November Update: Streaming Show This Saturday/Pullback and Other Confessions

First things first: I’m playing a show this weekend! I’m honored to be the special guest this week for Chuck Mead’s Lil’ SOB Jamboree series, happening this Saturday, November 28. I’ll be playing a few of my songs with Chuck and his fabulous band the Grassy Knoll Boys: Tune in on Facebook Live and YouTube November 28th 5-7pm CST. Hope you can make it—

Bandcamp Friday: As they’ve done for many months now, Bandcamp is waiving their cut of revenues earned from sales on Friday, December 4. Just means a little more jingle in the pocket for me and all the other artists on the site. If you’ve been hankering for some KG goods, that’s a good day to go shopping.

What’s goin’ on? It’s been a while. May this find you safe and well, however you might define that. For such an empty time, I’m staying busy, though per usual I’m not always cognizant of what it is I’m doing or have done. A little of this, a little of that. Get to the end of a day, turn around and ask myself, “What happened?” Cleaning out my inbox (again), scraping and repainting various windows. The daily afternoon dog walk with Boo. Playing guitar at night, for an hour or two. Letting my mind take me where it wants to go. Good choices on Netflix, and the PBS Newshour help keep me sane. Oh, the 2019 tax return. I’ll just say this—I’m very grateful for the recent long-awaited arrival of the refund check due from 2018, so that . . . I can write a check to pay what’s overdue for 2019. I’m sure this will all make sense eventually. Right?

Confessions: Well, the mirror is interesting these days, as my hair is in full-on PMM: pandemic mullet misformation. Gonna have to break down and get the thing tamed. Even for me, there’s a little too much of a “which ditch did you sleep in last night” vibe. I’ve fallen off the horse and stopped running. Seemed to coincide with the first chill in the air. I’m hitting the wine a little too hard at times, while reading more articles that include the phrase “sober curious.” Song ideas: sure, I’ve got ‘em. Finishing those? Not so much. Excited by the prospect of a Covid vaccine becoming available soon; at the same time, I’m more focused than ever on wearing a mask, a good mask (love those KN-95s . . .), and staying the hell out of places that seem risky. Except for going to a mall yesterday, to get an eye exam. For some reason.

If I owe you a phone call, I apologize. Something about life’s rich pageant in its current form finds me pulling back, and I’m not sure I can explain it. I just notice it happening. Maybe you’re feeling similar things. It’s not exactly that I don’t want to talk; last night I called my friend Joe McMahan to wish him belatedly a happy birthday, and we ended up talking for an hour—about music, about things that come up when playing/practicing guitar, about the venues we miss playing (hint: ALL of them–we even reminisced about places we couldn’t stand). I really enjoyed it. I love those conversations when I end up saying/thinking or hearing things that lead me somewhere new, to a perspective, an idea, a feeling, that I didn’t have when I picked up the phone. And speaking of birthdays, if I’ve missed yours one big reason might be my unannounced and unplanned retreat from Facebook. Again, I’m not sure I can explain it. I’ll maintain a presence, simply because so many friends and family remain active on Fb, but overall I’ll be more easily found on Instagram or Twitter.

“Flag” quilt by Stella Pettway, Gee’s Bend, AL

Stay well! Thanks for reading this. If you’re celebrating Thanksgiving, do it to it! After the last several months, I am simply grateful for being here. Love and gratitude. The rest is lagniappe.