Glenn Holdaway
PROJECTS
"The Scenic Route" - Single (2023)
Released February 10th, 2023
Track 1: "Right Where I Lefted"
Written and Produced by: Glenn Holdaway
Mixed & Mastered by: Big G Productions
All instruments and vocals by Glenn Holdaway, except drums (Tom Kendall Hughes)
Track 2: "The Scenic Route ft. Liam Robertson"
Written by: Glenn Holdaway and Liam Robertson
Produced by: Glenn Holdaway and Koi Anunta
Trumpet: Glenn Holdaway
Drums: Donnell Spencer Jr.
Percussion: Blake Bartz
Bass: CC Thomas Jr.
Guitar: Carlyle Barriteau
Tenor, Bari and Flute: Liam Robertson
Keyboard: Chuck "Boogie" Moore
Violin: Koi Anunta
Mix: Vincent Joinville
Master: Pierre Luzy
Album Artwork: Koi Anunta
About The Scenic Route:
The story of "The Scenic Route" began in 2020: As we all know, the pandemic was a difficult and fearful time for the world. But, from these dark times came some beautiful moments I will never forget!
Early in the lockdown, through a series of fortunate coincidences, I was able to start a weekly concert series called “Thursdays on the Block,” which ran from April 2020 through January 2021. Each week, Thursdays provided a sanctuary for musicians to come and safely gather (in a socially-distant way of course!) to see our loved ones, play music, and forget about the troubles of the world for a while.
The tremendous impact these concerts had was truly remarkable for me to witness—I couldn’t believe how much the power of music, community and human kindness was able to transform a horrifying nightmare into some of the most treasured memories of my life.
From this unexpected circumstance came the idea for “The Scenic Route.” As awful as the pandemic was, the incredibly gratifying experience of Thursdays on the Block made me realize that sometimes, taking the scenic route on the way to my ultimate destination maybe isn’t so bad, after all!
"The Scenic Route" project is a collection of two songs that represent this journey. It starts with the unsettling chaos of "Right Where I Lefted," (representing the confusion and fear associated with the beginning of the pandemic) and transitions into the hopeful and uplifting melody of the title track, "The Scenic Route" (representing the joy I found in Thursdays on the Block.)
I am so thankful for the phenomenal musicians who helped bring this vision to life, many of whom were regulars at Thursdays on the Block! Since everything was recorded during the height of quarantine, all 9 of the participating musicians tracked their parts remotely. Since no one ever played live in the same room together, I then had the task of assembling all the parts and arranging them all into what you hear today!
Below is a “Behind the Scenic Route” video I made which documents what the recording process was like during this crazy time.
"Reggaematical" - Single (2020)
Released March 13th, 2020
Written by: Glenn Holdaway & Ryan Kordich
Produced by: Ryan Kordich
Mixed & Mastered by: Big G Productions
Trumpet: Glenn Holdaway
Keyboard and Bass Guitar: Ryan Kordich
Guitar: David Yun
Trombone: Quinn Carson
Drums: Style Scott (Drumdrops)
Artwork: Alepsis Hernandez & Zury Delecara
About Reggaematical:
Pursuing Reggae music has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my life. To convey the gratitude I feel for the joy, knowledge and opportunities that this music has gifted me, I knew I wanted my debut single to be an ode to Reggae!
“Reggaematical” was co-written with Ryan Kordich of Eureka Sound, which was actually the first reggae band I ever gigged with when I was 18 years old. Ryan quickly laid down the musical structure and I improvised a melody on top of it, and that became the song!
When coming up with the song’s title, I was thinking about what feeling the song gave me. I closed my eyes and listened, and the first thing that came to mind was something I used to hear Marlon Asher say when we were on tour together: “Have a Reggaematical day!” I always thought that was awesome, and I decided to name my song after the adjective-form of the word “Reggae.”
About a month later, “Reggaematical” was released just in the nick of time—that very same weekend, the global pandemic officially began (Reggaematical dropped Friday, March 13th, 2020, and lockdown was announced Sunday, March 15th, 2020) which pretty much marked the end of life as we knew it. It was a very strange coincidence, to say the least!