'Gone'

So one night my husband, Dana, was playing the guitar and these words just popped into my head. I had spent a majority of the day jamming with the guys from my band (now defunct -- mostly) and that morning I had been working on my novel.

From the first five-bar phrase of this song, the words appeared. I grabbed a sheet of paper and started writing. "Gone" is what manifested.

After a little polishing, adding some drums and a bass line and later a solo and some free-flowing licks, this song -- Heather's song -- ended up being the best one, I think, that Dana and I wrote together. Of course, we're still writing, but this is by far my favorite. (BTW: That's not a harmonizer effect. That's a double-tracked vocal recording. In other words, that's me singing both of those lines.)

The video I put together on Friday afternoon. Earlier in the week, I took a brief roadtrip about 30 miles west of the town where I live and decided to take the scenic route back. These are the Nebraska cuthills and sandhills like the ones where Heather "grew up" near Brayton. (Actually, the ones near the old town of Brayton are much bigger and it's even more rural.) The gravel roads and the passing countryside you see in the video are the reason why I love Nebraska. That's why I set a portion of "Long Road" in Nebraska. I love the old-west beauty of this place, and believe it or not, this beauty exists within a half-hour drive of urban sprawl. The feeling of this place is definitely inspiring.

I hope you enjoy the video.