Tokens For The Sky
Tokens For The Sky began as a solo project titled as my name "Norman," around the end of 2010. My passion project Between Crows & Thieves was about to be put on hold as I was looking to move away for a job and at the time I thought I would step into the studio and throw down some quick ideas that I felt like I would just revisit in a few months after moving and getting settled in.
A few months turned into a year or so due to the roller coaster known as life. Over the years that would follow, I would move again, venture into college, get my kids through high school and visit the studio every so often until 2019. It was in early 2019 when I realized I had recorded an album over the last 9 to 10 years, and with everything else in my life kind of finished up, I thought it was time to release the solo project and return to music.
So with any release you have to have a plan, work up the social media, build a website, order cds, vinyls, upload to digital services etc. This can take months before a release and even more after release. At launch in the middle to end of 2019 things seemed good to go, but shortly after issues of finding my music came along as "Norman, Norman's Band, Norman The Band," etc.. were acts already out there with music to sell. My old fans and family were buying others instead of mine. Hey, not saying the other guys don't rock, but explaining to your mother that's not you is weird and sad. Then came 2020, the pandemic's unfolding. A few months into 2020 I made the decision to hault the project and pull it from most services as the world was an unsure thing.
Now years later, making video games, board games, and working on bringing back Between Crows & Thieves, I have rebranded my solo project "Tokens For The Sky" and added a fresh coat of artwork and personality. This is the music project that my video game soundtrack's developed from and I've written new music for a follow up album to be recorded hopefully this year(2025).
Tokens For The Sky is a mix of poetry, rock, art and more wrapped in my illustrative art styles. I'm hoping to bring that experience to the stage in the near future. I'm working on releasing to Digital, CD, and most of all the dream for me... Vinyl. So, if you're an old fan and have been wondering where I've been or a new face looking to explore what I have to offer, then welcome, thank you for listening and I hope you enjoy the new old me Tokens For The Sky. Follow the link above to support Tokens For The Sky and my other music projects.
Between Crows & Thieves
Created after Black Suit Karma's tour ended in late 2009, Tommy Johnson and myself wanted to explore the rock roots we had outside our metal foundation for Black Suit Karma. We began working on acoustic tracks that grew to a mix of blues, rock, and southern storytelling. Inviting our former drummer of Black Suit Karma Jeremy Parker, the up and coming Rae Painter for added percusion, Anita Dickey for a little backing vocals, Robert Dickey from Das Gift for Bass and Adrian James of Das Gift for Violin, our project took on an unique blend of talent. With the songs Tommy and I had wrote, the collective began working on putting together tracks so that we could bring these ideas to a stage at the end of 2009.
In November of 2009 Tommy, Rae, Robert and myself stepped into Blue Chair Recording Studio and recorded our first song Dead B4 Sunrise, an accoustic moody track that invoked reflections of a man's life slipping through his hands, the song was powerful and hearing it recorded for the first time was disarming. Later demoed at a christmas party, the song was a hit and what would follow would be a project trying to grow wings and fly. After 7 tracks recorded and a dozen shows into 2010, the band had a solid following, unity among the local scene and had helped in raising money for a charity and bringing other bands together. However, my fate led me to having to end the project and move away.
Through the years Tommy and I stayed in contact, toying with music as musicians do. So with working on music for fun via email over all these years, old crows die hard, I presented the idea for us to give life back to this project started so long ago, to bring back and record new music for a new album or two and release our music from so many years ago digitally, cd, and yes shoot for vinyl as well.
So, Crows and Thieves fans old and new, we are re-releasing the 7 tracks from 2010, the live recording from Vino's in 2010 and are currently working on new albums for you. Please follow the link above to support Between Crows & Thieves and my other music projects.