I went to Tanzania in August, 2016 for the second time. As part of the trip I asked our tour operator Ombeni if he could arrange for me to play some music with a local musician. He went further than that and brought in three musicians. We had a great time jamming in the …
A little more than 5 years ago our dog Blue died. My dear friend Kate’s dog Kinsho recently died. Our neighbors Mike and Bernice had to have their wonderful dog Pepper put to sleep recently. I often referred to Pepper as “the best dog in the world.” She was fun, obedient, smart, and friendly. Pepper and …
How to Practice
Our beloved dog Paco died suddenly in July. He was old and had an amazing life. He was a dear friend. It’s always hard when you take in an older dog, as we have done twice. They grow to love you, and you them, but their time is shorter. Paco used his well, and we …
Anna Dewdney wrote “Llama, Llama, Red Pajama” and a host of other fantastic children’s books. She died a few days ago. You can read about her life and work in this New York Times article. Although she was clearly an exceptional, gifted, and beloved author, her final wish captivated my imagination and inspired this song. …
My friend Jack Pearson, a great musician and songwriter, introduced me to this idea in a song of his own. I took the inspiration and wrote this song. Willy Wonka (the fantastic and sorely missed Gene Wilder) used the phrase, which you can watch here. My wife Heather is the executive director of the Innovative …
On our most recent visit to Tanzania I was reminded of what I had heard about the importance of educating girls (as stated so well in the above quote.) We visited several educational settings which eventually inspired this song. It’s an advertisement, really, urging people who want to give money to consider this route to create …
I was in Austin at the Cenote Cafe I was searching for the best chai in Austin, which so far I’d say Cenote Cafe wins. But, as I parked behind the cafe, I saw this sign spray painted on a wall. It called for a song, and here it is. The Only Magic I watched a …
Every year spring inspires me. One of these years I will take the whole month of May up at the cabin to just watch the slow beautiful progression of flowers and birds and sun. In the meantime, here are two small songs to celebrate the season. One is a zipper for young kids. The other is …
Galilee Baptist Church San Angelo I had the amazing opportunity to work with the choir at the Galilee Missionary Baptist Church. These wonderful singers kindly agreed to learn some songs I’ve written in a gospel style. I could only take those songs so far, and the changes and ideas they brought to the music …