I’m Not There

About I’m Not There…

As 2024 came to an end, guitarist Mike Lorenz pledged to himself that 2025 would be a year to move forward and strike out again as a bandleader. It has been six years since he last released an album under his own name, taking a break to explore the folk-adjacent sounds of his band the Witherbees. The pandemic slowed down the momentum he had been gaining over the years as a bandleader and artist. 2023 offered jarring life changes. 2024 felt like a year of waiting. 2025 was determined to be different.

Lorenz had amassed a large book of music since the slower times of the pandemic. In that time and with life slowing down, he gained a greater connection to the guitar than he had felt in years. He gravitated away from the gadgets and noisemakers that colored his sound on records like speak between and Mike Lorenz & the Witherbees and found himself playing more and more acoustic guitar. The music he was writing began to peel away the devices often heard in modern jazz and employ forms, melodies, and harmonies from a wider lens of his tastes and interests. He kept going, building a list of 40 potential tunes for what would become his newest record, I’m Not There.

Eventually, the large book of music was whittled down to 14 songs, the earliest of which came in 2020 and the newest from 2024. The pieces that comprise I’m Not There tell a loose story of a relationship gone awry and a life in flux. Looking at the set through a wider aperture, the music tells the story of Lorenz trying to come to terms with deeply personal changes in his life: the loss of relationships, the massive shakeup of his career, and a sense of abandonment he felt from people and places he had given a large part of himself to. As a listener, these themes might feel as if we are looking at someone else’s story from the outside. Yet the music, with its accessibility, directness, and intention, draws us into something universal.

Lorenz highlights one particular tune as setting the tone for the whole record. “Renovated Heart” is one of the oldest pieces on the record. “I think that song is at the core of what I’m trying to demonstrate and showcase with this record. The song came to me in about 10 minutes one day, and it was unlike anything I had previously written. It was direct and immediate. It felt like a song more than something to jam on. Even though it took some time to put everything together, that one was the spark for everything that followed.”

As time passed and more pieces started to take shape, Lorenz noticed a style emerging from the music that felt connected to the life he was living. Artists like Jeff Tweedy, Elliott Smith, and Sam Amidon were in heavy rotation in Lorenz’s listening alongside his favorite jazz recordings. “Something was taking shape that had the spirit of a songwriter or storyteller yet played by improvising musicians,” Lorenz says.

I’m Not There exudes these personalities and styles throughout its ten tracks. “Where Do You Go?” and “I Don’t Have Time to Love You” are pieces that express two sides of Lorenz’s personality, as if a troubadour sat in with the Paul Motian trio. “Never Seen” and “Aimless” see Lorenz and the trio facing off with shifting spirited dynamics and harmonies. “Both of those pieces come from a greater sense of what we feel when we find ourselves in an environment that is not supportive or even one that tries to diminish our contributions and our sense of belonging.” 

The acoustic guitar features heavily on this record. “I loved experimenting with how the acoustic guitar could shape the story of the song and the performance of the trio, opening up a different viewpoint or form of expression for any given song,” Lorenz states. Songs like “Beta” and “We Used to Talk All the Time” have a different energy because of the acoustic guitar. The latter feels like a meditation on a mood or feeling, while the former brings to mind the ecstatic sound of the Keith Jarrett European Quartet harnessed by a bluegrass group. 

This work is made possible through the deep connection and time that the trio shares. Bassist Sandy Eldred and drummer Matt Scarano have been performing and recording with Mike for close to two decades. Lorenz reflects on the trio: “We have a connection that runs pretty deep. We know where to go with each other and when we need saving. I don’t think I could’ve made such a vulnerable recording without a rock-solid foundation as we have together.” The sound of three seasoned players in lockstep, listening and breathing together, is heard throughout I’m Not There.

I’m Not There is available for pre-order now on vinyl, CD, and digital download through Each & Only and Mike Lorenz’s Bandcamp & Website.

The tracklisting for I’m Not There is as follows:

1. Where Do You Go? (Lorenz)

2. We Used to Talk All the Time (Lorenz)

3. Never Seen (Lorenz)

4. One Can Hope (Lorenz)

5. I Don’t Have Time to Love You (Lorenz)

6. Close the Book (Lorenz)

7. Aimless (Lorenz)

8. Not the Same (Lorenz)

9. Renovated Heart (Lorenz)

10. Beta (Lorenz)

Mike Lorenz, acoustic & electric guitar

Sandy Eldred, bass

Matt Scarano, drums

Recorded by John Anthony at Gradwell House Recording, February 2025

Mixed and edited by John Anthony

Mastered by G&J Audio

Cover artwork by Gabriel Magliaro

Art direction & layout by Jon Billet