Prudence Heck by Giraffes for Wings

Welcome to Prudence Heck, an EP recorded entirely on a phone, mostly in the upstairs spare bedroom of my house, where the second fanciest piece of recording equipment is a blanket that I draped over the corner of a desk to imperceptibly dampen the harshness of the guitar. It’s an EP designed by the constraints of COVID life.

It’s hard to know what people will be expecting when they hit play on this EP for the first time, but it’s safe to say that it won’t match many people’s expectations of share-worthy content, and some may cringe a little and wonder why exactly I would put this out there.

I have an answer for this that I’d like to attach to these seven tracks because I hope my answer will be an invitation to others to share their own work. I don’t think I’m alone when I say I carry a tension in me in regards to things I create. I have no illusion about my musical skills. I am not a virtuosic guitar player or an operatic singer; I am not the poet of our age or a seasoned performer. More or less, I know how to play the chords I need to, and I can manage to sing most of the right notes most of the time. As a result, my songs are rough, small, grainy and unpolished. And here is the tension: I can’t help but like them. Not all of them. But these ones, yes. I like the square, stripped-down utilitarianism of them: though they don’t shine, they might be burned as fuel. And that means others may like them as well. I really don’t know. I do know it’s the best EP about wilderness juvenile corrections programs, broke superheroes, landscaping features, and impending doom that I’ve ever written (well, top three, definitely).

To be clear, I don’t have any illusions about whether Prudence Heck will become a cultural touchstone. For a day or two after it’s published, it will get some reactions and comments on Facebook, and for the rest of human history, almost no one will really bother about it. But it may resonate with a few others the way it has with me.

And that’s why I think it’s important to create things, and even more, I think it’s important to countermand the internal narrative that the things we create aren’t good enough for other people to know about. For most of my life, everything made by my hand I have snatched out of view any time someone has walked into the room. But to the extent that I can, I’m making this thing I did knowable, and in that way, I’m making myself more knowable. And maybe it will help someone else to do the same.

I am indebted to a number of individuals for their help and influence, direct or indirect, on the path of this EP’s creation.

Dave, for stringing my acoustic guitar back in 2012 so that I could start playing for the first time in years.

Nicole, who has expanded my understanding and appreciation of the universe perhaps more than any other individual person has.

Mike, who met with me to discuss some of my early songwriting projects and encouraged me to continue writing.

John, who wrote and produced the Based on a True Story podcast, the zeroth episode of which encourages listeners to create and share the art they have to give, and whether you enjoy this EP or not, it is the art I have to give. More specifically, the song “Prescott” was directly inspired by his podcast.

Brendan, in whose ghostly absence (and deserted Hekman Library carrel) I wrote the words to “Combobulated”.

Mary, my mother-in-law who drove four hours to watch my son for two hours, which gave me the opportunity to try to visit Brendan Omicioli in his Hekman Library carrel.

Rachel, who gave me my one and only ukulele lesson.

Alex, who drew the stunning artwork for this EP. More of her work can be found on Instagram @o_sciamachy_o.

Andy, who has done a number of fruitful things for me over the years, most relevantly listening to all my recordings and telling me if they were good and more or less withholding comment if they weren’t.

Robi, who has likewise done a great deal for me, including producing these and other songs and letting me consult with him throughout the creative process.

Ashley, who was kind enough to marry me and who has been endlessly supportive in this and other endeavors, including designing the lettering on the cover.

And I'm sure many others whom I may have forgotten to mention here. Thank you all.

Giraffes for Wings is one English teacher and a little spare time.