Being from the midwest, it’s easy to feel removed from the ocean and therefore to not be aware of what’s happening on distant waters. What makes journalism like this so important is that it supplies the reader with much needed information to important issues happening around them. More than that, it can reveal the underbelly of humanity that most are never aware of. As I read Ian’s book, I continuously had to stop and ask my wife or kids: “Did you know this was going on in the world?” I was constantly carried away to the world of The Outlaw Ocean — by the characters, the innocence lost and the many travesties happening at sea. 

Music is a great mediator between knowledge and heart. Music has a way of displaying truth, while also conveying emotion through musical stories that draws attention in very unique ways. As I think back through all the tales told in the book — all the hardships, anger, sorrow and fear — so much is shared in The Outlaw Ocean. I found the writings of Ian easy to envision in my mind, allowing me to ponder about those he wrote about and what they must have been experiencing emotionally. This helped me write music that conveyed much of what I felt as I read page after page, and ultimately attempted to tell the stories and hardships of those that suffer at sea through my music. 

Thad Fiscella