Blue Sky Riders

On May 5, 2009, another fire broke out in Santa Barbara, California, my hometown. A fire eventually referred to as the Jesusita Fire (not sure why), and over that month it burned over 8,000 acres of prime Santa Barbara land and many homes. Yet this was only the third in a series of devastating fires in Santa Barbara, spanning only a few years, that totaled thousands of acres lost and hundreds of homes. But I think that last fire, Jesusita, really was the one that knocked the wind out of many of my neighbors, and did some serious damage to their dreams of utopia in California. (more…)

This is a picture of my new dog, Ryder. Pretty darn cute, eh? Like a living, breathing Beanie Baby. Why am I blogging about him, you ask?

Well, seeing as he’s a sort of gift from my good buddy Jeff from Birmingham, MI, and seeing as Ryder is also from Detroit, I thought I should name him after some famous Motor City music Icon, and since “Marvin” or “Smokey” (or “Tammi”) didn’t quite seem to fit, I liked the homage to Mitch Rider and the Detroit Wheels, (with a special thanks for the intro to “Devil With a Blue Dress”). (more…)

These days I can’t help but notice when I do something counter to what my history has taught me is the “wise thing” to do. Sometimes I can simply chalk it off to my short-sighted desire to getting my needs met, no matter the outcome, and sometimes I see that action as some naive urge in me that still wants to believe “it will somehow turn out differently this time. This time, it will all work out in the end.” (more…)

That night, in a deep funk, I did what survival does, I circled the wagons, calling in the advice and council of some of my most trusted friends. Only hours after my hard lesson in “coming back to reality,” fortuitously I get a call from my good friend, Steve, who has something very different to say, “What’s the downside, really? At best, you get a new record deal and maybe even score a bullseye. At worst, you end up with a pocket full of really great songs, and you get other artists to cover some. I say you go where the heat is and see where it takes you.” (more…)