The van Gogh Brothers will be going on sabbatical until sometime in 2026 after our May 10th show at Vincent’s, Worcester. Don’t miss us at the Burren, Somerville, on Friday, April 4th, or at Vincent’s on April 12 & May 10th. That will be a wrap! Paul and I have kept the band going for 30 years through 17 albums, multiple line-ups, bi-coastal living, and thick and thin. We’ve decided to press pause and re-set, re-think, and re-group. I will be doing some solo shows and experimental recording— getting back to center— and to the songs, which is where the music lives for me. Life is short, and I want to make myself available for new creative input while I’m still inspired and healthy enough to work.

did you ever think about how we’re all just these little powered shells of energy existing in little spaces of time? we look out at all of this from inside our shells like there’s a great big world out there, but really, we just get to ricochet off the energy around us for a short while. i used to look for meaning, but now i just think about impact— i can have a positive impact or a negative impact. that’s the only lasting legacy— the energy we touch touches other energy, and it all gets carried forward. we choose how we impart energy in our actions. i think about the van gogh brothers as a little meteor shower where our collective energy spills out into the world.

After more than two decades, and three for Paul and me (2025 marks 30 years!), we are finally releasing an album entitled, “The van Gogh Brothers.” Paul, Clay, Andy and I (our long-time live line-up) played every track and were joined by guests Cliff Goodwin, Stu Kimball, Kerri Powers, Ryan Lange, and, one of my dream artists, David Friedman, on vibes. The album was recorded and produced by David Minehan at Woolly Mammoth Sound in Waltham, Massachusetts. The album was mastered by David Westner. Clocking in at 45 minutes with 15 tracks, the record runs the gamut from Tim Buckley-inspired folk (“Open Hands”), to Run DMC-inspired rap (“Sinner Girl feat. RAL”). The album feels like a milestone work. Every track stands up and we are playing most of the songs live. The band suffered losses and health issues over the 2+ year span of recording. We saw the other side of the Covid epidemic and then faced the ravages of time, tragedy and shifting relevance. One night in particular stands out. Paul returned to the studio after a long absence and was joined by Stu and Michelle Kimball to lay down “His Own Resolve.” Our vulnerability and humanity were on full display. There were tears of camaraderie, joy and sadness. The track took on a gravity later augmented by Cliff Goodwin’s stellar guitar and slide work. We hit a home run. I think it is this brotherhood that inspired us to name this new record, “The van Gogh Brothers.” We come and go alone, but in between, if we’re lucky, we get to experience our humanity in intimate and unexpected ways. This often happens in a band, where we are connected by the mysterious, invisible art of music.

there’s not too much you can say to capture the feeling of certain places, and malibu is one of those for me. everyone has their own impression—- some from actually being there, some from ideas they have about what it must be like. none of my feelings come directly from the people who live there, but many of them come through those people. it’s almost like there’s a contagion in the air that catches you when you’re there, and you unknowingly and unwittingly become a transmitter of the frequency.

while i was in malibu earlier this month, i learned about the sacred native american Sun Dance ceremony from the widow of a cherokee medicine man. this ritual, which is beautiful, is performed in fulfillment of a vow or as a way of seeking spiritual power or insight. i was fascinated to learn about it from someone with first hand experience. it came up in conversation during another ceremony, a Taiwanese tea tasting, to which i had been invited. this ceremony, which lasted several hours, is used to calm and center us, and to inspire conversation. i had heard about tea tasting for a while, and i was excited to be invited and available to participate. after the tea, i began to think about the idea of sacred ceremony and music. early on, i had an intuition that there was something sacred about music, but performing got mixed up with theatre and “show business.” i’ve decided to make a conscious effort to re-focus the “performance ceremony” and see where it goes. as it happens with these things, once something enters your consciousness, you start seeing it everywhere. check out Colbert’s interview with Nick Cave, and the photo above taken after i shared the Sun Dance story during our recent performance at the Barn at Magical Moon Farm. magical.

spring broke loose with a firey Aries birthday night at Vincent’s where we were joined by maestro Cliff Goodwin, one of the guitar legends of central masssachusetts, and with good reason. we all managed to squeeze in for our maiden voyage and have booked the Burren in Somerville on September 7th for a second show with Cliff. this was followed by a trip to the crescent city for the second weekend of Jazzfest 2024, kicked off by the Rolling Stones, still reigning as the greatest rock and roll band in the world. Mick was in particularly good form, and of course everything sounds better with an English accent. my son was finally able to break the Stones curse after 3 misses in 22 years, which had become a family challenge we now have behind us. as always, there was more good music than anyone could know what to do with over 4 days, so, after recognizing Cranston Clements’ performance with the New Orleans Guitar Masters (more on Cranston later), i would say that my favorite moment was Moroccan guitarist Mohamed Choukri with his incredible 5-piece band. breathtaking.

i’ve pretty much surrendered myself to the drug that pulls me here and there— opting not to resist the excitement that comes with discovery— wherever it is. this month brought me back to the big apple- the first trip i’ve made here since the brink of the pandemic in march of 2020. i can’t tell if new york has changed or if i just see the bigger picture after so many years. i enjoy the energy it inspires, and the way it makes me up my game just being here. this was a volunteer trip to reconnect with some folks i met in 2019 who are playing in the big new space of the modern music industry— a very different buisness than the one i started in so many years ago. i come to them as a time traveller who somehow survived the digital transformation which started in the 1990’s, while still living in my 1960’s shell — a bit of an artifact, i’m sure, but one who remembers the reason we all got started in this game to begin with, which sure wasn’t about the money. the cramped offices on 55th street are now replaced with pencil towers with catered kitchens, not that i mind this, i just mourn for those who never “got to” sweat it out the “hard way”. it all started because i am a musician, and i got to know— and survive— in a business that i love.

we are so very lucky to have lived in a time where we’ve experienced the influence of the Beatles, either directly or indirectly. as i think back to that 9th night of february, 1964, when i first saw the Beatles on the Ed Sullivan Show, what i remember most is the hope. there was a promise of change, of love, and of deliverance from a gray world to something in technicolor, and, for a time, that was to be so. the long-term effect was a belief that the world could become a better place- would become a better place- if i believed that it could and would. i’ve carried that hope throughout my life and it has sustained me when things looked like they were getting dark again. and eventually, i’ve found my way back to the light. i suppose there are many factors that have propelled me- my country and race of origin, my socio-economic background, my family of origin, and just plain luck. but what i believe in is that message of hope that came into my consciousness as a 9 year old boy listening to the Beatles.

we’re here in the future looking back at the flash that was 2023 with all the good, bad, and in between— we’re traveling in time. many of us are lucky to be in places without war or poverty, but not all of us. many of us have avoided sickness, or have good medical care, but not all of us. i am immensely grateful for the goodness life has bestowed on me and while i’ve worked hard during my life, i don’t for a minute think that luck hasn’t played a part in the life i have today. someone once told me, “happiness is wanting what you have”, and today, i definitely do.