seasons

It feels like I'm going through an abrupt seasonal shift. And no, this time I'm not talking about climate change.

The last few months have been a fairly intensive time of songwriting - a season I've been enjoying very much. A couple of weeks back I met with a small group of folks and sang through 13 or 14 new tunes to get their reaction and feedback as I work toward the new CD project. I think from that round there are probably 8 or 9 "keepers," some of which I've also tried out with my home congregation and a couple of other groups.

Now it seems I need to make the shift to a more "administrative" season, as I need to:

- get going on logistics for the new recording (figuring out who I will record with, where, when, how...)
- take care of some detail stuff for my March tour in Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Indiana
- post my February delivery of songs to the members of SmallTall Music (the songs are written and ready to go, but I need to record them, get the notation done, and write up the accompanying resources)

Another STM membership arrived in the mail yesterday - it's been great to see how word of this "CSM" ("Community Supported Music" - the kind of "musical CSA" that I've been developing) is getting around and, I think, gaining some momentum. So much so, in fact, that another friend and colleague has been in touch with me to help him set up his own CSM...

And speaking of friends and colleagues, it's good to see that Phil and Darryl are up to their old (new) tricks again, and that the word is getting out... (see the "Arts and Culture" section of the January 22 issue - for some reason it won't let me link to the actual article). Not only does Phil build great guitars (he built mine), he also writes great tunes (he was the "guest artist" on my last delivery of songs), and I'm glad to see he's sharing his stuff more broadly. And Darryl's been making great music - and helping other people make their own - for a long time too... So go have a look and a listen and share your own creativity as well...

"...to everything there is a season...turn, turn, turn..."

(I know, with a title like "seasons" you were probably wondering when I'd get around to referencing Ecclesiastes/Pete Seeger... so there you go...)