It is the wonderful time of the year again.  This old bear has come out of hibernation and I am lining up some great shows for the upcoming months.  This past winter was more difficult than most because I caught the never ending flu or gunk or what ever it was, but now I am healthy and ready to go out and perform.

Watch for upcoming performances in the calendar section!

Another New Year has begun and as always I have many resolutions.  Besides the usual lose weight and get in shape so I can run a mile as fast as I did when I was 20 (probably just a dream) I resolve to learn 6 great new solo guitar instrumentals this year.  They are:

The Tempest by Doug Smith

Andecy by Andrew York

Turning Turning Back by Alex Degrassi

Freewayman by Pat Donohue

Cobalt Blue and The White Pass Trail by Laurence Juber

I really love listening to these pieces and I have a great desire to be…

We had another great evening at the Loveland Aleworks this past Friday night.  It was Night On The Town here in Loveland and the place was jumping.  I saw many old friends and made some new friends as I played my solo guitar music through the night. 

The Ale is so good there, in fact as I type this Sunday afternoon (WHAT? YOU'RE NOT WATCHING THE BRONCOS?) I am enjoying a glass of the fabulous Stout they brew there.  It is a fine ale for a mid-autumn afternoon.

I'll be performing there again soon so check…

How to write about music.  Especially instrumental music.  This dilemma has befuddled me for quite sometime. 

I often perform in quiet but background situations and I get to observe peoples reactions to my music as they converse, drink or eat.  One peculiar observation is that if I play only instrumental music, that is music composed without any lyrics, for a time and then switch to an instrumental version of a song, I can almost see people brains twisting in the heads as the brain switches from it's…

I had a great time playing guitar for the people that stopped in at Loveland Aleworks Tuesday night.  The stools were occupied most of the evening and every one had a good time.  The Ale pourers said at the end of the night, "We were rockin' !!"

Check the calendar for the next time I play there as well as other upcoming performances.

The leaves are starting to change color, there is a nip in the morning air and my cats are curling up under the blankets at night to keep warm.  It's a wonderful time of the year and there is snow on the mountains that glistens in the sunlight.

I've got some great gigs coming up, so check out the upcoming gig schedule and I hope to see you soon.

It rained and rained and rained starting last Tuesday night and the Big Thompson River spilled over its banks Thursday night and it kept raining.  Luckily I live over a mile from the river and I can report no flooding and no leaking in my house.  Many people in Colorado were not so lucky as the waters flooded houses and took out bridges and roads.  The news says 15,000 houses damaged and destroyed and many families now are homeless.  Please, if you can please contribute to the Red Cross as they have been…

Last Saturday I had a great time performing at the Loveland Aleworks.  A crowd gathered early, probably half of them to watch the Broncos-Seattle game, but the Broncos bowed out quickly (are they taking lessons from the Rockies?), and many of them stayed around to listen to me perform.  I did my own instrumental compositions, told some stories about the music, played some jazz instrumentals and I sang a quite a few old blues tunes.  We all had a great time and thank you to all of you who stopped by and…

This is the first of the notes for the original compositions on my CD, "One Man, One Guitar"

I chose Test Patterns first because it was the first instrumental I composed that I actually felt worked as a composition.  Before Test Patterns I dabbled in song writing creating mostly boring songs with lyrics that were either morbid or trite, typical teenage longings and ranting.  I actually performed these songs at open mikes and the few coffeehouse performances I booked for myself.  Oh, the horror!

About this…

An odd thing happened several months ago.  My index fingers started to not straighten out.  It didn't affect my guitar playing but it scared me.  My doctor said it could be many things and suggested to take a break from playing as it could be tendonitis or arthritis or something else.  So I took some time off and nothing really changed.  So it probably is not tendonitis. 

I really missed playing and now I am trying an herbal ointment that may or may not work.  It was highly recommended by someone who had…