We had to fly from San Francisco to Portland, due simply to the fact that the drive is twelve hours and, maybe somebody is capable of staying up all night, driving, and then playing an in-store followed by a show, but that person ain't me. So, like I said, we had to fly. The aforementioned [...]

Continue reading "Portland, Or, February 25, 2010"

Sometimes you gotta make the best of it. The first date in a week-long run of West Coast shows with the brilliant Matthew Ryan started, let's say ominously, but ended with a roomful of people raising their voices in celebration, so it couldn't have been half bad, right? Without [...]

Continue reading "San Francisco, CA, February 24, 2010"

I've not spent much time in San Diego, so I was unaware that it is one of the largest cities in America, at least in terms of population density. I gotta say, for a "city," there's really not much "city" to San Diego. In fact, if I have one lasting memory from this [...]

Continue reading "San Diego, CA, February 21, 2010"

To me, you either love Los Angeles or you hate it. I don't know anyone who has vanilla feelings about the city. There was a time, not long ago, when I found myself in the latter camp. But, the older I get, the more often I visit, and the more I find the patience to seek out likeminded people, [...]

Continue reading "Los Angeles, CA, February 19, 2010"

It will be a rare occurrence that I use this blog for any kind of personal promotion but I would be remiss if I didn't note that my new album, Nowhere Nights, is available today on Red River Records. The album is an incredibly personal work for me - it took two years to write and ten [...]

Continue reading "Nowhere Nights Available Now"

I know that I covered Townes already in relation to Steve Earle, but he is a figure that looms so large over songwriters, his influence bears mentioning again, this time not as much in terms of music, but in terms of dedication to the craft and absence of pretense. So, here goes. "Townes [...]

Continue reading "Townes Was Here"

My fourth album, Nowhere Nights, will be released February 16 on Red River Records. If I seem more personally invested in this album, that's because it is a far more personal record than I have ever made, than I ever thought I would make. Ten years ago, I moved from Portland, Oregon to [...]

Continue reading "Nowhere Nights"

Watching Steve Earle perform is like taking a masters class in what it means to be a songwriter. Watching Steve Earle perform the songs of Townes Van Zandt, and candidly discuss his relationship with Van Zandt, is like being let in on some kind of mythical secret. To use words like [...]

Continue reading "For the Sake of the Song"