My name is Christopher Brown, and my music project is called The Sway Valley Push. I grew up in Catskill, NY, which is 30 miles south of the state capital and 30 miles north of Kingston, Catskill sits sad and lonely 45 minutes from anywhere that matters to most people. It sits square in the middle of redneck country, ripe with old trucks with gun racks in the back window and steer horns screwed to the front as hood ornaments. There are no clubs or hotspots in Catskill, which means Friday night will either find you getting sloshed at the bar, bowling at Hoe Bowl, or laughing at the hunters who are still wearing their bloody camouflage while shopping at Wal-Mart.
Growing up in Catskill was the best idea I ever had. Although there isn't much excitement happening in a small town, it opened my eyes to the world of the average person. In my hometown it's not hard to see how easy it is for someone to give up on their hopes and dreams and settle for far less than they originally planned for. It's not at all uncommon to see half your High School classmates within the course of a week, settling into life in a small town when you remember them striving for so much more not many years before. My first The Sway Valley Push album, entitled "Love and Loss," is a collection of songs inspired by these average people. It is rich with the stories of the people who I know the best, and the simple life that I have slowly come to understand. It includes songs spanning a wide variety of situations that the average person can relate to, targeting complex issues such as heaven, family, love and death. "Blue and Green" is an energetic solute to every small town boy and girl who loved each other so much that they were satisfied to simply lay in each others arms in a field under the stars.
The music that you can find on "Love and Loss" is all acoustic; it's simply the best and most affective way I could think of to help people relate to the stories that inspire me. It is simple, strong, and melodic. It's the result of a wide variety of music and musicians that collectively seduced me from an early age and drove me to be a musician myself. The ghosts of Billy Joel and Johnny Cash are present in the energetic but tragic "105 In a 55," as well as in the sad conclusion of "Son of Hollywood." Dashboard Confessional's intricate lyrics and soaring melodies are present in "Sad Excuse For a Friend," which describes triumph over a very personal and painful betrayal. You can also find a mingled mix of joy and pain in the track called "Heaven," a song describing the loss of a loved one that you are convinced you will see again very soon. Whatever your situation and wherever your life is taking you, I'm convinced that "Love and Loss" has a song with your name written all over it. If you can't find one, than I, Christopher Brown from Catskill, NY, will gladly write one for you.
