IN THE FOURTH QUARTER…

Well we are into October.

Weren’t we just sweating a bit ago?

Every year I seem to say the same thing: “Where did the time go?” This was the fastest summer but was the best one for me personally. Now it gets darker earlier, which admittedly bums me out. I love the Fall, don’t get me wrong. Perfect for taking pictures of leaves turning colors (as evident in the photo above). I don’t mind breaking out the hoodie, and then later on the leather jacket. But still my heart yearns for how this year went.

‘Twas a pretty banner year for my cd MOOD SWINGS. Great sales, good reviews, good amount of promo. Oh and it was up for an award with the ISSA. Obviously it didn’t win (I’ll keep my cynicism to a minimum) but it’s a CD that I can be proud of. But as everyone knows, there’s no rest for the handsome. I have a lot of rough demos that hope to turn into real songs. No rush though. For once I don’t feel compelled to get back to work.

Teaching has been eating up a huge part of my life and I love it! Three nights a week at the music store, three nights private lessons. Which leaves Saturday as my day to blend with the furniture.

But I won’t lie to you (yes, the one reading this blog): I am feeling a bit off my game lately. Feel like I’m in a rut with my guitar playing. Been trying to spice things up with learning jazz licks, country riffs, you name it. Also delving into learning some sax lines to help with better phrasing. Even though I have a ton of students, I am still a student myself, constantly searching and digging. Some friends have suggested “You need to reinvent yourself” but I hate being told what to do. I will do what comes naturally, period. Forcing things doesn’t work in my world.

Was hoping for a November gig but no such luck. The July 9 show was one of my best shows ever, and with my luck, if I did a show in November and it sucked, I would hate life. Best that the Metalfest show was a great period at the end of the sentence this year. Don’t want to tarnish that feeling. The saying is true, “You’re only as good as your last show” so my last show (for maybe a little while) was damn good!

And nobody disagrees with me there 😉