So it's February again and I'm a freak of the writing and recording variety.  And also other varieties.  For some reason I started recording a something or other with my friend Jon Nolan 2 weeks before February, when I knew I'd be attempting something like 5 other things.

Speaking of which, the 6 word song project My Heart is about to Burst has been so fun with contributions arriving every day.  If you feel inspired to write a little tiny song or want to choose from the vast pile I've created please do let me know; they're, as I said, fun.  And also painless.  There's one on on my player along with some other recent songs.

Saturday night I got to see the devestatingly lovely Strand of Oaks perform in a church with G. Honey and Djim jumping in.  Fuck!  Last night it was all cutting up tape and making experimental sound with Marc McElroy.  This is a life, for sure,  and I'm ever blessed by such talented and generous friends.

Thanks all.

Last night I got to perform as part of the Bob Dylan Appreciation night thanks to the ever generous Dan Blakeslee. It was a delightful mix of folks and got me to thinking about my 20 some odd years of playing music on this seacoast and of all the lovely folks that I've had the opportunity to make sounds with. I've posted a batch of older songs for your amusement and potential derision.

I am forever lucky for all the remarkably generous folks in my life and I'm looking forward to many more years of collaboration. Thank you all.

My friend Dylan Metrano, of Tigersaw fame, generously invited me to be a part of The Secret Stereo, a site dedicated to hosting rare, and otherwise unavailable, recordings from a small slew of amazingly talented folks. It is an honor to share a home with Mount Eerie, Castanets, Strand of Oaks, Marcellus Hall and Small Sur. Jason Anderson interviewed me for this and really provided some thoughtful questions that made me think about music in ways I hadn't.

The tracks themselves are from a session with TW Walsh before he moved out to Seattle to record and play music with Pedro the Lion. We just blasted out a bunch of tracks, I think about 12 in all, though only 6 are posted. They are just roughs from the day, though I'm proud of the songs and thankful to Tim for helping me flesh them out. It's nice to have them see a bit of the light of day.

Go here for said sounds: http://www.thesecretstereo.com/

So I just finished up a new recording with my co-conspirator Marc McElroy. You can preview 5 of the 16 tracks here on what will be Abandoned Christmas Trees. It was a delightful adventure and I feel ever so lucky to have such wildly talented and generous friends who seem eager to help flesh out my freaky, little songs. I'm not sure what will happen with it, but if you have any ideas, please do let me know. This year I've recorded 5 albums and as February, Record Production Month, approaches I've got lots more in mind. Thanks to Kathleen Boyle, Brian Levin, Bernie Jungle, Nate Groth, Marika Shimkus, Chris Greiner, Mara Flynn, Jake Mehrmann, Juliet Nelson, Lina Tulgren, Nat Baldwin, Gregg Porter, Sheena Charland, Josh Hale, Craig Werth, Djim Reynolds, Mische Eddins, Jarid del Deo, Shon Mahoney and most especially Marc McElroy for all the amazing things you brought. I am absurdly lucky.

Sometimes I miss those mornings when I would wake up so early and make my way through the woods in the dark, guided by shaky flashlight light past the cranberry bog over precarious fences and through streams to climb trees and strap my anxious body in before hanging my bow from a limb then falling soundlessly asleep. Those mornings I would dream such impossible dreams then awaken to the sun's rays and squirrels clambering about the forest floor, my head so thoroughly in two places and there was always a moment of panic; of what the shit hell am I doing up in this tree followed then by the slow, sweet calm that would spread about me as things warmed up and everything came to life.