Hello Friends!
Wow, it’s been quite a while since my last (real) update. A lot has happened since last spring. For those of you haven’t heard from me since then, I am very sorry. I’m most definitely one of the worst people when it comes to staying in contact over long distances. I hope to do a better job of it in the coming days. For now I hope this will suffice!
A lot certainly has happened, not least of which is my graduation from the University of South Florida. In the summer of 2012 I moved from dear Michigan to the sunshine state to pursue a master’s in jazz performance. A big deal! Two years, many concerts, countless rehearsals and a trip to Italy later and I now have a very nice piece of paper saying that I am a master of jazz performance, or something like that. It’s fun to say (and even MORE fun to put on a resume) but the whole affair ends up being a bit underwhelming once it’s over. My last act as a student was having one of my professors sign a piece of paper; so ended my second college career. That was they very beginning of May. The rest of the month saw me scrambling for cash and lodging as my housemates and I left our apartment for who knows where, and I made ready for a trip home to Michigan.
In June I loaded up my brave little saturn and drove the 20 hours to the Mitten. The drive was mostly uneventful, save when I got myself stranded at a truck stop in rural Kentucky at 4:30am. Let’s just say Kentucky didn’t leave a very good impression after that. Soon enough I found myself on the familiar streets of Grand Rapids, finding a bed at Randy’s Tavern, my dear friend Garrett Stier’s apartment/studio/workshop/greenhouse. June of 2014 was what that summer month meant to be, packed with weddings, beach runs, beer quests and many reunions. What really defined June, however, was an idea and ambition Garrett, Lucas Taylor, Tyler Stitt and had been working over since the previous November. First and Last was/is a dream come true of sorts, one Garrett and I had been scheming since a fateful meeting one night in Nasheville. The actual release was nothing mind-boggling or spectacular; we played three shows with small audiences, but man it was good, good for the heart, good to have something worked and dreamed and cared for over many months come to life. You can check it out at welldiggermusic.bandcamp.com. We’d love for you to hear it!
The months since then have been quiet, easy. I moved into a house with 5 guys in July, living fully and cheap as dirt, working myself up as a barista at a local Tampa brew company. If I’m honest, music has taken a back seat in my doings since June. It’s been time to rest, to recharge, to build the slightest semblance of financial security. Fall was most of those things most of the time, but I never shook this need to make, to get out and get going. Where? I have no idea. My bones have itched for it, and I’m slowly, carefully starting to make it happen, to begin realizing what it is I am meant to do. In truth, I was burned out after graduating. I had just run out of the structured, organized progression of training that comes with schooling; I didn’t know what I really wanted to do. In truth, I still don’t. All I know for sure is that I need to write, I need to make music happen. Somehow. That brings us to today! Having resolved to record an EP by May 26th, my birthday, I’ve been working on arrangements for songs that I’ve previously written. Thanks to a friend’s post on Facebook, I’ve accepted another challenge on top of this one.
The challenge, called the RPM Challenge, is to write and record an album in 28 days. 10 songs and/or 35 minutes of music. I can’t really express how much I’ve needed this, how I’ve secretly ached for it. Who knows how the ‘good’ the results will be? This is the kind of start, the kind of creative motion I’ve needed for a long while. I have a measly five days left, and a great deal more to do, but I am hoping to make this album, to triumph over this challenge. Friends, please pray for me. Whatever happens with these songs, they are for you. You can check out my progress HERE. See you at the finish line.
