this morning's robitussin-fueled dream

i dreamt that i got invited to play rhythm guitar with the rolling stones at a HUGE concert they were playing somewhere. I was filling in for ronnie. at the gig, i was guided through a maze of hallways and backstage people. they put a white telecaster in my hands and i stepped out on stage with the rest of the band. they broke into the first song, i forget which one, but it was a stones classic that i knew. i felt zero fear or panic. i was walking around stage, doing my own little moves ya know, with keith and mick. it was all very casual you see. we finished the first song and it felt really good to hear something like 200,000 people scream and clap. then charlie started counting in the second song -- which i completely did not know. so i walked over to the keyboard player and asked him what key it was in... i figured, "this is the rolling stones for god's sake. how hard can these songs be?" i followed along and even took a solo or two.

then i woke up and took more antibiotics and cough syrup.

New Song...

This is one of those $50 songs...
This one took a while to write.
But I think it's mostly finished now.

lift this man up
nov & dec 2006 & apr 2007

I don't know how I got here
i'm a long way from home
I've had my share of love
but I always feel alone

sometimes it's a pulling
other times it's a push
come on baby
can you lift this man up?

I feel like I'm searching
following my heart
now I'm wandering these mountains
trying to make a brand new start

I'm thirsty and I'm lonely
I've got an empty cup
come on baby
can you lift this man up

what is this all about?
where are we headed to?
what are we doing here?
if you don't lift this man up
I'll never make it through

I want to be alone now
I need my space
I try to hide the hurting
but it's written all over my face

I'm down with my demons
I'm down on my luck
come on baby
can you lift this man up


it's so hard
to let another in
I've been let down before
when my walls were caving in
and here you are
and here I am again
I wonder what we'll do now…

what is this all about?
where are we headed to?
what are we doing here?
if you can lift me up
I'll lift you up too

what is this all about?
where are we headed to?
what are we doing here?
if we can't lift each other up
we'll never make it through

Idea #28 For A Record: BEAUTIFUL EXPERTISE

I just had this idea for a record.. I don't think it sucks, either.

I think everyone is an expert. I mean, eveyrone has mastered at least ONE THING. It could be something seemingly trivial like clipping their nails. Or dark like burrying a body... Or funny like how to tell this one joke... Or technical like how to replace disc brakes on a 1985 Ford Taurus... You get the idea... but the more oblique, the better, I say.

Anyway, the idea is that I would solicit feedback from as many experts as possible... from YOU. I'd ask you 10 simple questions about your area of expertise:

10 QUESTIONS FOR AN EXPERT
1. What is your area of expertise?
2. How did you become an expert? What was your training? What are your credentials?
3. Is this something you sought out, or did it seek you out?
4. How public is this expertise of yours? Do you hide it? Are you proud of it?
5. Do people understand the true value of your expertise?
6. Do you use your expertise for evil or for good?
7. When is the last time you used your expertise?
8. Do you charge for your expertise? If you did, what would you charge?
9. What is the most misunderstood thing about your area of expertise?
10. Can people contact you if they need your expertise? If so, how?

I am pretty sure that I'd find this stuff totally fascinating and inspiring. Songs would come. Songs for a record.

Go ahead. Think about it. Answer the questions...

From A Couch In Leadville

Two hours before show time in a tiny mountain town. It is snowing. This is an indifferent universe and we have to make our own meaning, I think.


I'm sitting on a couch in scenic Leadville, CO. One of the highest towns in the US. 10,000+ feet high. The place where we're playing got us rooms at the Leadville Hostel (http://www.leadvillehostel.com/). It's a sprawling house right off of main street filled with mostly skiers crashing here because it's cheap. I like these hostel situations... they always throw people together who would quite likely NEVER be together... the cute european couple, dating, dealing with each other, cooking soup in the kitchen. The middle aged guy who is looking for somebody, anybody to talk to. The hostel manager/owner guy who is clearly suspicious of these 'band types'. (Frankly, I don't blame him. He's probably cleaned up enough twenty-three year old bass player vomit from his hostel floors and walls to last a lifetime.) The couple up from Colorado Springs because they want to get on the slopes really early. The wireless-addicted band guy with earphnes on, sitting on the couch, listening to music, writing a blog entry to somebody, anybody... in 10 or 20 minutes, I'll hit "publish post" and feel like I've chronicled a small part of my life.

We're playing here tonight at a bar/venue named... actually, I don't know what it's named. But I do know that it is located under the town's only cinema/theater. At load-in, it felt like we were setting up to play in some hippie frat boy's basement. The bar is a wooden box that magically enhances ear-splitting treble. I am anticipating ear bleeds, drunk locals, drunk out-of-towners and handfull of friends who drove up here to see us play. God bless them all.

It feels good to be awake and aware and alive and headed into a night where I'm fairly sure what's going to happen... but you never know, do you?