the bare trees of november
november is one of my favorite months. there are still occasional warm thermal drifts of summer, but the hollow cold takes over by month’s end. it’s a traveling month. bare trees in the northeast stand like silver sentries pointing to warmer climes in the south and west. the pacific stays warm almost until month end, and the surf beckons to wrap itself around you for a few last days. it’s a dying month. the old dies away for the winter, making way for the new. that’s exciting news. there’s an anticipation in november— the promise of better things to come.
this is also my favorite time of year at Vincent’s, the van Gogh Brothers’ home away from home. the holiday spirit imbues the place with a homeyness absent at other times of the year. you can feel it. we return on november 12 and december 10, and we always look forward to our return. we’ve been looking at other rooms in town and on the north and south shore, but our bar is high— the small, original music rooms are few and far between and we’re too far along to consider anything less if we’re going to play the bars. call us crotchety.
likewise in the recording studio. we return to Woolly Mammoth on november 8 and 15 for progress on album number 17. this is by far my favorite time of year to record. the tracks get the feeling of anticipation, and the room feels different- whether it’s here in the northeast at Woolly, or in malibu at Woodshed- there’s a warmth in the room.
writing for the new album has continued and pretty soon it will be time to have dinner with the boys and review the progress for next tracks. we’ve got two started and another slated. what’s it gonna be next? always psyched to swim in this ocean… the mystery unfolds and takes its own shape. the alchemy and the magic. it’s an incredibly rewarding process and i’m hopelessly addicted to it.
there are two trips pending as well- one to los angeles to catch up with everyone out there, and one to london to feel the run up to Christmas. i’ll be booking one or both of those trips shortly and will hopefully write to you from the air next month.
ok, well that’s all for now. hope to see you at Vincent’s or around school sometime soon.
jc