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Liner Notes
This album took five years to make and only four nights to record.
While mourning the tragedy of Sept. 11, I experienced a deep
sense of mistrust as to how our government would proceed in the
world and at home. From the possible roads to take, they chose
the wrong one. Instead of a meaningful response, our leaders chose
revenge with imperial ambitions while slashing our freedom in
America. For the sake of future generations, we cannot keep a
clear vision of hope for our children by perpetual warmaking and
stripping our Constitutional rights.
Life is what is in front of you. Use the tools you have. As my
old man said, ‘Speak up and tell the truth when something
is wrong.’ In a short period of time, songs had found me.
I was on the street singing at rallies and demonstrations on bad
sounds systems or no sound systems. We shivered by City Hall and
the Federal Building. I often coughed and couldn’t feel my
hands. Or I fought back a cold. But we stood together in greater
and greater numbers. The echo lifted my voice and guitar up to
the stony heights where William Penn looked over the city. Here,
I found community with those who had stood for peace and justice
for a long, long time.
This record is dedicated to the Brandywine Peace Community. They
have resisted war and weapons since 1977 with a tireless campaign
focusing on Lockheed Martin, the world’s foremost weapons
manufacturer and war profiteer. For my dear friends who have made
a lifetime of peacemaking, this record is for you. Thanks to everyone
for sharing in and inspiring the music. And thank you for your
faith.
It took a long time to get here. We recorded the album live,
guitar and voice together. So what you hear is what you get. It
wasn’t exactly a shoestring budget – it was more of
a bare foot one. Could have called the album Six Bucks Against
the War. So we didn’t get more than two takes at a song.
Being live, there might be micropitch slips in the vocals or the
nanosecond of errant fingerpicking time. As for my Martin D1 guitar,
I am naming her Pace (pah-chay) which is Italian for "peace."
Several times, she nearly succumbed to the rain with complaints
of warping and fret buzz. Or she wouldn’t tune. But she stayed
true and told the truth.
I portrayed these days of our history and the war. I opened with
a pledge to resist war and concluded with a celebration of peacemaking.
I used traditional storytelling to explore the depths of the human
cost of war. I employed humor to expose the absurdity of the path
our government has chosen. I wrote these songs because everywhere
I have traveled since 9/11, people have inspired me. They all
voice a need for hope and unity. They want to hear a reality not
expressed in the media. My compositions are narratives of recovering
our humanity through song.
A lie will not sustain this country or the world. Nor will fear,
hatred, and violence. Falseness is doomed for implosion. You can
build an empire on it, not a civilization. The poets still speak
of love. Old minstrels like me still sing about it. I am not delusional
enough to think that one record can make a difference–but
I am sane enough to try.
Peace in our Time,
tom mullian
the Armenian Outlaw
cinco de mayo, 2006
somewhere in Media
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