During this period, I had this fascination with the band Dokken and their ability to write mainstream songs with a heavy edge. They had all of the ingredients to be of multi platinum success but I was always shocked at the fact that they never achieved breaking through as a major touring act. Tom and I can relate on a different level. I use these opening lines as a segue to the explanation of writing and recording Jackie as well as some other tunes on this CD. The best way I can describe this is that Todd & I had the ingredients but just couldn't bake it right. I knew what I wanted to hear but I couldn't package it right. Years later, with the knowledge I have gained through wisdom and experience, I believe I could do it in a different way and make it come off beautifully. The problem is, this genre is now a fossil. Woulda, shoulda, coulda! Jackie came to me in a dream believe it or not. It is about this girl who for whatever reason, slips into a coma. After 20 years go by, she one day miraculously wakes. Her boyfriend of her young adult life is now married to her sister and she is devastated. She has just waken up from this sleep through no fault of her own and to her, it is as if she fell asleep one day and woke up the next but everything that she knew and valued has changed dramatically. She has to start over. I remember waking up from this dream and thinking, "How sad. There must be people who actually experience this. My heart goes out to them." It was around 2 a.m. and I tossed and turned after this because it bothered me. Having this dream alone seemed kind of twisted to me. But knowing this could actually happen is what kept me awake. So I did the best thing any musician would do in my position. I got up, got a drink and sat down with pen and paper. I actually started with what would become the chorus because I had it in my head what I was thinking when I had waken. The verses just came easy because I had just dreamed it and remembered every detail. The most bizarre thing is that I phoned Todd and told him of my experience and when I went over to his house, he had recorded this song start to finish that the lyrics that I had written hours earlier, fit perfectly. There was one part which Todd inadvertently afforded me the opportunity to add a positive spin in a m8 section to where this person could start fresh and be happy in the story, which hadn't been a part of my dream. I dont recall where the name Jackie came from. Probably thin air. The music eerily matched the storyline. Fate?