Eating & Drinking & Being in Love is finally here! I am overwhelmed today with the album release – it feels, in many ways, like a breath I’ve been holding for too long. I began sucking in this breath years ago – in fact, the oldest song on the album, “Fixer Upper,” was written in the spring of 2021. I have continued to inhale since then, and let me tell you, my lungs can only take so much! They are fit to bursting! I have much, much more to say on the album, but for now, I’ll let my exhalation function as a gratitude acknowledgement. There are so many people to thank.
(Order indicates nothing, and please excuse me if I forget anyone)
Thank you to Josh Rothstein, my fearless, Mets-loving manager who I have been friends with since we were 10 years old. They say don’t go into business with your friends, but I can’t imagine anyone else I’d rather have at my side.
Thank you to the good people at Nettwerk (Mark, Meghan, Nick, Abby, Patrice, Emma, and all others who work behind the scenes) for believing in the music and giving me a shot. The music industry can feel so transactional these days, with everyone trying to make a dime off your back, but you guys have made me feel supported and appreciated (not that I’ve actually made any money off the music yet lol).
Thank you to Jack Kleinick, who produced (and mixed) the entirety of this album. From the beginning of us working together I knew we’d be able to make something special, but I had no idea it would be as fun, difficult, and ultimately rewarding as it ended up. And in the process I gained one of my best buddies in LA. Two birds!
Thank you to the band, and to everyone that touched the album recording process: Andre Vasconcelos, who plays the meanest guitar I’ve ever had the privilege of witnessing; Joe Ulmer, who slaps those skins (drums) with perfect touch; Michael Andrew, who is as versatile as he is goofy (very); Shaan Ramaprasad, my forever strings boi; Jake Lummus and Ken Rich (Grand Street Recording Engineers); Tommy de Bourbon, who slid in on that delicious pedal steel for Fixer Upper; Austin Lyons, Willy McNamara, Danny Williamson, Dillon Davey, and Gavin Becker (my former Melodores), and Greta Kandel (my sister), who sang BGVs and cracked me the fuck up in studio; Adam Grover, who mastered the album; Ben Shapiro, my Benny, who has one line in One More Night (and is name-dropped).
Thank you to all the songwriters, without whom half of the songs on the album wouldn’t have been written: Garrett Nash (Honeydew Moon), Joshua Zegan (The Painters), Rose Betts (One More Night With My Friends in the City), Sam Varga (Nothing New), Morgan Nagler & Jack Kleinick (Teeth). I like to write by myself, but I sure could never have written the ones that we did on my own. There’s a valuable lesson in there, but this post is not for that kind of drivel – it is for gratitude!
Thank you to Sofia Staartjes, who helped me with the creative direction for the project. My thoughts get all tangled up sometimes, and you have been the perfect person to unravel the knots with. Don’t know what I would have done without ya.
Thank you to all those that worked on the visual side of things: Carden Katz, my boy, who made so much of the beautiful backyard short-form content you’ve been seeing; Laura-Lynn Petrick, who created the lovely music video for The Painters; Kate Stephenson, who has the best eye with the lens and made me look so pretty in our photo shoots; Oscar O’Reilly, who made the On My Mind visualizer and let me use his awesome Jeep; Justin Schmalholz, who shot some photos in the studio while I was getting drunk.
Thank you to my mom, Jackie, my dad, Andrew, and my sister, Greta, for always supporting me. I don’t know if I’ve ever deserved as much love and support as you’ve shown every step of the way, but I hope you know I’ve never taken it for granted.
Thank you to Grace Runnels. This album wouldn’t exist without you (or maybe it would just be called Eating & Drinking and it would suck). Every time I sit down and think, Can I really write another love song? What more is there to say?, there’s always something more to say about you. This love runs deep, baby! I’ll save the rest for us in private ;)
Thank you to Miller High Life, which fueled a lot of this album. One day you guys will see my true value.
Finally, I want to thank all of you (if you’ve made it this far, then I’m really talking to you). This can feel like the dumbest, most selfish career a person can strive for at times, but every time one of you shoots me a nice DM, or covers one of my songs, or comes up to me at a show and shares your experience, it reminds me that I’m not really doing this for me (mainly, okay). I’m doing it because we share in this ridiculous thing called being alive, and life is fragile and you don’t know when your thread will snap, and if my music can be a web that connects us even a little bit more, then that’s a beautiful thing. And it’s fun to drink beers with friends and strangers and I get to do that all the time now. What a fucking joy it is!
I hope you enjoy Eating & Drinking & Being in Love, my first album.
Love,
Teaky
might need to host an sf fleet week album release party ....