Like Indiana Jones sinking into quicksand, civilization seems to be struggling to keep afloat. Along with the woes of the world, we have our own private problems to solve. Sometimes it's hard to keep from being overwhelmed.  

Sometimes just knowing…

Thanks to everyone who came out to see El Borko or The Miller Brothers or any other shows this past year. Your support means a lot. Special thanks to Celeste from Yeti Set Go, Rob Tobias, Lisa Rennie, Beau Eastlund…

Everything has to be new all the time. Does everything have to be new all the time? Why does everything have to be new all the time? Everything new happens all the time. So every time a thing is new…

Sometimes we do things just to see if we can. This week was an example of that where I played an El Borko show in Seattle on Thursday, a Miller Brothers show in Eugene on Friday and tonight it's up…

I have been so lucky to find such a great band. Jon Neher is a loyal friend and a great musician. He brings intensity and life to everything he does. James P. Daley illustrates the maxim, "still waters run deep"…

I spend a lot of time promoting my band on various calendars, websites, and other Public Relations-y sorta things. You have to write descriptions of the band... over and over. Go to any events or band website and marvel at…

It's no secret that our expectations can affect our outcomes. But it's so obvious that we often forget, and then undermine our own projects. I had some recent reminders of this. Here are two examples.  

I just returned from a…

When you compose music, you might write down chord changes or lyrics. Some people actually write out a score. I do a little of each, but no matter how often I play it, I wanna hear what the finished product…

There's no such thing as an "unknown" band. If you're a band, and you play out, then someone must know you. I've played gigs where it was us and the bartender and two drunk people who left after awhile. So…

I like the early Rolling Stones, they were rowdy and innovative, but the Mick Taylor period is my favorite. I was a teen, discovering music and girls, and guitar just as the Stones were maturing into a great band. Time…

Playing in a band is similar to playing on a sports team. Each member has a particular skill. You have a practice schedule. You have gigs/games. At the gig/game, things don't always go the way they did at practice. The…

When making setlists, I imagine each set as a one act play where each song is a character or an event. In this context, a song has a role and a personality. The opening song is vivacious and engaging. The…

I hated my middle name. So I made sure my kids had NO middle names. When they got old enough to notice these things thaey said; "Dad! why didn't you give us middle names?". You can't win. 

Back in the…

I watched a bunch of youtube videos about songwriting. They covered a variety of subjects like how to write a hook, how to write a song, things you should do, things you shouldn't do. I'm not a prolific writer, but…

No... I don't mean in this house... This picture exemplifies what I like about Eugene, Oregon. You should google that phrase and be amused. It's cool to live in a town where people do stuff like this... "Like what?"... you…

Once when I was a kid, my brother and I made a lion's mane out of construction paper and taped it to the dog. Then we got a hula hoop and did a lion-tamer circus act. Our mom was unimpressed. 

…

Some bands are famous, we all know about them. Some bands are only known in their locality or genre. This second kind interest me more than the famous ones. A few  of these groups actually make a living at it…

Sensible people recognize that we as individuals are insignificant. We hope that we matter to those we care about, but in the big picture we are nothing. 

Nonetheless, this is our life, and it means a lot to us. Not…

I played two very different shows this past weekend. One was a full electric band at a brew pub and the the other was Sunday brunch solo acoustic music. At both events I saw friends who have been coming to…

Why do we like surf? Well, for starters it's a big guitar sound, that whomping low bass and sparkling treble. The sound of surf is like a beautiful leviathan exploding from the sea. Surf evokes the power of waves and…

When I was in eighth grade, the youth group at our church brought in a band. This was at someone's house and the players were "big kids" from high school or maybe even college... oooh! We all listened to records…

Tomorrow is 4/20 but...

I don't smoke that weed no more. 
It used to make my lungs so sore, 
That getting high was just a mess, 
Of coughing paranoid distress. 

So I must say I'm getting bored, 
By two times…

Merriam-Webster describes Duende as a mystical force. They quote the poet Federico Garcia Lorca that Duende "is a power and not a behavior... a struggle and not a concept." Oof! What does that even mean? 

I think when a piece…