NOTES ALONG THE ROAD: A Musical Journey Across Eastern Iowa THE RECORDING: Dim the lights and give it a listen!   Our instrumental recording, Notes Along the Road, is now officially available from i-tunes for sampling, purchase and download.  Naturally, the BQ and I hope our friends who read Thronetogether will download a copy from i-tunes, and love it!  Of course, the if you'd leave behind a (gushing) review, we'd be even happier!  The recording contains 13 lovely, ambient songs, each a reflection on some place in Eastern Iowa.  Stylisticly, it's a nod to artists like Acoustic Alchemy, Enya and Bruce Hornsby, but the recording has it's own disctinct personality.  On both a musical and technical level, I'm pleased and hope you will be, too.  There are brief samples of each song at i-tunes.  As a style,  it's categorized as "New Age," but I'm more comfortable calling it "True Age" instead <g>. One of the pieces is called "Ellis Park, Frozen in Time," a musical painting of that stunning park iced over in the dead of winter, when the Cedar River is frozen and covered with fresh snow.  A personal favorite of mine is "Bluffs of Palisades Keplar;" a slowly meandering piano captures the river winding through those granite bluffs.  A 4th of July in Marengo is the inspiration for "Marengo Parade," complete with marching bands and the grand marshall in a convertible!  If you've visited the Palo Chain Lakes bridge, you'll recognize the cover art and the source of the song, "Beyond the Bridge at Chain Lakes." Early reaction has been good, and I'll soon post some of those words.  In addition to being a cottage industry for us - and hoping our friends will like it! - this recording is also a strategic opportunity to reach some new circles in the broader realm of artists and listeners.  I'm hoping we can sprinkle some salt, and if you have ideas on how we might best accomplish that, please let me know THE PERSON: Who is Lovisa Simmons?  The band is called "The Lovisa Simmons Project," and it's named for my great-great grandmother, who was born in Linn County, Iowa in 1838.  Margaret Lovisa Simmons was the daughter of Benjamin Simmons, who was among the earliest settlers to "Linn" and arrived with Abbe, Crow and other founding fathers of this area.  I learned this in the downtown library!  Lovisa grew up playing on the banks of the Cedar River, and moved to Oregon as a young woman; that's where she raised her family.  When we were called to Cedar Rapids, we had no idea our family roots could be traced to this very county; it sounded like a God-thing to us.  We did the only reasonable thing: we formed a band in her honor, and produced music about the place in which she was raised.  From what I've learned about her, I believe she'd approve.