Greetings from Liberty. I do hope this post finds everyone well, engaged and doing good work. I’m just back to Liberty after a weekend in Cleveland where Sue, my wife, is from. We were there to celebrate her high school reunion. It was a hoot. There was no shortage of conversation and bad puns.
Do many of you listen to podcasts? I have been listening on my lunch breaks. I really like Broken Record, sometimes hosted by music maker, Rick Rubin. If you like podcasts and haven’t checked out Broken Record, I recommend giving it a go. In their mission statement they put artists and creators first. I’m all for that as long they aren’t making the decisions in air traffic control. What would the skies look like if that were the case?
In January, I was in Baltimore for a show at The Catonsville Clubhouse, which was a great way to start the new year off. I also did an in-store appearance at Bill’s Music, also in Catonsville. I have been a customer of Bill’s Music since 1967 and wish I still had every guitar that I purchased from Bill; a Les Paul Junior, a Martin D-18, a Martin D-35, several Fender Telecasters and a Guild acoustic. The Les Paul Junior was a 1957 tobacco sunburst and that’s the one I’d really like to wear again … What was I thinking?
Rick Rubin has inspired me to give podcasting a try. While I was at Bill’s Music, I recorded my first podcast interviewing Bill Higgins the day before my in-store performance. We both had so much fun remembering anecdotes, bands, gigs and business decisions that went both ways. The main reason I wanted to record Bill was because of his support, friendship and advice that he gave me along my musical journey. I can honestly say that if it weren’t for Bill I may have ended up with a decent retirement and a positive cash flow. Instead, I have nearly five hundred songs just waiting to be discovered and countless sets of old guitar strings that I have been saving to make art with in retirement, if that ever happens.
The podcast is called The Jangle, and it is on Mixcloud.
Back in the middle of February, a songwriting partner, Geoffrey Himes, sent me an email to let me know about a deadline for submissions for a book anthology of Baltimore writing called Baltimorology. The book was to feature favorite mementos & stories collected from artists, poets, writers, musicians, free thinkers, and other irregular folks. I submitted some songs and stories and several were chosen for the book. https://www.splicetoday.com/baltimore/baltimorology
The book is available from Amazon here.
One other mention is about playlists on Spotify that added a couple of songs from my latest record, Onions, Old Movies & You. The platform called Submit Hub helps recording artists land reviews and playlists. There are nearly two thousand active curators listening to submissions on Submit Hub. Don’s Tunes added “Take ‘Em Away” and Sugar Lodge Records added “No Bad Days.” If you listen to Spotify, please check out these curators playlists. My songs are no longer on these playlists. They were on for a month, but their playlists may introduce you to a new artist or song that you may enjoy.
I’m in the middle of trying to figure out how to proceed with replacing my Mac Pro desktop computer, which I’ve had since 2009. It’s hard to imagine that it is still working. I’m grateful. There are certain softwares I can no longer upgrade however, and I really want to know how those upgrades are helping folks make better music, more interesting music. If you have a thought, please send it my way. I’m hopeful by the end of the summer I will be working with a newer set-up.
And speaking of summer, I do hope that everyone has some exciting plans for places to go and people to see. And if you are driving and have a CD player in your car, and you haven’t gotten my latest record, Onions, Old Movies & You, subtitled “things that make me cry,” please head here and order a copy. You won’t be disappointed, the record has as the cover says, “songs with almost every human emotion.”
Until next time, all the best…
Billy