Greetings from Liberty, Tennessee, on the edge of the Cumberland Plateau, where the ridgerunner meets the flatlander. I hope this note finds everyone in good health and enjoying the holiday season. The holiday image above features my drawing of The Liberty Mule. To find out more about The Liberty Mule, go here. I’ve been making music with fiddler, Craig Eastman, who lives in Los Angeles, and having a big time collaborating with him. The new songs are a bit bluesier, many upbeat. Many have been written and recorded on my 1930 National Resophonic guitar, Natty Boh. I’ve also been practicing some finger style guitar pieces I’ve written over the last several years. For someone who doesn’t play finger style all of the time, I realize that the muscle memory goes away and takes time to get back. Each day brings me closer to the place I’d like to be.
Some of you know the story of LifeSaverBridge. You can read about it here. I found a quote about bridges recently that I wanted to share with everyone.
From everything that man erects and builds in his urge for living, nothing in my eyes is better and more valuable than bridges. They are more important than houses, more sacred than shrines. Belonging to everyone and being equal to everyone, useful, always built with a sense, on the spot where most human needs are crossing, they are more durable than other buildings and they do not serve for anything secret or bad. -Ivo Andric, novelist, Nobel laureate (9 Oct 1892-1975)
One of the new songs for my next record is titled, “Lifesaver Bridge.”
My good friend, Charley or Santa 1 (Charley used to be Santa every year, he has since retired, maybe physically but not in spirit), from the central coast of California, reminded me yesterday that he’d like to have a bundle offering of my last three records, Another Life, The Painter’s Bucket and The Craig Demos. Since I don’t want to make a retired Santa mad at me, I have decided to make a holiday bundle available for Charley, as well as everyone.
So if you are in need for a gift of song, stories and music, you needn’t look any further. Here on the LifeSaverBridge we are ready to send your holiday bundle of song to you or anyone who is lucky enough to know you. Just send an email to: billykempmusic@gmail.com, let me know how many you would like and where to send them. I will send you an invoice from Paypal and your gift will be on its way. If you don’t use Paypal, we can find another way. I can even gift wrap it if you’d like. The holiday bundle for the three records will be $25 plus shipping and handling, which should’t be more than five dollars or so in the US.
I am also selling 2 ounce bottles of Willbilly Black Walnut Ink that I made this fall. I have forty-eight bottles available. It took about one hundred black walnuts to make the ink. It was quite the process. I will blog about it someday. Each bottle will sell for $8. If you’d like a bundle, I could sell three for $20. Here is what they look like. I’ve been writing letters to friends using the ink with a dip pen. It slows your process of writing down a bit, which has been fine with me. I still enjoy typing, but the dip pen gives you a chance to express a bit more, a thinner line here and a thicker one there.
Here’s wishing everyone a healthy and happy holiday season, with best wishes for a happy New Year. I will look forward to seeing some of you next year when, hopefully we’ll be able to start moving around again. Until then, take care and bundle up…
Much Happiness,
Billy