Composition

Writing has been a big part of Luke's life for a long time. He wrote his first song when he was thirteen years old. Since then, they have become more and more complex, and more in-depth, and he has played them for many audiences including: UpNorthTV, the Mt. Mancelona Beer and Music Festival, the Plainwell Days Music Festival, for Big City Rhythm and Blues Magazine, for the Glen Arbor Film Festival, for many breweries and wineries and for a wedding and several private parties. Here's the story behind them.

​Solos and Stories

​Solos and Stories was the most unique recording that Luke has done so far. Part of it was recorded at Thoreson Farm in Port Oneida Michigan, part of it was recorded in a practice room at Hillsdale College, and part of it was recorded at Luke's home studio in Plainwell. In the album, Luke tries to explore many different genres of music: bluegrass, rock, acoustic folk, alternative. Along songs that have lyrics, there are also 6 instrumental tracks, five with guitar, and one with the native american flute. "The Illuminati Song," the last song on the album was one that was never meant to exist. It was written on the fly during a jam session with Luke, Carter Zemora, and Seth Woltanski. The three wrote the song in five minutes (strangely while the lights in the house began to flicker), and recorded the song in ten (after they had stopped recording, and shut down the recorder, the lights ceased to flicker). While recording "The Friendly Spirit" at Thoreson Farm, Luke was interrupted by a woman who wandered into the house. She then told him about the ghosts who lived there, and then left. As Luke was playing the final version of the song, a rocking chair across from him began to rock, and he felt very cold, and not alone. It was kinda spooky! One song that makes mention of ghosts, "The Corner of Main Street," was recorded in a practice room at HIllsdale College during final exams. Luke, and Blake Estep both ran to the room in-between two exams, and took five takes of the song. The last take is the one that went onto the album, and immediately afterward, they ran to their exams, and made it! Along with Luke, Paul Keenan plays violin, Michael Whitman plays saxophone, Carter Zemora plays drums, and Blake Estep plays banjo. The songs they recorded were recorded mostly in a practice room in the music building at Hillsdale College. "Perry's Lake," and "North Winds" were partially recorded at Thoreson as well. Luke took care of the mixing and mastering on this album - on top of writing - and finished it, with Blake, Paul, Michael, and Carter, in just under eight months.
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A Sketch of a Man

This album was recorded shortly after the release of Solos and Stories. This is also Luke's first record that was mastered by another studio, called Holy Wah! out of Maple City. It has a similar tone to Solos and Stories, being heavily guitar solo or instruental based with four songs that have lyrics. They are Perry's Lake, Life on the Double Planet, The Art of Doing Nothing, and Train's Leavin'. The overall album serves a central theme, to be a sketch of a person's psyche. Each song examines a different emotion that Luke as a person feels, and tries to flesh it out. The Art of Doing nothing, for example, was written by Luke and his college roommate Dalton Sala just after midterms. 

This record also makes a shift to more improvisation based songs and songwriting. The hard instrumentals are written to be as is, but songs with lyrics can be played with to be either three minutes long, or seven minutes long. The last song on the album, called "Wanderings" was a improvised duet between Luke and pianist Morgan Arrowwood. None of the melody had been written before Luke and Morgan sat down to record, so it's a truly unique track. Luke was joined by Morgan Arrowood, Dalton Sala, Matt Nolan, Domine Clemons and John Ortman on this record.
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The Dangerous Music Man

​This is the most involved record Luke has published to date. The Dangerous Music Man was written, arranged and recorded over the course of almost two years, in four different studios around Michigan. The final master was done by Patrick Niemisto at Holy Wah! Studios in Maple City. This was a big band and jam band record that featured the talents of Michael Whitman, Dean Sinclair, Dalton Sala, Kylar Kuzio, Caleb Longacre, Dan Palmer, Carson Waites, Johnny Cole Murdock and Patrick Niemisto. Each instrument was recorded separately to accommodate the artists living in so many different places. Drums were recorded in Chicago with Dean Sinclair. Guitar, vocals, bass, piano, electric piano and organ were recorded at a practice room in Hillsdale College. Mandolin was recorded in Maple City by Patrick Niemisto. The horn sections by Michael Whitman, and the lead guitar from Dan Palmer and Dalton Sala were recorded in an auditorium at the Sage Center for the Arts. 
Overall, the album took a whole six months to mix properly, and another three months to master. The final product is something from a folk/rock/blues/jazz daydream, and it has been Luke's best selling record so far.
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Upcoming Projects

Luke is currently working on four new projects, two of which are full records, and two singles. Make sure to keep up to date on this website for further news of those projects!

Recording and Producing

Luke records not just his own music, but also music for other artists using his Boss BR 1600. The Boss is a 16 track mixer board that he has been using for four years now. Instead of using effects to get the sound he wants, Luke prefers to use the location's unique characteristics to influence the sound. His favorite places to record are in old farm-houses. Being able to hear feedback while recording is also critical, and this is also done by Luke. From the display on the mixer, he can tell when certain places of a song may need more or less volume, and can give creative advice. If you are interested in having Luke record you, please email him, and send him a sample of your work. Don't worry, it doesn't have to be perfect! "Music itself finds it's perfection in the fact that it is imperfect: it will never be complete."