High on Music and a Little Bit Richer

Well, I made my appearance at Pinocchio's tonight. Quite the show. And I can't help but feel overpaid. Thirty bucks for an instrumental "Dear Michelle"? Come on.
But what an experience.

HOLY CRAP.

I'm gonna be hitting the stage tonight.
Why am I on the computer?
I should be warming up.

I'll get back to you all by tomorrow afternoon.

Renaissance Man

I went to the Bristol Renaissance Faire yesterday. Quite the adventure.
Within fifteen minutes of entering the Faire, my group stumbled upon a clearing with a low-branching tree in the center. A couple of nymphs were sitting in the tree, who I came to know as Autumn and Flower:

I have to say I fell tragically in love with Flower. Why tragically? Because I followed her around for several hours to capture more shots, and by the end of the day, she decided it would be fun to tie me to a tree with vines.

I wonder if this is common among photographers.

On the Road Again

Here it is. I'm bracing myself for the 16-hour drive to Chicago (not like I have anything to brace myself for -- I'll be sitting in the back seat with my guitar almost the whole ride).
But it's always nice to be on the road for a few hours, even when it does get claustrophobic.
Here's something: my dad and my cousin, Mario, put on a show at this place called Pinocchio's every Thursday. This coming Thursday I'll be taking the stage for a bit.
Wish me luck. I'll keep you all posted.

IIOII

A circle of glasses sitting on the floor. Nobody takes a pass, they're ready for one more. So I pour a round for all the boys and turn the music down. "I'd like to propose a toast," I say, "to the here and now. To wild nights, drunken fights, and using pots and pans for drums. To favorite parts and playing guitar 'til our fingertips go numb. Here's to never growing up!"
As we kick 'em back, I'm thinking that there's nothing in the world like drinking with my brothers, bound by blood or not. So we shuffle up and deal 'em out. We bluff and bet and laugh about our lousy hands as we take another shot.

Lost in the Music

I'm freaking myself out here.
I've finally found the groove I've been looking for for the past four years.
I had some good periods when writing my books, but never like this. I've been spitting out two songs a week. I kid you not.
I guess I've just had so much to get out there that it built up, and when I decided to learn guitar it exploded. Not the guitar. My creative reserves.
I'm absorbing myself in the six-string so bad that some people have called me insane. But then they hear my music and they say, "Oh. So that's what you've been up to."
It's beautiful.

Leaving You Behind

Yesterday
I thought I saw your face
Behind a window in Bay Terrace
Where we first met
And I don't know why
I just stopped and sighed
It's been like this every day
In the six months since you left

I dreamt today
Of a different place
As I sat on the rocks at Fort Totten
Where we used to go
And I watched the sun
Sink below the horizon
With a record of us beside me
All the pages I wrote

I think back and remember
My brother's words
How all these things were mine
Before they were yours

So I pick up the leather-bound memories
And throw them into the shifting tide
I'm leaving you behind

This same old town
It holds me down
With all these shadows of you
That make my footsteps slow
So I pack my things
I'm ready to spread my wings
I think I'll be better off
In the city of Chicago

Next time you go down to Fort Totten
To reflect on you and me
When you sit out on the rocks
I hope you see

The hundred pages of memories
I scattered on the shifting tide
To show that I'm leaving you behind