recording budget I’d been given.  As I entered the room purposefully unnoticed (I’m not much one for drawing attention), there they all were: the five string players all in position, fashioned in half-circle formation; Steve (my video producer) and Perry (Steve’s production assistant) setting up a lot of equipment; Dane (the piano player); and of course my producer and friend, Ben, directing the overall chaos of the scene.  It goes without saying the room was filled with a certain buzz and anticipation.  Before I knew it, the strings magnificently completed their performance…an AMAZING job at that….and now my job was about to begin.  The “thump-thump-thump” of my already pounding heart moved from my chest and into my ears…if there is a phobia of all things cameras, there’s no question that I have it (will I ever be comfortable in front of the lens?).  But then all of a sudden, something magical seemed to happen.  To set up one of the scenes for the music video, Steve took a rather thick stack of photos and spread them across the top of the mahogany baby grand piano.  He sifted through and rearranged them, giving me my instruction for that particular scene.  And there she was…Nicole’s image was all that I could notice in that room filled with people…her big brown eyes and a huge glowing smile to match…all spread across the surface of the piano top… moments sprinkled among several years of my life captured with her.  There we were…happy…glowing…comfortable…complete…grateful;  thoughts of “oh, I remember that trip to Napa…and the long D.C. weekend with our friends, The Lees…St. Louis with the boys…that time in Florida…the week in San Francisco…the Adele concert in ATL” were swirling in my head.  And of course, there were photos of us at home…we are always at home wherever we are together.  Angst was replaced with joy….a pounding heart replaced with peace.  Now that I think of it, it’s amazing how Nicole wasn’t even physically present…just the mere image of her and she made everything feel just right.  But then again, I suppose Nicole has always been one of the biggest sources of inspiration and calm in my life, which is why I wrote in Verse 1 about the effect she has on me:    

“Amazing how you light up a room

Even in the middle of a stunning afternoon

‘Cause you’re like a blazing sun

And when you shine your light on me

I suddenly come alive”

Nicole does make me come alive…especially when I think about the amazing life that we’ve built together.  And I don’t believe it’s just me who notices her when she enters a room.  There are just some people in this world that has a glow…and she has it. 

I think it’s because it all comes from the inside…what she has and who she is on the inside just naturally shines to the outside.  Indeed…she leaves her glow wherever she goes…whether she realizes it or not.  And I’m one of the few lucky ones who gets to bask in it every day.  If you knew her….I think you’d quickly understand .  She is amazing, after all! 

p.s.  Thanks for your help in the studio the other day, Nicole. 

 Love,

 Scott