Guest Room Sessions: JD Eicher, ‘Aaron’

Rock Ridge Music artist JD Eicher contributes June's installment of the Guest Room Sessions, bringing Jon Wiley of Melodime in on the mandolin for Eicher's song "Aaron."

Eicher and Wiley filmed their Guest Room Sessions video in St. George, Fla., while sitting in white Adirondack chairs. If those two aspects immediately bring to mind thoughts of the beach and the ocean, there's a reason for that: Eicher, who calls "Aaron" one of his "folkier tunes," explains of the concept behind the song, "At its core, it's a song about restlessness, and for me, being near the ocean can, at least temporarily, cure that issue."

Eicher admits that he's always wanted to play "Aaron" with a mandolin, and it just so happened that he and Wiley were at the same festival, making for perfect timing for the performance.

Eicher recently released The Middle Distance, his first album since giving up the moniker JD Eicher & the Goodnights. Eicher explains that while the band has stayed the same, his new music took a deeper, very personal direction; therefore, he felt a deep need to simplify -- hence the name change.

“The music that I’m writing and releasing is really mirroring who I am and where I am at that time in my life. It’s easy to perform songs when they’re very true," Eicher adds. "I’m really glad that my career has taken the longer, ‘scenic’ route, because the music I’m writing now has a certain truth to it that I’m not sure I would have found otherwise.”

"Aaron" comes from Eicher's 2013 album Into Place. Fans can purchase The Middle Distance on iTunes and Amazon, and there's more information on past albums available on Eicher's official website.