A Few Choice Words: Give 'Em Hope |
Give 'Em HopeI just saw the movie "Milk," which struck my heart and mind in the satisfying way that a great blues song does. Like a good blues, the story takes place at the crossroads of suffering an...
Posted by on Wed, 21 Jan 2009 11:29:00 GMT |
A Few Choice Words: Weird Is Good |
Okay, it's time to think outside the box. We're all in for challenging times ahead, and that's when creativity really makes a difference. Trying new approaches and considering the unimaginable ofte...
Posted by on Sat, 22 Nov 2008 04:42:00 GMT |
A Few Choice Words: 50 First Dates and the Election |
I have a weakness for Adam Sandler movies. One of my favorites is "50 First Dates," in which Drew Barrymore's amnesiac is courted by Sandler's patient and doggedly creative suitor. It's hilarious ...
Posted by on Wed, 01 Oct 2008 04:38:00 GMT |
Music For the Dog Days |
Music for the Dog DaysIt's been a while since you've gotten my newsletter, and I apologize for being out of touch. Everything's fine--I've been doing lots of gigs, selling the new CD and even relaxin...
Posted by on Wed, 20 Aug 2008 05:07:00 GMT |
Firsts Come First |
Good Learning: Firsts Come FirstI've just released my newest CD (more on that below) and as I think about the process I went through, I realized that I learned something about "firsts" and about the ...
Posted by on Mon, 05 May 2008 22:47:00 GMT |
The Ever-Present Present and the Seventh Generation |
I've been reading the classics, and it's given me a new awareness of history,and the difference between short-term and long-term thinking. Thucydides, in "The Peloponnesian War," says "I have written...
Posted by on Wed, 09 Jan 2008 23:52:00 GMT |
Friendship--A Creative Force |
I've been thinking a lot about friendship, and what it has to do with folk music.For musicians, friendship is a huge creative and productive force in our lives.And not just for musicians. I just fini...
Posted by on Wed, 07 Feb 2007 22:21:00 GMT |
Life Lessons Learned from Jazz |
I'm a folk musician playing on the "folk circuit," but I've loved jazz ever since I was a kid. I love jazz because it's a great metaphor for how to live life: There's a little planning, and all the r...
Posted by on Sun, 26 Nov 2006 23:36:00 GMT |
Connected Through History |
In recent years I've dug deeply into American "roots" music--Mississippi Delta and Piedmont blues, mountain music, roots gospel. I'm also increasingly drawn to contemporary music that has a history,...
Posted by on Sun, 26 Nov 2006 22:10:00 GMT |
Music that Gets Us Through Hard Times |
Watching the aftermath of hurricane Katrina on TV, I'm reminded of something the singer-songwriter John Gorka said after Sept. 11 (and I paraphrase): that music can't take away people's suffering, bu...
Posted by on Mon, 18 Sep 2006 22:45:00 GMT |
