Good Wednesday to you, friends.

If you happen to be new to the Internet, there’s a thing called Pandora that’s kind of like radio, except that it plays songs you like instead of playing “Pillowtalk” by Zayn again and again.

pandora
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Good Wednesday, friends.

I’ve been thinking a bit about houses. Most of us rent one or own one or sleep on the couch of a friend who does. And in most cases, these houses have funny little quirks about them, things that don’t quite work the way they’re supposed to. Maybe you have to lean your shoulder into the door to get the lock to catch, or maybe you can’t use the microwave and the hairdryer at the same time without blowing a fuse, or maybe you get a lot of ladybugs in your upstairs every spring.
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Yesterday I turned 30 years old.

I think that milestone seems scary to some people, but so far it feels just about right to me. So often in life, it doesn’t seem like anything is really happening, but then you look back over a big chunk of years and see that things have indeed changed. Somewhere along the way, you became more of the person you are becoming. It may not be happening on the timeline you envisioned, but it’s happening nonetheless.
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“Did I offer peace today? Did I bring a smile to someone’s face? Did I say words of healing? Did I let go of my anger and resentment? Did I forgive? Did I love? These are the real questions. I must trust that the little bit of love that I sow now will bear many fruits, here in this world and the life to come.”

–Henri Nouwen

Some words for my own insides and yours on this dreary February Wednesday…

Well, we’re far enough into 2016 that most of us have stopped writing 2015 on our checks, which is the sign of a true adult. Or is it owning a checkbook in the first place that’s the sign of a true adult? More likely, the sign is that when you sit down to write a blog, the first idea that pops in your head is to start with a couple lines about writing checks. Yikes I’m getting old. Continue reading

When I was out on the road about a month back, my first stop was in the lovely and weird co-city of Champaign-Urbana, Illinois. C-U has become a pretty frequent stop in recent years, but this is the first time I’ve crossed paths with Sean Neumann, who is half of the team behind Ghost Track Media.

Ghost Track has started doing live performances in Sean’s kitchen of some of the artists coming through the area, so I set up shop in his kitchen, borrowed his guitar, and sang a couple songs.

This is a legit kitchen. We’ve got some dishes in a drying rack, the dregs of a rather large bottle of red wine, and a frying pan that’s just waiting for some action…and that’s only the parts you can see, folks. Who knows what culinary skeletons are hiding in these cupboards.

You can take a look and a listen to the whole session here.

 

When I lived in Grand Rapids, it became clear pretty quickly that WYCE (88.1) was just about the only radio station in town that played anything you wouldn’t find on a Billboard chart. On top of that, they also have a great tradition of supporting local artists, including their annual awards show The Jammies, where people hang out in their PJs and enjoy the best music the town has to offer.

Thankfully for me, that support has continued even after moving 500 miles south. They’re always quick to welcome me back to the studio if I’m passing through town, as I was a couple weeks back.

Cool place, cool people–I’m thankful they’re around and doing what they do.

Here is the audio from a couple songs I did live in the WYCE studios back on October 8th:

Fall for Me

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Well friends, tomorrow is the first day of autumn, which means it should stop being 90 degrees in Nashville pretty soon. And it also means it’s about time for me to pack up my pillow, piano, and snacks and head out on the road again.

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It’s not real often that I make it out to the East Coast, but I’m doing an unplugged show in Philly next week Friday (8/7) at Neighborhood Film Company. 8pm, $10 suggested donation.

Enjoy the beauty of this poster from the talented Tim Barnes!

zv-philadelphia