Turtle Zwadlo

In part 1 I began to discuss the meaning behind the idea of Whitelandia. In this installment I want to dive into why this supposed Utopia, this pinnacle of the white way of life is a cold comfort. Some of…

The concept of Whitelandia began forming for me a few years ago as the result of a conversation with a neighbor, in fact, she may have used the phrase first. It was our way of acknowledging that the place we…

Lately, I've been listening to a lot of music that is new to me. I am purposely trying not to revert to only my old stand bys when I put tunes on while working. For instance, I have my Bandcamp…

In my most recent newsletter, I mentioned that I've been learning to manage my depression over the last couple of years and how that has stifled my creative output. I received a beautiful and heartfelt email from my friend Brian…

The last couple of months have been ones of contemplation. Wondering about a lot of things; how am I doing mentally, where is my art taking me, what do I even believe in and what message do I want to…

This is my Pandemic Project. I can’t say it is a pandemic album because several of these songs are older than that and none of them are about the pandemic itself. When the world turned upside down and everything shut…

This song is just for fun. It’s based on a real character. I was on tour with Pale Blue Dot crossing Mississippi from New Orleans to somewhere in Florida and we stopped at a truck stop for the necessaries. There…

Tapestry is a song I’ve hoped for many years would happen. The original idea has been kicking around quite some time and it has been a continuous work in progress. Writing, re-writing, editing, more editing. Changing the chord and song…

Bones is the third song of this collection that went through a major transformation. The difference being I did not make changes to the song. Instead, the world, the environment in which the song exists changed in ways that gave…

Not Jesus has a tale to tell 

He wants you to listen well 

Lessons earned from generations come before him 

Not Jesus, like Back From The War, is a song that was one thing, then became another. The original concept…

All songs go through transformations. From conception to final product there is a string of changes, edits, choices and decisions. Even in moments of inspiration when an artist says a song comes out “fully formed” they often mean the lyrics…

Grandmother’s gondola swing 

Lilly white, deepest green 

My maternal grandparents had a home in Villa Park, Illinois, a near-west suburb of Chicago. It was a nice place with a big to a kid backyard, the highlight of which was the…

Gunshots and Chaos is not the song I sat down to write. Sometimes songwriting is like that. No matter your intentions, once the words start flowing it’s best to let them and see what you end up with when they’re…

If you are from this part of Central Virginia or have traveled along the Blue Ridge Parkway at all, you may be familiar with an overlook called Raven’s Roost. It’s a truly stunning vista not far from the northern terminus…

Odd Oasis is certainly odd. The lyrics are a mash up of images from a venue in Dallas, Texas, lines inspired by a friend, and the passing of an icon. 

Butch got the message… 

A phrase, said in passing, quietly…

Everything in the garden grows higher than her head 

Lilac and Sunflowers, Wisteria gone mad 

The house sits on a hillside above the West Virginia Turnpike. Close enough to see some kind of an arbor, or trellis system with plants…

I am very excited to announce that I am releasing new music! The album is called Suburban Rebel and the official release date is February 11, 2022. Beginning Friday November 19 I will be featuring one song a week on…

Out on the road with Pale Blue Dot getting the new songs some stage time ahead of the release later this year. We were pitched a curve ball before we even started. Darby wasn’t able to do the run so…

January 1 2020 marked one year of sobriety for me. Actual sobriety and recovery. Not “taking a break”, not “not drinking right now”. Actual sobriety. Not drinking, not using chemicals to alter my brain chemistry, is perhaps the smallest but…

As a musician I listen to a surprisingly small amount of new music. I seem to have let go of the childlike wonder of exploring the new and unfamiliar. That’s a serious detriment to my craft. So this year I…

I love to read. Reading is a way to engage my imagination, to get lost for a while in another world. It is also one of the most available ways to educate myself short of traveling and getting a first…

Record making is a process. Songwriting is a process. Sobriety is a process. Relationships are a process, whether it’s as a partner, a parent, a sibling, a son. Hell, everything worthwhile is a process. My natural inclination is impatience. I…

I really enjoy the recording process, a lot. It’s a whole different animal than live performance. It’s an opportunity to discover the craft of presenting songs in a manner that isn’t transitory. Even more so now in the digital age…

Expectations

I started the year with such grand designs. I was going to do so many things. Like focus on social media, my website, and writing this blog. I intended to promote the music I had spent the last year…