Project Description
(For listeners of: Sufjan Stevens, Iron and Wine, Christian Lee Hutson, Elliott Smith)
“How Summer Flies” is the new EP from indie music artist Painter Fingers, which was recorded in June and July of this year in the wake of several violent tragedies such as the elementary school shooting in Uvalde, TX, which ended the lives of 19 children and 2 teachers. The songs capture the mindset of a father and teacher wanting desperately to enjoy life, while simultaneously haunted by these tragedies and what they mean for the world in which his daughter will grow up.
Painter Fingers is the moniker of Travis Hagan, a school teacher and lifelong music maker from Texas. He was born in Dallas in 1983 and is currently based in Leander, where he records and mixes with any spare moment between teaching middle school history and raising his 3-year-old daughter.
“How Summer Flies” features guest musical appearances that were sourced from other talented home recording artists living abroad.
Polina Faustova from Ukraine plays cello on “I Only Laugh”;
Michele Fortunato, based in Italy, layers on the soulful trombones in “It Makes Her Happy”;
Léo Oliveira from São Paulo, Brazil plays drums on “It Makes Her Happy” and “How Summer Flies”;
Hanna Danets, also of Ukraine, plays flute on “Umbrella Song”, a track inspired by Travis’s daughter Lucy;
Rita Torrens from Turkey plays fiddle on the EP’s title track and closing original number.
The lyrics describe how holiday consumerism marks the passing of time in a country where so many lives have been drastically cut short by gun violence. “For the ones who didn’t make it out alive / My, my, how summer flies.”
“How Summer Flies” is now live on all major platforms as of September 16th, 2022.
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