Hi ...

I'm sorry. I suck. Life has been sort of chaotic lately and it's interfered with my ability to update this little blog. The problem isn't that I haven't had time to write. The problem is that the non-music elements of my existence have been crowding out the music parts, leaving me little to write about.

At times like these I envy those artists who have dedicated themselves to their art full-time. How much easier would it be if I didn't have the distraction of an unrelated day job? Why haven't I taken that plunge?

Oh yeah. I like to eat.

Seriously, in this economy I can't complain that I've got a paying job. I certainly can't complain that I have a paying job I like.

But I am going to make it my goal to do something worth writing about. Stay tuned.

Bingeing at the folk buffet

I've been busy for a while with work and other responsibilities. Too busy to go out and see a lot of live music. So when this year's Tucson Folk Festival rolled around, I figured it would be the perfect opportunity to make up for lost time.

I cleared my schedule. Made arrangements. Logged in over 18 hours at TFF 2009.

And came to a couple of realizations.

First, I need to get over the assumption that I'm the only musician out there who's too busy to hear other people play every weekend. While bopping around from stage to stage, trying to see everyone I liked, I ran into more than one musician who was trying to do the same thing.

That said, if I can find a way, I'd like to make live music a more frequent occurrence in my life. Not every weekend, maybe not even every month, but more than now. Because the second thing I learned is that trying to cram a year's worth of performances into one weekend is exhausting. No matter how good everyone is, no matter how fun they are to watch, eventually you just want to go home.

And that said, I'm already looking forward to Tucson Folk Festival 2010. Exhausting or not, it's always a good time.

See you next year.

Multitasking

Ron and I found out on Wednesday that we have a gig lined up for Friday. It's at Old Town Artisans from 6 to 8. Very good news. We put together a new set list for the occasion, and my plan for Thursday's practice was to work on the songs we hadn't been playing as much lately.

Except there was no time. One dentist's appointment spawned another when dentist's office #1 referred me to a (gulp) root canal specialist. So getting home early from work (read: late, but not as late as usual) became an impossibility. Then, after work, I had to get groceries. When I finally did arrive home it was around 9:30. I still needed to deal with food prep and dishes. I was tempted to skip practice entirely, but that seemed like a bad idea the night before a gig.

So instead of sitting at the keyboard to practice, I sung my songs while chopping vegetables and washing dishes.

I cannot decide if this was a creative and practical time management tactic, or a really dumb way to practice. Probably both.