Alone Together
It is an understatement to say this period of time contains ups and downs. The communal emotional roller coaster is really rockin’. I wrote a song with my friends Mike Wilson and Nigella Baur. The idea was that we would each write a verse and maybe other people would write their own verses and we’d all create a song together. I put the chorus and my verse on YouTube with the chords in the description. Then no one wrote their own verses and I had some more festival and gig cancellations and the future of the Freedom Tour (which will continue in some form!) became even more unclear and I rode the roller coaster down down down for a couple days.
THEN…I woke up one morning to an e-mail from Mike Dronkers asking if I would sing on this video he was putting together of our song. What?! I was blown away. Not only did he put so much work and time and energy into creating that video, but he enlisted a cavalcade of other artists who lent their time and energy to it! So suddenly the roller coaster was going up up up and I was feeling inspired and hopeful all over again.
And so it goes. I’m strapped in tight and trying to enjoy the ride. I hope you are too. Just remember: the the nature of a roller coaster is that it goes up and down. It never stays in one place for long. It’s best to not get too attached to any part of the ride.
I took a break from my music and Monday Online Residency #6 was Bruce Day. Bruce Springsteen. Bruce is my favorite. Bruce inspired me to become a songwriter. If it weren’t for discovering Bruce’s music during that magical summer between junior high and high school, I have no idea what I’d be doing. I was fifteen when that summer started. I was sixteen when it summer ended and well on my way to becoming a (very) serious Bruce Springsteen fan. I was so inspired that I started writing my own (very) terrible songs. So this show is a chronological exploration of Bruce’s entire career featuring songs from his debut album in 1973 through last year’s “Western Stars” album:
Bruce Online // 4.27.20 Growin’ Up / 4th of July, Asbury Park (Sandy) / Thunder Road / Jungleland / Racing in the Street / The River / State Trooper / No Surrender / Bobby Jean / Tougher Than The Rest / Brilliant Disguise / If I Should Fall Behind / The Ghost of Tom Joad / My City of Ruins / Devils & Dust / Long Walk Home / Land of Hope and Dreams / American Skin (41 Shots) / Moonlight Motel
PS: Endless gratitude to my landlord for inviting me to do these live streams from his apartment, which has a better wireless connection and a beautiful real piano!
PPS: This is a picture of me at the Memphis Greyhound station in 2000 when I took a bus down from Chicago to see Bruce:
