Nine Canvases Beneath the Oaks

"Some things from my dreams."

I suppose it’s time for a little update at the start of 2026.

I’m in the process of recording the next Diamonds Hadder record, which means a lot of work, a lot of loud mixes, and frequent trips to the Pacific to ponder the meaning of life beyond the breakers. When it’s quiet, you can be sure I’m in the tower, candlelight flickering across my crazed look and wild eyes as I scream and wail something into the world that wasn’t there before—literally pouring the last blood from my veins into something that can live long after I’m dead and gone.

A twist here. A curve mid-band. A fader pull and a whisper pan. Sub or no sub. Or that thing that sang. Muted here but not there and… I do so love the little things.

I don’t know where to start, as my mind has been racing for weeks.

Breakers II and The Golden Tower:

As I begin this process of hanging eight new canvases around the yard here under the oaks, I also hung one canvas of the Golden Tower. It’s a song that was started in the middle of the first Breakers record. This canvas is deep and dark at times. I’m not sure if the track will be on Breakers II, but it will be a beautiful canvas when it’s done.

I only have some details left to paint and a few puzzle pieces that are bothering me, but I’m close to signing the tower. I actually finished an “unreleased” video on the demo version of this song, which is quite the visual. As soon as I have that special final mix day with all the puzzle pieces in place, I’ll release it on YouTube as a music video. Maybe it will find its way onto a B-side vinyl for the second Hadder record—we’ll see.

I miss the blank canvas of a fresh new song. So far, I have a few backgrounds on a few boards, but I’m leaving three of them completely blank for now because I love those first few brush strokes. I’m balancing my time between several pieces.

The Tower piece is in the key of C, which is a bit of a stretch for me. I love the sound of old music and standard tunings to some degree, as it sits with my tenor quite eloquently. But every canvas tells a story, I suppose, and this one is colored in dark and somber tones.

How about a little story?

My Lord:

I was auditioning guitarists for the first Breakers record while I was in the middle of tracking “Rivers End” in a rehearsal building in Vernon, CA, when I received an email with a few original tracks attached. As I often do, I answered the email while driving to the studio and started singing to the songs as they blasted in my truck on the 101 freeway.

One of the songs suddenly became “Lord of the Golden Tower,” as those were the first words that came out of me on that ride. I liked it so much that I decided to take a break from “Rivers End” and track the vocals that day.

And so, that’s how things like that happen.

Suddenly there was a song called “Lord of the Golden Tower,” partially written around the turmoil of my life and my search for who I was—or what I was supposed to do with this life. The only weapon I ever wanted to wield was my voice, and by now, on this long journey I’ve had, I suppose I can hold my own with any sword-wielding foe.

The music was only a demo at the time, and although I liked the vocals and the beginnings of the track, I knew it was really just the start. I finished it quickly for closure and moved on to completing the Breakers record. In the distance, it sat there… haunting me occasionally, asking, “What will you do with me? Who are you?”

Fast forward to late 2025, after the “Long Road” music video was behind me and I began the real process of the next chapter of Diamonds Hadder. The Tower track finally had a place to come through.

“I sailed away into the black, with open eyes to find… a reason worth the rhyme.”

I decided to redo all the music under my demo vocals and keys and revisit the arrangement, which meant seven-string guitars and a five-string bass. It’s been about two or three months now on this canvas, off and on, and it’s so close. Occasionally I take a break and stare at one of the other canvases for perspective.

Like everything I do, soon I’ll sign it and set it adrift in this vast ocean of noise we’re all swimming—or sinking—in.

“No distress was sent, no letter left, no somewhere end… no Jack or Jill, just a whisper that said…”

You know.

Noises in the dark.

Some thoughts.

This winter I upgraded the studio here under the oaks, doing my best to create a room where I could work faster. Lots of small upgrades aimed at shortening the distance between the start and end of the Breakers II creation. It’s working nicely so far.

It’s dark in me when I’m making a record. A lot of the things I struggle with show up in the Hadder songs. Somehow the characters of my never-ending novel—Hadder and his companions—trample through my day-to-day life.

My biggest adversary to date is time. I simply lack the time it takes to get it all out of me, and that’s disappointing to some degree. I watch ideas drift out my window, and although I try my best to catch them all, some great ones are gone—never to return, for whatever reason.

Life can be as beautiful as it is miserable. I like to focus on the front half, although I’m painfully aware of the other side.

I could go on and on, but let’s end it here. I have so much work to do.

Soon there will be a new Hadder song and video filled with love, passion, and color. I hope you like it. But more important than that, I hope that while you’re walking along a river one day—listening to her ripples and rocks, the wind blowing your hair across your face, all alone—gazing at the leaves as they flutter in the watery reflection… that in that moment, you’re reminded of who you are and what you are. That it gives you the strength to fight for something when all hope feels lost.

And if it inspires you to dream a little about places and things beyond the horizon we see… well, I suppose that would be nice too.

God bless, friends. Stay your own course.

—j