One, Two, Three

‘Up, one, two, three…”

Rest

I wonder how long I can do this

Just maintain

Sustain a healthy life

What about my career

Am I headed in the right direction

Ah f*ck directions

‘Up, one, two, three…”

Rest

I wonder if we will make rent this week

Can we afford to get some food tonight

I am sure we will be alright

Last time I checked we were

‘Up, one, two, three…”

Rest

I can’t believe how sore I am today

Walking over 5 miles a day

It’s a little much

To work and play

But I am tough

I am a New Yorker

‘Up, one, two, three”

Rest

4 workouts in a weeks

Trying to keep my body in peak shape

Just for the strength I need

To carry on life

To make progess where I thought

I could make none

Back

‘Up, one, two, three…”

guitar_Fotor hazy

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Repeat

Alarm

Open

Wake

Doubt

Resilience

Resume

Clothes

Dress

Quiet

Instrument

Clock

Rehearse

Doubt

Wandering

Focus

Confidence

Practice

Practice

Practice

Alarm

Next

Instrument

Clock

Practice, tired, questions, confidence, excitement

Alarm

Food

Poetry

Exercise

Drive, Perform, Drive

Sleep

Repeat

 

Great Nostalgia – 13 Years Ago

Tonight post is short and sweet. We just rocked out at a sweet house party in Downtown South Bend the night before our big show here in the bend for St Paddy’s Day. I am kinda wiped out – but I will give it my best. I am feeling a little nostalgic because I realized that tomorrow will be our biggest performance in South Bend ever and I have been playing in the bend for 13 years!!! Holy shit! I played my first show when I was 15, my mom dropped me off at a local coffee house called “Higher Grounds” in DT South Bend. It was an amazing show and now tomorrow I will be on stage in front of 8,000+ crazy to look back at the journey – and funny how life works. But I am super excited – a poem will be written post show to summarize the feelings and emotions. For some reason word press is not letting me space correctly so this will be read by using commas (not for grammatical purpose)

All the chatter, Play it this way and what is the matter, Chords still ring out, I cling to this guitar like a mad hatter, I have seen many a shops open and close, Sang them a song before they had to dispose, Of all their assets and move out of town, Kinda sad to think that I would never again see them around, This town or any other for that matter, People have come and gone, Some great inspirations, Some not so much, But in some meaningful way it was my life that they touched, I think back with great nostalgia to the first show posters, My life since those first days has been nothing short of a great roller coaster, I have now traveled from coast to coast, I have found places I loved the least and the most, With my guitar I have traveled, I say this not to boast, My humble beginnings playing in Coffee shops to onlookers playing chess, I did not have a fabulous voice, I can honestly say that I gave it my best, Only 15 looking for a grand time, Little did I know that love and a calling I would find, Years went by, I continued to play, I tried to give it a little something just about everyday, Then music led me to my love, She landed in my life as gentle as a dove, She would sing I would play, Anywhere and we did not worry about pay, 10 years have gone by since then, I can not believe it has already been 10, Now we get to play on a much great stage, I guess you could say that we have turned the page, From the empty coffee houses to people packed in, I used to know this city when the music scene was thin, Now it is robust and growing, Songs are being written, People now create great art, I am humbled to think that I played just a small part, I hope South Bend continues to grow, What it will become in ten years nobody really knows, To do my part I will just continue to pick up my guitar sing and play, I hope for the best for this city one day, Wishing it the best on this St. Patrick’s Day.

Fervent Thrust

Imagine being in a bar, not during the high time, but at low times. We have spent countless hours in the bars setting up, sound checking, talking, and networking. I was really inspired by the floor of these places as they all seem to look exactly the same. In addition to that it has a very similar scent. To me it is a very bittersweet feeling but it always reminds me of a show that is about to start as it is the first thing we are greeted  with when we walk through the doors for the night. I try to give you a sense of this feeling in the poem here called “Fervent Thrust”.

 

Bar floors tell much more

That what I could ask for

In the corners where the light shines dim

Away from sweepers on the outer rim

Tells a story of many a nights

Careless dancers and crazy bar fights

The smell of beer and must

Bellows from the vents

Greeting me at the door

With a fervent thrust

Beer caps lay with hair and mold

All the shit here is more that a day old

But this is the smell of music in action

I have found this true

Regardless of the disgusting reaction

This is where American music thrives

And discovers its sound

The walls have been broken in

It is a sacred ground

The bartender wipes the deck

Getting ready for another crazy night

Turns the lights on low

And sweeps the dust below

Sound checks ring with the

Check 1,2 in the background

The band gears up for the party going down

But in the corner of the bar

Is where you can find the filth of yesterday

The colors grown of black and gray

The sounds ring out and knock the dust from the table

Music rings out regardless of the label

Of genres and names things oh so irrelevant

Just a business note people need

And business people sent

But play it out loud

Ring it out clear

Bring the corners and floors alive

The dancing blokes

With clashing beers

Rest

This was written after a couple of weeks on the road. This trip included all of the major music hubs in the U.S. (in my humble opinion of course and for our particular genre). We had stops in New York, Chicago, L.A. and Nashville. We finally got to the end of our journey to a log cabin up in the woods on Traverse City, MI and I slept for basically 48 hours. At the end of the sleep I was able to get up and write some words that needed to be written down. They came to me in a early morning haze. So here it is a poem on rest – enjoy!

Rest

There is one thing that unifies

This no one can contest

That when we fall asleep

The mind now at rest

The heart

Beats

And beats

And beats

To no similar tune

But in similar fashion

The mind at rest

I can attest

This is the best

Way to connect to each other

There are no preconditions

No medication

Or temptation

For one to connect

To others

Through this sensation

Of mind cessation

Temporary of course

But this might lead a course of action

To rest away the weary eyes

To come to negotiation anew

Many a times it has worked for me

And surely will do the same for you

Lights out in gentle style

Let the mind take the lonely mile

And hearts beat sustain throughout the night

And in the morning

Everything will be alright

Net Worth

What is your net worth

Go you! Proclaim it throughout the earth

Ring it on high

Ring it on low

Bring a receipt

Wherever you go

Remind your friends with cash in hand

Even pay for them to see your favorite band

“I wonder how much they are worth”

Surely not as much as me

I am sure my banker would agree

Ring the registers from on high

It’s like pie falling from the sky

I will stand with my hands ready

To grab what is mine

Might just take one of yours

But hey who is keeping score

Now get my car and call me lady

You know this part of town can get quite shady

Maybe I should not be quite so loud

I mean I do not want to attract a crowd

Who knows what that will mean

It was my pie I found,

I thought I caught it

But please don’t bring those fellows

Who want to conduct the audit

If leverage is leverage

And bottom line true

The bell rings cold

When the receipt reads past due

Extend me some credit

Just a little more

I just want to settle the score

But the banker looked confused

This analogy he used

“The way I see it

To make this all easy for me and you

Upon every mans head it should be written

Two decades and a half after their birth

So he may proclaim it throughout the earth

But for now I must ask you again

What is your net worth?”