Record: Non-Secure Connection (album) .. 2020
Features: Bruce Hornsby (piano, Chamberlin, vocals, 12-string-guitar); Gibb Droll (guitar); J.T. Thomas (organ, Novation keyboard); Gibb Droll (guitar); John Mailander (violin); J.V. Collier (bass); Chad Wright (drums); Sonny Emory (drums); Hideaki Aomori (clarinet); Wayne Pooley (12-string-guitar); University of Miami Frost School Orchestra, Bruce Coughlin (orchestration).
From Bruce Hornsby on Apple Music:
“It comes from real life. My son Keith is a very strong basketball player. He’s a pro now, entering his fifth pro year. He was the starting two guard at LSU in college, so he went through the Darwinian world of summer AAU basketball. And it truly is that—survival of the fittest to the max. I wrote the song about the AAU scene, coming from a very specific time when one of his teammates yelled over to him, ‘Keith, shit’s crazy out here!’ after he had just been yanked for making a turnover. Certain players have a short leash in that world, and that makes it very stressful for them. But I also try not to make my songs so literal that they can’t be thought of as having other meanings, so to me this song is also a bit of a metaphor for our crazy world now, and the dysphoria and anxiety with which we live. Musically, it’s great fun for me. I’m always trying to execute unlikely musical marriages and meanings. I describe ‘Shit’s Crazy Out Here’ as Arnold Schoenberg and Elliott Carter meet The Beatles at the Boo Williams Sportsplex, which is a famous basketball venue in our area.”