A Good Enough Day

Searching for something untouched by his brush before, Royal sat down to create his second full-length album A Good Enough Day in 2005. His vision was to create a melodic record built on the holy shoulders of honesty. To accomplish this he planned the effort around a 1950's Steinway grand piano and the melody carrying his most personal lyrics to date. Adding only the instruments necessary, what was created was a journey celebrating love and heartache and the revelations of life.

Self producing the project and being a multi-instrumentalist, Royal choose to record at renowned Reaction Studios in Toronto. Slowly crafting the record one take at time he would first lay down the piano or guitar, then add the vocal, and then slowly build the songs from there like a jigsaw puzzle.

"I remember when the first songs went down. We started with "Juliet", "Safe Haven" and "A Mirror Without" and I knew I was making something special - unlike anything I had made before. The universe was on my side." remark's Royal.

Always a perfectionist and wanting a challenge, Wood also wanted to score his first full string quartet. "On my first recording Tall Tales I used only a cello arrangement. This time around I wanted to dive in head first. It's scary, but the water gets warm quickly if you only swim with the current. "

Royal also invited a few friends to add colour to his palette. They included artists like Hawksley Workman on drums and Kurt Swinghammer on electric guitar.

The final mix of the album wrapped in December of 2005, but it would be another year before it was released on Jan 30th 2007 with Dead Daisy/Outside Music. "I create from an honest and artistic place for no one else but myself. However, once that is done, artists find themselves in a business. It took time to find the right home for the record with Dead Daisy, and then we had to release it with their cycle, so I had to sit on the music for a year. It was difficult, but I have no regrets. They were the right fit."

The result named Royal Wood songwriter of the year on ITunes, multiple national Canadian, US and European tours and the re-release of A Good Enough Day on Rounder in Europe in January 2008.

Credits:

Produced by Royal Wood
Written, arranged and performed by Royal Wood
Strings arranged by Royal Wood except "Siren" arranged by Kevin Fox

The guest players included:
Hawksley Workman - drums on "Forever Were Tied"
Adam Hay - drums
Harmony Trowbridge - background vocals on "Juliet", "About You" and "Forever Were Tied"
Kurt Swinghammer - electric guitar on "Acting Crazy (It's A Breakdown)"
Paul Brennan - drums on "Siren"
Michele Gould - background vocals on "Acting Crazy (It's A Breakdown)"
Lina Allemano - trumpet
Karen Graves - 1st violin
Lenny Solomon - 2nd violin
Kathleen Kajioka - viola
Kevin Fox - cello

Recorded at Reaction Studios by Jeff Elliott
Mixed by Royal Wood and Jeff Elliott
Mastered by Fedge