Well, we're packing up the house and moving to Minneapolis. In the midst of all the boxes and paint, etc., I'm preparing for a Summer of good gigs. Texas next week, California after that.
Summer albums to listen to:
Nina Gordon Tonight and the Rest of My Life
King's X Dogman
Ivy Apartment Life
APRIL 24, 2002
Been touring like a monkey the last few months, but now am home to stay for a few weeks. I'll have big news in the next month...stay tuned.
Music recommendations:
The Eels Souljacker
Grandpa Boy Mono
Largo
Jason Falker Presents Author Unknown
Creedence Clearwater Revival Platinum
MARCH 13, 2002
Got the new Paul Westerberg album in the computer, and man is it cool. Tomorrow I'm off to Alaska for the first time. Should be fun. Been super busy and haven't had much time to work on new music, but I have been lining up some good shows, and am looking forward to my first gig as a record producer in May. Hope y'all are doing well. Send me an Email and let me know how you're doing.
FEBRUARY 12, 2002
Looking forward to cool tours thru FL, VA, AK, WA, and OR in the next month. Too tired to write any more.
JANUARY 31, 2002
Happy new year everyone. I'm listening to Rodney Crowell's album TheHouston Kid because tomorrow I fly to Houston for the ELCA Extravaganza. All is well. In addition to Rodney, I recommend:
Anything by Bruce Cockburn
Anything by Tonio K
Anything by Sam Phillips
DECEMBER 8, 2001
This is the first time I've ever uploaded a webage using my new Mac G4 computer! It's very exciting. I've purposely not booked out-of-town shows in early December, and man, is it nice to be home!
Media to explore over the Holiday Break:
The movie Mullholland Drive
The album The Hurting Business by Chuck Prophet
The album Medusa by Annie Lennox
NOVEMBER 14, 2001
Tonight I updated the webpage and watched the Michael Jackson30th Anniversary Concert on TV. "Man in the Mirror" was kinda cool, but for the most part the show was creepy and depressing. Tomorrow night I see Sam Phillips in Concert!
Albums to listen to:
David And David Boomtown
Sam Phillips Fan Dance
Keith Richards Talk is Cheap
Jason Falkner Necessity
OCTOBER 12, 2001
Cancelled some plans for a Northwest tour today. It just doesn't feel like the right time to be on tour flying around the USA. I've spent the past couple days recording some Christmas songs with Beki Hemingway for use on a quickly forthcoming Holiday album. It turned out great.
Some albums I've been listening to lately:
Jay Farrar Sebastopol
The Donnas Turn 21
Sam Phillips Fan Dance
Chris Knight A Pretty Good Guy
Matthew Ryan Concussion
SEPTEMBER 24, 2001
What a sad and weird two weeks this has been. I've spent a lot oftime at home, and that has been very comforting and good.
Saw three amazing shows this past week....check out these artists and albums:
Lucinda Williams Essence
The Yayhoos Fear not the Obvious
Buddy and Julie Miller Buddy and Julie Miller
SEPTEMBER 12, 2001
Prayers go out to the victims of the horrific attack on the USA.
AUGUST 13, 2001
I anxiously await a certain package delivery tomorrow, which will provide a special piece of merchandise for those of you who see me perform in the next month or so. The only way to get one right now is to attend one of my shows, so please check me out on the road this August and September. All is well in Chicagoland. It truly has been the greatest Summer of my life. Hope y'all are doing fine.
Recommended listening for August:
The Yayhoos Fear Not the Obvious
The Silos Barcelona
Juliana Hatfield 3
Fred Eaglesmith Ralph's Last Show
Liz Phair whitechocolatespaceegg
JULY 11, 2001
Busy busy busy busy. But I'm pleased to say my new mini-album from Augsburg Fortress got shipped to me today. Very cool. I'm off to play at LiFest and then to spend a month with Echelon rehearsing and touring. And I gotta get a haircut.
Recommended Summer Music:
Madonna Music
Black Crowes By Your Side
Fountains of Wayne Utopia Parkway
The Silos Laser Beam Next Door
JUNE 19, 2001
Yesterday we were in Helsinki! Amazing. The trip to Finland and Sweden was too cool for words. Tomorrow I hit the road in the old USA until early July. This Summer is the most fun in history.
Music from the trip:
U2
Eurythmics
Sting
Creedence Clearwater Revival
MAY 18, 2001
Three days 'til Dawn and I fly to Sweden (and then Finland). I'm very excited and a bit nervous. Had a good day today, and recorded a cool instrumental song with my brother Tim on the old cassette4-track recorder. Getting excited about some future recording projects. Time to pack....
Amazing concerts in the past week:
Buddy & Julie Miller at Fitzgeralds in Berwyn, IL
U2 at the United Center in Chicago
Jay Farrar at the Park West in Chicago
MAY 2, 2001
Today was a great day for press coverage. The Muckrakers, AND all of my solo albums received reviews at the All Music Guide webpage. Link to my Press Page to read all the new reviews! It's always an unusual thrill to read a good review of one of my CDs. I guess I subconciously assume that when I release an album, the people who buy the CDs take them home and never listen to them...so when I read a review I realize "Wow...someone actually LISTENED to the songs and liked them!" It's very flattering and really cool to think that the review has been published where thousands of people can read it. One of the many things about my job that I love. I'm looking forward to playing with Beki Hemingway on Friday opening for Lowen & Navarro, and Saturday with my band opening for the Mary Janes. It's gonna be a fun musical week!
Recommended listening:
The Easy Hoes Tragic Songs of Life
Dolly Varden The Dumbest Magnets
Styx Styx II
Steve Forbert Mission of the Crossroad Palms
Alejandro Escovedo Bourbonitis Blues
APRIL 14, 2001
Happy Easter Weekend to you all! Got home a week ago from my last tour of this school year. Hit SD, ND, MN, WI, and the UP. Came home and bought a new guitar...a 1963 Gibson B25 acoustic. I'm gonna get it all set up nice so it'll make its live debut in late June. Dawn and I leave for Sweden in a month and I'm nervous. It's always weird to leave the country for such a long time...but I'm totally excited about it too. The Sound Theology media blitz continues, and it has even made a dent in the progressive wing of the LCMS, thanks to the song "Closed Out." Link to the PRESS page to read what they're saying in their newsletter Day Star Arising. My solo shows are pretty much done for the Spring, and this Summer will be full of performances with Beki Hemingway and Echelon. I'm looking forward to it!
Recommended Listening:
anything by Chuck Prophet
anything by Will Kimbrough
Madonna Music
The Silos Laser Beam Next Door
MARCH 1, 2001
What a great month February was! I got home yesterday from recording somenew songs with Dave Casimir in Madison, and I'm glad to be home with the suitcases put away. Some highlights from February:
+ Did a ten-day tour in Southern California, playing shows with Echelon, Lost & Found, and Micah Taylor
+ Saw the Hanson brothers shopping at Mmmm-Guitar Center in Mmmm-Hollywood
+ Saw John Cusack at the Four SeasonsHotel in Beverly Hills
+ Saw the Rembrandts in concert at House of Blues.Brushes with greatness!
+ Made a rock-umentary using my new Camcorder...very good footage of the beach in Malibu.
+ Did a week of shows in the Pacific Northwest with Beki Hemingway.
+ Playedsets at the 2001 Folk Alliance Convention in Vancouver BC. Blame Canada.
+ Went to Minneapolis for 3 days of recording with Echelon. We worked on an album of sing-along songs to be released at the LCMS National Youth Event to be held this Summer in New Orleans. Echelon (with me helping!) will be performing in that huge dome for 30,000 people this July. Fun!
+ Went to Dave Casimir's house to record 5 new songs. Augsburg Fortress publishing has commissioned me to write and record songs for their Jr High curriculum. It went very well, and Dave did a great job engineering the session.
+ This month I'll be enjoying a week of Spring Break with Dawn, and touring to MN and ND in a few weeks.
Recommended Listening:
Will Kimbrough This
Jim White No Such Place
The Silos Long Green Boat
Michael Hall and the Woodpeckers Dead by Dinner
Joan Osborne Righteous Love
FEBRUARY 1, 2001
In two days I hit the road for a big two-week-long West Coast tour. It's been a long time since I went on the road for so long. And I've gota show almost EVERY night. I'm really really excited to be out there in the world of rental cars, new cities, and exciting geography. It's that same kind of momentum that happens when running a Marathon, I imagine. Not much sleep, weird eating schedules, doing inventory late night after each show. And California is especially fun....I'll be in Hollywood!
In the last month a couple people who I respect have told me "Hey, you'vegot to get a band together and play clubs, and put this church stuff onthe back burner." But yet, there are more church gigs on the horizon than there have been in years. It's interesting to see where this new album is pushing me. I'm still kinda confused about my future career and what it should look like, but at least now I'm FUN confused rather than a year ago when I was DISCOURAGED confused. My little assignment from the ELCA hasn't got anywhere yet, and I'm a little anxious about finishing it, but it'll get done. And I just lined up a couple days of recording with Echelon when I get home from the West Coast, so that should be fun.
Lots of new music in my CD player lately:
Dolly Parton Little Sparrow
Jess Klein Draw Them Near
Will Kimbrough This
Madonna Music
Universal Honey Magic Basement
Sting Brand New Day
Fountains of Wayne Utopia Parkway
Allison Krauss Forget about it
Joe Henry Trampoline
JANUARY 10, 2001
Happy New Millennium everyone. I entered this year ten days ago with a 2AM sauna, followed by cooling off outdoors beneath the Northern Lights and with the snow-covered wilderness all around me. Perfect. I've made some changes in the projects I've been working on. Last month I was doing lots of work on my forthcoming LIVE album, but that has been put on the back burner 'cause I've been commissioned by the ELCA to write and record a five-song EP CD following the curriculum of their new youth education material. That project needs to be totally finished by March, so that's what I'll be working on for the next few months. Should be fun. Rock & Roll Sunday School. My other projects involve booking booking booking for my California tourand the upcoming trip to Sweden and Finland. The nice reviews for Sound Theology keep rollin' in. Check 'em out on the PRESS page.
CDs for the new year:
1. Eels Oh What a Beautiful Morning
2. Vigilantes of Love Audible Sigh
3. Steve Forbert Evergreen Boy
4. Nickel Creek
5. Sleater-Kinney The Hot Rock
DECEMBER 22, 2000
Well, George W Bush is president-elect, Chicago is buried in snow, I'm listening to David Baerwald's Bedtime Stories album, and Christmas is a three days away. Tomorrow we leave for a couple weeks in Wisconsin and Upper Michigan to spend time with family over the holidays, and I'll be detached from the computer. I've packed up the old Tascam 4-track recorder...maybe I can find some time to record some new music. The Sound Theology media attack is moving along nicely.This morning I did a phone interview for a syndicated radio show based in Nevada...it went pretty well. Did a radio show last week, too, for the big Trunkstock.com launch, and got some good press for us as well.It's exciting to see how this is unfolding. So all is well here...Hope to see you all out on the road in 2001. Merry Christmas!
DECEMBER 6, 2000
It's 3AM and I couldn't sleep so I thought I'd work on the webpage. I've got a lot running through my mind tonight, and there's quite a few things I'm excited about. November was spent pretty much hanging out in Chicago,doing press for Sound Theology, and hosting a songwriters series each Wednesday night at Uncommon Ground. It was good to play weekly, and test out some songs I hadn't played out much before. The press coverage for the new album has been amazing, and it's been thrilling to read what reviewers have had to say about it. I've also been digging through old live recordings I've saved over the years and I've been digitally editing and rescuing the best songs. Looks like a live album will be available in 2001. December is gonna be kinda quiet too, but I'll need the rest before I embark on crazy mega-touring in Feb and March 2001. I'll spend December booking shows, doing more press, and working on new music, plus do a couple good local shows. I really like this time of year!
Here's my list of the Top Ten albums of 2000 from our Christmas letter:
1. Sleater Kinney All Hands on the Bad One
2. Chuck Prophet The Hurting Business
3. Eels Daisies of the Galaxy
4. Aimee Mann Bachelor #2
5. Ryan Adams Heartbreaker
6. Joan Osborne Righteous Love
7. Slaid Cleaves Broke Down
8. Emmylou Harris Red Dirt Girl
9. Peter Case Flying Saucer Blues
10. Jeff Krebs Keep an eye Out
NOVEMBER 4, 2000
It's interesting to look back on my thoughts from last month...October turned out to be one of the best musical months in recent history. After a dazzling Emmylou Harris/Buddy Miller concert I drove up to my homeland of Upper Michigan on October 7th. Through blizzards and sunshine I travelled, enjoying my new car, a 2000 Saturn. Did five shows on that trip up and down US 41, including a totally fun show with my cousin Bruce in Houghton, Michigan. I had my digital 4-track recorder along for the trip, so I spent a couple days in Ishpeming recording new music with my ultratalented brother Timothy playing drums. I'm gonna be finishing those tracks in November, I suspect.The highlight of the month was October 19th, when Beki Hemingway got asked to replace Juliana Hatfield as the opening act for AIMEE MANN here in Chicago, and Beki invited me to sing and play mandolin and accordion. To open for one of my heroes was a thrill, and Beki sounded great as usual. The next night Beki, myself, and 10 other Chicago songwriters did a show launching the www.trunkstock.com webpage, and the night after that at Cafe Assisi in Madison I did a totally cool performance with Dave Casimir on Bass, Andrea Lord and friend Kristin on violin and viola, and my wife Dawn on drums! One of the best band shows in a longtime. Had a great Sunday playing music for tons of Lutherans in Rockford,and just last week got to spend two days at Luther College in Iowa (yes, my alma mater) thinking of my short-lived college days, leading a songwriting seminar, and playing a couple different shows. Finally, the month ended with the CD release shows for Sound Theology. My band Mike and Matt (of Dolly Varden) and Matt (of Accident Clearinghouse) (and even Dawn on drums again) all sounded excellent, and I got some decent audio recordings of our performances. Watch for possible Live recordings available in the future. My decision to avoid a club booking for the Chicago show was a wise one, as only 20 people showed up at Uncommon Ground that night. Whew. I wasn't thrilled with the turnout.Oh well...at least the church concert on Friday was hugely attended.As far as the album is concerned, the buzz is really building, and some really great coverage is gonna hit the press. More details on that later.
My recommeded listening for November:
Bob Dylan The Essential Bob Dylan
Matthew Sweet Time Capsule: The Best of Matthew Sweet
Jeff Krebs Keep an Eye Out
Dot Allison Afterglow
Trent Summar and the New Row Mob
Ryan Adams Heartbreaker
OCTOBER 6, 2000
Autumn has hit Chicago as I pack for my tour (beginning tomorrow) up to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Fall is my favorite time to schedule shows in the U.P. because the leaves are absolutely breathtaking. Also, tonight I'm going to see Buddy Miller and EmmylouHarris in concert! Regarding my concerns from a month ago: My CD release shows have been scheduled at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church on October 27th and at Uncommon Ground on November 1st. I did abandon the idea of playing a club show. I'm sick of smelling like cigarettes. I'm such a snob. Besides, Uncommon Ground is one of the most comfy rooms in town. September was a good month. Had a great tour through Minnesota and North Dakota, got to open for Vigilantes of Love at UW River Falls, and got to hang out with Echelon. Good reviews for Sound Theology are starting to pour in, and more are pending. I'm very excited! I've also had some time to collaborate with Beki Hemingway on some new songs, and they're pretty cool....an album may result in 2001.
Interesting albums for October:
Slaid Cleaves Broke Down
Joan Osborne Righteous Love
Emmylou Harris Red Dirt Girl
Buddy Miller Your Love and Other Lies
Bottlerockets Brand New Year
SEPTEMBER 5, 2000
Hello dear website visitors. Glad to hear that so many of you have already noticed the big website overhaul. It's been a lot of work, but quite fun. I want to use this space to keep a little journal of my musical efforts, as well as give you good record-shopping advice each month. So, on with the venting: I'm in the middle of a philosophical debate regarding my career, and especially regarding the upcoming CD release party for my Sound Theology album. In discussions with club owners and bands in Chicagoland I'm realizing (duh) that clubs only want to book bands that draw large crowds of beer-swillers. If lots of people come to the show and they all drink lots of booze, then the show was a success. My problem is that, when I play in the city, a great number of the folks who like my music aren't gonna come because 1.) The shows are too late in the evening 2.) Chicago is too far for most of them to drive 3.) A great number of them can't get into the clubs 'cause they're not 21 years old yet. In addition, I have learned that my music is not conducive to drinking/partying. In fact, I would guess that Coke is the strongest beverage most of my listeners would choose to consume during one of my shows. Therein is the problem. I seem to have the most audience success when I play churches (and I do have quite a few church shows booked thanks to the subject matter of my new album). So I have reached a point where I'm thinking "Hey, forget that nightclub scene." The problem with retreating to the suburban Lutheran-rock world is that it can occasionally be a bit stifling, and it rarely leads to greater public awareness of the songs. So I'm kinda stuck here. Stay tuned to find out where the CD release party will be held,and how this all pans out.
Interesting albums for September:
John Taylor (from Duran Duran) Feelings are good and other lies
Eels Daisies of the Galaxy
Prince The Hits, volume 2
Radney Foster See what you want to see
King's X Best Of