From the album Don’t Be a Stranger, out October 2, 2012 on Merge Records. After a string of bad luck that included a heart attack that set him back several months and the implosion of his band American Music Club, Mark Eitzel fortuitously found himself in the studio with celebrated producer Sheldon Gomberg (Rickie Lee Jones, Ron Sexsmith, Ben Harper), thanks to the generosity of an old friend. The result is Eitzel’s finest solo album in over a decade. Inspired by his experience writing a musical, Mark’s songwriting is simpler on this record and lyrically reflects a more straight-ahead approach.