I'm just an old fella gettin' older, finding myself suddenly in a new place. Rents in Humboldt got too expensive, and so here I am in Oregon. I've already gotten my feet wet and my boots muddy, but I reckon it will be at least until spring 2010 before I really know where I've landed. Being on unfamiliar ground, I've got to start looking to new inspiration for my songwriting. At the moment, I have no idea what kind of inspiration is headed my way. Or... maybe I just flat missed the train.

River Run Dry: I haven't written a song since mid-June, just before the landlord raised my rent beyond what I could physically afford. Rent went up June 28, and the river has been dry ever since. Ended up moving 700 miles north, to Philomath, Oregon, and I got to thinking that a change in scenery would spark all kinds of new lyrics. Well, this new land has brilliant sun, tumultuous rain, and its fair share of rivers. But still, I'm looking at a dry river bed.

I've been sittin' around singin' the same old tunes I've been singing for years. Ain't nothing wrong with that, but when you're in a new place and you taut yourself as a singer/songwriter it just seems logical that you write a few new tunes. But ri...

Getting to Know You: Land on your feet and hit the ground running. Well… sometimes that’s good advice, and sometimes you’re running but you don’t know where you’re going. I blew into Corvallis and started busking and gigging before I’d really got my boots on. Now that I’ve been here for three months, it’s time to sit down, listen, and get a lay of the land.

This is a musical place. Opportunities to play lie around almost every corner, but not every venue suits me, and I’m not suited for every venue. And like any music town USA, there are venues that don’t relate well to musicians. I’ve played some very nice places, but I did arrive at one venue only to find the lights out and the door locked.

I’ll keep gig...

Start on the One: I'm startin' all over again, moved from California to Oregon, not necessarily because I wanted to, but now that I'm here I'm glad I did. (Lots of "I's" in that last sentence.)

Living so long in Arcata, I didn't worry about gigs; someone either called, or the gig was a set event, recurring each week, month, or special occasion. Well, for the time being that comfort is over. No one knows me here in the corn belt of Oregon, so lately I've been walking the streets with my dobro, busking when there's time and hob-knobbin' with the folks in the music stores.

What I miss most is teaching. I got used to having 46 or more students a week, and right now I'm doin' a lot of sittin' around with my ...