been thinking a lot. been enjoying this incredible weather. been working hard, playing harder.
thinking about neil young. i want to tour with him.
thinking about my new album. it goes out to radio and press this week. these are some of the sources that will be receiving it:
conan o’brien, entertainment weekly, rolling stone, kcrw, all the major newspapers, all the big radio stations (i just threw kcrw in there cuz i have fond memories of making someone cry with “salvador”)
thinking about change.
thinking about what writing a song means to me, what the full circle of completion becomes: having an idea, writing and sketching it out, the music adding the dance, and then, finally, getting to perform it in front of a live audience.
last night i performed at borders books, north austin. it was fun to be anonymous. it was fun to sit on the stage in their coffee cafe and sing my heart out. i met a 6′ 4″ man named bob who had retro-black glasses, a shock of white hair and a smile as wide as canada. i made tips.
people popped their heads up over aisles to see who was singing. couples stopped by the doors on their way out, touching hands, looking at me with renewed hope (and, hopefully, vigor). lance and iolana came with me. first, daniel link, who hosts the songwriter night, sang. he looks like a young dan fogelberg crossed with jesus. his voice is velvety. he plays keyboards and had a younger man playing guitar and “oohing” in the background. then chelle, a new intern who has been helping out in the office, got up to sing. she had a lovely voice.
then, it was my turn. i sang for an hour.
they had several of my cds for sale, and it was cool to see them stacked on a wooden table next to the stage. it made me feel expectant and humble all at once.
lance and i took the guitars (thank you, takamine) out to the car and loaded up. iolana and i decided to take the tips i got and walk over to bed, bath and beyond to buy her a mattress topper to make her bed softer. we grabbed a red cart, she popped in, and i raced her across the darkened parking lot, zooming under the patches of overhead light, hooting and hollering “yippee”. it was exhilarating! her bright, blue eyes shining, her sweet voice yelling, “go mom goooooooooooooooooooo!” and my laughter cascading all around us.
i love being alive.