We pushed, and we pushed…but I know as a growing vocalist the worst thing you can do is put yourself under pressure to sing. I moved, leaving the finished instrumental tracks on the studio hard drive. We said goodbye.

I arrived in the high desert of Oregon, a three day drive, to a new house with a trunk full of guitars. Moving took it’s toll, keeping me busy with the odds and ends of life…yard work, unpacking, meeting new people.

after two months I dug out. I got the instrumental mixdowns from Scott and set up my new home studio. I worked on the vocals, taking my time to deliver the best performances possible.

By December 1st I finished vocals! Then on to mixing…and mastering at Basecamp recording studios. Release of Winteresque in 2012 is eminent!

This brings you up to date on the story of Winteresque. There is still much to be written, the release, the tour, album reviews and interview spots. Even more exciting, sharing the music we’ve worked on for so long with our friend and fans. Thanks for being a part of the story of Winteresque!

Keep an eye out for tour dates…we’ll be all over the Northwest spring of 2012.

I had been reading up on modern architecture, and modern philosophy, and these ideas eventually spilled into the music I was writing. “Modern Love” was the first song written…originally spelled “Modyrn Luv,” but thankfully changed!

The thesis was love…very different stuff for a Finn Miles album! Modernity and how the new world can be difficult on love and on lovers. There are great distances, distractions, and a lot of band influences. It’s all caught up in the chorus “I confess I haven’t a clue, when it comes to loving you, Modern Love, what have we done?”

The songs came quickly, it was faster working without Scott, but not necessarily better! I found this out engineering and producing myself at our studio in Des Moines, IA. Our dear friend Matt had let us use a quarter of his house as a studio, as long as we shared our music with him. Good deal. Good friend!

Now comes the real confession…Scott is the true multi-instrumentalist. All the wonderful production on the first two albums, with horns and drums and keyboards…that’s him. I found myself stretched to try to play drums, keyboards, harmony singing, and percussion, none of which I had never seriously attempted before. I did pull Scott in to play drums on one track, trumpet on another, and sing a few harmonies, but I promised I’d keep his involvement to a bare minimum. Somehow, the album came together. I played keyboard and percussion for the first time on a recording, as well as slide guitar and full production.

Over the recording process we had managed to become involved with a label, Pinnacle Records, out of Ames, Iowa. Our friend Darren was the machine behind Pinnacle, helping to master the album, as well the press release and even playing in the band for the CD release party at the Vaudeville Mews! (read on for Part 4 of this thrilling tale)

Warm, Warm Heart is a song off of the upcoming Finn Miles album “Winteresque” which will be released in late winter 2012 and available on iTunes. Stay tuned for more updates, or join us on Facebook for breaking news.

After the release of the Telltale Heart EP (which was a fabulous success) I started writing a batch of new songs. When I write songs they usually come fast and furious, and before too long a theme emerges. This central thesis acts as a centrifugal force, pulling the album together, each song finding its own seat. This creates albums which are cohesive, but not caught up with all weight the concept album.

The central theme finally caught my eye in the corner of my writing journal; it was a simple Haiku I had previously written.

Autumn’s light will fail.

Long white sheets on a pale field.

Will we bloom again?

All of a sudden, the lens focused…Winteresque is a journey from autumn, through the dark of winter, and into the hope of spring. I started seeing elements of this journey in the other songs I’d write. Each song started informing the others on how they fit into the big idea; the puzzle pieces began falling into place. I wrote six songs and created acoustic demos to share with my brother, Scott Gratton who engineered and produced the previous Finn Miles EPs.

I felt like I was on track…but then something happened. (To be continued in Part 2)

We’re warming up our chops this winter with a handful of unplugged shows in Central Oregon. Check out our upcoming shows. We’ll see you there!