Laughter and love. Could there be anything better than those two things? And that’s a rhetorical question of course. Because they both are awesome examples of human connection to God. But before you click away, or stop reading and listening to what I’m talking about, try this… 15 seconds of laughter…and love how it feels. But don’t do it in public. You’ll look like … The rest of the story…
Tag Archives: words and music
Each and every time America goes through an election cycle there’s a bunch of what I call strange change. And it’s rarely, if ever, for the good. But the presidential election of 2020-2021 goes down as one of the strangest. I suggest you hold on for the ride. And don’t just look for a place to hide till it’s all over. Yeah, hold on … The rest of the story…
In 1986 I had a couple of Roland keyboards, a stand for my home studio, a stand for stage performance, and all the rest of my gear set up in my little apartment in Lakewood, Colorado. And every night I wasn’t playing live somewhere I was on my keys writing lyrics and producing songs. I was a man possessed. Because I was gonna make … The rest of the story…
Yeah, I’m gonna have a good day. And I don’t care who tries to stop me. Because it beats the tar, dust, and heck out of the alternative. And I’m gonna have a good day tomorrow, too. Because I want the streak to continue. After going through thousands and thousands of good days, why stop now? Right? And, you might be thinking, “Nobody has … The rest of the story…
In 1989, I had been back in Colorado for about a year. And I was in my little apartment, B17 (yeah, like the old Olivia Newton-John song), listening to the cool variety of music on FM station, KBCO. Because they had this segment they called “Home Grown.” And I had sent a song of mine in to them. But they didn’t send out advance … The rest of the story…
In 1981 I joined a popular trio, in Atlanta, Georgia. They added me as their drummer, and all four of us sang. So, we had some nice 4 part harmonies. And I remember how their fans enjoyed our rendition of a song called “Leader of the Band.” Because the bass player, lead guitarist, and I played recorders, and sang backup, while the rhythm guitarist … The rest of the story…
In the middle of the 1970’s I went to college. And like countless other freshmen, I went to orientation, found my dorm, and explored the campus. It was academically exciting to me. For a little while at least. But the idyllic luster faded pretty fast. And I needed an outlet for my frustration with “higher learning.” Fortunately, that outlet took the form of study … The rest of the story…
It was July of 1975. And I was a fairly new piano player. Because I had started teaching myself the way around the keys about a year and a half before. So, as the scales and chord combinations started to make sense I naturally wanted to put some of my large catalogue of lyrics to music. And one of those songs was Performance for … The rest of the story…
Taps and lights out I remember (at least a little) when Taps was played during the funeral proceedings for President Kennedy. But I didn’t remember the bugler’s clinkers during the minute long song. Not until I looked at old video footage. And, of course, people feel the need to make fun of the guy for “missing” notes. But it was a cold day, which … The rest of the story…
A conversation in a song stayed in the back of my mind The technical definition of a fugue, in music, is: “a contrapuntal composition in which a short melody or phrase (the subject) is introduced by one part and successively taken up by others and developed by interweaving the parts.” I like to think of it, simply, as a conversation in a song. Either … The rest of the story…