Gratitude and Opening to New Things

I’d like to thank all the great folks who showed up to the George Harrison (belated) birthday celebration on April 23rd.  Peter and I had a wonderful time, and it’s always so special to me to be able to remember the man and musician who got me started playing guitar in the first place.  We couldn’t have asked for a better crowd to share in this special set!

You might wonder what I’m up to next.  Well, although recuperating enough to sing properly again and preparing for that tribute took a lot of time and energy, I pretty much always have at least a few creative projects happening at a time and a few more on the back burners.  Now is no exception.

Back to the Woodshed

I find that life is so full of highs to celebrate, lows to process, conflicts to work out, and new possibilities to explore, that there’s absolutely no dearth of subject matter for songwriting.  In fact much as George Harrison said, being a songwriter is such that you find yourself writing songs sometimes whether you want to or not; it’s just part of how the experience of living works for you after a while.  I’m finally taking time to flesh out some songwriting ideas that I’ve hastily scribbled out while I’ve been keeping up with life’s multifarious doings over the last couple of months.  I’ve also been listening to some different music lately and I’m interested in seeing if any new influences come in technically.

I also have a chance right now to pick up on some largely neglected pieces I’ve wanted to learn, and do some good woodshedding.  How many of these songs will actually join me on stage is not clear, but I’ve been exploring music from genres in which I don’t normally play much, including blues and funk.  I’m hoping to hit the stage with some refreshing new surprises soon.

On Stage: Music and Bollywood Dance!

So where are you going to see me perform next?  This spring and summer, I definitely plan to visit open mikes at The Poet and The Patriot and at The Ugly Mug more frequently than I’ve been able to in a while (exact dates to come), so if you’re local and would like to see me, you should have plenty of chances soon!

Sometimes folks ask me why I don’t do more of my own gigs; why they don’t see me as a headliner out there more often.  If you have a venue or event in mind, by all means contact me – I’d love to bring the music to some new places and listeners – but it’s a bit difficult for me to spend much time seeking out gigs because most of my time and energy these days is focused on my efforts to grow my massage therapy practice.  Happily, the two interests will be merging this summer at my massage space, The Tree House, at 108 Locust Street, Suite C on the Mezzanine Level in downtown Santa Cruz.  The Tree House’s First Friday event this June will be showcasing the artistic endeavors of our healing practitioners, and I will definitely be bringing a guitar.  The party will be Friday, June 3rd, from 6pm to 9pm, with music by myself and other starting at 7pm.

And before that, on May 14th, I will be doing “something completely different” – I will be dancing in my third Bollywood musical with Gurus of Dance in the new musical Solaris.  Gurus of Dance productions are always full of fabulous Desi music, colorful costumes, beautiful sets, and amazing dance by professional and amateur dance teams of all ages.  If you’re not familiar with Bollywood, well…let’s fix that.  When you’re done watching this video from my first performance last spring, come on back…

Solaris will be playing for one night only at the Mexican Heritage Theater in San Jose.  Click here for tickets!