Journal Entries

April ~ 2012

Wed, 02 May 2012 04:25:00 GMT

....In less than a year both Dana and I lost our dearest uncles and we are still trying to come to grips with it. Dana's Uncle John, the man that took her under his wing when she needed him most, left this earth on April 9th surrounded by his Wife, Children, Nieces, Nephews and admirers ( this one ). During the Christmas holiday, we were all sitting around the table and Uncle John said " I'm curious to know what is on the other side" He said it with a certain wonderment in his tired voice and I know he meant it, but I'm kinda guessing part of the reason he said it was to help put his family at some sort of ease. How do you define "lost"? ......Lost the company of? ......define company .....Lost the person?....define the person.... a memory? Since this is a space where I am called upon to write my thoughts I can only say what I think. Uncle John is lost only in the sense of his body. His warmth, his deeds and his memory move forward in all of those he loved and who certainly loved him. His kindness to my wife before I even met him has affected me forever and his acceptance of all people is an example of how we should all aspire to be.

March ~ 2012

Wed, 02 May 2012 04:00:00 GMT

....Had a wonderful set of concerts in March with one of the more memorial ones up in Somers, Connecticut. The Somers Concert Series was a wonderful place to play with an attentive audience and a great sounding room. Dana and I traveled quite a bit that day as we drove up there and back in the same day, but it is so worth it when you gain new friends and a new audience. Thank you to Judy Reeves for all of her kindness and work!

Febuary ~ 2012

Wed, 14 Mar 2012 02:26:09 GMT

.....The Innerspirit Coffeehouse was a venue that organizer and good guy, Greg Varro and I had been trying to get me into for quite some time. Scheduling conflicts finally went away and I was able to play on the 4th. I am so happy that I did. This place was packed with the best people and energy that greeted me with nothing but love and attentativeness...Thank you, Greg for having me.
Playing at Caffe Vivaldi in NYC with my dear friend, Julie Kathryn was certainly a highlight as well for February. It's such a great thing to have friends come and support all the way from Long Island on a weeknight. Thank you Terri, Ita, Janie and Justyna....

January ~ 2012

Wed, 14 Mar 2012 02:15:00 GMT

...Started off the year in fine fashion with the Hard Luck Cafe Music Series which is put on by The Folk Music Society of Huntington. Taking place at their new home at the Cinema Arts Center in Huntington, The night was so so much fun..! I had my buddies from Miles to Dayton and J P Vest playing with me again. My favorite violinist in the World, Leanne Preddice- Strom performed 'If it were me' making what was truly a special night even more so. What a great job FMSH does of promoting their shows, I can't thank Mike and Karen enough.....

A Year in Review

Tue, 03 Jan 2012 03:40:00 GMT

2011 was indeed a whirlwind full of nonstop music, performances and fun with family. I wish I could replay everything and describe how happy I am for having had such a travel... There is just too much but I will do this; I will share with you how my wife talks every morning ( there's a point ). Every morning my wife's mom calls her and they talk about the day before in review.... and then Dana gets back into bed and proceeds to tell me everything her mom and she talked about.......Verbatim........ ;-) I can't say I remember everything she tells me, but I can say that I am glad to hear all of it because there is always a certain happiness in her voice when she talks about her mom and her family. So......... just know that there is also a certain happiness in my head when I think of all the memories from that last year. What I am most happy about is that I married a wonderful woman, and that I continue to try and remember what my dear friend Jack told me..... "enjoy the journey" Happy New Year and whatever your own journey is, enjoy it.

December 2011

Tue, 03 Jan 2012 03:25:00 GMT

The holiday month was filled with many great memories...Guild Hall,Star Cafe on Shelter Island and a reminder as to one of the reasons I write - The Maine night sky filled with thousands of stars in the middle of winter. There is something about it that is beyond words. I wish I could write a song that wouldn't interrupt the silence..... Maybe the silence is the song........

November 2011

Tue, 13 Dec 2011 08:25:00 GMT

If I were not allowed to look at my schedule book and say what event most stands out for me in November, it would have to be the Grey Horse Tavern Concert. A great job was done promoting it by everyone and Grey Horse owner, Linda Ringhouse made me feel very much at home. This was the first time for many things. J. P Vest, frontman for the band 'Last Charge of the Light Horse' brought his amazing talent to two of the new songs and they were very well recieved. I also asked Angela Steen, a local professional dancer to choreograph a number for 'Venus'.... It was so beautiful..! Having Jon Preddice, Dave March and Miss Dana perform always keeps me in my comfort zone so I was very proud of the way the evening went......

October 2011

Tue, 08 Nov 2011 06:05:00 GMT

Wowwwwwwww....October....Crazy........

......19 musical dates, including Festivals such as the Sag Harbor Music Festival, the Huntington Fall Festival and the Patchogue Arts Festival kept me very busy in this Halloween month. Thankfully there was plenty of chocolate around at every pit stop for my more often needed sugar rushes.....!

.....One of my favorite things I did was providing music along with my buddies from Miles to Dayton for the Hope Children's Benefit in Port Jefferson. Such a great cause
and such truly wonderful people doing greatly needed work. Thank you Kevin Mann for having us.

September 2011

Tue, 08 Nov 2011 06:00:00 GMT

........Many little punks celebrated their 1st birthdays in the September, October months this year. Life........I feel it has been a sign that things are good in my world. My sister Holly's twins, Hannah & Ari........Dana's sister Kaaren's precocious little Clare.........Olivia, Leanne and Jason Strom's beautiful and wise-beyond-her-years daughter..... and of course the ever-smiling, Layla, Jon & Krista Preddices' little girl ........all made us realize how time flies. ...... The PBS documentary "Light in the Darkness" which covers the events surrounding the death of Marcelo Lucero, opened up nationally in September and I was honored to have the song "Perdonome Hermano" in it as part of the soundtrack. If you don't know already, when you download this song all the proceeds go towards the Marcelo Lucero Scholarship Fund. Please see the home page for details.

August 2011

Tue, 06 Sep 2011 06:10:00 GMT

....If you come to one of my shows where I am doing a full set you will see a glass dish with a candle in it in front of my mic stand. This glass was given to me by my Uncle George who recently passed away. Uncle George was a big burly man who I never heard raise his voice athough he looked sometimes when we were playing poker that he would like to. Along with my Aunt Chris, he defined what it meant to care about the people you loved. No one in my family ever went without a place to stay in tough times, as his door was always open. Reaching out a hand whether it be by working on a project at a family member's home or hauling firewood was his way. Uncle George didn't need to tell you how to live your life, he wasn't the kind of person to boast or to think he knew everything. He led by example in everything he did and I mean everything. The way he loved his wife, the way he cherished his daughter & grandchildren and the way he worked in the woods. .... Love is a funny thing, and I witnessed it in its most covert fashion a few years back when I stayed at my mom and dad's place for a while after going though some of my own sadness. My dad and Uncle George it seems, for being several miles away from each other, would gab on the phone almost every night. I think they talked low so that no one would notice that they would stay on the phone for quite some time. Love...doesn't care if you are 2 time- tested lumberjacks in your sixties. Love doesn't care if you are scared of getting old. Love somehow finds it way into every heart if that heart allows. .... My Uncle George loved me and I loved him. We knew this and there was no need to say it, just like there was no need for him to say why he was giving away some of his prized things last year. One of those things was a King's Crown Dish which was manufactured in the early part of the last century. I honor him and his memory by keeping him close to me when I am doing what I love.......

July 2011

Tue, 06 Sep 2011 05:29:31 GMT

Wow...... I think I am having trouble keeping up with this musical life!!
July was such a great month. I got to go back to Northern Maine for the first time in 5 years and play in front of my home town at the Moosestock Festival over the 4th weekend. It was so great to see old friends and family plus do a road trip with Kelly, Dana and Laura.
Musically, playing at the Great South Bay Music festival was such a great experience. Dave, Jon and Krista all sounded amazing and helped me go to a different level that day. It's wonderful to see the progress that has been made in such a few short years......

June

Sun, 31 Jul 2011 00:15:00 GMT

....... Time is flying and June was no exception. Earlier in the Month I was honored to meet the family of 1st Lieutenant Joe Theinert at a benefit at Claudios in Greenport.
While stationed in Kandahar, Afganistan last year Joe Theinert lost his life serving our country. While I was performing a song written for Joe and his family, the most surreal moments happened. An Army bomber and then an Army helicopter flew by just as I was into the bridge of the song. We obviously had no way of making that synchronize and it will be forever remembered. I actually had to extend the instrumental part of the bridge to accommodate for the blade sounds. I've left the song that way, with it's extension....Some things are meant to be... Thank you Joe.

May

Wed, 22 Jun 2011 06:20:00 GMT

.......14th 2011 was a day I confirmed to my friends and family that I had met my match, my best friend and my love. This relates to music in a certain way....
My match, my best friend, and my love allows me to be me.... playing and writing music at all hours, and I mean all hours.....getting into bed and then jumping out 10 seconds later to write down a lyric idea... coming home late and leaving early, coming with me to every event possible.... allows me to bend her voice on harmonies to fit my idea of the female voice as it relates to robert bruey written music ( she rolls her eyes on this one ).... But most importantly....she listens and cares about my musical passion with me.

May was a good month....not because of so many musical events, but because it marks the beginning of a concert with Dana that will last a lifetime.....

April

Mon, 16 May 2011 09:25:00 GMT

........What I can tell you is that April 2011 was a great month and went by way too fast....! I was invited to return to The Vail Leavitt Theatre in Riverhead by my good friends Miles to Dayton and boy was it a fun night. Did I love playing there? Yes, but more so than that, Dana and I got to hear our buddies, M2D kickin' some butt...! They even had their dad, Mr. Phil Preddice up on stage and Jam with them on violin....... Music is such a joy and the Preddice family proves it....! Miss Bonnie Grice kindly had me back live on the air to help me promote some concert dates and I have to say, it is so much fun hanging with her. She is such a professional and makes it so cool that I have to remember that I am on air ...... just a lot of wacky faces and laughter....! I'm so glad that Bonnie and WPPB are in the place they are in, please continue to support them. The Custer Observatory Concert.......what can I say? This place will always hold a special place in my heart. It is my home base, my home sound, my home people and on that night, rain couldn't hold back all the magic of the evening. My dear friend Fred Raimondo opened up the evening with 2 beautiful songs of his own that set the mood for the whole show. I would like to say I knew what I was doing when I invited G P Lane to recite some poetry that night. I would like to say I told him how to show his wares..... I'll only take credit for wanting to add some diversity to the evening, and I will say that G P's performance was something to never forget. It was showmanship with a grasp of the English language not often enough displayed. What also made me very happy and proud was that Jon and Leanne performed with me again. I am so lucky to have such friends to share music with and I am thankful everyday for them.

March

Tue, 12 Apr 2011 06:40:00 GMT

.....It was an honor when Mike Kornfeld, who is a good friend and a tireless supporter of local music scenes all over the tri state area, invited me to help formally announce the move of the Folk Music Society of Huntington to its new home at the Cinema Arts Center. I was happy to be there and ring in the new surroundings. March was also a month for new introductions to some very cool people in the music industry. I was fortunate to be asked to play at the "Live at Crossroads Music" session in Amagansett, which is put together by 2-time Grammy winner~ producer / sound engineer Cynthia Daniels. I have to say it was one of the best sounding shows I have ever done, which allowed me to step up my game. I was also invited invited by Cynthia to her home studio in East Hampton where we recorded a one hour, for-radio interview. What I really liked about Cynthia was that, even though she has worked with some of the biggest names in the music industry, she treated me like an old friend, talking about her experiences and her love for music... what a gem.... and one of her favorite songs, Reign O'er Me by The Who! Thank you Cynthia for making me feel at home.

Febuary

Tue, 12 Apr 2011 06:20:00 GMT

.....Febuary was a fun month, with lots of planning for future dates this summer. Playing Guild Hall for the first time was extremely exciting and the sound was fantastic.
One of the highlight performances of the month for me was getting to play again for Teri Kennedy and her "For Love...poetry and performance at Ashawagh Hall". I truly enjoy when the different arts are intertwined. To see performance art, poetry, visual art and music all in the same day is just amazing.

January

Wed, 02 Feb 2011 06:05:00 GMT

....January, January.... I should write a song about January...! The last two, (2010 and 2011) have been whirlwinds...oh wait, that's a different song....!

This January was non-stop as we officially released 'Silver Burning Sky' on the 25th of the month. Laura and I wanted to do something a little out of the ordinary for our kick- off so we had a dinner party and concert at O's in Saint James. It was a wonderful success with the Miles to Dayton bunch and My Buddy Jack helping me out on stage.
Phillipe, the principal and head chef at O's did a remarkable job and the staff worked very hard. My only regret was that I wish the place was bigger so that I could have asked more people to come.

In promoting the release, I was able to do live, on-air shows with Habanero of WUSB FM, Bonnie Grice of WPPB FM, Bob Longman of WUSB and Joe Vignola of WUSB as well. The radio personalities of Long Island have been extremely kind to me and my music, as well as to other local musicians. I thank them so much for stepping up.

Dawn Watson of The Press was also kind enough to have Brandi Buchman write a feature story in the Southampton Press about yours truly. This was perfect timing for the release date and Brandi really took the effort to write a nice article which highlighted the type of music and where it comes from.

Musical Events this month included The Stephen Talkhouse in Amagansett (love that place), The Gray Horse Tavern, The Bridgehampton Parlor Concert Series, and Wings Over Haiti benefit.

........ January.........wow...!

December and a Year in Review....

Wed, 02 Feb 2011 05:40:00 GMT

.....The Holidays were somewhat quiet this year, thankfully. There were plenty of family and friends, just not as chaotic as they can be. I really loved playing at G P Lane's Xmas special. He surely knows how to gather up the troops. Dana and I sang a song called 'Bring a torch Jeanette Isabella' which is an old French Christmas song from the 1600's.

2010 was a year I will never forget. The powers that be showed me so many great things...... The importance of friends, trusting yourself and how very important it is honor that gifts you have been given. I have been given so many gifts and music being one of them has allowed me the keys to so many others.

The time of recording 'Silver Burning Sky', not necessarily the end result, was a life changing event for me. I found so much joy in working on this project. I thank Jack for sitting me down before we started and reminding me to enjoy the moments of it all.

I dedicate the great success and fun I have had in 2010 to Dana, Laura, Jack, Jon, Leanne and Dave.... I love you all.

November

Sun, 19 Dec 2010 00:00:00 GMT

This month was a very busy time for me musically but there are sometimes larger thoughts..... ..... November 7th marked the 2nd year anniversary of the tragic death of Marcelo Lucero. Because it was so cold that day, Joselo, Marcelo's younger brother organized the vigil to take place in the afternoon. As I played Perdoname Hermano I couldn't help but feel ashamed. There I was wishing I was warmer while the sun was still out, I could still see my breath, and I could still sing my song. 2 years previously a young man in the cold of midnight lay dying just wishing he would not stop breathing. I am forever changed and I am forever grateful to Joselo for allowing me to remember his brother with him. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ufnCbcaKTg8

October

Wed, 01 Dec 2010 09:09:51 GMT

........The artwork for "Silver Burning Sky" made me think about all of the albums that I have purchased over the years and the ones visually that stood out the most. I have to say that one of my favorites is U2- The Joshua Tree. Anton Corbijn's sparse photos left one of those images in my eyes that stayed on my retinas like a 1950's flash bulb. I was able to have John Davis work with me and create an idea that spoke to the content of the music itself without being overdone or too busy. Thank yous out to John. I think my favorite musical event in October was doing a children's storytime with Miss Dana at the library where she is the children's librarian. Kids absolutey love and respond to music in such a good way. It was fun to be out of the allegedly serious aspect of some of my writings and get to play among others " Going to the zoo" by Tom Paxton. We also read/ sang "Pete the cat " which Miss Dana and I are relentlessly determined to have seen as one of the best known children's books of the modern era. it's all about the positive message....and " it's all good"