The song "Sunrise on Avenue C" began about 6 years ago when I wrote a song called "Broken" which had that verse melody which I really loved but the rest of the song, the chorus, the bridge and really the whole recording of "Broken " didn't really survive more than a few months. It was ok but I just forgot about it but always loved that verse melody. So id always be fooling around with it.

Fast forward a few years and I'm living in New York and having plenty of late nights in the east village. Coming out of Nublu or Speakeasy's at 6am, having tied one on in no uncertain terms. Well, my relationship with Avenue C was sealed! Ok, so on a visit to the UK in the summer of 2006 I was staying with my friend in Brighton when I was suddenly visited by the line "Sunrise on Avenue C" It came to me in a flash and I thought it was
pretty, so it stuck. I toyed with Avenue B for a while but C won out!

Anyway, I started to play that old "Broken" melody and came up with a few lines around that idea. Being in the east village at a ridiculous hour and feeling messed up and how it might feel to be on this adventure of having just arrived in New York with your girlfriend and trying to make a life here.
The song began to take shape. I re wrote the lyrics many, many times. In fact I have almost an entire book full of different versions of it. Tweaking it till I felt it was ok. In fact I even rewrote the 2nd verse after id recorded it because someone pointed out that it wasn't quite satisfying the way it was and I agreed with him. It needed a more personal lyric. One that fleshed out the relationship between the 2 characters, so I wrote the verse "We came to make this place our home" etc. Now a few things about the recording. I was rehearsing the song with Leslie Mendelson and she was playing the piano here in my Chinatown apartment and as I remember it, she kind of played that intro line and I just jumped on it and said "Do that again" and that was it! We had the intro counter melody thing which sets the song up so nicely. What else can I say? Well originally, I didn't have the "Sunrise, Sunrise" bit but after playing the song to JW Johnson when he worked at Razor and Tie he suggested it needed another section so I came up with that and that's how it ended up.

One last thing that I really want to add is that I wanted to conjure up a feeling that I had one time while crashing on someone's floor after a night of over indulgence on First Avenue and 6th street. I'm half asleep, its probably 7am, there are maybe 6 or 7 people lying all over the place at my friend Pats apartment. Its quiet and everyone is just still and trying to sleep. Then in the far distance, what sounds like half a mile away, out in the street, I hear the wonderful sound of a brass instrument playing the old gospel song " A close walk with thee" It sounds so beautiful and crystal clear that I think I'm in a dream. What is this beautiful sound? Where is it coming from? Who is playing it? Then I slowly realize that it's coming not from outside but from right here in this room. As I drifted back to full consciousness I looked over and saw it was Clarke Gayton quietly, so quietly, so perfectly. Playing that song on his trombone and I swear it was so beautiful I could hardly
believe it.

And that's kind of the feeling I wanted to get on the song and that's why he is playing that solo at the end of the song. So that's it. That's the story of "Sunrise on Avenue C"

Hearing is believing. Now that you know the story behind the song, listen for yourself and learn more about the album - right here!

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