Hello friends,

I’ve already received some great feedback about “Bittersweet Chemistry” and “Beauty Keeper.” Thank you to everyone who has listened, voted, reached out privately, or shared a reaction. I’m grateful you’ve opened the door and stepped into the process with me.

In that spirit, I wanted to open the door a little wider and share an idea I’m currently pursuing.

I’m never slow to credit Radney Foster as one of my favorite songwriters. Working on these two songs has taken me back to where his influence first reached me.

A lot of our musical influences arrive through other people—especially older siblings, friends, or the person we love. When someone we look up to tells us an artist is great, we often accept that recommendation as gospel truth.

That was certainly true for me and my wife, Michaela. Her older sister introduced us to “Texas Country” back when we were teenagers, turning us on to Radney Foster, Pat Green, Cory Morrow, Cross Canadian Ragweed, Charlie Robison, and many others.

That musical introduction ended up steering my life in a monumental way.

Although Radney Foster had already been making impactful music for years through Foster & Lloyd and his early solo work, See What You Want to See was the record that brought me fully into his world. I’m only now recognizing how much that album has stayed with me…

I’ve sung “Godspeed” to my son almost every night since he was born.

I recently realized how much I borrowed, as a drummer, from the feel and movement of “I’ve Got a Picture.”

“The Lucky Ones” was such a powerful love song that Pat Green not only recorded it, but used it as the title track for his 2004 Universal Records release.

“Raining on Sunday” connected so directly that Keith Urban later recorded it. For me though, the emotional force of Foster’s original remains unmatched.

“Folding Money” has a groove and atmosphere all its own, while also feeling like a tangible memory, plucked directly from childhood.

…and then there is “I’m In”

That song was—and will always be—the soundtrack to the early years of Michaela’s and my relationship. We have been together for almost twenty five years, and that song is woven into the story of how we got here.

One of the things that has always stayed with me about “I’m In” is Abra Moore’s vocal contribution. Calling it a background vocal or harmony part does not quite capture what she does. Her voice does not simply support Radney’s melody. It moves alongside it, responds to it, and gives the song an even deeper sense of surrender and intimacy.

That performance has been so deeply embedded in me that it has been quietly calling out from one of these new songs.

I’m taking inspiration from that kind of vocal relationship as I continue working on “Bittersweet Chemistry.” I’m looking for examples of songs where a background or supporting vocal becomes something more—where it steps out from behind the lead melody and becomes an essential, almost conversational part of the song.

So here is where you come in:

What songs come to mind when you think of a background vocal that takes on a bigger role?

I’m especially interested in performances where the additional voice:

- Dances around the lead vocal

- Answers or challenges the main melody

- Creates a second emotional perspective

- Becomes inseparable from the identity of the song

- Adds something that a conventional harmony part could not

Share a song, artist, recording, or specific vocal moment in the discussion. Tell me what makes it work and what you hear in the relationship between the voices.

This is exactly the kind of creative conversation I hoped The Journey could make possible—not simply sharing finished songs, but allowing you to see the references, questions, and decisions that shape them.

If you are already part of The Journey, I’d love to hear your examples. If you are part of The First Step and want to be closer to these behind-the-scenes conversations, The Journey is where I’m sharing the deeper process and inviting members to help shape what comes next.

Thank you for being here, and for helping me listen more closely.

-Michael