While on tour in Europe in the fall of 2022, I had the opportunity to record at the legendary Hansa and Windmill Lane studios. I went in with these songs I’ve been playing solo, mixed in some new ones that I had just written and captured them in a stripped down way. I brought my acoustic, a mandolin, an e-bow and a delay pedal and that, plus the

While on tour in Europe in the fall of 2022, I had the opportunity to record at the legendary Hansa and Windmill Lane studios. I went in with these songs I’ve been playing solo, mixed in some new ones that I had just written and captured them in a stripped down way. I brought my acoustic, a mandolin, an e-bow and a delay pedal and that, plus the sound of those hallowed halls, is all you hear. These songs have the traditional and sonic weirdness mixed together, just like me.

Hansa Studios is built right by where the Berlin Wall used to stand. It’s a room where you feel rock and roll history all around. David Bowie’s face greets me as I walk in and echoes of U2 seem to still be in the walls. Windmill Lane is equally iconic and just a short walk from the River Liffey in Dublin. Kate Bush and The Waterboys ring in my ears as I stroll into the studio.

I was intimidated to record in these studios; many of my favorite albums have been made here. Finding my voice in the characters of these songs was liberating and the encouragement from engineers Arne and Michael really pushed me forward. There was a moment right before I sang Heroes where I took a deep breath and looked around. I’d been hanging out with rock and roll ghosts all day and now my spirit would haunt these spaces as well. "Enjoy this moment" I said quietly to myself and then I sang.

It's my October album.

October 6 in Berlin and October 21 in Dublin. The instrumental "October" captured a sweetness, a calm, a contentedness that was a new, unfamiliar feeling to me and I hope it brings the same feeling to you. And it sounds good loud.

~Bobbo Dec 2022

1. The Cold War (Sroka)
2. The Sea (Byrnes, Byrnes, Riddle)
3. October (Byrnes)
4. Untitled (Byrnes)
5. House of Cards (Byrnes)
6. Crooked Jack (Behan)
7. Heroes (Bowie)
8. Time Enough (Byrnes, Keating)
9. Too many miles (Byrnes)

Songs 1, 3, 4, 5, 7 recorded and engineered by Arne Bergner at Hansa Studios, Berlin, Germany October 6, 2022

Songs 2, 6, 8, 9 recorded and engineered by Michael O'Brien at Windmill Lane Studios, Dublin, Ireland October 21, 2022

This will be limited to 200 records and this is where you can pre-order the record and be the coolest kid on your block! What's so special about the vinyl? 1) Full track list plus bonus song. 2) Full lyric sheet inside. 3) Bonus 5 song EP "So many bars, so many Saturday nights" included. 4) Download codes for all of the above. 5) Back cover is

This will be limited to 200 records and this is where you can pre-order the record and be the coolest kid on your block! What's so special about the vinyl? 1) Full track list plus bonus song. 2) Full lyric sheet inside. 3) Bonus 5 song EP "So many bars, so many Saturday nights" included. 4) Download codes for all of the above. 5) Back cover is just the SeaGreenNumber5 painting with no words if you feel like framing 6) Custom SeaGreen colored vinyl! 7) Custom downloadable songbook with chords for all the songs on SGN5! 8) Guitar picks. 9) Special backwards hidden track at the end of Side B! 10) Special Iron on transfer for you to iron on your own shirt.

I like to paint, well, I like to spill paint on a canvas. I like watching the colours bleed into one another and become something more, colours and shades that couldn't exist on their own until brought together. SeaGreenNumber5 is a painting I did a few years ago and we recorded almost all of this album right in front of it in my living room,

I like to paint, well, I like to spill paint on a canvas. I like watching the colours bleed into one another and become something more, colours and shades that couldn't exist on their own until brought together. SeaGreenNumber5 is a painting I did a few years ago and we recorded almost all of this album right in front of it in my living room, everyone adding their own colour, shade and texture to the music. 

In the past few years I've done a lot of house concerts and there's something special about performing in a small room with a handful of people connecting that is a really different experience. No big amplifiers or wall of sound, just songs, stories and people. I wanted to make an album that sounded like me singing in your living room, like I'm part of your family. 

Matt brought over his stripped down drum kit with his homemade cajon snare and one cymbal and played to the songs like he always does, simply and tastefully. My wonderful wife Tracy is always nearby with her bass, a harmony and a clever thought about how to change a single word or phrase to improve the whole and she's always right. Then I called Jeremy to add his pedal steel playing to Queen, December and Somewhere Else and there was an immediate classic country-ness that he brought out in those songs. Geo showed up with a bottle of wine, some chocolate and added her violin and viola and the songs gained a depth and melancholy that wasn't there before. Jen and Tawny lent their beautiful voices to a few songs and brought yet another layer to it. Thank you all. 

In California I play shows with The Fallen Stars which is Matt and Tracy (and sometimes Matt & Geo). When I'm in New England, Gary Young and Dave Ballou back me up and call themselves Two-Fifths. In Germany Sam Barnard, Niklas Herzog and Mona Li are Die Gefalenen Sterne and Roman Sonnleitner performs with me in Austria. When Ben Riddle is around he, Tracy and I morph into Riddle & The Stars. In music, you're very lucky if you can get a couple of people to learn your songs and perform and play with you. I am exceptionally lucky to have these talented folks with me and I do not take it or them for granted. Thank you all. 

My songwriting friends Chuck Roberts, Ben Riddle, Kalai King, Morgan Keating and of course Tracy have been sharing their talents with me for years and I love the music we make together. Jason Day told me he was going to challenge me to sing differently and we'd make a great album together, he was right. Thank you all. 

I am so grateful for my fans. Whether we are all singing APB, sharing a fluffernutter at a festival, chatting on a radio show, eating late night falafel konig or toast or drinking wine together, it is humbling and amazing that we have found each other and connected. Thank you all.

This 7 song cd accompanies the vinyl release of SeaGreenNumber5 but is available on its own as well. These were songs I was working on at the same time as SGN5 but didn't seem to fit in stylistically or thematically with that album but somehow all work together. There is some straight up rock, some alt.country and even a pair of mandolin fueled

This 7 song cd accompanies the vinyl release of SeaGreenNumber5 but is available on its own as well. These were songs I was working on at the same time as SGN5 but didn't seem to fit in stylistically or thematically with that album but somehow all work together. There is some straight up rock, some alt.country and even a pair of mandolin fueled folk tunes.