Robert Francis » Leslie Stevens

Drove up a super windy road in the hills of LA, pine trees everywhere in the neighborhood...whenever you're in the mountains of LA you always forget for a minute that you are actually in LA. The room where we shot this episode was very cool, huge rows upon rows of records and liner notes, instruments everywhere, guitars mixed with vintage furniture made it seem like quite a fun place to hang and hear some music. The pup was running around most of the time but never seemed to be too far from Robert at any point and settled in for the song...feel like they know when something soulful and good is coming, pick up on the cues. I really loved the pacing of the song and the simple use of the kick and hi-hat, a nod to the way Leslie performs it. Robert's voice really brought you into the vibe as a quiet, understated but knowing conversation with one loved, and a call and response with his guitar filling in the spaces between the words in a way that seemed to echo their message. Amazing song choices are something we never end being wonderfully astounded by with artists in the project. Maybe it's because we're always listening with new ears in this context, and of course everyone's take away their own connections and thoughts but mine were hearing about the power of being with another, in person or in spirit, a 'we' instead of a 'me' and the transformational beauty that can bring even in the deepest darkest of holes, and reminded me beautifully of something we've said enough times in this project that it's almost become a mantra, that we're all in this together. — Ryan