This is a record of gratitude and love.

Learning to love means a lot of things, and as the words imply, it’s a forever incomplete process. The nice thing I’m finding is that the loving path is one of great joy, fulfillment, and serendipity. There have been countless times when I’ve struggled to love myself, my family, my friends, and my world. Somehow, though, I can’t think of a time when I didn’t love music, so that would be the tool for this journey of uniting the aspects of my loving spirit.

I owe my joy over the past year to the beautiful people around me. Teaching at Patrick Henry High School has brought me in touch with a huge community of compassionate and motivated students, teachers, and phamily members who help me bear witness to the power of love every day. Getting back into the classroom made me feel alive again, and immediately helped the gratitude start coming back to my life. I started working on Black Hole as soon as winter break began, and the rest of the record followed throughout the spring. I owe special thanks to my coworkers Pete, Christopher, and Sid and my after school jammers for sharing the music, smiles, and laughs that make life worth living.

Riding the school theme, I’ve been thinking back a lot to my own school days. The cover art for this record comes to you courtesy of Rebecca Doherty- one of the most inspiring teachers of my youth. Thank you for exemplifying the fun and joy and being an artist, I feel blessed to have been in your classes so many times over the years. Though I wound up a musician, I learned many of my most important lessons about creativity in your classroom. Thanks for all that you’ve done for so many kids for so many years, and thank you for making this cover.

Two songs on this record have specific targets of my gratitude, the first being Mama’s Shakin It. My mom has always supported my music, been my biggest fan since before I was any good, and helped me navigate all the twists and turns of life. I realized one day that I’ve written songs about scoundrels, songs about lovers, and songs about myself, but never a song for my mom. This was an essential track for this album. The music was recorded with the banjo and mandolin gifted to me by my mother, never used before this tune.

Everybody Needs Friends is a tribute to the people who make my life fun! I only wish I could have included more friends on the track, but springtime got a little crazy this year! The Monday night blues jam at Shaws Bar and Grill provided a sanctuary for me when I was without a musical home. It’s like a lighthouse for jammers around the city, and the house band features some of the finest musicians I’ve ever had the pleasure of listening to. It’s with pride and gratitude that I present George Moye and Allen Kirk on bass and drums. Thank you for providing me with so many rich and wonderful experiences over the last 2 years. I'd also like to extend deep gratitude to Jason Madeiros- sorry we couldn't make it work for this song, but thank you for so much musical inspiration, encouragement, and consistently phenomenal guitar playing.

Also featured on the track are my forever friends Marcus Bell and Reid Ziolkowski on guitar and vocals. We grew up together, played on little league teams together, went on campouts, and played first concerts. It blows my mind that we are again in the same city, again playing music together, and still supporting each other as brothers. Thank you for your friendship. Finally, I have also featured a new friend, Mike Arcenaux. Mike approached me a year ago to become a better horn player- my own journey of growing as a musician, friend, and human being is better when he’s around. I’m excited to present his debut as a session artist on alto sax.

Love is the ultimate power, let’s help it grow!

-CF

Special Thanks:
Fred & Maceo
Deborah Taran
Lindsay Frensz
Travis Baker
Andrew Groble
Pete Hofmann
Rick Kieffer
Melissa Simione
Allie Feidt
Tommy Bennet
Dakota Baker