David Brown & Lisa Firestone at Eastern Sky Studio's

I had just come back from Nashville and the title track production with Karen Taylor-Good, a burned CD of the song in hand. That Sunday service I headed to Unity Church to get my dose of inspiration, after the service I was heading back to the car when Lisa and I met up. I explained what I was putting together by offering the basic story of what it is like to have children that are special needs, and just how challenging it can be at times. She listened carefully, asking a few questions and offered her heart to the project in any way she could. She left with the knowledge that I was looking for a song that would lift you up (positive) but would clearly connect emotionally with a caregiver.

A few days later I received a call from Lisa saying I should check my email, as that she had just roughed a song in her closet studio (some of the best songs come from a small closet I find, lol). I headed to my email and found the track. Just a simple vocal and piano accompaniment, her sweet voice expressed a simple message. The lyrics were awesome, I could hear the sensitive tone needed to built up and thus in my head I could hear the beginning of a ballad that would be incredible.

I had a number of tracks I was working on, but this one was going to go into production in Orlando when I was toward the end of the album creation. Lisa and I agreed that David Brown's Eastern Sky Studio up the road here in Orlando, FL., the best part about this was that it was a common ground with a fantastic setup! David's keen ear was a huge help with the engineering/production and is a MUST USE place to record if your recording! We hired a couple of musicians to record the song and spent the day recording, I had the song in my head being a ballad but with a power below it and I think that Lisa had the theme of a simple almost jazz tone to it. We discussed it a bit, learned and went forward finalizing the key elements. I felt it required another day in the studio with Lisa to get just the right vocals from her, and boy did she deliver.

After comping the various versions of Lisa's vocals we were able to come up with a single run of it that worked well. She always laughed that she didn't have the voice of a Celine Dion, but in my head she was a beautiful voice and did an amazing run of it. The only missing part was the need for a solid guitarist behind the song and little more sythesizer to build the energy within the lyrics. Chris Graffagnino came to mind, as that he was the guitarist for the title track "the life that's chosen me" and knew the style I would want quickly.Jason Garner & Chris Graffagnino

I had the bass part overlayed by Freebo, an old friend whom I had the highest regard for from his work with Bonnie Raitt and many other musicians. Between his playing, the input of a few small elements, out came this wonderful song. Lisa always knew the title of the song, and I knew that the message would be easy to understand by anyone who was a caregiver. The video was created by Lynda Graham, a friend through an online radio station called SeeQ Radio that is not online presently. It captures a real families interaction with they're childs illness. The majority of images are of a friend's Father and Son in a Boston Hospital and his Son's battle there.

I hope the song brings comfort to many, it certainly has created a strong outpouring of interest and certainly is a sensitive way of expressing just how important caregivers are to our society.

IF I COULD DO MORE by LISA FIRESTONE from Lynda Graham on Vimeo.

CBC Studios Toronto - Studio 212 December 28, 2008



Hearing of the various "challenges" out there that caregivers are going through makes me realize that it was all a great adventure!