Gratitude
Well, I have not succeeded in abandoning my phone at 5pm every evening…but I’m making progress. Since my last blog post (I started a blog), I have left it plugged in at my desk almost every night before dinner. Slow but sure progress. I can share with you that not bringing phone energy into the bedroom has been a very positive development.
The music making in this strange time continues. Last weekend, I was a part of two online festivals on Sunday — one based in Los Angeles and the other in Maine! The magic of the internet. First off was “Cover Your Friends,” an event that my friend Connor Garvey put together. The idea was to play songs written by friends. It was so fun and inspiring to learn and re-learn these beautiful songs by these exceptional artists I am fortunate to call friends:
“Cover Your Friends” // 3.29.20 Why Would I Lie? (Tyler Jordan cover) / Beggars & Mules (Danny Schmidt cover) / Ok Ok Ok (Robert Sarazin Blake cover) / Are You Still In Love With The World? (Raina Rose cover) / Skyway Drive-In (Shane Alexander cover)
Then it was onto “Shelter in Place Fest 2020,” an event that Joel Eckels and Clare Means put together from the Los Angeles songwriter community. Though I live in San Francisco now, I moved to Los Angeles during pre-9/11 2001 in my early twenties with a pile of dreams. It was quite moving for me to see and hear so many friends from those days play their songs again. I love indulging nostalgia and I was swimming in it:
“Social Distance Fest 2020” // 3.29.20 I Have Been Defeated / Musical Chairs / All My Friends Are In The Valley / The End / Rose Colored Sky
Monday was the 2nd installment of my online residency. I got some wonderful deep cut requests as the week progressed and wrote them down as they came in so the set was mostly those. It really is special for me to have people ask for old songs, play through them, and discover that I still know — and like — them. Please keep the requests coming (I already have a list developing for next week).
Monday Online Residency // 3.30.20 Mississippi (Bob Dylan cover) / Minnesota / Yin & Yang Collector / End of Summer Cigarettes / When I Make My Home / I Love Austin / Daylight Saving / The Greatest Ever / Teenager in Love / Stars & Bars / Crash the Party / Time To Be Here Now / I’m Awake Now
Word is that the San Francisco Shelter in Place order will be extended to May 1st so the Monday Online Residency will continue through April at least: 4/6, 4/13, 4/20, 4/27.
“Gratitude” may seem like a bizarre sentiment for this moment in time, but that is really the overwhelming feeling I am experiencing. I am grateful for this opportunity to play songs for you in a new and different way. These shows are free to all, but many people have taken advantage of the digital tip jars and I am deeply grateful for that as well. It is a uncertain financial moment for many, myself included.
Finally, the latest installment of Audiodes was released yesterday. This is a special one because it features special guest contributions from friends and listeners. Audiodes is a podcast-esque audio collage that I release sometimes monthly (I did the math and I have averaged 5.333 Audiodes per year since 2014). Patrons support Audiodes via Patreon and I am grateful for that piece of the patchwork income tapestry as well. Gratitude really is the theme this week, isn’t it? It is also the title of Audiode Thirty Three. Thank you for listening.