field recordings

Venice, Italy January 1, 2012

Wed, 11 Jan 2012 11:06:13 -0500

Venice, Italy

January 1, 2012

sunset the mason-dixon line pennsylvania / maryland december,...

Mon, 12 Dec 2011 22:23:20 -0500

sunset
the mason-dixon line
pennsylvania / maryland
december, 2011

the edge of morning somewhere over the southwest october,...

Mon, 05 Dec 2011 20:52:50 -0500

the edge of morning

somewhere over the southwest

october, 2011.

"why are we continually asked to check our intellectual integrity at the door while in search of..."

Mon, 05 Dec 2011 20:48:54 -0500

“why are we continually asked to check our intellectual integrity at the door while in search of entertainment in the mainstream?”

- As an entertainment provider, I wholeheartedly refuse to participate in this surrender.

"When Daniel Boone goes by, at night, The phantom deer arise And all lost, wild America Is..."

Thu, 01 Dec 2011 08:50:00 -0500

“When Daniel Boone goes by,
at night,
The phantom deer arise
And all lost, wild America
Is burning in their eyes”

- Stephen Vincent Benét

Daniel Boone

Once, when asked to build a fire in a backyard pit after a thanksgiving meal with friends, I caught a glimpse of the care with which we’ve treated our forests (previously felled or otherwise).

It’s a strange analogy.

It might not even be an analogy, but my mind went directly to thoughts of the forest, for some reason.

I take pride in fire-building. That’s the old boy scout in me shining through. I was asked to build a fire, and I set about creating what we always called a “one-match” fire back in my scouting days. Teepee style, using a supply of wood that was stacked against the rear of the home, fortified by the kindling I could find around the yard.

After a few minutes, my construction was complete.

I reached into my pocket to retrieve a matchbook when my friend’s father walked out into the back yard.

“What the hell is this?” he asked.

“I’m building a fire,” I explained.

“This looks like an art project— this ain’t no fire.”

He leveled my construction with one swipe of his hand, walked to the shed, retrieved a can of gasoline, poured a generous helping onto the pile of sticks and logs, and tossed a match in it’s direction.

Although I understand how ignition works, I’m still not sure my eyes could tell what made first contact— the lit match creating the fireball, or the fireball swallowing the match.

“That’s how you build a fire,” he said.

But perhaps it wasn’t a question of gasoline or match. Perhaps the only spark that was needed to set the now shameful pile of wood ablaze has been alive and watching us since well before Benét wrote the couplet above.

el cosmico marfa, texas september 2011.

Wed, 30 Nov 2011 08:33:32 -0500

el cosmico
marfa, texas
september 2011.

true love hershey, pennsylvania october, 2011. //possibly my...

Tue, 29 Nov 2011 10:15:00 -0500

true love

hershey, pennsylvania

october, 2011.

//possibly my all-time favorite picture of Holly and I.

"And if you at 12 are drawn to the same songs that I am at definitely-not-12 — I am sorry, and..."

Tue, 29 Nov 2011 10:10:00 -0500

“And if you at 12 are drawn to the same songs that I am at definitely-not-12 — I am sorry, and I hope things get better for you. Keep hope alive.”

- Peter Cooper

from this article

This is so simply written.

It’s a perfect example of what makes Peter Cooper such a great writer— he’s able to convey an idea that would have taken me at least a paragraph to get out of my system. And, perhaps it’s a fitting reminder that all of us should check our vitriol towards music that doesn’t draw us in every once in a while.

Because it’s cool, you know, that your favorite song when you are 12 will definitely not be (at least, it shouldn’t be) your favorite song when you are 22. Or 52.

If I had to lock down my favorite things at 12, I’d be running around singing early Beach Boys songs (Pet Sounds was my least favorite album of theirs, if that’s any indication of me at 12), sporting a couple of Mighty Mouse and Calvin and Hobbes tattoos, and content in the notion that I’d be knocking down velveeta grilled cheeses every day for lunch for the foreseeable future.

Of course, the reason why I continue to produce music has a lot to do with my belief that sooner or later people are going to want to try something other than a grilled cheese for lunch.

Grilled cheese is pretty good, though.

So…

"When I grow up, I want to be a politician."

Mon, 28 Nov 2011 17:37:00 -0500

“When I grow up, I want to be a politician.”

- Nobody.

It’s truly a shame to me that a vast majority of the future leaders of my generation— the ones that we would willingly turn our eyes to in the hopes that a brighter future exists just over the horizon, one that could arrive sooner rather than later through their participation in public service— want nothing to do with what our political system has become.

And honestly, who can blame them?

sunrise near menard, texas september, 2011 //the only thing...

Mon, 28 Nov 2011 08:54:00 -0500

sunrise

near menard, texas

september, 2011

//the only thing I’m a sucker for, more than a good sunset, is an even better sunrise. I always feel like I’ve earned a sunrise.

"Instead of insight, maybe all a man gets is strength to wander for a while. Maybe the only gift is a..."

Sun, 27 Nov 2011 11:58:00 -0500

“Instead of insight, maybe all a man gets is strength to wander for a while. Maybe the only gift is a chance to inquire, to know nothing for certain. An inheritance of wonder and nothing more.”

- William Least Heat-Moon

Blue Highways: A Journey Into America

My friend Juli Thanki recommended this read to me, and I’m eternally thankful that she did. I’m also glad I didn’t read it before I chose to put pen to paper.

sunset. midland, texas. november, 2011.

Sun, 27 Nov 2011 09:58:00 -0500

sunset.

midland, texas.

november, 2011.

good: morning

Sun, 27 Nov 2011 09:57:00 -0500

I find that the older I get, the more I view the morning hours as a friend.

This is a change that has occurred over the course of the last year or two, and to be honest, I am glad for it. It’s not right, after all, that anyone should view a segment of the day as anything other than a friend. I’m more creative in the morning, and I’m more productive. I wrote the bulk of my book in these young hours. The bulk of my songs as well.

It is funny (in retrospect) that most people who share similar attributes with the first quarter of the day— those of both youngness and newness, relatively speaking— aim to avoid as much of it as possible.

Perhaps this type of realization is one that presents itself with age, which is of course ironic in the loosest definition of the word: an outcome of events contrary to what was, or what might have been, expected.

hiking guadalupe state park, spring branch, texas november,...

Sun, 27 Nov 2011 09:40:00 -0500

hiking

guadalupe state park, spring branch, texas

november, 2011

// I love photographers, and I respect the amount of time and patience it has taken them to master their craft. I am not a photographer. I am a picture-taker.

"self-imposed endurance is the only self-assurance you are ever going to find today."

Sun, 27 Nov 2011 09:29:00 -0500

“self-imposed endurance is the only self-assurance you are ever going to find today.”

- Josh Grider

Stumbling On The Edge Of Greatness