Closing out the Summer

This summer has been an interesting journey - in fact pretty much all of 2010 has!  I've branched out into solo acoustic performing with the appearances at the West End Farmers Market.  Solo-acoustic work is not something that I ever had a strong desire to do.  But, as with many things, now that I'm used to it, I have found that it has its own appeal (full electric band is still my favorite).

The acoustic work makes you more accessible to people especially in an environment like the farmers market where people casually stroll near you.  The set up is so simple, particularly when you're not dealing with amps and speakers.  And when people enjoy the music it's for no other reason than the song that they hear - no special effects or gimmicks to make things seem more than they are.

So the year has been a time for growth as a performer.  In addition to the solo excursions, I have taken many opportunities to perform with fellow songwriters and performers.  You can learn a lot by performing with others and watching how they work.  This weekend was especially good in that department.  I took the opportunity to perform with good friend Gary Shaver and his band Spectrum, then I backed up the outstanding vocalist and songwriter Darryl Ellyson at a separate gig.

The creative energy is really flowing these days.  I have too many songs going at once, but I should have some of them complete soon.  It's really great to be writing and see what comes out of the ideas in my head.  And of course it would be wonderful to complete the CD project.

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