Toward Gratitude, Away from Grievance
What a treat to get to go to Arizona for a week in February, hang with family and friends, hike like crazy, SEE A RATTLESNAKE, and then, after all that, get to play for a captive audience yelling for their favorite tunes from my bygone years. Brian Blush put it something like: “I could wake up most any morning and find something to complain about, but not this week.” We all struggle at times to find our silver lining, but finding mine is a little easier now that I know I’ll be in AZ once a year to play with my friends for the likes of you.
Also, someone put it together that “Bud Fest III” (yes, it feels weird calling it that, but we have to call it something, and I’m trying to roll with it) in February 2021 could fall perilously close to the 25th anniversary of the release of Fizzy, Fuzzy, Big & Buzzy. That sounds like a show theme waiting to happen! Know that I will be there to play with my cohorts and pay a little homage to the record that launched a thousand tequila shots.
The original Bud Fest (Feb. 2019) woke me to the reality that life would be better if I made more music, and during the ensuing year, that’s just what I’ve done. I’ve dug up old songs, written new ones, recorded them, and generally driven my Atlanta cohort Bret Hartley crazy with my lack of studio know-how. The results so far remind me just how cool it is to start with nothing and wind up with an album’s worth of material, made with friends, and with no real goal other than to create something you’ll be proud to play 20 years from now. That’s how it was with both Wheelie and Songs from Memory. I can’t believe I still get to do this.
So, what’s up with this new album?
It’s almost done. I could easily see finishing the recording in March and mixing and mastering in April. That’s pretty much the easy part on my end. The hard part is the trek to releasing the thing, which involves, at minimum, naming it, creating album art, deciding how to distribute it, and financing that distribution. Then, there’s a record release party that we’re going to throw in Portland, and any other promotion between then and Bud Fest III (tee hee hee).
Here’s what we know for sure right now. November 7th, 2020 is the date of the album release party in Portland, Oregon. That’s the Saturday after the election. On that day, we should be ready for a big party and new beginnings, so let’s shoot for that Saturday and see what happens.
I’m going to be enlisting your opinions over the next few weeks on things such as album name choices, the types of music media people buy, and other things. It’s a brand new music world since I last released an album, so I want to make sure I’m doing it the right way. You’ll be able to help on that end. Stay tuned.
Until then, know the thing is almost done, and you will have it in 2020.
Also, a few of you have asked about my novel Nineteen Ways to Destroy Your Rock Band, which I finished a year ago. I’ve had no takers for the thing as of yet. It’s currently being read by one house, and there are a few other possibilities out there. One way or another, I will release 19 Ways in 2021. Just like with Badge, if no one ponies up, I’ll release it myself. It’s the 21st century, after all.
That’s it for today. Thank you, Arizona, and my family, and Murphy’s Outlaw, and Bret Hartley, and everyone who supports me. I’m very grateful.
