It was late 1973. My folks had just moved into their very first home in Shutesbury, MA. My elementary school teacher was Mrs. Nerbonne (the lady you see narrating). And I'm the little kid in the back desk with the…

What microphone is best for your voice?

Great question and as with a lot of questions, the answer tends to be "it depends".

My voice has always been on the thin and raspy side and can easily be overwhelmed by…

A good instrument will invite a player to reach outside his comfort zone. In my case with having smaller hands, it's stretching for those killer jazz chords!

So much of what informs my songwriting is based on the music my folks played for me as a child at home and in the car (8 track of course!). 

From dad came the classical stuff. One of the most…

I was recently visiting some dear old friends in the Midwest over the month of May. One night after everyone went off to bed, I stepped out into the back yard to take in the perfect evening weather and listen…

I still have the little recording set up from my teen years! The Teac tape machine was purchased in high school on a road trip with family to LA. Later at university, I got the Soundcraft mixer after maxing out…

Behold, the Challen piano from Abbey Road Studios! It was used on some very pretty Beatles songs like "Fool on the Hill", "A Day in the Life", "Lady Madonna" and "Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da".

Back in August of 2023, I actually got…

I recently rediscovered a tune I wrote roughly 15 years ago. As the years pass, I'm heartened by these pleasant little surprises that I completely forgot about…

"My heart is open
For all to see
It's been searching out a…

Patti Smith's advice to the artist originally came to her from writer/friend William S. Burroughs. I think it holds true today more than ever…

“Build a good name. Keep your name clean. Don't make compromises, don't worry about making a…

Sometimes these Reason player devices deliver very cool sound textures that later can be pulled into song projects. Check it out!