Movin’ On To Who Knows Where September 27, 2011

So here I am but just where is “here?”  Well, here is my desk typing this while listening to Johnny Dowd.  I had my last solo show for a long while on Saturday night.  I was talking to my buddy today about just why I’m taking a break from doing this solo thing for a long time.  Well, the truth is because I’m tired.  I’m exhausted and I’m spent.  For the past 14 years, I have been doing this as a solo artist.  For about 2 of those years I fronted a band called Mystery Road which, while it was an amazing band that I loved dearly, it was just a stressful solo project with a band.  I think anyone on my level as a singer/songwriter/performer can understand and sympathize with just how hard this is.

Playing shows, whether you’re a solo act or in a band is not like it was in the old day.  You don’t play a venue over and over again for years and have your following grow with each passing show.  These days, playing  shows means you  are mainly playing to your friends who dig your music as opposed to playing for people who have never heard you and will come back show after show.  I mean this in no disrespect to the friends that come to see my shows.  I mean, the truth is that I have no doubt these friends like my stuff.  If they didn’t they wouldn’t come out to the shows but at the same time, would they necessarily come out if they had just seen me by chance in a coffeehouse one night?  That remains to be determined.  I can say this though.  I have had the extreme pleasure of meeting some really great people at my shows who have come up to me to tell me that they really enjoyed my songs and my performance.  This never ceases to make me feel like a million dollars but there’s one problem.  I never see them again at future performances.  Why is this?  There is really no answer to it.  It’s just how it is… and I’m really ok with that.

So if I’m ok with that, why stop playing solo for a while?  Well, the reason is because I’m 37 years old and there are STILL some musical ideas and dreams that I have yet to pursue and this is the time to do so.  I always held off on them because I was convinced that with each passing year something just may happen to take my solo music to another level.  I’ve had a great time doing it but it’s time to shift my focus.  My solo music will always live and thrive but performing as a solo act will no longer by my priority.  I’m sure I will go back to frequenting the open mics as an outlet to do solo shows and maybe next year in 2012 I’ll only do 3 solo shows max.  I want to put these dream bands of mine together.  No more holding back.  It’s time to shit or get off the pot.  I preach to people all the time that it’s never too late to pursue a dream.  Well, I guess I’m finally taking my own advice.

I want to say that I appreciate and love you all for all the support you have given me over the years.  Hell, for all I know 3 people read this blog, haha.  But that’s fine.  I do this for me anyways.  I really love that everyone sends me their best wishes and support.  I hope you all will follow my adventures from here on out.  This should prove to be an interesting ride.

Until the next comeback tour…

With A Change of Seasons Come Season of Change September 7, 2011

It’s that time of year again.  The leaves are changing color and starting to descend upon my yard.  I woke up this morning and as I went outside it was rainy and a cool nip to the air.   It gave me goosebumps as I inhaled the cool air, held and exhaled as I closed my eyes.  I smiled to myself and I said, “Don, the time has come.  It’s time for change.”  Change has been in the air for some time.  Even when my last band in North Carolina Mystery Road was together, I was feeling the need to change things up.  My whole life as a songwriter and creative person has seen me holding the wheel as I steer the ship in and out of choppy waters, rough weather and through blissful blue skies. Even as happy as I was in Mystery Road, I felt completely alone creatively.  I had three very talented people working with me yet I was the only one writing the songs.  This is of no fault of theirs but this was what I had set up for myself and I wasn’t happy.

Moving back to Atlanta was a welcome change for me.  Being that we only were here for a two year stint (my wife was doing a fellowship), we had no idea if we would be staying.  I used the two years to strip it back down to being a solo folksinger once again and found myself getting know myself, my songs and my performances in a way that I hadn’t done so in many years.  I suddenly felt connected to the songs, I felt engaged and it almost felt cleansing at times.  I released two albums that I am very proud of (“Planes, Trains, Crickets & Central Air” and “This Is Wooden Music“) and played a slew of fantastic show.  I got invited to be a guest NPR’s “The State of Things” and even got asked to perform in Knoxville, TN on the legendary WDVX Radio’s “Blue Plate Special” (LISTEN HERE!)  I managed to do more in two years time than I did in my 7 years in the Chapel Hill/Raleigh/Durham area and this was a huge thing for me.  I felt validated, appreciated and even felt like I just might be taken as a true folksinger/songwriter and not just some dude who plays coffeehouses.  With all that being said, I feel that I have hit that proverbial wall.

So here I am.  I have rooted myself here in Atlanta, GA for the long haul.  I feel like a dog who’s been living in a crate for a while and now has suddenly been giving this huge ass yard to run around in with no boundaries or restrictions.  It’s overwhelming, exciting, breath taking and honestly it scares the living shit out of me but in a positive way.  It scares me because now I am awarded the chance to run free and just do all of the things I’ve only ever thought about or dreamed about doing with my music.  Now is the time for me to shit or get off of the pot.  I literally have nothing holding me back from achieving what I want.  I have a loving wife who supports me and urges me on, I have the flexibility, time and energy to do whatever the fuck I want to do.  So what the fuck am I going to do?  Well, I have already started laying the foundation for two different projects and we shall see where they go.  If they don’t work out, that’s totally cool.  At least I tried them.  I don’t want to go to bed anymore thinking about the things that could’ve been or that could be.  Instead I will work to at least try them all so that at the end of the day, I will know that I pursued my pipe dreams and did what I could to make them reality.

Thanks for reading this and good night!