August 13, 2026

Part 10 of the "From There To Here" album project... Sometimes a seed is planted long before you understand what it is going to grow into. As part of my From There To Here article series about the ongoing progress of my new album project, I’ve been sharing the people, places, memories, experiences, and creative processes—from songwriting to production—that are shaping not only my music but also the making of this album. These are my stories, told from my perspective as the artist, songwriter, and producer, as I continue making my way from there to here—and because this journey is still unfolding, the story is being written as it happens.

When I wrote the first installment about my co-producer, Edd Miller, I was introducing you to the man, his musical background, and how he became part of my journey. At the time, I didn't necessarily know that another story about Edd would eventually be told.

Perhaps this story is simply the result of some serious musing on my part—something that seems to happen more and more as this album continues to take shape. As From There To Here progresses toward to becoming a recorded album, I have a much clearer understanding of one of the most important roles Edd can play in this project.

I call him The Sonic Guardian.

That's not a title I give lightly.

Edd is a veteran recording engineer first. He has spent years understanding how sound is captured, how instruments translate through microphones and recording equipment, and how the choices made in the live room, where the music is recorded, can ultimately determine what the listener hears.

In the grand scheme of the professional audio world, I believe Edd belongs to a relatively small and elite group of recording engineers whose abilities go beyond technical knowledge. They possess something that technical training alone cannot provide: the natural gift of hearing music—the ability to hear the individual character of an instrument, recognize when it sounds exactly as it should or when something isn't quite right—and understand what needs to be done to capture it authentically.

The technical aspects of recording can be learned. The ability to truly hear music in this way is something else. That kind of hearing is a gift.

Edd has it.

And that expertise is why I believe his role as The Sonic Guardian is perhaps the most vital contribution he can make to From There To Here.

My vision is for me, Sparky, Bart, and Randy to play together live, in the moment, allowing the music to develop naturally between us. I've chosen these musicians because they don't simply play their instruments—they live what they play. They are deeply creative musicians, and I believe the best thing Edd and I can do is give them the freedom to be themselves.

That same philosophy applies to the sound of the record itself.

Edd has been sharing some of his previous work with me, allowing me to listen and see whether there are sounds or recording approaches from his past projects that might provide a template for something I would like him to try. I appreciate that immensely, because it gives me another window into his experience and the sounds he has captured over the years. But the truth is, I had already listened to a substantial body of Edd's work before we ever had our first conversation about this project, and what I heard gave me all the confidence I needed in his ability to hear and capture instruments in the studio. In fact, if I didn't have that level of confidence in his abilities, neither this article nor the first article in this series would have been written.

But looking backward is not really what From There To Here is about.

Yes, there are elements of the past that matter to this project—particularly the analog recording techniques and approaches we plan to incorporate. But beyond that, I don't want us trying to recreate something that has already been done. I want the tonality of the instruments, the vibe, and the sonic energy of this record to come from an in-the-moment capture of us musicians playing together.

I think keeping the recording process as simple as possible—using little to no outboard signal processing on the instruments and vocals as they are being recorded, so the natural tones coming from the microphones and direct signal paths remain intact—is key to the final outcome. Because once signal processing such as compression, echo, reverb, or similar effects is committed to the recording, it becomes part of what was captured and cannot simply be removed later if it isn't serving the music. I would rather preserve the natural sound at the source and make those processing decisions later, when we can hear the entire performance in the context of the finished recording.

I want you, the listener, to be able to step inside that moment when you hear the finished recording—to feel that something fresh is happening, something that wasn't simply pulled from a template or borrowed from another record.

In other words, Edd and I aren't looking backward for the sound of From There To Here.

We're going to let it happen.

We're going to land on a new musical planet, tonally and sonically, and discover what it sounds like together.

In that environment, the music may very well produce itself. That means the less either Edd or I have to impose on the music, the better. Our job is to create the conditions for authentic magic to happen and then recognize it when it does. I don't want these recordings to simply sound good. I want them to sound right.

There is a difference.

Every instrument has its own character. Every musician brings something unique to a performance. The sound coming through the speakers should faithfully represent what was actually played in that room. If the character of an instrument is altered when it reaches the control room, we have already lost something that can't easily be put back later, if at all.

Professional recording is expensive. Every hour in a studio represents an investment of money, time, musicianship, and preparation. The last thing I want is to spend that investment recording a song, walk into the control room for the first listen, and discover that the instruments don't sound remotely like the instruments we intended to record.

I don't want to fix that afterward. I want to get it right at the source.

A recording engineer can be highly skilled and still have a particular sonic perspective. Different styles of music require different approaches, and what works beautifully for one style may not serve another. From There To Here has its own musical language.

That's why I want Edd beside the engineer—not to diminish the engineer's expertise and not to tell someone how to do their job.

I want another set of highly trained ears in the room—ears belonging to someone who understands what I am trying to accomplish musically and can help make sure that vision survives the recording process.

That's what I mean by The Sonic Guardian.

Edd's vital role is to help guard the sound before it becomes a recording.

Because once the performance is captured, there are countless things we can do with it. We can mix it. We can shape it. We can master it. We can make creative decisions about how it ultimately reaches the listener.

But there is one thing we can't do very well: We can't recreate authenticity that was never captured in the first place.

For From There To Here, I don't want to recreate something later. I want to capture it honestly from the beginning.

That's the seed that was planted back in Part 1 when I first introduced you to Edd Miller.

Now, as this album moves from the stories of my past into the present, with a few unrelated side roads explored along the way, and toward the reality of making the record, that seed has grown into something much clearer. I have a much deeper appreciation for why Edd is part of this project and for the ways his production experience, ideas, and creative perspective could contribute to the process. But of all the things Edd brings to From There To Here, I believe his ability to hear, understand, capture, and protect the authenticity and integrity of the sound may ultimately be his most vital contribution.

And when the first notes of From There To Here finally come through the studio monitors, I want to know that what we're hearing is the honest result of what happened in that room—the musicians, the instruments, the energy, and the moment itself.

Not something manufactured afterward. Not something recreated from a template. Something that happened once, in that room, and was captured honestly. Because that's what From There To Here is ultimately about.

Taking everything I've lived, everything these musicians bring with them, and everything that happens when we finally come together—and allowing it to become something that could only have been created there, at that moment, by those people.

And if we get that right, then perhaps the listener won't just hear the record.

They'll feel like they were there.

- Stevie Hawkins