Gathered 'Round the Greasefire EP

In the next couple of weeks (June 22nd), I'm going to put out a new collection of songs entitled "Gathered 'Round the Greasefire EP." I would be glad to have you take a listen and pre-order it at www.micahdalton.com. Now Some fast facts:

1. My friend, Paul Reeves, (who can effectively dunk a basketball) turned knobs and added his production and mixing expertise to it in Athens, GA.
2. Long time collaborator, James Gregory, played bass, piano, tambourine, and, I'm pretty sure, shaker on it. He references Bach sonatas when making set lists, dances hard to a proper break, and has notable shaker technique. He continues to amaze me.
3. John Neff from the Drive-by Truckers played pedal steel on it. If you don't know what that is, it looks like a time machine from the netherworld and sounds like Jesus' happy tears. At least it does when John plays it.
4. Kim Taylor lent her pipes to the project: http://www.kim-taylor.net/. She sings so well, but she really wants to be a scientist. Which, obviously, makes you wonder how long it will take for her to claim her due as the missing member of the Justice League. I'm very thankful that she let me use her skills on this project.
5. As for me, I'm mostly glad I finally got to rip a fake sitar solo on the first track. If I can convince Paul, I'll put out a disc of "fake sitar solo outtakes" as a B Side project. Fingers crossed.
6. I'm hand-making, stamping, and numbering these EPs DIY style. So, there will only be 500 available FOREVER. FOREVER. FOREVER. But, it will be available digitally on itunes on June 22. Brian Manley of funwithrobots.com did the art direction. At the top, I've posted some pictures of how I skipped the packaging middle man on these so that they're made real special just for you.


Thanks to all reading for your continued support and friendship.
Much love-
Micah

The Short Stories of Pawn Shop

So…creative people change just like everyone else. Your perspective moves, gets stuck, etc. You sing differently. You work in and out of humanity however you do-then you document it. You just to have empathy for that process or else it’s never fun. I hate listening to most of my songs, but I DO like remembering where I was coming from at that time. It’s just important to know what to keep/throw out/ recycle/ etc from the little rascal signposts. Little signposts that remind you….well just remind you. All this to say, when I made my last record, PAWNSHOP, I made it in 2 sweeps. The first one was in Dec of 06 and the other was in Sept of 07. I did Ohio, What Would I do?, She Uses Love, Easier to Read, Ramshack Run, Down Down in the first sweep. Then I did the rest in the sessions in 07. Had a good time, and all was quiet on the western front. In Oct/ Nov I realized how fragmented I felt the recordings were. My general approach to singing/ writing/ etc. had just shifted between sweep 1 & 2. Not in a bad way. Well yeah maybe in a bad way. But-the music was just so dang ambitious and I felt disconnected from it. SO-the question arose-what do I do with all of these different kinds of songs. I’ve got my development down on tape, and it might be more disengaging for folks listening than anything. So, I decided to parody the confusion of the situation with a concept record. Fortunately, working with a wonderful person like Jason Harwell at Rebuilt Records made this naive call look way more together than it was. I wanted to have stories going along with each song that would help tie the album together better so it wouldn’t feel as fragmented (maybe) and illustrations with it. SO I called my friend Jewly Hight (great songwriter, writer, bad ass), and she was in. We talked through it over several months and came up with something we both were proud of. Then Jason Harwell contributed some stellar illustrations to top it off. We had an accidental concept record from a literal sonic pawnshop that became this more holistic experience with stories for each song…documenting Pawnshop’s journey. Since most people buy my music digitally, it didn’t really translate how I wanted. But I’m proud of the whole concept that saved it for me (even if it’s just me!). The interactive nature of it. I just wanted to share the experience of this record beyond the 50-60 minutes that you may or may have not heard. I’m also going to put the story up for those who want to get their hands on Jewly’s tasty writing. You may hear a song differently too. See ya.

Click here to read the mini book: http://www.micahdalton.com/pawnshop-story/

Md

Reinventing the Wheel While Bass Fishing

So I never fish, but my friend Jonathan took me this past weekend, and I saw the light . It was a gorgeous experience. I saw a snake, dope overlooks, and fish really close up. Most importantly, I sat quiet on a rock for about an hour and a half and felt a sense of clarity for at least several minutes. Then I shot a gun. I didn't really like that because of the ring in my ears and the "what did I just do?" weird feeling afterwards. I'm taking some time off of touring this Summer. I didn't necessarily mean to, but a tour got pushed back, and I'm not exactly jonesin' to make all of those kind of transitions happen these days (at least the on and off the road ones). Plus- I'm wanting to extend the creative flow I've had working for about the past 9 months. Every once in a while you need to take a sec to remember why it is music is generally important. Then you can start the aggravating self prod again.That can suck because that self accountability has a specific calling that leads into an abyss of trial and error. A frustrating one but necessary. I've produced 2 projects (one alongside my pal Paul) recently. Tyler Lyle and Ryan Horne. We didn't have "a system" for either one which seemed fruitful but entirely exhausting for me and, i'm pretty sure, everyone involved. Everybody seems pretty dang happy though. I do. All this to say, there's no sub for rest and unplugging. I can tell when an artist is always plugged in. Into everything but themselves and their own humanity. The more and more people I run into in the city have an incessant desire to make something original of themsleves. To build a "new us" or, perhaps, a "false us". I am in that place very often, and I'm now worn from those transactions. I'm more interested in what's benefiting my community here and now and turning over rocks for sincere ideas rather than original ones. Sure, they can run together-but theres millions of empty shells with millions of original ideas. Like this blog for example-it's awesome, original, self-important, and anything else right.
Rant.
Rant.
Bless-Micah

Road & what I've been up to.

I'm finding out that living without cable TV automatically removes you from 25% of the conversations you could possibly have.I realized that about a couple months ago (but I haven't blogged over it...). I've played a hodge podge (sp?) of events (colleges, churches, camps, clubs, free mason halls, bingo halls, bowling rings, etc.) recently and have caught up with a handful of very wonderful people that I've not seen in sometime. Most of these people were at Sharptop Cove the last couple of weeks. I'm frustrated because I haven't really read in the past 6 months or so. I've skimmed around with
"The Power and the Glory", but I haven't finished. Me and my sideman/stone cold killer/mandolin player is also named Micah. He's on these 4 dates with me, and he's extremely talented and easy to be around. I'll also be co-writing with Nate C this weekend in Brooklyn. I'm playing SXSW for the first time this year and, honestly, it seems like it could potentially be more trouble than it's worth. But I hear it's a good place to be. Signing off-
Md

A Thought

Here lies a short poem written yesterday. Please offer guidance on the form if you have it-

Well-
I was, for a long time, extremely busy avoiding the house of
regularity and normalcy. With it's bare bones and unbelievable
temperance. I chose, then, a complete preoccupation. I began a loose
search for the house of emotional satisfaction. Hearsay told me it was very much local with a tightly leashed dream. Then, after a drunken landing, I found it unfurnished
with nowhere to sit....so, now, I have a strange alignment within this
recovery.
Then, the song begins.

Summer Re-Cap and Looking for God's Phone Number

Well, this summer was a whirlwind of time. I played more music than I ever have during one season. I've begun to shift into a period of time that I always really enjoy: home (more on this later). In June, I toured with the incomparable Richard Julian. I recommend picking up his latest release "Sunday Morning in Saturday's Shoes". We ran into early weather roadblocks and even had a show cancelled in Des Moines due to flooding. We didn't trust the fancy GPS to navigate us through flood water, although it seemed completely capable somehow. Learned a whole lot about song writing from Richard on this run. Every night his show never rusted over. His songs have layers and layers of unassumed richness. In July and the first part of this month, I opened a slew of dates with my gracious and good friend, Jon Mclaughlin. These dates took me to a part of the country that I'd never seen before-The Wild West and New Orleans. I'd seen landscapes similar to these, I think, in an airplane before. From the top, not linear/flat. From the top, it looks like a bunch of crumpled up construction paper undone and laid on top of varying sizes of rock. Everything was extremely new and mesmerizing to see. Seems like all dinosaurs were born on the road from Houston to New Orleans. It looks like God got experimental on the vegetation there while taking breaks between hammering on the sun and moon. Or something like that!
Anyway, everyone should check out Jon's new record that's releasing early October. I really enjoy a tune called "You Can Never Go Back"...It will make you move. We had a major good time riding scooters around for a day exploring the great city of Seattle. Here's a picture of us before take off. Shown here is Jon's band (experienced riders) and me (non-experienced):



Now, I'm here. Trying to figure out who I am and where I'm from once again! Learning how to get back involved in serving in several different capacities and ways. Remembering that God does speak, and it's my job to stay still and to try listening for it. Then submitting to it. The music has never really come out well unless God's propelling the whole operation, not me. I was joking last week with a friend about trying to find God's phone number (weak metaphor..i know) and likening it to prayer. Maybe, He's at the very back of the crowd behind our circumstances and worries pushing forward. Maybe, He's flailing a piece of paper up in the air with that very number on it. By the time we reach Him, maybe, it's blank. Might have been all he could do to get near.
Micah

NoiseTrade Widget

To Sting or not to Sting?

Last week, the me and the band found ourselves in the grand midwest, foreclosing any hopes of catching a visually stimulating aesthetic on the road. I will say that the serenity within Ohio, and most particularly Indiana, provides within itself a sort of stimulation that pierces enough on its own. We also were listening to a whole lot of the Bon Iver record which is just really dang good. Anyway, we had some time on Saturday to kill. I caught Ryan Horne (of Ryan Horne and his own smoking army), James (bass), and Chris (drums) completely mesmerized on camera. Here:





You're most assuredly making your own presuppositions. What could captivate such an elusive audience? A seemingly impossible audience of grown people with their own agendas and precious free time. Maybe news of harsh weather approaching the area? The You Tube video of the british children biting at each others fingers? billiards on ESPN2? Try this on for size:






That's right...the audaciously blond god of the Police, Sting. These guys watched a whole lot of this DVD. This photo is taken from Sting live at the OMNI in 1983. The Omni was the home (before its removal) to Atlanta icons Dominique Wilkins and Spud Webb and, apparently, this bizarre showcase of the Police in their arena prime. A time period that I cannot and will not understand. Other than I was born the year later. I would liken the whole concert to an out take of the middle part of "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom", where there's loads of over aggressive tribal warriors howling (in their own dialect I assume) for the removal of our dear Harrison Ford's heart. There was nothing cohesive about this DVD. Which made it completely awesome and engaging. Sting 4 life.

Paul & Katie's

Tonight, I'm at Paul and Katie's house. They live in Cumming which is around 30-40 minutes north of my house in downtown Atlanta. I met Paul sometime back (2 years), and he's a very reliable/ responsible friend/brother. His wife, Katie, is pretty pregnant right now which is a beautiful thing. She's also a force. I come here basically every week because they offer an array of life's best gifts including but not limited to: proper meals, bigger/softer bed than mine, quiet...but the greatest of these is a constant basic friendship. Paul makes music too. He's started a studio called DOMAS. I've dabbled in becoming a session guitar player at DOMAS. Paul kind of thinks that I am, so I'm coming closer to think I am. They're moving to Athens soon, and I'm positive I'm going to have a hard time letting them go. I like coming here week in and week out. It's (my time here) truly deeply embedded into my strange existence. When you don't have but a couple of constants, you cling to the ones you got. Here's to Katie & Paul's.

11.19.07-Thanksgiving and the Parade Phenomena

Monday's aren't so bad as people say. I don't have a conventional
schedule either, really. Today wasn't a good Monday, though, as my
lack of dental insurance has delivered the proverbial financial sting.
Looks like I need a sum total of three root canals as a result of my
bicycle wreck some two months ago. All of you really should (If you
haven't already) take a thorough look at my catalogue of music and
consider buying some songs for loved ones to lift their Christmas
spirits and lower my dental bill.
Everyone wins.
It's mad hot outside for mid/late November. I remember a scorching
Thanksgiving Day when I was seven years old. At that point in my life,
Thanksgiving was (unfortunately) just as much about the Macy's Day
Parade as it was being thankful. I don't know why. Parades are so
strange. And expensive too. Tradition...sure...I get it. They're very
strange, though. Large blow-up characters, dancers in Santa-wear,
special appearances from famous singers, and whatever else. I don't
think I'd find parades strange if it weren't for the inordinate amount
of hype that surrounds them. Man, people would lose their minds if
there were no Macy's Day Parade. Those same people probably have
hefty, long conversations about things that are mostly secondary in
any context. The flavor of salt. Salt is salt, man. But, I had a way
better perspective as a seven-year-old than I do now. So, parades must
serve some public service, because my seven-year-old mind was a
creative force, and I thought parades were dope. I'm convinced that I
would have no limits as an artist if I had access to my seven-year-old
mind; however, I would have to convince my seven-year-old self not to
focus soley on athletic portrait drawing. Always a catch.
Here's to being thankful in the midst of moderately hard times. It's
what I'm trying to do these days.

Micah

Record Done but Laptop Stolen.

I have taken a serious hiatus from the blog world, and there is no good reason for it: truth be told. However, some shifts have happened..some good and bad. Someone stole my lap top. The lap top has recently had a tumultuous journey as I just replaced the hard drive recently. She served me well for about 3 years. And whoever stole it: I reckon you needed it more than I did. The good news is..we finished the record...it's done. We spent 2 days finishing mixes and tweaks this past weekend in Nashville. Our friend Stephen Gause did a wonderful job of setting the sonic tone and coloring these tunes. I cannot wait for this piece to hit the streets. It's the fruit of hours of labor, coffee drinking, arguing over lyrics/arranging, creating characters, meeting real ones, getting lost in a song, getting found in a song, and, finally, breathing deep. I'm coming up to New York again. If you're there we should go to Virgil's in Times Square. It's not particularly a New York experience, in fact, it's a southern BBQ joint. But I don't care, it tastes good. By the way, the laptop is getting replaced. Bam, bam, body slam.

Micah

Sandlot Baseball + Studio= Blog

We're going to make it after all. I was talking to a friend about our
'pre-release' or 'currently-working-on-a-record' nervousness/anxiety
this morning over coffee. It's something that I didn't have during the
process of my first record. Why should I? Nobody listened to my music
anyway. I was excited about 1000% percent of the time before, during,
and after the process of it. Just working on a record was an end in
itself. There's a certain excitement that's prevalent in the air, or,
at least, in my own air that's reminiscent of the old days - you know,
three years ago. James Gregory and I have been at work making what
will become "PAWNSHOP" or something like it - a 12 song collective of
jams that my consciousness no longer had room for. Here are the
tentative titles of said jams:

Down, Down, Put it Down
I'll Find you in Ohio
She Uses Love Like a Cuss Word
Rev. Ramshack Run
We Could Take the Back Roads
Looking for a New Way
What Would I Do Were They Free?
Easier to Read
We Came Alive Tonight
The Grandest Prize
The Autobiography of Milton Burrows
Your Name is

It's a strange time to give birth to a new musical project as world
issues on a grander scale show themselves strong. War and sadness
going hand in hand. The UN has yet to really get their hands dirty in
Sudan. Thirty percent of my tax dollar goes into military spending.
That bothers me in a general way, but if I were to have that going to
something, it would be nice to know that some of that coin is heading
to fight genocide. It's a do or die issue. I'm not nearly as aware and
pro-active as some folks I know, but any attempt to create a
collective sympathy for a drastic cause seems worthwhile. Even a
simple blog is a worthy medium.

Right now, my pal Tom Yarbrough is bringing Appalachia straight into
the urban skyline. Tom has his banjo and is using it on this tune
we're working on called "Looking for a New Way." It's a sonic monument
built to both Moses and Martin Luther King, Sr. A wild thing about the
recording process this time is the timeline. It has involved two
really intensive schedules at two different times of the year and two
trips to Europe in between. I never thought to go to Europe, and I
never thought to record half a record in January and half in August.
Tons of surprises. Camping out here in Nashville has been quite a
wonderful couple of weeks. I have one more to go, and I'm kind of
dreading it. The past couple nights have been particularly exciting
because of this NEXT BIG NASHVILLE event. I just happened to land in
town during this event. There are tons of really good acts playing
every night at different venues in town, and I think I haven't had
this much fun since sandlot ball. My friend Robbie played sandlot ball
when he was younger while I played in a proper league across town in
Decatur. I kind of hated playing in Robbie's league because they
planned a sandlot league. You actually had to pay to play as well.
That' s absurd only because the whole idea of sandlot baseball is
grassroots and underground. You have to call it rec ball, not sandlot.
Sandlot ball is avant garde, backyard, magic. Plus, in Robbie's
league, they didn't keep score. Unforgiveable.

Movement on the Home Front. Literally and Figuratively.

I moved into a new house a couple weeks ago. For this I am pleased. My
new house carries tons of internal and external character. It's orange
on the inside and out, which is unique and brightens the place up.
I've seen several characters mounting these small motorcycles and
riding them through the neighborhood..the strange thing is they're
like dune buggies, but set in a completely new urban environment. In
fact, yesterday, I saw some kids riding these very motorcycles on the
track outside of our house. There's nothing more frustrating than
getting circled while running around a track in 100 degrees. It's
close to being without water for one week and then trying to find your
way into a caged water park. These kids that surrounded me on their
bikes like a tyke gang asked me how many laps i'd been running: this
was extremely important to them. Their inquiring excited my memory,
and I remembered that this is MOST important to an 11 year old. The
MOST important question to an 11 year old boy, or at least to me when
I was eleven, is " how many?" "how much?"....they simply have no time
for people that cannot achieve physical excellence at insane rates.
This boy really cared about how many laps I had ran and the amount of
time that I had been there, because he'd asked the latter question
first. Astounding. Oh..11..where have you gone?

I am about to go into the studio to work on my third release. I cannot
express how excited this makes me. I really feel as if it's my 2nd 1/2
release because ADVANCEMENT only has 7 songs...in the modern age, it's
hard to classify that as purely "a record"... as a matter of fact, I
called it an EP to settle the scores. I'm happy about this particular
record because it's looking much more celebratory in it's own way.
With ADVANCEMENT, it felt just like that in many senses. It felt like
a move forward and that's all. Completely necessary, but more mental
than spiritual in approach and kind of all over the place. I'm working
with a similiar team that contributed to ADVANCEMENT. I've also
co-written tons for it. Don't worry, there are no 'featuring' slots on
it. No Akon or Pastor Troy..anything like that Although...that would serve it in a way...negative or positive, I
cannot say . When I co-write, I leave it there. It's also communal,
this effort, with the co-writes and short story book. There's a label
thats putting it out as well. Rebuilt Records out of Athens, GA. Jason
Harwell runs it, and I think he's the personification of directed,
convicting, underground music...with his principles and all. Stay
tuned.

Fare Thee Well Hard Drive

As far as anyone can tell...my hard drive died last night after 3 years
of hard work in my mac G4 power book. Bad news is, I didn't back up
some important documents that most definitely need some backing up. So,
I called a friend who has the power with all things computer and he
said my last hope was to freeze the drive (literally) to retrieve all
of the needed data..this was astounding to me. Anyways, my friend Jason
saw how much this was affecting my health as I was pacing back and
forth and trying to put together a rescue plan for data retrieval. So
he took it, and he'll mess with it...he might freeze it....for now, no
laptop.Just using whatever I can find. The POINT: Losing something like
a laptop makes me realize the unbelievable amount of time I spend
investing into machines. My friend Sarah and I were talking the other
night about this problem. She told me that it's almost like a part of
us (our humanity) has already become so dependent on technology that
it's like we're clones... an extension of ourselves. It's very unusual
how people,relationships, and connections become so disposable. This is
so, obviously, for an array of reasons, but I'm saying technology
proves as a very solid barrier for true,organic human interaction. It
provides tons of resources and connections that would otherwise be
unattainable. But it seems to de-humainze a whole lot. I could explain
why, but it's sort of ambiguous to me...I mean it's in the early stages
of my own processing. There's also the question of how it's
(technology) used...whether it's as an aid or abandaid. Simply questioning, that's all.

Last
week, I went to a local farmers gathering where folks were invited for
$10 to eat locally raised and grown pork, beer,biscuits and collard
greens.I can't recall the name of the group that put it together, but
visit my chum Cameron's blog..it's to your right...he invited me to
this event and I owe him $10 for getting me in. The place was vibrant
with conversation, laughter, and farm people. You could tell the
farmer's children had an element of non restraint that was completely
attractive. They had land... they grew and raised food...from means to
end....from seed to plant. The farmer's seemed to maintain a
nonchalant, open disposition that was unlike the city or suburbia folk I'm accustomed to. One farmer even offered me a job on his farm after catching a glimpse of the VESPA t-shirt I had on. He told me I could ride 1 of the 2 engine-less VESPAs he owned on his farm. Part of me wanted to take him up on it. These seemed like a peculiar people who had survived some of the violence of technology. I'm sure they may have computers and/or TVs
, microwaves, fax machines. But these people seemed to understand
process, sun, earth, and what not. There's an inherent connection
there. It inspired me in a roundabout way. God bless the farmers.

Taxi Wars III: Return of the Angst

Today we’re traveling on mainly back roads to get to our final destination of Sheperdstown, WV. Last night we stayed in Bradford, PA..I can only assume that it is here where they make the Zippo lighters or at least this is where you can find the main headquarters. We saw an orange neon flame flashing above the lighter sign fixed in the center of the building, which was also neon…stationed on brick. Next to the sign read “Zippo” (also neon)….as inconsequential as this may seem, we live for famous sites in no name cities. There’s a not loads of sights to look forward to in small American towns other than City Hall…maybe. Today we’re late for an afternoon show, because we did not realize that this show happens in the afternoon.

Two high class stories from NYC this past weekend:
Numero one: Saturday night we ( me, Jason, Brett) made our way to Gramercy to see some friends play at the arts center/theatre there. After the show, we went out with friends (Jon & Amy and Bob)…the night was completely lighthearted along with our late, 2 in the morning, dinner conversation. Over our deli sandwiches, Jason and I described the bizarre subcultures that we’ve dived into on the road. We spoke of quirky hotel clerks who made sure checking in was never easy to do …so on and so on. Our friends shared their similar, hilarious tales as well. Everyone was laughing and before we knew it the clock ticked on past 2AM. Little did we know that our stories had nothing on the story that was to follow. The subways take a very long time on the weekend, so we decided to get a cab back to Brooklyn where we were staying for the night. We waved down a cab. But 2 cabs tried to get our gig and then decided to yell at each other. For a second we stood and watched thinking that these were reasonable human beings and that the cursing and yelling would naturally stop because we, the clientele, we’re waiting on the side of the road. Instead they got out of the car and decided it’d be best to just duke it on out. Nothing a good ol’ fistfight can’t handle eh? At this point, Jason took on Good Samaritan role and decided to try to break up the fight. After one guy was hit the face, a rear view mirror kicked in, and Jason’s chocolate cake smashed in (that he had bought from the deli)..not to mention some pretty daggum creative obscenities…the drama subsided…or so we thought.

We get in the cab with the guy who really deserved to take us to Brooklyn after a couple laughs and deep breathes. Then, our now archenemy pulls beside us and still hasn’t had enough. He is like Iron Mike and nothing will stop this crazed taxi driver. So, naturally, they decide not to fist fight…no that’s be too easy for a red light altercation. Instead, they find it fitting to start ramming their vehicles into each other while we, AGAIN the clientele, hold our position in the back wondering how to respond. Is there even an adequate response to something like this? We’re bouncing around in the back seat essentially having been in a real life accident…..where people normally stop, get out, and call insurance agencies, and all I can say is “hey man”! I’m still in the process of convincing myself and everyone around me that this actually really did happened. The bizarre thing remains: we still stayed in the cab and paid the driver when we arrived all vexed up in Brooklyn. The experience was worth at least $100 but we paid $20. The End.

Number 2:
The next night a couple homeless friends needed some food to eat, so went to a cheap, middle eastern street diner down the street…located in the lower east village. We chatted it up and as I went up to the counter to pay…I began to notice how bizarre a look I was receiving from one the two homeless dudes I was with. I set their food down, asked them where they were from, and then they asked me their question: “ Hey man, are you homeless too?” I laughed and said no, but either way it truly was another priceless moment, and I hope those guys were able to get past all the cold hearts and weather in NYC.

As For My Opinion of Motel 8's..

Morning. I’m situated in the driver’s seat of the tour bus or black exterra…depends on perception I say. Last night we played Waynesburg College and got tons of free cranberry juice. Then we’d ask for more, They kept giving it too…it was fantastic.
Jason Harwell joined up with yesterday to open some shows. He was the showman last night dipping between jovial tunes and the backhanded existential ones. Jason is a visionary and really funny, so I like talking to him. We never get caught in the inconsequential junk. If there comes a time where we do..we decided to stop talking. At least this is how I see it. He has a new EP that just dropped. I had the honorable duty of co-producing it with the resilient James Gregory. It’s called “Broken Headphones”…please check it out at www.jasonharwell.com…it’s that rich, rich indie folk. Motel 8’s aren’t at all so bad either. We stayed there last night, and they even had wireless Internet. I only mention this because I’m mostly sure I’ve heard someone beef on the Motel 8. No need. You can stop because it’s fine.

I haven’t started to miss home yet, but if you’re reading this I probably miss you. Grant Park was meant for the Summer. We have a porch that we’ve designated for what the laymen call “ the summer hang”….a place meant only for those who dwell and brood. You cannot dwell and brood all of the time here; in fact, I will say that it’s only appropriate for one person to brood or dwell per night. That way, the rest of us must counsel and listen. Or everyone is simply in a good mood, and the mentioned info has no relevance. I’ve got loads of love for porches. Looking forward to the transfer of highway to porch. For now, I play, sing, and make friends. Which ain’t so bad either. I’ve got half of a recorded recorded too. New news. Blessings.

MD

Jesus in the Cracks.

So, this week I'm situated in a small town in Florida that I can't quite pronounce the name of. I know it starts with an O. My pal Chesley is down here with me and we're calling it detox from the road or normal life. I mean this in the most glorious and non glorious of terms. We're staying in a cabin with other families (including children) all in the name of Jesus for a Young Life camping event held at South Wind Camp. There are middle school aged kids here. It's non glorious in the ways that come along with trying to relate to an age group of folks that you're not accustomed to. I'm here to play my songs and to lead what young life calls "club songs"....basically I lead the pep-rallying crew in pop anthems and campfire ballads alike. And it's like medicine. The "least of these" come clearly defined around here. The insecure, developing, worried. Everyone comes together in the details...to put these kids first...so they can somehow fall in love with Jesus like we did some time ago...and when you're part of a vocation that requires a dangerous introspection that more times than not leads to self-absorption...it saves me to get to places like this. To see people love until it hurts. To become a friend to the friendless. To treat loving with the same vigor and discipline as a world class athlete or CEO. It's just important to me...to get out of the bitter, cynical, competitive plow of an indie musician and remember to do what I can to love Jesus and people in all the simplest but profound ways. It's very important. It's the point I'd say. I'm the same as the kids. Jesus grins and weeps with me as I develop and slip. He does you like that too I think.

A Big Problem

This is a simple post just to create an awareness for those of you who are in the dark about this. Any commentary I would give, unfortunately, might prove insufficient and ignorant. I know this is a problem. It's worth dialogue and action.

Did you know that 2.5 million people have been driven from their homes in Darfur, Sudan? Each day, they face threats that are hard for us to even imagine including rape, disease, and starvation.

These people need our help to put an end to the genocide and they need it NOW.

Please join me in taking the first step to stopping the violence.

Click here to sign the Save Darfur Coalition's petition urging President Bush and UN Secretary-General Ban to take immediate steps to stop the killing.

Together, we can make a difference in the lives of millions of people in the region who desperately need outside help.

The Save Darfur Coalition is urging the international community to prevent further killings, displacement, and rape by deploying the UN peacekeeping force that has already been authorized, strengthen the understaffed African Union force that is already in Darfur, establish a no-fly zone, increase humanitarian aid, and ensure access for delivery of food, medication and other essential supplies.

Please do not stand by while the violence continues - you can make a difference. Click here now to get involved.

Then please forward this message to your friends and family and ask them to join you.

If you'd like to make a donation to support the campaign, click here now. www.savedarfur.com

Thanks for your help.

I Am A Winner...

There is no theme to this blog; however, I am a winner. I flew in from Minnesota last night. Dan picked me up, and they lost my instrument. Air Tran lost my instrument. Then the woman who was in charge of lost baggage claims got extra angry at me because I lost my airline ticket with the baggage claim number on it.....this was only confusing for several reasons but only one worth mentioning. I am the customer and the customer is always right. Whether I come in with 3 heads, a golden ticket, or no baggage claim ticket....I am not the one who lost my instrument. Air Tran did....collectively. I was steaming until I saw the gentleman who had helped me before...who had, before, seemed mostly indifferent and tired...he found my instrument, and all was well with the world again.

I do have some interesting news. So when we recorded Advancement (the last EP I put out)...my extremely talented friend and vocal mentor Jason Eskridge was given vocal production responsibilities (side note: I did not give him due credit in the liner notes, and I'm ashamed). We had decided to put a "choir" on most of the tracks or, rather, to stack a bunch of vocals on top of each other. Anyways, he calls me and says " Check it. I'm going to call my homegirl Melinda to double these tracks with me." He may have said it like that...not sure...that's the way I'll re-create it though. So he called this Melinda. I came in to Jason's character-ridden basement studio and heard her do her thing. She sang for real. She put sensibilities on my tape that I didn't deserve. I should have asked her for a receipt. So, the session ended. Advancement was sent through post production with 7 months of elbow grease, and I didn't see much of anybody from those sessions...including Melinda. Fast forward. 3 days ago Jason calls me to check in. We rap. He says " Have you seen this season's American Idol?"....I say "no, why?"....(note: I don't watch much TV, but I really dig in when I do. Like the little boy who never had candy...when he got it....he knew how to enjoy)...He says " Melinda is on this season, and she is killing it".....Melinda Doolittle...couldn't believe it. Hopefully, this is all I'll say about knowing her...but probably not. If I hear anyone remotely even mention American Idol....it's going to take loads for me not to say "hey, how bout Melinda Doolittle? yeah....it's crazy...she uhh sang on my last record...he..wild eh?"...
Right on Melinda. I knew you when. If you do, in fact, watch American Idol...cast your votes for Melinda....I haven't seen the show yet, but surely...she's the best.

I made a small step yesterday....I bought Pearl Jam's greatest hits...and I bought nice slacks from the Gap (smaller step than the preceding)...anyhow..that's what's on the minds in the A.M....

M.C.D.