Happy New Year! 2008 was a great year for Lucky Nugget Records. We kicked the year off with a great show at the Boulder Theater, which was recorded and is now available as a live DVD. In February, I reached new audiences by playing a few gigs in Australia. The Lickskillet Road CD got a lot of radio play all over the country. And, I won my second songwriting contest at the Flat Rock Music Festival in North Carolina! But it..s been no bed of roses: On tour, we narrowly survived a gas crisis in north Georgia, a car wreck in north Florida, a breakdown outside Amarillo, and a national economic meltdown. This, despite how troublesome, is the stuff songs are made of. Already, plans are in the works for two separate recording projects. The first one, a duo project with singer/songwriter (and friend) James Moors, will start next week. We..ve co-written some great songs together and we are looking forward to laying some fresh tracks in the studio. The second will be a solo project to be recorded in February back in Vermont at Southview Arts with my buddy Jim Gilmour. While I think I know how I want to record these songs, I am eagerly anticipating the magic that unravels when the different perspectives of contributing talents come together in one place to interpret one project. I don..t deny that these are tough times of uncertainty and doubt. The shadows are there — home foreclosures, skyrocketing unemployment, and financial chaos, but I am also humbly hopeful and optimistic. Some of these songs feel bitter and angry and some feel upbeat and lighthearted. They are songs I think everyone can relate to and I am excited to share them.