Backroads is made possible by the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund with money by the vote of the people, November 4, 2008.

I'm truly thankful for this roof above my head.

There's people sleeping in the streets without a blanket or a bed.

I think about this for a while.

I'm truly thankful that I have a mom and dad.

For many children in this world, that is a love that they've have never had.

I cry about this for awhile.

Is there some way I can help you through, show me what can I do.

Blue tarps are trembling in the violent winter wind, some smoke is rising from a fire burned down in a life that was never lived.

I didn't find you for a while.

Your body trembled as you tried to fight the cold, but like the storm inside, you could not escape, and you were not very old before you left this world behind.

Frozen like a statue, lying they're all black and blue, the snow was sparkling in the morning sun as your spirit flew and traveled to the isle.

Though I never even knew you, my heart could feel you in this room.

I'm truly thankful for this roof above my head.

There's people sleeping in the streets without a blanket or a bed, I think about this for a while.

I'm John Arthur Schmidt, kind of a singer/ songwriter, acoustic folk kind of musician and I started playing around on the piano by ear, being able to write little melodies and pieces, and my mom tried to get me some lessons on that, and it didn't stick very well.

I was more of a musical ear, but not so much of a "on-paper" type.

Yeah, music was kind of a natural thing and once I started picking up the drums, I ended up connecting with a couple friends in middle school that had their own little band thing going and needed someone to play with them so that was kind of my first introduction into playing with people and finding music as a hobby.

This song is called Eagle Eyes.

Seasons rise and fall, you never lose your way.

You see through it all, for you have eagle eyes.

Yes, we are once again, wildly, in a tail spin.

Another year gone by, time for love, time to fly.

You let go just in time before my heart dies.

Can't explain how you know, reasons for all you feel, but I can tell it's because you have eagle eyes.

High above, there you sleep, in my dreams, like a dove, descending to the stream and on the wind you ride.

For years, my drumming focus had me more in like post hardcore, kind of progressive rock stuff, and it wasn't until I moved out to Fargo, North Dakota when I was 19, for a trade school out of high school, and the band I was doing stuff with had kind of gone separate ways, but still I needed an outlet, I guess, for music, so I brought a guitar with me and that's when I started picking up the acoustic guitar in more of a serious way, and started getting really interested in folk singer/songwriters as well, and so I started trying to find ways to incorporate what they were doing and started just sort of writing songs, I guess, then, and finding small cafes and coffee shops and places to start playing those songs and that was kind of the start for me.

Your words are like silver refined in a furnace of clay, purified seven times, purified seven times, until they shine like the day and in my heart I can see they are beautiful to me.

Forever my love, your words ring in my ears, and rattle the beams of this building, shaking the dust and the webs from its peaks, and the places with disease rotting, get healed by the song that you sing, Furnace of earth, spirit Sometimes I'm just blowing smoke and letting off steam, but it's no joke, it's just the evidence that the fire is doing its thing.

Like a river wearing stones down beneath its feet as it's running out to sea.

I feel it moving me.

Forever my love, your words ring in my ears, and rattle the beams of this building, shaking off the dust and the webs from its get healed by the song that you sing, Furnace of earth, spirit burning.

instrumental...oooh, oooh.

Forever my love, your words ring in my ears and rattle the beams of this building, shaking the get healed by the song that you sing.

Furnace of love, spirit burning.

I just released a new album called From the Marrow.

I wouldn't say it was the album was influenced by the pandemic directly.

It's more like it affected the timing of things and we sort of had to react to the changes.

So, we were supposed to start in the spring of 2020 and I had this group of songs in mind and then the coronavirus was beginning to be this big event and shutting things down and so we had to delay the album or which was going to be actually an EP and it was more like that delay process because I couldn't get into the studio and record and do what I was wanting to do.

I sort of found more time to write and ended up coming up with these new songs that I was more excited about than the original ones I was going to record.

So, a lot of the songs were written after March, April 2020 but not necessarily directly related to like the pandemic itself.

But ended up tapping into just a different dimension of creativity and songwriting in my own life.

So, just Give It A Try is one of my actually favorite songs on the record and part of why I love it is because it's so straightforward and simple and when I showed it to Matt, the the producer, I was a bit worried he would be like isn't there more?

Isn't there more to the song?

But I played it through for him and he sort of got it right away and it was just like the song that just kind of revolves and kind of builds an energy but not by having bridges and choruses but kind of like in its lyrical form and the arrangement.

It's just one of those songs that kind of just emerged.

You will never love without your heart turned on and you will never see without the lights on.

You can spend your life asking or instead we can just give it a try.

You will never love without your heart turned on and you will never see without the lights on and you can spend your life we can just give it a try.

Instrumental And if you ever need someone to take your hand, hold you tight and love you right then I'll be your man.

You know money has never been my friend.

Believe me I won't leave you for another.

If you ever need someone to take your hand, hold you tight and love you right, then I'll be your man.

You know money has never been my friend.

Believe me I won't leave you for another.

Instrumental And if you need a drink my dear then take my car.

Don't be afraid, tell your dreams to me and we'll draw it up.

Just look how far we've come together, our love will last forever.

Instrumental There's so much trust involved in making a record.

Whether it's between you and the producer or the other musicians you're bringing in.

This record was unique because I really didn't bring in any other musicians.

Matt Patrick, the producer is a multi-instrumentalist and me being a drummer like I said and I also played piano and some other things.

It was such a collaboration that it really is a trust thing.

You know this is your art and it's like an intimate thing to share it with people.

But, the people who end up getting those opportunities to play, the reason they're being called like hey you should play with this guy is because they've already established themselves as someone who's worthy of that role, you know, they they're worthy of your trust.

Basically to put that song into their hands and know that they're going to do something great with it and respecting where the artist is coming from.

So, I've kind of had the privilege of doing it a few different ways.

You know, working in a very compressed environment where these musicians are coming in and in a few days we have to track all these songs and I've also done it this recent one over an entire year span with just me and the producer building it, layer upon layer song by song and getting to do more of it myself.

But it definitely comes down to trust and connecting with the people you're working with.

Your presence is enough for me, is enough for me is enough for me.

Your beauty for my eyes to see, for my eyes to see, for my eyes to see.

Your love for my heart to feel, for my heart to feel, for my heart to feel.

Your presence is enough for me, is enough for me, is enough for me.

Your beauty for my eyes to see, for my eyes to see, for my eyes to see.

Your love for my heart to feel, for my heart to feel, for my heart to feel.

Instrumental Oh, there in the dead of night, is a quiet voice.

It'll be alright, if you do not fear and you hold on tight to the Prince of peace.

He will guide you through to the other side.

There's a gentle stream and a tree of life.

Forever I'll be in your arms, I'll be in your arms, I'll be in your arms.

Your secrets will be in my ear, will be in my ear, will be in my ear.

You breath and I dream again and I understand you are my closest friend.

There in the dead of night, is a quiet voice.

It will be alright if you do not fear and you hold on tight to the Prince of peace.

He will guide you through to the other side.

There's a gentle stream in the tree of life.

For me I'm thankful for every song that I get.

Every song for me is like a new experience and I will go through periods where I won't get songs for a while.

So, each time I get one I'm like oh I sort of bask in it for a little while and some you like more than others, but each time you get that feeling of like I want to record it, you know.

And so it is hard as that's happening when you have the opportunity to go and record it's exciting and it's very fresh but then there's that point where you have to like cap it off and this is a work that you're satisfied with.

Creativity is like this ongoing thing.

But I guess you're feeling out what are you wanting to say, what are you wanting to convey, you know, with these songs.

So, I definitely had songs that I left out because like I don't think it fits with this volume and the songs I ended up with is kind of what felt right in the moment so.

I am still all right though depression brings me down, it gets me every time.

You see I am still all right.

In the troubles that I find, I have peace of mind with you.

I really do, when I'm with you, I really do.

Instrumental I am still all right sitting in my favorite chair, my guitar takes me there.

You see I am still all right.

When I have a song to sing, I forget everything.

I do when I'm with you, I really do.

When I'm with you.

Passing the time like a bird flying high.

I am still all right though depression brings me down.

It gets me every time.

You see I am still all right.

In the troubles that I find I have peace of mind with you.

I really do when I'm with you, I really do.

That's it.

Backroads is made possible by the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage fund with money by the vote of the people November 4th 2008.