3/29/25
I have no idea if anyone reads this stuff, so I could be just talking to myself, and that is certainly ok, and if one other person happens to tune in, even better!
Anyone who does happen to be reading this , you are a kindred spririt and I appreciate and admire you, because you are taking the time to visit a little space that nobody knows about, to see stuff that isn't posted on social media!
Thank you for veering off the beaten path.
I've been in the studio today, recording steel drums(or steel pan) on a Kesney song,If you don't know what steel drums are, they are the Jamaican instruments made from what started out as metal barrels I guess, that you would immediately recognize if you heard one.
It took me a while to find my way around the thing, and so I feel accomplished having recorded 2 tracks with it.
And if you don't know what Kesney is, it's my country music alter ego. You can see videos here.
This one is a bit of an origin story.
In other news, I will be playing at Cafe Pamlico on April Fool's Day 6-9pm, and will be back there again for brunch on Sunday, April 6 from 10am-1pm.
If you are reading this, please check back soon because I am going to keep making stuff happen!
2/25/25
YMI MIA
Some may have noticed I was not playing at Cafe Pamlico last Tuesday, and I will also not be there this Tuesday (tonight).
The reason for this absence is that I was initially supposed to be in Puerto Rico from the 18th to the 26th, so I canceled those 2 gigs early enough for them to get replacements, and then quickly realized the trip was not going to happen, too late to get the gigs back.
I will return next Tuesday, and it will be March!
2/20/25
Trust the process...
I've been writing songs, and I have been trying to STAY in the mode of writing songs, by doing it every day, if even just for 5 or 10 minutes before I go to sleep.
This week I have been pretty good about it, I came up with the structure for a verse and a prechorus situation,
and the last few nights I've been putting in the time, although minimal, because I felt like the more effort I put into trying to figure out the chorus, the further away I was getting from it.
This morning I awoke from a dead sleep with a simple chorsd progression in my head. It even came with a catchy little repeating melody over top, one of those repaeting lines that stay the same as the chords change (ie the hoo hoos in Symathy for the Devil).
I didn't even know what the chords were so I nudged some dogs off me and grabbed the guitar beside the bed, and recorded a voice memo of the guitar part and singing that melody over it.
I thought it was a nice idea to be used for a future song, but when I picked up the guitar I realised it was a perf3ct chorus section for the song I had been struggling with. Total freebie!
As I'm writing this at 2 in the afternoon, I cannot remember what it even was. But it's on the voice memo, so tonight I will revisit it and I believe I can have a complete structure of the song, to which I will start writing lyrics.
I am sharing this because I feel like there are a few lessons in it that can help anyone
with many things, especially in the creative process.
1. Stay in the game; show up every day possible and put in the time. The time you put in will pay off.
2. Don't force it. Your subconscious
is working on it while you are not, sometimes you just have to be receptive to it.
3. If you wake up with a good idea, make an immediate record of it. The voice memo is your friend; don't just repeat it a few times and drift back to sleep thinking yu will remember it, because usually you will not!
Anyway, there'ds a new song in the works, and I have also been spending time in the studio every day recording, so hopefuly some fruit will be appearing soon...
1/1/25
I just finished the last gig of 2024 (obviously) and now 2024 is no more.
I do not have any gigs on the books for the next solid month, and I'm going to take full advantage of the time.
For the next month I don't have to pack & unpack anything. I haven't set up my drumset in many months because I've been waiting for this moment, where I can set it all up, microphones and everything and get to work in the studio in a streamlined fashion.
I've already been working in the studio regularly for the past month, mostly kaying down guitar parts. I'm still trying to put a minimum of 3 hours per day into music
whenever I can; I start every morning with a drumming exercise session on the practice pads, then an hour in the studio at some point in the day, as well as an hour doing the live solo thing. I have an audio/video setup for that too, so there should be some content coming out of that. And I am still getting set up and dialed in on the electronic music creation situation, and writing new songs.
This is a long winded way of saying Happy New Year, and I'm excited about the winter session!
12/19/24
I just noticed that my last post here was 11 months ago, so while following the pattern, I have a little bit of a jump on it, and that's because I am actually very excited for the next few months.
I play so many gigs in the summer, along with the day job of running a business, in addition to all the life stuff, some predictable and some not so much, and with trying to keep alive the prospect of having some fun/play time, there isn't much time left fpr many of the things I love to do.
The off season is an opportunityfor the more creative things that get neglected in the hectic time.
I have been writing songs and putting in at least 30 mins to an hour in the studio every day to get them recorded, and although it's still a bit of a slow process, I've learned that's how you get stuff done. You have to show up and put in the time consistently.
And another thing I am very excited about is learning how to make electronic music using MIDI instruments. Once I figure out how to work my way around this stuff, I am going to be able to bang out song ideas as well as complete songs with the quickness. It;s a different thing, and I will still keep recording with the actual instruments and microphones, but I am so stoked about being able to kick back on a sofa with a mini keyboard and a laptop and creating songs so quickly and easily.
So yeah, I have a few more gigs this week and then one more on New Year's Eve, and the gigging drops off almost completely for at least a month, so I am looking forward to making great strides with the songwriting and recording.
I also finally broke down and paid for an SSL certificate for this website, which is a scam in my opinion, but when you come here on your phone you won't get a message saying "WOAH, ARE YOU SURE YOU WANT TO GO THERE?" or the 'site not secure' messages. Again, a big scam in my opinion, but since I've paid for it, I'm going to try to do more with this website and add more excitement and interactivity.
If you are reading this, thank you and stay tuned, I'm going to try to post much more frequently and add more content.
1/17/23
The studio is dialed in and streamlined, and I have been making major strides over the last few weeks.
I finally got my workspace arranged in a way that allows me to flow much more easily between recording different instruments.
Also resolved some massive bugs in the system.... the Lavender Lounge is quite cozy and productive these days
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1/17/23
Happy new year!
This is my first blurb of the new year, and I have not played a single gig in 2023 which is such a strange feeling, I don't even know what day it is anymore!
I am taking advantage of the down time, and have been recording tracks in the studio and really getting the studio workflow dialed in to make it easy to pop in and record whatever instrument I need wihout having to change anything, and also getting settings dialed in for maxumum sound quality.
I've been in a creative mood, and I'm really trying to get an album put together by summer. I know I have said this before so I don't like to even say it, but I'm setting daily ti,mes to put in the work, and that really is the secret to getting things done.
I will start Tuedays at The Inn starting 1/31, and I am looking forward to it!
3/25/21
As we approach the end of March, things are about to really kick into gear.
I have added even more gigs to the calendar , and it still has some filling out do yet!
I have 2 Friday night gigs left at The Inn, and after Easter I will switch to Tuesdays. The restaurants are playing it by ear as to when music starts, but I imagine April will go from being relatively slow to a full sprint.
I am still making progress in the studio daily, and lots of exciting things are happening!
3/11/21
Dear Diary,
It's a beautiful day on Hatteras Island, and I am playing guitar on my front porch surrounded by 5 golden retrievers (one of them a new addition named Louie) and a cat, eagerly working out new material for the coming music season, and being very excited about all of it!
I am finding myself adding more Sublime songs now that I have a dog named Louie (the name came with him), as well as some
more challenging songs in the realm of multitasking multiple instruments and rhythms.
Since last we spoke, I have beefed up my calendar a bit, with more gigs in the works.
And I am still working daily in the studio recording new material. It's a little slow going at the moment, becauseI am working on multiple songs at once, which should eventually streamline the process.
I am currently recording bass lines for 4 songs, and am almost done with the fourth one.
After that, I will set up for another instrument, and will record parts for those four songs, then the next instrument, vocals etc, which means at a certain point I will basically have 4 songs done at nearly the same time.
And of course some of them will have music videos, including the new Kesney song which will be the most fun of all.
If you want to be in the video, stay tuned for details and get ready to partaaayyyyy yeeehaaawwww!!
I will be at the Inn/Cafe Pamlico tomorrow night, which is pretty much my only winter gig..things kick off for real in May!
3/1/21
March is on the march!
Something about the first of March just shifts gears in my mind and spirit in a major way, it isn't so much different than February 28th, but it sure sounds better!
I am looking forward to what will hopefully be a more 'normal' season, with a lot more fun and freedom thrown into the mix.
It's a little early yet, but I am putting out my feelers and lining up gigs.
I am still working in the studio daily on recording original music, and I will also be revamping this website for a more dynamic experience.
Stay tuned, and happy March to all!
1/5/21
Happy New Year!
We have entered into full-on Winter mode here on Hatteras Island, when most of the restaurants are closed for the season.
Therefore all of my weekly gigs are on hiatus. There may be a stray gig here or there, but things are going to be nearly silent on the live show front for quite some time.
Depending on what the governor says, I may start playing put again in Fe4bruary, but it's really impossible to speculate in these completely insane times.
I am, however, committed to using this time wisely, and making this quiet stetch as un-quiet as possible.
I will be working on the studio
recordings, as well as hopefully posting live perforances of some new material I am working on.
Stay tuned!
12/01/20
We are coming to the end of the season at Breakwater, just playing it by ear at this point, but I will be there this Thursday 6-9, as well as the Inn Friday night 6-9.
In other news, the new studio room, aka the Lavenger Lounge, is operational, and I am putting time in daily as I record 2 albums simultaneously.
11/25/20
Happy Thanksgiving!
I will not be at Breakwater this week but will be at The Inn on Pamlico Sound Friday night 6-9pm.
See you there!
