Ages, Ages ft Shane Leonard

A phrase like “fine thanks and you” is often the polite and truncated outer-shell of a much longer, and more complicated story we all have. We use it like a dam to keep the buildup of our thoughts from spilling out onto others, though it’s not always clear who we’re protecting – them or us? Nevertheless, there are worlds behind the wall, for those who wish to explore. And such is the case for this record. Fine Thanks and You is a collection of simple reflections about what it’s like to be in a body, to have agency, to have space, and to move through this window of time like a visitor. Thematically, there is searching in these songs, but never a sense of feeling lost. The album is an exploration, and with every exploration comes imagery: heatwaves waving back at me (Hot Pavement)…sidewalks slipping off into infinity (“City Walkin’”)…painted hills, sharp like knives, cutting up the purple sky (“Wild Ride”)…up again, into the light again, open my eyes and then I realize I don’t want it to end (“Second Thoughts”). The record was produced by Cameron Spies (Radiation City, Night Heron) and recorded mostly at The Trash Treasury and partly at our own studio, Friendly Ghost. Both of these places were a friendly shelter for all of us to have fun, try things, and be freaks - myself (Tim Perry) on guitar and vocals, Rob Oberdorfer on bass, and Evan Railton on drums. Through the second phase of recording, we were joined by Mira Stanley, who I met previously co-writing over zoom. She drove all the way from Nashville to add her voice, and she fit into the fold so well that she has since relocated to Portland and is now a full-fledged member of the band. Throughout this process, I found myself returning to a poem Dr. Clarisa Pinkola Estes, the Mexican-American writer best known for the book Women Who Run With the Wolves. The full poem is worth seeking out, but these lines in particular resonated with me deeply: One of the most calming and powerful actions you can do to intervene in a stormy world is to stand up and show your soul. Soul on deck shines like gold in dark times. The light of the soul throws sparks, can send up flares, builds signal fires, causes proper matters to catch fire. To display the lantern of soul in shadowy times like these - to be fierce and to show mercy toward others; both are acts of immense bravery and greatest necessity. Struggling souls catch light from other souls who are fully lit and willing to show it. If you would help to calm the tumult, this is one of the strongest things you can do. The impact of this poem is most plainly reflected in the artwork for the album that Mira and I put together, but those sparks and the heat of the flames Dr. Estes talks about are hopefully going to be seen and felt throughout each of these songs. The kinds of brief or lingering lights that will help draw us all closer to one another and allow us to make those necessary connections, be they soul deep and permanent (We could find some light and plant a perfect garden, cultivate ideas, watch their petals open, “Inspiration”) or brief and familiar. Fine thanks and you. Shane Leonard Bio: Shane Leonard is a producer, multi-instrumentalist and songwriter based in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. He got his start releasing music as Kalispell and touring with bands like Field Report. He was surprised when other artists began asking him to produce but soon fell in love with the role. “Producing is such a quasi-mystical challenge,” said Leonard, who records to tape and mixes on an analog console. “It’s a thrill and a privilege to be given that kind of trust.” Early projects with Kristin Andreassen and Humbird led to producing JE Sunde, Courtney Hartman, Mipso, Anna Tivel and more. His producing work has deepened his own songwriting practice, as evidenced by his solo albums, 2019’s Strange Forms and the upcoming Make The Birds Fly, out on Sleepy Cat Records February 26. He continues to engineer, mix and sit in on studio and live sessions, becoming known as, in Justin Vernon’s words, “a monster musician who's played with everybody.” He has played and/or recorded with Josh Ritter, Rose Cousins, Foy Vance, Rachel Price, Larry Campbell, Sara and Sean Watkins and others. Although in-demand on a national scale, Leonard remains a central part of his local songwriting community, helping lead a monthly song-share with Eau Claire-based musicians and putting on a yearly songwriting retreat. “I’ve been trying to collaborate in different ways, mostly motivated by our scene,” said Leonard. “Personally as an artist, I feel like I’m using the jaws of life to pry open the can of vulnerability and let people in.”