Entry No. 9, August 13, 2008: Wow! Last Saturday, August 9, I performed for a group of summer campers called Olim in Sheffield, MA who are passionate about my song "Marie": they know all the words, and are not afraid to sing! Thank you campers! You really made me feel like a rock star! I've posted a few photos from this show below. Last week I was named finalist in the Northeast Regional Mountain Stage New-Song Contest, so i am gearing up for a run down to Joe's Pub in NYC to perform with the other nine finalists in a song-writing show-down of sorts. Very exciting! AND I am negotiating with venues in the Berkshires and in Cambridge for official CD release party dates in October. Check my calendar page often! I will post and send out e-mail announcements these as soon as they are confirmed! See you soon! Love…

Entry No. 8, July 8, 2008: It is hot, hot, hot! here in Cambridge, MA this summer! The new CD is out, and enjoying a warm welcome. I am in the beginning stages of planning regional CD release concerts, mainly in the Berkshires (western MA) and the Boston area. Thanks to all who came out last night to my set at TCAN (The Center for the Arts, Natick (MA)) (see picture below), and to all the open-mic-ers! I'll post a bit of the recording from last night here, so check back soon. I'll be doing some playing with a very talented pianist/songwriter here in Cambridge named Jennifer Greer, and also, with an old friend and terrific songwriter, Linda Sharar. I'll be backing Linda up at Bull Run in Shirley, MA when she opens for Ellis Paul on July 25.

Entry No. 7, March 29, 2008: Life is rich indeed. I have mastered the new CD, at long last, titled ANOTHER SPIN, after the lyric in one of the songs, likening life and love to a little game of chance often played on the Vegas strip. I spent this past Wednesday with the masterig engineer putting the final touches on the CD, and while I am very happy with the results, I have a few nit-picky things to resolve (it's been eight years in the making, what's another week to get it right, right?) before the master is shipped off to be manufactured and packaged. I have some seedlings of plans for CD release concerts in and around the Berkshires and the Boston area, and as usual, I'm thinking about the daunting task of recreating my recorded tracks in a live environment, and where that might be. Club Helsinki in Great Barrington for a trio or quartet? The Colonial Theatre in Pittsfield perhaps for an all out recreation of the CD?

Entry No. 6, February 8, 2008: What a great couple of weeks it has been! Two weeks ago I returned to the Berkshires for a show at the Arcadian Shop's Trailside Café. Thanks to all who came to that show, and to Larry, April and the rest of the Arcadian Shop crew for being such gracious hosts! My younger sister Tanah shot this photo from that night.

This past Saturday, I performed at a little gem called Dewey Memorial Hall in Sheffield Massachusetts. Much of Berkshire county considers Sheffield "out-of-the-way", but there is a local crowd that comes to this music series, and they are about as attentive and supportive as anyone could be. They really seemed to hang on every word during the show. Thanks to everyone who dug out from the ice and turned out to this show!

Sunday afternoon I returned to the task at hand—mixing my long-overdue second CD, and preparing for one final guest appearance. Monday and Tuesday was back to my other life as a graphic designer, but on Wednesday, the brilliant Catie Curtis arrived at about 10AM and spent a few hours adding her lovely voice to two recordings for the CD. Thanks Catie!

The CD / Production Update: Well, I am very close to choosing a title. The package design is well underway. And more than half the songs are mixed, with the other half requiring another couple of days work. Right now, it is back to my graphic design world for a little while, and as soon as I have the chance, I will be back at it. Until next time!

Entry No. 5, January 4-5, 2008: Wow! 2008 is here and what a year this will be! It's been a little while since I've written anything in here, and a lot has happened. Some show's coming up. Check out the calendar page. My good friend Bobby Sweet organized and threw a hell of a concert event benefitting the Berkshire Community Action Coalition in late November. I opened the show, and he and his band played a generous set of his songs. Here's a couple nice photos from that night (one, two). Also, soon to come: promotional photos taken in November by Boston's commercial photographer Mark Wilson.

Lots of news to report about my upcoming CD: In mid-December, Bobby Sweet and I set up shop at his place in the Berkshires and recorded my acoustic guitar duet "Chet's Bet" for the third time (third time's a charm). It is a complicated duet of carefully choreographed parts that has taken me years (literally) to record it to my satisfaction. New years day and the following day were spent at Derek Studios in the Berkshires recording both harmony vocal overdubs by JoAnne Redding for my songs "Do You Still Love Me" and "Here I go Again", and vocal overdubs (and hand claps) by Bruce Mandel, Fran Mandeville, JoAnne, Lisa and Danny Sturz, Bobby Sweet, and myself for my song "Live Every Day". These songs are now mostly ready for mastering. I also recorded Conor Meehan's drums for "Live Every Day", a redo of my song "Child Inside" and two newer numbers "Your Voice" and "Season's Shuffle", all for the coming CD. So much fun to be back in the Berkshires with some of my favorite friends and musicians! Huge thanks everyone for braving the storm in the name of music, and to Conor for absolutely nailing these songs just the way I had envisioned them.

Later this month Jeff Stevens (trumpet) will be adding the final overdubs (other than my own) to this CD—a landmark moment in what has been an almost endless creative process. I am very excited to see the light at the end of the tunnel. I plan to use the last week of January to mix the remaining tracks at home, schedule the mastering session, and complete the packaging design for the CD (and decide on a title). That's it for now. Past my bedtime. More later. Ciao!

Entry No. 4, October 23, 2007: Well, in August I moved from the Berkshires to Cambridge, MA, and while it is really only a couple of short hours down the turnpike, it is quite the experience to uproot from everything familiar, and plant roots in the unfamiliar. Seems the last time I moved anywhere, my belongings filled a small (I mean small) U-Hall truck, and my friends, family, and I by ourselves managed to move it all. Now, somehow I have accumulated enough "stuff" to warrant a truck nearly the size of a semi. My friends and family (and of course I) were not really up to the task. So the last day of July, the movers arrived with said semi and loaded all my belongings into it. I then drove to my new home in Cambridge where they happily appeared the next morning, narrowly missing the power lines stretched between tree limbs across the street. After a few short hours, I was in! Mostly I've been unpacking and settling in for a couple of months. The good news is that I was able to spend almost the entire weekend (October 19-21) recording my lead and harmony vocal tracks and instrumental overdubs onto five of the foreseeable twelve songs to appear on the new CD which I hope to be mixing in by December! I am looking forward to working with some new musical friends here in Cambridge. While I haven't been performing much in the past couple of months, I did find my way to the Lizard Lounge in Cambridge in mid August to hear an old friend Rose Polenzani perform with, among others, Session Americana. To my delight, I was invited to play a song, which was like the best welcome a new guy in town could ask for. Thanks Rose! Anyway, be sure to check back soon for performance dates and more journaling!

Entry No. 3, April 28, 2007: What a beautiful place to perform! Last night at The Colonial Theatre was just beautiful. Thanks again to everybody everybody who came and listened, and also to guys from The Lovin' Spoonful and everybody at The Colonial who were made sure I felt welcome in their spectacular home! Don Harris of Daymountain Sound was responsible for things sounding so good in the theatre. Here's a complete song from the show: MOVING DAY. And I was very lucky to have Kevin Sprague on hand to photograph and videotape my set. Here's a really nice shot taken while I was playing MOVING DAY. For those of you who made it to The Colonial Theatre Friday night, see if you can find yourself in this picture. Then compare it to the way it looked from my point of view without the camera flash! Here's a shot of the theatre during sound check. Note Don and Chris whipping the sound into shape in the back. Thanks guys!

Entry No. 2, April 17, 2007: Bobby and I had a great time at the Arcadian Shop. Thanks again to everybody at the shop and everybody who came! Here's a wonderful photo from that night by photographer Evan Soldinger. Here are a couple of complete (about 5.5 megs ea.) from the show: Flyaway and Gonna Last.

Entry No. 1, April 11, 2007: Excited to play two shows this month (see calendar page for more info). Trying hard to wrap up the last handful of tracks for the new (as of yet untitled) CD. It's looking like 11 songs who's styles again run the gamut between all of my songwriting influences: The Beatles, John Hiatt, Steve Earle, Randy Newman, etc. about love, loss, life's little niggly moments, and of course, my dad, who has been on my mind a lot this past 12 months. As with 2001's ALL THE WHISPERING I have again recorded a bit sporadically, whenever it was possible. 2006/2007 has been the year of new gear including a new Collings acoustic guitar, a new piano MIDI controller and module, as well as a nice microphone with which I will be recording some new vocals this week. I also bought a handmade Turkish oud recently, and am busy attempting to learn to play it. My friend Bobby Sweet is in Colorado now, mastering his latest CD which I am proud to say my voice appears on. I will also be recording tracks on another firend's CD soon: Bruce Mandel. Additionally, I'll be backing up JoAnne Redding again on keyboards, guitar, and vocals, in her band this summer. See you soon!