Q:

These recordings were made in 1979.  What were the circumstances and why were they never released until now?

A:

Well, I first met Willow when she was appearing in the world premiere production of Horton Foote’s play, Courtship, in New York City in the summer of 1978.  I was stage managing and designing the sound and Willow, who was then known as Debby McHale, was a dancer.  We became friends and at some point I had an opportunity to hear Debby play her guitar and sing and I was very impressed.  That fall I went out on the road doing a one-man show and during my travels I purchased some new recording equipment: a Pioneer 707 reel-to-reel recorder, a mixer with reverb, and an MXR compander.  So, to test the equipment out, I invited Debby over to lay down a few tracks.  Those first recordings were a bit rough, very much demo quality, but a bit later, on January 9, 1979, Debby came over and in an astonishing display of skill and artistry, recorded thirteen tracks in one session, with the best possible recording set up I could muster for a living room studio.  The apartment I was subletting at the time was in the back of the building, so there was very little street noise – amazingly quiet, considering the location in midtown Manhattan.

Q:

The recordings are very quiet.  What did you use to get rid of the tape hiss?

A:

Well, that’s what’s so special about these masters.  I had used the MXR compander, which was a combination compressor and expander that  reduces the dynamic range during the recording phase and then restores it on playback, pushing the hiss below the audible level.  It was very similar to what DBX was doing at the time and MXR couldn’t survive the competition, I guess.  The problem with a compander, of course, is that you have to have the same equipment when you play it back or it sounds just terrible.  Fortunately, I had put both the reel-to-reel recorder and the MXR into storage before either one broke down.  A few years ago, I started transferring old records and reel tapes over to my computer and when I got to Debby’s reel, I ended up with a new master that sounded like it was recorded on a digital recorder.  I didn’t have to do any clean up or equalization at all.  And the reverb is exactly as I recorded it.  All I had to do was re-sequence the tracks and burn a CD-R.

Q:

So you’ve had the CD-R for several years?

A:

Yes, I hadn’t been able to listen to this music for more than twenty years, so the CD-R quickly became a favorite.  When I heard how good it sounded, I knew that I wanted to release it commercially, but Debby and I had been out of touch since 1981.  We had gone our separate ways and I didn’t know where she was.  I tried to locate her through both Actors Equity Association and the Screen Actors Guild, but neither union had any record of her.  I searched the internet and I asked everyone I knew who might remember her if they knew where she was, but no luck.  I was really starting to think that she might have died and was considering releasing a posthumous album, but I didn’t dare, of course, without getting someone’s permission.  So I just enjoyed the music myself and kept trying to locate her every six months or so.

Q:

You finally did find her.  How did that happen?

A:

Well, the internet is an extraordinary invention, let me tell you.  I have been able to track down a lot of old friends by just doing a google search or logging onto Classmates.com, but none of that worked with Debby because the names Debby McHale or Deborah McHale simply did not appear anywhere on the net.  Then in January of this year, I suddenly came up with the idea of checking BMI’s website to see if any of her song titles were listed.  Well, BINGO!  Debby McHale’s name was there and there was a music publisher listed – Ali Mac Music.  So I googled Ali Mac and discovered a page all about Willow Hale with a very recognizable photo.  She had changed her name and moved to Los Angeles.  There was even a phone number listed!  It was like discovering King Tut’s tomb or the lost city of Atlantis.  I called her immediately and reintroduced myself and told her about the tapes.

Q:

Did you send her a copy?

A:

Of course, and I was delighted to discover that she loved the recordings and was very anxious to make them available commercially.  So that set the ball in motion and after a bit more procrastination on my part, I was finally able to move ahead with the project.

Q:

You’ve released it on the Armin Records label.

A:

Yeah, that’s only because I couldn’t think of anything more inspired.  You’ll notice that there are no acknowledgements or production credits other than my own on the Digipak, which is unusual for a CD release.  But that’s because there has been no one else involved at any point in the process.  Willow sang the songs, I recorded them and I eventually re-mastered them.  I even designed the artwork for the cover.  Other than the folks at Disc Makers, this is definitely a one-man, and one woman, project.  It’s about as “independent” as it gets.  As of right now, other than selling CDs at Willow’s appearances and through CDBaby, I have no idea what kind of distribution the album is going to get.

Q:

If a major label were interested in releasing the album would you consider it?

A:

Sure, make me an offer.  My primary focus for the last 25 years has been to share this music with other people.  I’m glad it’s now a reality.  Enjoy.

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