So, it's a new year. I hope you're having a good one so far. 

Personally, my 2017 ended up with clutter and chaos. Don't get me wrong- I was thrilled that December was filled with so many meaningful musical experiences. My CD release show, the Beefus Christmas special, the live video recording of the Civil Engineers at the Harmony Bar (footage still in post-production by the way, but it looks and sounds very promising), student recitals, the usual Tuesday night gigs, and one or two Thriftdwellers shows sprinkled in for good measure. But playing in so many different projects can sometimes feel like working ten different part-time jobs: a never-ending list of scattered tasks to perform with little sense of focus or purpose.

I still really love what I do. I'm working on ways to continue enjoying it while leaving space for creativity and sanity. I have all kinds of music brewing inside, but I need to spend some time preparing myself and my space before I dive into new music. One approach that seems to be helping so far in 2018 is focusing on small tasks. Getting my car washed, organizing my work space, fixing little things that have been bugging me but that I've been too busy to get to, etc... It's kind of crazy how I get almost the same level of satisfaction and sense of accomplishment from going through a drawer and throwing away old documents as I get from writing a new song. 

Of course having complained about not enough focus, I can tell you that I'm going to be working on lots of different music in 2018. I intend to keep writing acoustic songs in the vein of my solo albums. Driveway Thriftdwellers will record our second album this spring. I'd like to write for groups I already play in like Five Points and The Civil Engineers. The Big Payback is starting up again after a little break, and I'd like to write for them again. I also want to work on something entirely new. Something direct, dark, and primal. I don't know exactly what yet, but I can feel it in there.

God, I also need to get outside. Rain be damned, I might go for a walk today. Then, back to the ol' to-do list.