The first time I met Nelly, we played a show together in Charlottesville, Virginia. I didn't have a place to sleep that night, and so she let me crash at her studio in Staunton. While housing a touring act is not at all rare in the DIY scene, her offer to then let me use that studio to record on my day off was a pleasant surprise. At the time, I was trying to record an album while on tour, and was quite dependent on negotiating other peoples' spaces. The ease and openness with which Nelly let a total stranger occupy her studio for two days was inspiring, and I keep the memory close to me while traversing the sometimes unfriendly roads of the world. Furthermore, that openness and generosity comes across in Nelly's lovely and poignant music. She gives everything, creatively and emotionally, and the listener cannot help but be touched by this, even if unconsciously. Later, as we played together more and got to know each other more, I offered to release a tape for her. I wish I could say that my offer was as selfless as Nelly's offer to house me. Nope, the truth is I fell in love with that record so hard that I just wanted the chance to be distantly associated with it, and have some of it's brilliant light shine on me. Months later, I still listen to it at least once a week, if not more than once a day. It's the kind of record that's so good that you want every person you know to hear it. And I knew that if I didn't release it, that would mean buying 50 copies from Nelly in order to give it to all my friends. I can't afford that shit. So I HAD to release it. If you haven't heard it already, do yourself a huge favor and check it out here:
obsoletemediaobjects.bandcamp.com/album/ish-ish
You can order the tape there, and Nelly has it on vinyl available here:
nellykate (dot) net/store
It's both immediately accessible, and yet intricate enough to reward the listener more with each listen.
For all these reasons and more, I've been eager to make a mix tape for Nelly, and try to give her a small fraction of what she gives the world with her music and her generous presence. The particular tone of this mix is influenced by Nelly's rather rough experience touring this summer, and the sympathy I attempted to offer for that experience. The road can be fucking hard at times. Strikes and gutters, as the Dude says. This music is of travel and hard times and joyous times, and all that good stuff that builds us into the people we'd like to be. Thank you Nelly.
--CJ
from
For Only You and Everyone (1st season),
track released August 23, 2012
Side A:
1. Not At Home - Peter Broderick, "Home" (2008)
2. Fame - The Back Pockets, "Fast Cloud Slow Cloud" (2011)
3. the moon & you - Skye Carrasco, "Dark Pines" (OMO 2011)
4. The Axe is Ready at the Tree - TENDERNESS, "The Axe is Ready at the Tree" (2011)
5. Wonder Woman, Wonder Me - Kishi Bashi, "151a" (2012)
6. Ocean (Burn the highways) - Lazarus, "Songs For An Unborn Sun" (2003)
7. You Carry The Deed - Deradoorian, "Mind Raft" (2009)
8. califer - your bones, "delicate ankles" (OMO 2012)
9. goin' where i never been - Ralph White, "Stovepipe Blues" (2012)
10. Fly Away - Mori Chieko, "Jumping Rabbit" (2005)
11. Rollin Home - Nathan Moore, "Sad Songs Make Me Happy" (2003)