Lots of things are on the horizon.  I've been lining up gigs for the spring and summer.  Some of them will be with old favorites,  and others will be new adventures.   I've also got a couple of different musical projects simmering in the back of my mind.  Whether anything comes of them remains to be seen.  It's the possibilities that excite me, however.

I'm back to working on my barn too.   I've started a seperate website to track the progress.  The eventual plan is to have a music studio,  and possibly a performance space.   You can see what I've done so far if you like at www.freewebs.com/musicbarn    I've got more pictures and more progress that I haven't put up yet,  but you can see the demolition that I did last fall.

There have been times in my life that I've been stuck in what used to be.  For this morning, at least,  as I'm writing this I feel like I can't wait to see what the future brings.

The other day I was talking with my friend Brian Coughlin about an act he has developed.  He mentioned how hard he's been working to get it right.   It reminded me a bit of how I often receive comments about how many gigs I seem to have. 

I won't deny that luck is probably a factor in getting a foot in the door.  Luck can take you only so far, however.  Then it comes down to how much planning and effort you've put into a project as to whether or not you are successful.  A lot of people don't realize how much hard work goes into making something look easy.

Not everything works the first time.   You have to adjust,  retool,  and adapt.   But I believe if you make a solid plan and stick to it,  hard work often pays off many fold.

So now I know what it takes to reach people.   Cookies!

Allow me to explain.   A little further down the page you'll see a place you can sign up to receive emails from me about my upcoming gigs.    If you're already on the my mailing list,  then you probably already know what this is about.

My last email recounted how some time ago,  my friend Lisa used to send out emails about her gigs.   In one email,  she expressed some doubt about whether anyone actually read all the way to the bottom.   She offered (tongue in cheek) to make cookies for anyone who got to the bottom.    Well,  I expressed some similar doubt about whether anyone reads my emails completely,  so I too offered to have Lisa make cookies.  Naturally,  I was joking, but within half an hour,  my inbox was full of messages from cookie lovers.

I haven't heard from Lisa yet.   Boy is she gonna be surprised!

I just got off the phone with a friend of mine.   He's had some health issues.  Some big ones.   I'm not going to get all up into his personal business on my website,  but I do want to talk about his attitude.   Quite simply,  it's inspiring.

He's incredibly positive about things,  without seeming blindly naive about it.   He's going about his business with the full belief that he can handle whatever comes his way.   To him,  every day is a gift,  and he's truly grateful to be here.  

I hope that if I ever have to go through something like he has,  I'll handle it with such a great attitude, grace, and dignity.

It's time to get busy.  I've had sort of a lean winter so far.   Some of that I can blame on Mother Nature.   With the winters we've had the last couple of years,  some of my regular winter venues have scaled back on their entertainment budgets.   The rest of the blame falls squarely on my shoulders.   I typically book gigs a couple of months in advance,  and a couple of months ago I let myself get caught up in some personal issues so I let my business slide a bit.  Hence,  not many gigs in December and January.

In the spirit of the new year,  I'm ready to turn over a new leaf and get busy.  Gigs aren't always easy to come buy, and well paying gigs are even harder to find.  Time to roll up my sleeves and pound the pavement a little bit.  

I'm always looking for new venues to play,  so if you know of anyplace that would appreciate my talents,  please let me know.

It has been my tradition for the past several years to use this space to write a year in review.   2007 has been an extraordinary year for me,  and I'm not sure I can write it this year and have it done before the end of next year.   Suffice it to say,  I was blessed by good fortune,  and I had my share of disappointments.   Just like you, I suppose.    The bottom line is,  I am one lucky s.o.b.  and appreciate the fact that I get to live the life I do.  

If I get ambitious in the next day or so,  I may try to write up a little more detailed summary,  but for now,  let me just say that if 2008 is as good to me as 2007,  I'll be ok.

Last week I caught the annual Christmas show of Watkins and the Rapiers.   I recommend seeing them if you get a chance.  A fine bunch of musicians, and a nice guys to boot.  They have a lot of very clever songs,  but one has really stuck with me.   "Are you man enough to say, 'Merry Christmas'".

It seems like every year you hear people starting to complain about "Happy Holidays" vs. "Merry Christmas."   And of course, there will be the obligatory news story about some group complaining about a nativity scene on some public property somewhere.   It's become as much a tradition as leaving cookies for Santa Clause on Christmas Eve.

I don't think anyone intends to offend someone by wishing them Merry Christmas.  If that offends you,  then you don't get it anyway.   We all need to lighten up a little bit and take the greeting with the spirit in which it is intended.

That being said........MERRY CHRISTMAS.

I often remind people to support live local music.  To be honest,  part of that is out of self-preservation.   It's how I make my living, after all.   But there's more to it than that.   Our area has some real treasures.   Every now and again you'll hear, and really experience something that you won't get from some big touring act that doesn't even know what city they're in tonight.

This week,  I had two musical experiences that left me feeling like I was lucky to be there.  

The first was at The Beale Street Cafe.   I play harmonica.  I'm ok,  but I don't claim to be great at it.   Well,  there was a man named Curtis Waterman there who just floored me with what he was playing.  I remember seeing Curtis years ago when I lived in Syracuse.  He had quite a reputation even then.  He recently moved to this area,  and he sat in with me while I did a few songs.  On one song in particular,  I almost couldn't finish because I just wanted to stop singing and playing so I could listen to him.  He got sounds out of the harmonica that I didn't know you could get.  It was really something.   He'll be playing around town with his band Corn Bred.   Do yourself a favor and look for them.

The second experience came a little later the same night.   I stopped by The Flipside to see what was going on at Open Mic.  My friend Connie Deming was there, and she was telling me that she had already done a gig that evening,  so she wasn't entirely feeling like she wanted to sing again.  Well, if Connie is in that room,  there's little chance that her arm isn't going to get twisted to sing,  so she went up.  She did a couple of songs that were great as usual,  then I remembered her performance at the Christmas show I put on last year at Chocolate Bar.  I asked Connie to sing O Holy Night.   The room just changed.   It got very quiet as people realized what was happening.   Connie just got inspired.  While she was singing, the hairs on the back of my neck stood up.     She'll be joining Pete Collin and I at House of Hamez on Dec. 21 for our Christmas show this year.  You won't want to miss it.

Here's wishing you get the same kind of experience I was lucky enough to have twice in one night the next time you see someone perform at a different level.

My cousin's husband died suddenly and unexpectedly over the weekend.  He got up early on Saturday and had breakfast with their son.  My cousin slept late that day.  When she got up a couple hours later,  she found him in his chair.  We're all very sad about it.  John was a great guy.

It's another one of those wake-up calls we get from time to time.  The reminder that I wish we didn't need to be reminded of.    So here's my thought for you to ponder:  If you knew that someone you care about wouldn't be here tomorrow,  what would you say to them today?   If you knew you wouldn't be here tomorrow, who would you reach out to today?

Life is precious,  but fragile.  We get busy and wrapped up in our own worlds, but we never know when it is our time, or someone else's time to go.  Why wait?