Rock Hearts and friends, Jonathan Edwards and Tom Snow, were interested in collaborating on a project. After a night of jamming together a few years back, the session was nothing short of magical and they all agreed that working together on something would be great.

For many years lead man, Alex MacLeod, was hoping the band would record a holiday song but it always escaped them. Alex and bassist, Rick Brodsky, were actively searching for a holiday song that would carry a message of love and caring. When Alex heard Pretty Paper, he was convinced that was the song. He quickly learned it enough to send the band a scratch version and shortly thereafter they agreed to learn it and started planning.

Jonathan Edwards agreed to produce the song and arranged for Rock Hearts to record with the team at Acadia Recording Company in Portland, ME, while the band was up north doing a show. Thankfully, the very gifted and generous Tom Snow agreed to lend some dazzling piano chops to the song.

The guys in Rock Hearts love that blend of bluegrass instrumentation with piano, ala Gary Smith and Dennis Burnside on some of Ricky Skaggs’ albums.

In mid-October, while performing in Dover-Foxcroft, ME, the band stayed with Jonathan and Sandy Edwards and worked up the arrangement of the song.

Alex had envisioned most of the arrangements of the song, desiring to “paint the picture” of the lyrics with both the instrumentation and the harmony vocals. The song begins with Austin Scelzo’s touching fiddle opening, followed by three-part vocals on the chorus, with guitarist and vocals, Alex MacLeod singing lead, mandolinist Billy Thibodeau singing tenor and banjo player, Joe Deetz rendering the high baritone. The complimentary instrumental fills help to accentuate the vocals, bringing to life the real story of the main character. Tom Snow's piano playing fits perfectly with the sparsity of the mandolin and banjo, while Austin Scelzo pulls it all together with a beautiful triple fiddle break. As always, Rick Brodsky delivers a steady change up between his solid rhythm and walking bass lines,

The vocals soar on the final chorus as the song finishes with a simple fading instrumental sample of the holiday classic, Jingle Bells, illuminating the image of fleeting as the feet of the busy shoppers passing by the lonely salesman peddling his holiday paper and pencils.

Pretty Paper, according to some sources, tells the story of a disabled salesman from Fort Worth, TX, who lost the use of his legs to childhood meningitis. Will Nelson was inspired to write the song, upon seeing the man, Frankie Breirton, on the streets of downtown Ft. Worth, using a wooden cart to navigate around town during the holidays to sell his wares. The lyrics were intended to bring attention to those who are often overlooked during the holiday season.

Rock Hearts is extremely proud of this latest song and can’t wait for everyone to hear it. We pray it causes us all to pause, to be thankful for what we have, and to be mindful of those who may need a helping hand.

Alex’s first Sunday School teacher was his very own grandmother, Marie, who lived in Franklin, NH. His grampa, Ed, built the Central Baptist Church in town when Alex was a baby and every summer, during his primary years, Alex also attended Vacation Bible School there. Alex recalls his grandmother always telling him, “Zan (the name that Alex went by as a kid), you may be the only Bible some people may ever read.” Alex didn’t quite know what that meant. But as he grew older, he observed the consistent Biblical character and integrity that his grandparents constantly displayed. They worshiped, they prayed, they read the Bible, they supported the church and invested in their community, they believed in accountability and honesty, discipline, and helping people whenever possible. They lived within their means, responsibly and humbly. They didn’t have much, but would gladly give what they had to others, trusting that God would provide their fair share the next day. Alex deduced, many years later, that living a life according to Biblical scripture and in a way that would glorify God, was exactly what his Gramma meant. Wanting to pay tribute to his Grandparents, as well as his parents and in-laws, who all exhibited similar characteristics, he penned this song, Let Me Be the Best Bible. While he acknowledges that he’s a sinner by nature, it’s the willingness to try and be better that makes this song real and his Gramma’s message to him real. Influenced by the harmony sounds of Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver and the brand stylings of Larry Sparks, Rock Hearts effectively renders elements from both of these acts in this song.

Billy Thibodeau became friendly with Mark “Brink” Brinkman through his involvement with IBMA Leadership. Everyone in the band was familiar with Brink’s extraordinary catalog of songs. He’s a six-time IBMA Songwriter of the Year nominee. Through conversation, Brink learned that RH was recording and offered a couple song ideas. The tragedy that unfolds in Unfinished Bridges is a familiar theme to country and bluegrass music.. Love that has fizzled, leaving its stakeholders in the uncharted territory of coming to grips with the fact that the iron bridge that connects the two may not be built to last. Brink and Gnezda’s original delivery was an elemental version, leaving a lot of room for artistic interpretation and license. Rock Hearts was challenged with delivering the song as it was written, but at the same time, rendering it true to the Rock Hearts “style.” The story tells itself nicely with plenty of metaphors and imagery, but the band felt it could use some “pep.”
When the listener hears the first three fiddle strokes, they’re led to believe it’s going to be a mid-tempo song. But then the band rips into a double-time, while the lyrics are still rendered at a slower pace. The arrangement works beautifully, complimenting the imagery and story line. Rock Hearts were honored to have recorded a Mark “Brink” Brinkman & Eric Gnezda song and be included in the long and humbling list of successful bands who have covered their music. Feedback from Brink is, “We love the cut and hope it will be a big hit for y’all!!” That’s high praise from such a revered songwriter.