Hushed and Heartbreaking, The Sparrow And The Crow Chronicles a Broken Marriage
CD Available Digitally 9/30; U.S. Tour Planned
Raised by two blind parents, William Fitzsimmons learned early on that the standard means of communication were options, not requirements. Visual cues were ineffective… and so young William's most intimate and resonant relationships were forged instead by sound.
His first studio CD The Sparrow And The Crow, available 9/30, represents a similarly unconventional means of communicating with a loved one. This album is, at its core, the true story of two people that didn't make it. Conceived more as a written confessional to a partner in a broken marriage than as a straight-ahead collection of songs, “it plays and reads like a story that just happens to be set to notes, as opposed to only words." Having said that, the lyrics are haunting, and the melodies thoroughly wrenching, giving the collection an emotional heaviness that is offset by the simple beauty of the songs themselves.
William candidly expresses the process of making The Sparrow And The Crow as follows: “I wrote it first and foremost as a confession and apology to my former wife. It was a way to say things that I needed her to hear that I didn't know how else to say. Second, as a way to exercise the pain from what I'd easily call the worst year of my life. And third, as a way to let others in pain have a way to express and deal with their trouble, and perhaps find some hope at the end of it. It's not a divorce record, or even a “break up" record in the traditional sense, although certainly it contains elements of both. Instead, it's a record about messing up everything, and trying to find a way back home."
William grew up listening to his father's orchestral records and to his mother’s collection of James Taylor, Joni Mitchell, Bob Dylan, and Simon & Garfunkel. The influences of these seminal artists are felt throughout 'The Sparrow And The Crow'. Listen to the stand-out track “If You Would Come Back Home", along with more streaming audio samples, here: http://www.brickwallmgmt.com/williamfitzsimmons/
Raised in Pittsburgh and now based in Illinois, Fitzsimmons has followed the unlikeliest of trajectories to reach his current status as improbable-indie-recording-artist…His initial home-studio albums were made while he was simultaneously finishing up a graduate program as a mental health professional, and it was only upon securing his Masters degree and becoming a practicing therapist that William returned to his burgeoning music career. So, while the goal of combining these two worlds as a 'singing therapist' lurks somewhere in the distance, William focuses on his music, and the catharsis it provides.
Often mentioned in the context of contemporary artists including Sufjan Stevens, Iron & Wine, and his long-time friend, Ingrid Michaelson (who appeared on his last CD, the self- produced ‘Goodnight’,) Fitzsimmons’ has found an audience that is at once hard-core indie and big-time Hollywood: 'Indie' in that William has been warmly embraced by the Blogosphere, and welcomed into the popular ‘Hotel Caf’ community of artists (including a tour with them earlier this year.) As for 'Big-time', Fitzsimmons has also found his songs in demand in Hollywood, with tracks appearing on Grey’s Anatomy, Army Wives and more…All of this seems to have happened despite the conventional wisdom regarding what it takes to get noticed. With no label, no manager, no booking agent, no publisher and no PR, William emerged as a quiet success story. Perhaps it's because of the great music?
Fitzsimmons was recently ranked among MySpace's 'TOP 100 UNSIGNED ARTISTS', and such important national outlets as BILLBOARD, PASTE and PERFORMING SONGWRITER Magazines have taken note of his career. He is currently featured as part of the American Airlines/Paste Magazine audio stream, with songs appearing on all AA flights in September and October. Click here to see a video of William performing ‘I Don’t Feel It Anymore’ as part of Paste’s video stream for The Sparrow And The Crow
William Fitzsimmons wrote all the songs on his new album. He is backed by singers Priscilla Ahn and Caitlin Crosby, as well as by musicians Eric Robinson, Aaron Sterling, Sean Hurley and Jon Flaugher. The CD was produced by Marshall Altman. Digital availability begins 9/30 via iTunes and other outlets.
Billboard - By Katie Hasty, 2/7/08 At a recent solo show at New York's Rockwood Music Hall, William Fitzsimmons made a tongue-in-cheek jab at friend, former tourmate and recent Billboard cover subject Ingrid Michaelson. “I hear she's selling a lot of sweaters," he said with a smile, making reference to her recent Old Navy commercial spot. But the heavily bearded songwriter has plenty of licensing accolades of his own, with placements of songs in Lifetime's “Army Wives," MTV's “Life of Ryan" and even at a pivotal point in an episode of ABC's “Grey's Anatomy" last year. His track “It's Not True" was also included in a Paste magazine sampler. Fitzsimmons is preparing new songs from his “cornfield town" of Jacksonville, Ill.; if his sophomore effort, 2006's “Goodnight," is any indication, listeners can expect a mix of minimal electronic and folk arrangements over whispered vocals and acoustic guitar-/banjo-driven melodies. The artist is also revving up for his stint on the Hotel Caf tour this spring, with former tourmates Michaelson and Cary Brothers, plus Now Hear This alum Jim Bianco and Meiko.
The Sparrow And The Crow - ALBUM NOTES BY WILLIAM FITZSIMMONS:
“The Sparrow And The Crow" is in many ways to me more of a letter to a lost lover, the partner in a broken marriage, than it is a collection of songs. It plays and reads like a story that just happens to be set to notes rather than only words. Because of some personal difficulties I was encountering at the time, in 2005 I set out to write and record songs solely about my parents' divorce and the difficulties my brother and I went through in the years following. Over the course of time proceeding and during the making of that album (which became the “Goodnight" record), my own marriage began to slowly fall apart, leading to a separation and eventual divorce from my wife of nearly 9 years. “Sparrow" is simply the story of two people that didn't make it.
There is more than a healthy dose of metaphor within the record, but I didn't want to go overboard at the expense of being clever or confusing for it's own sake. I wanted the words to be understood. I needed them to be clear. And I wanted people to actually experience something with these songs. I don't want them to be only listened to and enjoyed, I want them to be digested and felt. It's a lot to ask anymore, I suppose, but it's what I hope for.
The sparrow in the story is my former wife. And I am meant to represent the crow. There are a few reasons why the imagery of these two birds was important to me, but most of all it's the symbolism of the birds: the sparrow as freedom, true love, and a departure and eventual return to home; the crow as an omen of something terrible ahead, evil, and death. The song of the sparrow ("I Don't Feel It Anymore") is essentially the plight of the story's innocent victim. It is a cry of desperation and relief. The song of the crow ("Please Forgive Me") is the pleading of the wrong-doer. It is a cry for mercy. And there is an undeniable heaviness to these words, and these songs. But it is, and will remain my hope, that they will serve to bring help to those that may need it.
CD Available Digitally 9/30; U.S. Tour Planned
Raised by two blind parents, William Fitzsimmons learned early on that the standard means of communication were options, not requirements. Visual cues were ineffective… and so young William's most intimate and resonant relationships were forged instead by sound.
His first studio CD The Sparrow And The Crow, available 9/30, represents a similarly unconventional means of communicating with a loved one. This album is, at its core, the true story of two people that didn't make it. Conceived more as a written confessional to a partner in a broken marriage than as a straight-ahead collection of songs, “it plays and reads like a story that just happens to be set to notes, as opposed to only words." Having said that, the lyrics are haunting, and the melodies thoroughly wrenching, giving the collection an emotional heaviness that is offset by the simple beauty of the songs themselves.
William candidly expresses the process of making The Sparrow And The Crow as follows: “I wrote it first and foremost as a confession and apology to my former wife. It was a way to say things that I needed her to hear that I didn't know how else to say. Second, as a way to exercise the pain from what I'd easily call the worst year of my life. And third, as a way to let others in pain have a way to express and deal with their trouble, and perhaps find some hope at the end of it. It's not a divorce record, or even a “break up" record in the traditional sense, although certainly it contains elements of both. Instead, it's a record about messing up everything, and trying to find a way back home."
William grew up listening to his father's orchestral records and to his mother’s collection of James Taylor, Joni Mitchell, Bob Dylan, and Simon & Garfunkel. The influences of these seminal artists are felt throughout 'The Sparrow And The Crow'. Listen to the stand-out track “If You Would Come Back Home", along with more streaming audio samples, here: http://www.brickwallmgmt.com/williamfitzsimmons/
Raised in Pittsburgh and now based in Illinois, Fitzsimmons has followed the unlikeliest of trajectories to reach his current status as improbable-indie-recording-artist…His initial home-studio albums were made while he was simultaneously finishing up a graduate program as a mental health professional, and it was only upon securing his Masters degree and becoming a practicing therapist that William returned to his burgeoning music career. So, while the goal of combining these two worlds as a 'singing therapist' lurks somewhere in the distance, William focuses on his music, and the catharsis it provides.
Often mentioned in the context of contemporary artists including Sufjan Stevens, Iron & Wine, and his long-time friend, Ingrid Michaelson (who appeared on his last CD, the self- produced ‘Goodnight’,) Fitzsimmons’ has found an audience that is at once hard-core indie and big-time Hollywood: 'Indie' in that William has been warmly embraced by the Blogosphere, and welcomed into the popular ‘Hotel Caf’ community of artists (including a tour with them earlier this year.) As for 'Big-time', Fitzsimmons has also found his songs in demand in Hollywood, with tracks appearing on Grey’s Anatomy, Army Wives and more…All of this seems to have happened despite the conventional wisdom regarding what it takes to get noticed. With no label, no manager, no booking agent, no publisher and no PR, William emerged as a quiet success story. Perhaps it's because of the great music?
Fitzsimmons was recently ranked among MySpace's 'TOP 100 UNSIGNED ARTISTS', and such important national outlets as BILLBOARD, PASTE and PERFORMING SONGWRITER Magazines have taken note of his career. He is currently featured as part of the American Airlines/Paste Magazine audio stream, with songs appearing on all AA flights in September and October. Click here to see a video of William performing ‘I Don’t Feel It Anymore’ as part of Paste’s video stream for The Sparrow And The Crow
William Fitzsimmons wrote all the songs on his new album. He is backed by singers Priscilla Ahn and Caitlin Crosby, as well as by musicians Eric Robinson, Aaron Sterling, Sean Hurley and Jon Flaugher. The CD was produced by Marshall Altman. Digital availability begins 9/30 via iTunes and other outlets.
Billboard - By Katie Hasty, 2/7/08 At a recent solo show at New York's Rockwood Music Hall, William Fitzsimmons made a tongue-in-cheek jab at friend, former tourmate and recent Billboard cover subject Ingrid Michaelson. “I hear she's selling a lot of sweaters," he said with a smile, making reference to her recent Old Navy commercial spot. But the heavily bearded songwriter has plenty of licensing accolades of his own, with placements of songs in Lifetime's “Army Wives," MTV's “Life of Ryan" and even at a pivotal point in an episode of ABC's “Grey's Anatomy" last year. His track “It's Not True" was also included in a Paste magazine sampler. Fitzsimmons is preparing new songs from his “cornfield town" of Jacksonville, Ill.; if his sophomore effort, 2006's “Goodnight," is any indication, listeners can expect a mix of minimal electronic and folk arrangements over whispered vocals and acoustic guitar-/banjo-driven melodies. The artist is also revving up for his stint on the Hotel Caf tour this spring, with former tourmates Michaelson and Cary Brothers, plus Now Hear This alum Jim Bianco and Meiko.
The Sparrow And The Crow - ALBUM NOTES BY WILLIAM FITZSIMMONS:
“The Sparrow And The Crow" is in many ways to me more of a letter to a lost lover, the partner in a broken marriage, than it is a collection of songs. It plays and reads like a story that just happens to be set to notes rather than only words. Because of some personal difficulties I was encountering at the time, in 2005 I set out to write and record songs solely about my parents' divorce and the difficulties my brother and I went through in the years following. Over the course of time proceeding and during the making of that album (which became the “Goodnight" record), my own marriage began to slowly fall apart, leading to a separation and eventual divorce from my wife of nearly 9 years. “Sparrow" is simply the story of two people that didn't make it.
There is more than a healthy dose of metaphor within the record, but I didn't want to go overboard at the expense of being clever or confusing for it's own sake. I wanted the words to be understood. I needed them to be clear. And I wanted people to actually experience something with these songs. I don't want them to be only listened to and enjoyed, I want them to be digested and felt. It's a lot to ask anymore, I suppose, but it's what I hope for.
The sparrow in the story is my former wife. And I am meant to represent the crow. There are a few reasons why the imagery of these two birds was important to me, but most of all it's the symbolism of the birds: the sparrow as freedom, true love, and a departure and eventual return to home; the crow as an omen of something terrible ahead, evil, and death. The song of the sparrow ("I Don't Feel It Anymore") is essentially the plight of the story's innocent victim. It is a cry of desperation and relief. The song of the crow ("Please Forgive Me") is the pleading of the wrong-doer. It is a cry for mercy. And there is an undeniable heaviness to these words, and these songs. But it is, and will remain my hope, that they will serve to bring help to those that may need it.
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