Category: Uncategorized

I am not very good at promoting my musical comings and goings. Never have been.

A lot has happened since the last update I posted here. Many of it not so good. But one thing that is good is that my website now has a new home and tech guru to help me guide these murky interweb waters. After meeting with him earlier this week, I was able to update the “Events” page here. Yippee! Thank you, Bill Bosler (who is also a great writer, percussionist, and hammered dulcimer player).

In late 2024, I released a new single called “Hold On. Resist. Believe.” It was written and recorded specifically for Michigan Music Resistance. Guess who we are resisting? It, and four of five other releases from some great SE MI musicians, is available on Bandcamp. 100% of money earned goes to the ACLU who are currently working their asses off to push back against our new, fascist government. Terry Birkett sent a draft of lyrics at my request. He’s a prolific writer. I did some editing and revising and wrote the music. In a time of darkness, I think we produced a rather positive song (at Terry’s urging. I took his draft lyrics and made them dark and angry). We recorded it at Rooftop Recording in Grand Blanc. This version of the Big Fluffy Band was comprised of Dan Gerics (drums/vocals), John Sperendi (bass/vocals), Terry Birkett (lead guitar), David Roof (organ, vocals, engineering, mixing, mastering), and me (lead/ backing vocals, rhythm guitar, kalimba).

Here’s a link to the single: https://michiganmusicresistance.bandcamp.com/track/hold-on-resist-believe

Visit the Michigan Music Resistance page on Bandcamp to collect all of the singles released so far: https://michiganmusicresistance.bandcamp.com/music

Other than that, I’ve formed a wonderful (I think) duo with a fantastic singer/songwriter named Steve Pichan. Our songs and styles seem to mesh very well and we really enjoy playing together. We’ve enjoyed 5 or so shows and have more booked through the end of 2025.

Which brings me back to the 1st half of the new year. I’ve a big personal announcement that I will share in my next, and hopefully not last, post.

Cheers!

Belated Happy New Year! Yee haw. Woo hoo. Plop plop, fizz fizz…and all that. Well, I hope it was a happy transition to the new calendar year. Here’s to a great 2024.

When I last updated this site, I wrote about two singles I planned to record and release in 2023. Didn’t happen. It actually should have been three singles because Dan Hazlett and I recorded a song we wrote together. That recording will see the light of day before the other two. Soon in fact. I’ve actually sketched out three more recording projects, fool that I am. Who has seeds to the money tree?

The future: (Backstory first–I know, I’m weird) Since the pandemic, and once things got to be kind of normal again, I cut back on my live performances. Part of that is because I realized that I had over-extended myself musically over the last few years…and it was taking its toll. The gigs were great, I recorded and released a new album (my best IMO), but my writing has suffered. As in, I’m not writing much. And, for me, my songwriting is everything. Well, maybe not everything, but close to everything. I need time and space to write. Last year was supposed to be the time and space year. Oh, bother. I’m still on the backstory for those keeping score.

So here, finally, is the future part. I don’t plan to accept or book as many gigs this year. If they fall in my lap and are attractive, yep, I’ll scoop them up. But I want/need 2024 to be the year I find myself as a writer again. I’ve been in the crosshairs as a folky kind of guy in the area, but this week I saw someone who called me her favorite Power Pop songwriter/musician in SE Michigan. That’s closer to the real me. I need to sit in a room with a guitar for, I don’t know, 3 months. Things will get better after June 2025. More on that future later. See, I did get to the future. Kinda sorta.