The Summer Begins

Welcome back - though somewhat belatedly. This has turned out to be one of the busiest years of my life. So busy, in fact, that I have simply been unable to accomplish everything I want/need to get done. . . including this blog and other writing duties.

I'm not complaining, but apologizing for the lapses. So far, it's been a wonderful year in many ways. Deeper Blues is doing well, and things look even better on the horizon. My work with Eden Electronics is still immensely rewarding, but time consuming. Thankfully, founder David Nordschow willingly allows me to coordinate my work with him to fit my schedule, no matter how crazy things get.

Deeper Blues is rapidly approaching it's two-year mark. I don't know if that should be called "birthday", "anniversary" or what. But it sure feels good to get there. Since I first met him, I haven't been shy about saying it: Gary Jones is the best Blues guitarist I've ever heard, much less worked with. This band is, without a doubt, a dream come true - a true gift of Spirit.


For the first 15 months of our relationship, Gary and I immersed ourselves in a vision and committed ourselves to a mission and a goal. Countless nights of discussion over coffee, merciless rehearsals, and a weekly, very informal and low key performance at which to fine tune our sound. We emerged from our second season at Charlotte's at the end of August, 2007, with a CD in final production, but without a drummer. Aaron Bouslog, the fine young percussionist who had been working with us since the previous summer moved to Carbondale to pursue a rigorous education in music at Southern Illinois University.


Gary's son, James, quickly asked for an audition. From the first song, I knew he'd not only be OK, given time and encouragement, he'd be outstanding. After three weeks of constant rehearsal, James made his debut with Deeper Blues at a special Saturday performance at the end of September last year - right back at Charlotte's where the band began. Our family and friends were amazed, as were Gary and I. I've never seen or heard a better debut.


Since then, the band has been rehearsing, writing tons of new music and preparing to tour the US and internationally. We've already played Chicago, Buffalo Grove (near Chicago), Nashville and Chattanooga, and have begun our third season at Charlotte's. In addition to the full-production CD Dig the Hole, released in January, the band recently released the Homegrown Vol. 1 CD, which includes three live tracks and two recorded down and dirty (like the old days) with virtually no "production" at all. We've also released a companion Homegrown DVD that includes a trio of music videos and behind the scenes mini-documentaries. By the end of the summer, we'll have one more of each.


In the coming months, we'll be visiting Nashville again (at least twice), Cincinnati, Indianapolis, Chattanooga and Chicago, with other cities being added. In November, we'll be traveling to California for several weeks, including taking part in an extremely interesting "Rock School" competition - as judges and headliners of a "faculty" concert. We'll also are working to give a presentation to the Rio Linda High School student body on Music Appreciation, and to the music students on what it takes to be a professional musician.

You may wonder what this band has to do with living a life with Spirit. For starters, remember what I've said before - every day is sacred; everything we do should be based on our commitment to living a spiritual life. If we aspire to that goal, everything we do is founded on our spirituality. But it's far deeper than that. Early on, I described this opportunity as a gift of Spirit, and I truly believe it is. We all do our best to honor that gift by giving our all, and by committing ourselves to a higher goal, a higher cause. Moving forward, I hope to share with you more about this wonderful adventure.

It's a gorgeous night, and the stars are out in force and the lake, acting as a mirror doubles them nicely. I'm going to go sit on my balcony, pet a cat or two, and enjoy it while I can. Because in just a few short weeks, there will be bajillions of nightfliers buzzing around in search of warm blooded food - like me! (smile)


Tomorrow, a thought or two on religion. Then Monday, it's all about Memorial Day and those who have given their lives in our country's wars.