Dudley Taft

Notes about the new album FIRE HORSE:

I had been planning to release a live albm in 2026, but when I learned about the year of the Fire Horse I changed my mind. Last fall I was at a healing spa in Arizona where you buy a package of things that include yoga, hiking, archery etc… One of the packages included a session about the “Seasons of Life.”

In this meeting a woman described to me the Chinese theory of the seasons of life. Of course, being 59 years old I was hoping I was late summer! Ha ha ha... it turns out that I am early winter. But the cool thing was when I gave her my birth date, she said I was born in the last year of the fire horse in 1966. The Chinese New Year starts sometime mid-February... and my birthday is in July, so I am firmly a Fire Horse! 2026 is the next year of the fire horse because these repeat every 60 years. 12 animals, five elements... Well, I thought this was interesting, but I wasn't sure what it really had to do with me. But as she described the traits of a fire horse male, I found they were shockingly accurate! I won't get into all of that... you can Google it if you like. However, I felt so strongly that this would be interesting for an album concept, so I set to work. Luckily, we had been touring and playing a few new songs. I wrote a few more about the spirit of the fire horse animal. This album celebrates that spirit.

Warmup Song Developed from a simple riff I played on the guitar at soundcheck. I thought it would be funny to write a song with these lyrics but didn't take it too seriously until we played it one night and people loved it! So, while it is a little bit silly the song has grown on me and everyone I play it for seems to really dig it!

The song Wasted Land is about finding your place to live in life between what you think is heaven and what you think is hell... it's not necessarily wasted... But often times we find ourselves on a dusty road somewhere and we know it’s ok because it’s not hell, but not really heaven either.

The spirit of the fire horse gallops through the song Fire Inside. This is probably the song that most lyrically describes the traits of a fire horse. Those who ride ahead of the pack, those who explore, create, innovate and have an insatiable desire for travel. Keep the fire burning!

I Raise a Glass to the Brave is exactly what the title describes. My appreciation for those who have been fire horses... Trail blazers... Traveling minstrels, moguls, legends... Those who got out of their comfort zone and explored the world around them. Perhaps you will be more inspired to explore? I certainly have appreciated the adventures I have experienced!

Sleeping at the Wheel and So Empty are my commentary on the current political climate. Sometimes it seems like we are truly asleep at the wheel; letting things happen in our government that we should not. My political beliefs aside, sometimes there are politicians that need to be held accountable!!

After Ozzy Ozbourne died, I was sad of course, and I realized many of my musical heroes from childhood had passed; David Bowie, Lou Reed, Jeff Beck, Gary Moore, BB King… the list is quite long. One by One is a lament to these fallen heroes. Their music will certainly live on in my world!

She Loves Me and Stolen Days of course are love songs. I am particularly pleased with the way She Loves Me turned out. Some may find it interesting that the chord progression in the verse is literally the second thing I ever wrote on guitar when I was 13 years old. I never turned it into a song until now. I really love the chord progression... It feels very optimistic, uplifting yet serious to me. Stolen Days describes those times when you can isolate yourself from the noise of the world and escape to your happy place with your soul mate!

It Speaks to Me is the inner voice, the conscious, that guides one’s decisions. All of our experiences give us great wisdom sometimes, and that can lead to making intelligent decisions! I wrote this riff immediately after plugging in a birthday gift from my wife Michelle – a 1978 Electro Harmonix Big Muff Pi. It is a very thick fuzz sound, as you can hear in the right channel in the mix. The other side is a modern King Tone mini fuzz that complements the Big Muff well. If you have followed my music for a while, you know I usually have one or two fuzz-based songs on each album!

Duel in the Desert is my first instrumental and a way for me to show some of my different chops on the guitar. There are two personalities – the slinky fuzz monster and the classic 70’s rocker, and they wage battle, spar with each other and sing together! Haha!

This album is dedicated to my very beloved dog Django (named after Django Rheinhardt) who passed away while mixing. He was a constant presence in the studio – hanging out on the couch or the rug, waiting for me to take a break and go outside for a while. I think he learned to like the electric guitar noises (at reasonable volumes) and the songs they populated. I miss him dearly and will never forget my best buddy!

May the Fire Horse ride onward and upward, and lead us all to great accomplishments and better lives!