Freund Tom: Edge Of Venice

""I feel that (The Edge) is my most direct album to date,"" says Freund. ""Direct to the listeners in a sonic sense and transparent to what is going on in my life right now."" The songs cover such topics as endless touring (Lakeshore Drive) and cell phones, or lack thereof (Show Me The Love), relationships (Everything, Lonesome) and even his recent step into parenthood (Daddy"'s Song). The nod to Venice comes mostly in the breezy ""Wounded Surfer Boy"" - about whom Freund shares, ""I have seen more than a few in the neighborhood - and the girls that trail after them."" The subtle beauty of ""Sweetly Calling My Name"" evokes an even further westerly feel with references to Hawaii and a slack key tuning on his guitar with hauntingly beautiful vocal help from LA singer-songwriter friend Meiko. ""Firetrucks"" is what Freund called the ""centerpiece of the record"" - written on a moody rainy night in San Francisco when his buddy Brett Dennen gently advised him to ""stay in and write!"" Freund admits he hasn"'t a clue where the album opener ""Cruel Cruel World"" came from.Freund spent the mid-"'90s touring with the indie rock cult faves The Silos and has been releasing solo albums since 1998. The New York Times once noted on Tom, ""Every year the mounting landfill of new releases that threatens to bury the working music journalists yields a few unexpected gems, and Tom Freund is one of them.""