Smoke Leaves Town

Smoke Leaves Town turned out to be a fitting title for the final Joe Stickley's Blue Print album, though none of us knew it at the time. Many of the songs were written on the road, and looking back, they feel like the closing chapter of one band while quietly introducing the next.

It all began with "Davy," my tribute to my uncle, who died tragically on a river road in Kentucky near the Ohio River. One of my favorite musical memories came years later, standing on the banks of the Mississippi during Fair Saint Louis, singing that song as the breeze rolled off the river and a tall stack drifted past behind us. Right on cue, the call came across the water: "Howdy, boys!" It's one of those moments that reminds me why songs matter.

What surprises me most is how much of this record is still alive. Songs like "Cooks Pine Mountain," "Pink Camero," and "Sittin' by the Fire" found a second home on the stage at McGurk's and eventually became part of the Falling Fences songbook. They were the songs Sean and I carried with us into the next chapter. Looking back, Smoke Leaves Town wasn't really the end of Blue Print. It was the beginning of the songs we still play today.