no fences
time is slipping by at light speed here in 2020… are we moving faster? can we slow it down? what are we missing? it seems like i was just writing here yesterday and now here we are more than a month later… life has lost its fences and the new year has brought new fire to my heart.
i visited nashville and memphis soon after valentine’s day and caught a glimpse of a stray heart from the sky. i was amused at the kismet and my own imagination. it’s been such a creative period since the spring of last year and my joyful perception of the depth of purpose of life around me continues unabated. delusion or insight? creativity or enlightenment? does it need to be defined if we feel happy, joyous and free?
the audiences of the van gogh brothers don’t seem to mind. our february residency show at vincent’s worcester was another spectacular, joyous, SRO affair. our decision to double down on vincent’s and worcester this year was prescient. we’re feeling mad love which feeds us and we’re giving it right back. we return on saturday march 14th for a pre-st patrick’s day show, our 7th in a row. crazy, right?
we were also back at woolly mammoth with david minehan in february tracking “ghost ,” one of the 150+ songs written since june, and the third track of the new post- Love Letters songs we’re building for the next full-length, due 2021. we will be mixing in march with DM and will also begin on-location recording with andy plaisted at the carriage house in newton. i’m very excited to track in the room where these songs were written. the acoustics are magical under 17’ skylighted ceilings and mid-1800’s architecture and materials. and with spring coming, we’re planning a western massachusetts video shoot for “down to the river,” a spanking new track about sin and salvation which will have a retro, baptism-based theme with cynical undertones. very psyched about this.
nashville’s highlight was a reunion with pal annie clements and a chance to see her side project, “side piece,” an all-female band of women who play for well-known artists (reba, shania, sugarland, maren morris, amos lee— you get the picture), at a little bar called redneck riviera, and, wow! incredible musicians, great people and a feel-good time with the amazing annie. memphis gave up a rooftop interview about the van gogh brothers’ long history with saint allen austin at made in memphis entertainment where i also got a dope new hat… will post the interview when it airs.
april promises to be a stellar month beginning with a trip to asheville to celebrate raintree music founder mike verble with john durrill, darryl worley, jason wicks, aaron tippin and others, followed by a birthday bash at vincent’s on the 11th and our front room debut at wcuw (worcester) on the 25th. happy aries!
in the meantime, as i write from chilly new york, i’m looking forward to a brief writing retreat in provincetown before all goes into high gear again. i am blessed to live a diverse and creative life with beautiful friends and colleagues— and no fences. as john durrill and i wrote a few years ago, “the sky’s the limit.”
looking forward to seeing you in the weeks ahead.
love,
jc