Austin, Texas, has just concluded its 30th Spring Break-style mega-music, film, and technology festival. SXSW, or Southby as locals call it, started as a modest week of music performances in a central area of town, and has since outgrown the […]
A few of us are parents, accustomed to long, sleepless nights. Ages range from 20s to late 40s, not a spread that represents the whole of the folk music community, but we can’t fit everyone in the business into one […]
Driving around Austin, Texas, today, I was suddenly struck by an epic wave of nostalgia. I was transported to the Portland, Oregon, of my youth … staring out a second story window, watching rain drizzle onto dark, wet concrete through […]
Johnny Cash wrote an entire song about his iconic wardrobe: Ah, I’d love to wear a rainbow every day And tell the world that everything’s okay But I’ll try to carry off a little darkness on my back Til things are […]
These days, buying an album is a radical act of patronage. Way back when, my mother and her younger brother waited in line to buy the new Beatles album on the day it came out. Aside from the radio, […]
On my first tour of the United States, I borrowed my father’s silver sedan for the month-long trip. I thought there was no way I could fit everything I needed for the month into a sedan. So I bought a […]
I started playing guitar when I was 11. I would walk down the street to Ronnie Robbin’s house above the Food Front Co-op in NW Portland, with my guitar slung over one shoulder. Ronnie wanted to teach me all sorts […]
A few weeks ago, I wrote a column detailing five songs I wish I had penned. Writing that column made me realize just how many great songs there are in the world, most of which have been heard by far […]
Last month, I played in an idyllic backyard show in South Austin with local and international songwriting hero, Matt The Electrician. There was a pool, a patio, lights, a bar, and a sound system. Standing behind the mic was a […]
There have been a few times when I’ve had my feelings hurt by omission. A friend once put out a list of his favorite albums of the year and mine wasn’t on it. It’s hard to be out there making […]
