From the first time I ever recorded audio so many years ago onto a cassette tape in the early 90’s, there have been many times I’ve played back something I’ve said and thought “I wish I had said that differently.” In those early attempts at hearing my voice and air guitar wails while impersonating Bruce Springsteen, I took my first steps toward what would, in my early twenties, become an obsession: recording the ultimate version of what a song is to me.  Our story starts in a humble time and place: in my parents’ basement in La Crosse, Wisconsin, USA, on a tape recorder held by my sister, Elizabeth. Although I didn’t know how to play any instruments or read sheet music and was, in fact, about 3 years old, I could record what was in my mind music. In part, this was due to the technology of the day and, also, a little bit of ingenuity on the part of my sister and I. Over the years after into my childhood, I did my share of musical exploration in terms of playing the violin and t...