This plane is for leaving

I had spent the entire day in the airplane, and had a Compostion notebook that I had been scribbling in throughout the entire flight. I had a grilfriend at the time, we used to write notes back and forth in this notebook, the entire trip so far was filled with smiley faces and stick figures, poems and deep conversations.

I had just finished a long story about some childhood turmoil when they announced that we were going to be landing soon, I decided it was a good idea to make one more run to the restroom before we landed, it was my first time in Tokyo and I was really excited to explore, I wanted to be ready when I got off the plane! I slipped the notebook into the pocket of the seat in front of me for safe keeping... and there it stayed... I got off that plane and forgot all about the notebook, that I had been pinning over for months, that I had filled with my deepest secrets, my darkest thoughts, my fears and every random thought from the previous two months.

The next morning I woke up in the hotel, looked out over a busy Tokyo street and felt an urge to write a lyric... I went to my bag to get the notebook, that had been faithfully by my side where ever I had gone in the previous two months, only to find that it was gone... I remembered exactly where I left it... I called the airline... nothing... I never saw that notebook again. Sometimes I picture some young or old, guy or girl, getting on the plane in Tokyo, ready for a long flight, finding the notebook, reading its contents and feeling conected with Theresa and I, that person has my heart... in compostion form.

Its alot like what I do now, write a song, play for hundreds of people, no one really knowing me, or my story, but still getting a glimpse into my world, into my heart, people leave a coffee house or a concert venue with a little piece of me, and I have never met that person... I have no idea who they are, where they come from, or what they are taking from me, but I know they heard me, I know they found something of worth in what I was saying... or singing...

Someone "wise" once told me to gaurd myself, be carefull who you let in, be carefull who your share with, because there is only so much you can give, and before too long it will be all gone, and there will be nothing left to give. I could not disagree more... I think we are boundless... infinate in nature... we never run dry... we are filled everyday but everything... if we let it...

I left Tokyo with a small hole inside of me... but maybe... just maybe that small hole that was taken out of my heart... plugged a much needed hole in someone elses... thats all I can ask for... its my heart, in compostion form... simple magic

Born into brothels

Magic, I love magic (i dont mean the card game) a couple years ago we were driving through west virginia, going... some where else... and we went into this long long tunnel that went through one of the adriondacks (I belive) we were playing the game to see who could hold there breath the longest, I lost, miserably, but it was a good thing, because as we came out of that tunnel, what I saw took my breath away. We had been driving all night, and it was about 6:30 in the morning the sun was just coming over the hills, it was november so it was cold, we came out of the tunnel onto a tall tall bridge, must have been 60 feet high, at the bottom was this sleepy little town, next to this sleepy little river that was sending a massive amount of not so sleepy steam into the air... it was unlike anything I have ever seen, it was magic.
Sometimes, when we were driving through another small town,in Arkasas or Ohio or some other place, I would think back to the small little town in the mountains, I would walk down the streets, look into the little store fronts, I would grab breakfast at the local diner where everyone knew your name. I wanted that life, a small town, a quiet get away, the same people everyday. At this point I had been on tour for 5 months, I was so sick and tired of the grind, of the road, of the faces that I didnt know, and never would know, I met so many wonderful people on that tour, but for the life of me I cant remember most of them, I think I was just to full.... to full of moments... of memories... of places... and I had not had time to digest everything that I had experienced... I wanted to sit in that diner... and think, over a big plate of scrambled eggs...

I leave for a three day weekend camp that I am playing music at, I am really excited, three nights of concerts at a sleepy little mountain lodge in oregon, they are supposed to have at least 7-10 FEET of snow, the only thing I have to do is play music for an hour each night... the rest of the time... nothing... I really cant wait to sit on the deck of the lodge with my guitar and take it all in... maybe I will finally have time to digest everything that has been going on around me... this is going to be a good weekend, its going to be magic!

the long and winding road...

I started playing music because I wanted a girl to notice me, I wrote her a song, I sang it to her in the airport in Dallas, Texas, I got the response I desired, I can remember the exact moments when I was writing those words, sitting on a curb in Houston, Texas, fumbling with the three chords that i knew, that day during the afternoon before sound check, we walked down a small rural street to get some ice cream and finally do some laundry... I was doing sound on a small tour with an acoustic outfit from Tyler, Texas, Theresa was her name, she went home to Missouri to vist her parents, when she came off the plane, down the tunnel, I was waiting for her with a guitar in hand, I sang to her the song I wrote, I had never felt so alive...

Six months later we were in Birmingham Alabama, we played at Auburn University, I was asked to play a few of my songs to open, three songs never felt so terrifying, I made it through, and was better for it.

As years passed I found myself in Ashville N.C. Chicago, Philly, Omaha, Atlanta, St. louise, Nashville, Denver... the List goes on and on,I can still see the leaves changing while we wound through the Adriondacks in Tennessee, and the Mist risng up for one of the tiny rivers during a foggy West Virginia monring, the cities, towns, people and places welcomed me and my music, moments that will forever be etched in my memories, that road is always there, that long and ever present road, and I will always travel it, I long to capture that feeling in my music, I want to transport the listener to a familier place, where they have been, or want to go... so they can connect... for a moment... with someone else in this vast world. Music is the universal language of love, pain, loss, and truth, I hope I lead you to all of those things.