Wednesday, November 17, 2010

Thoughts/Feelings...

Hey guys -just trying to get an idea of how you are all digging this blog. I know I haven't been very active with it, but I'm hoping to have more opportunities to make posts. Let me know if you have any ideas regarding what you'd like to see on here. You can post a comment or email me at Dan@DanTedesco.com.

Rock on,

Dan

Monday, November 15, 2010

Tracks On Fire....

So it's official. My next album will be titled, "Tracks On Fire". At some point I'll put together some of the general ideals that provide the foundation for this upcoming release. It will, in many ways, pick up and continue the story that began during "Starin' at a Green Light". The sound is much tighter, more raw and more live...but it's funny because in some sense being "smaller" has actually made it bigger. It's an intense ride through the ten tracks. I sincerely cannot wait to have it put together and available for you all. Please be prepared for initial tracks to be available as a preview sometime in January with an official release to follow in March. Rock 'n Roll.

- Dan

Monday, October 11, 2010

Hittin' the Road...

(Sunrise in NW Indiana, Oct 2009)

Touring season for 2010 will wind down beginning this week, and carrying through next week. We'll be pulling out of Chicago this Wednesday to wind up through Madison, WI - Minneapolis, MN - Duluth, MN - La Crosse, Wi landing back home for a couple of days and then rolling out for a couple of shows in Kearney, NE and Des Moines, IA. This will also mark the end of any major touring behind my current album, "Starin' at a Green Light". That album was released in March of 2009, and in the last year and a half we've covered over half the country touring behind it.

Over the course of the tour we've made new fans and friends, seen new parts of the country, been inspired for more songs, had one good solid blown alternator in the middle-of-nowhere Wamsutter, WY, consumed copious amounts of terrible (but cheap) food....and played a hell of a lot of shows. And as this album's tour crosses the finish line, the whole process starts to put out the next one...title and official release date TBA.

For those interested, you can follow me on these last tours of 2010 via my Facebook artist page (http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/pages/Dan-Tedesco/176304244465) or Twitter (http://www.Twitter.com/Dan_Tedesco). See ya on the road....Rock on.

- Dan

Sunday, October 3, 2010

Making the New Album...

Ok....so for the better part of September I had extremely limited internet access, and for that I apologize that I was not able to post many blogs. However, that issue has been rectified and I'm back at it. I figure the best spot to pick back up is with last week's recording of my new album!



Above is a picture showing my setup during the main tracking with the band. You can see my keyboard and several guitars in the background. I brought the Les Paul back out and it sounded perfect. With this new arrangement of my band it really helps keep things full and warm, given the lack of a bass. Surprisingly enough, I only played electric on one song for this album.

A lot of people often ask me what the order/process of recording is like. I can give you a general breakdown of how these tunes were put together:

1) Live take of each song with myself on vocals or guitar/keyboard, Brad on guitar/lap steel and Rio on drums. Multiple takes are done to try and capture the best performance of each song. Slight changes to arrangements are made in between takes. My producer on this album was crucial for bouncing ideas and having suggestions to help enhance the original arrangments, and the tracks are all that much stronger as a result.

2) Once the general tracking is taken care of, it's time for the overdubs. With this album, I went through a re-recorded all of the piano parts with a real piano vs the initial tracking done with my keyboard. The difference in sound is pretty stunning. It's a bit tedious to go back through everything but absolutely worth it. In addition to the piano overdubs, a few organ parts, guitar parts and vocal harmonies were added in.

3) After putting together the full arrangements of each track I go back through and lay down final vocal tracks where needed. Here's a photo of what my setup looked like while tracking the final vocals.



That big, round black mic behind the pop screen was on loan from the guys in My Morning Jacket, and it sounded unbelievable. Hands down the best vocal sound I've ever had during a recording.

4) By this point we had basically every track arranged and recorded as seen fit. There was one last thing to do. I put together an on-the-spot arrangement of a song I've never played on piano before. Some of you might know it. It's called "Whiskey Roads". We miked up the piano, threw up a vocal mic and I cut the tune live in one take. It was one of my favorite moments of the entire 4 days of recording and I think will be a very powerful track on the album.

And that as they say...is a wrap.

Wednesday, September 1, 2010

August 2010 in a nutshell...


Lots of rehearsals….lots of travel….lots of rock ‘n roll. The band and I were very busy this past month. Between working the kinks out of our new arrangement, touring out east and last but not least preparing the songs for my next recording - well, sleep has come at a premium. It’s all good though - I can sleep when I’m dead.

We spent 9-days on the road in early August touring out to the east coast. In total we visited Ft. Wayne, IN; Cleveland, OH; Boston, MA; New York, NY; Pittsburgh, PA; Columbus, OH; Decatur, IL; Mendota, IL (The Mendota Sweet Corn Festival); and my hometown - St. Charles, IL. It was a whirlwind of shows (10 in 9 days), and a lot of driving. But my trusty Ford E-150 (aka “The Triton”, “The Bus” or “Old Blue“) stood it’s ground and went the distance for us. We made a lot of new fans and received the strongest response I’ve ever received on tour. The newly refurbished Long Haul is making quite the impact (if you’d like to get a chance to see what I’m talking about visit my MySpace page for show dates - http://www.MySpace.com/DanTedesco).

I took a few days off after our tour to relax and get my mind focused on rehearsals/recording preparation. The last couple of weeks have had me consumed with arrangement ideas, track listing ideas and physical rehearsals with the band. I cannot wait to lay down these new songs. The band is really excited about the new material and I personally feel it’s some of my most original stuff to date. It’s going to be a leaner recording than the last one, but it’s gonna be raw and it’s gonna rock. More info regarding release dates and such will be on its way soon.

I hope you’ve all been well and have lots of great memories as we wind down Summer 2010 and ease into the cool relief of fall. Rock on.

Friday, July 30, 2010

Tour Log - East Nashville, TN - Friday, July 30th.

Ah....so let's see where to begin. The ride down to Cincinnati was....well...not all that exciting. But it did go by pretty fast. I picked up a new harmonica and a new harmonica brace (yep, getting back into that whole deal) on my way out of Chicago, so I was able to rig that up and practice my chops while driving. Not the safest thing in the world I suppose - but then again I'm a pretty compulsive text-while-driving driver. Fueled on coffee and the "poor musician's feast" - 1 mcchicken and 1 mcdouble - I shot down I-65 and met up with I-74 outside of Indianapolis which carried me straight southeast into the heart of Cincinnati. If you haven't been there it really is a pretty town. It sprawls out over the rolling hills of the Ohio river valley, which this time of year are a deep green given the oh-so-generous rainfall that the midwest has recently received. The river itself is a beast, usually seeing a good deal of action from barges. I have a strange interest in inter-modal transportation, so that kind of thing gets me off. What can I say.

I took Pete Rose way around the Reds stadium and crossed the mighty river on a bridge depositing me smack dab in the middle of Newport, KY - about 2 blocks from home for that night - the Southgate House (http://www.SouthgateHouse.com). When I walked up to start taking gear into the venue I caught a glimpse of the marquee (photo shown above). Rock 'n Roll.

The Southgate House is a really, really, really cool venue. Very unique. As I mentioned in an earlier post it operates with three different rooms inside the house. There wasn't a big show in the ballroom last night, but there was another show in what's called the Parlour Room (I've heard stories of My Morning Jacket and the Black Keys playing to 5-10 people in that room back in the day). I put together my gear in the Lounge (directly underneath the Parlour Room) which is essentially the main bar area, ran a quick sound check, and was enjoying a frost Kentucky Ale by 8pm.

Unfortunately my presence in the Cincinnati scene is not too strong yet, and the band in the Parlour Room didn't have a super huge crowd. What did this mean for me? A slllllloooooooowwwwww night. I did get a chance to play for a few folks though, and they sincerely appreciated it. No CD sales but when I play to 5-7 people all night I can't really expect much. I passed out a few biz cards, so we'll see what the future holds :)

And the night rolled on, a few more Kentucky Ales were consumed, and then - the Tommy Gun. If you didn't read my earlier blog, the Southgate House is the former home of the man responsible for the invention of the Tommy Gun. That said, one would expect them to have a signature drink bearing the same name. I discovered this little gem. I suggest trying it when you have the chance. Jameson shot with a pickle juice chaser. Bam!

By 3:30 or so I was closing down the bar with the remaining staff and making plans to travel a few blocks away to an all-night diner - The Pepper Pod. A "the pod" I enjoyed a full ham steak breakfast complete with a full side of biscuits and gravy and a specialty of "the pod" - Goetta...some sort of sausage mixed with oats and fried. Sounds awful but turns out to be absolutely delicious. Especially after having suffered a couple "shots" from the Tommy Gun.

Sleep finally overtook me on the side of 4th street, lying across the two back seat captain chairs in my van. I think I made it through about 2 1/2 hours before the morning heat kicked in and awoke me into a fairly bad state. Of course nothing a few liters of water, gatorade, 2 bananas, a granola bar and a Snicker protein bar couldn't save. Having patched myself up, I rolled the van on up to I-71 S and began the voyage down to east Nasvhille. I spent the drive going over my demos for my next album, listening to some really bad radio and mentally preparing for tonight's show.

I now sit here in east Nashville with about 5 1/2 hours to kill before showtime later tonight. Rock on people.

Thursday, July 29, 2010

Cincinnati-bound

The merch booth is packed and ready to go. CD's, business cards and a solitary sticker - gotta get more of those soon! Time to get outta dodge...See ya in a booth for dinner at the infamous Skyline Chili in Cinci.

Wednesday, July 28, 2010

Hittin' the Road...

Yep, that's right, tomorrow I'm hitting the road for a couple of days. I'll be on a solo tour through Cincinnati, OH (Thursday, July 29th) and Nashville, TN (July 30th). In Cincinnati I'm playing at a venue called the Southgate House which is regarded as the best music venue in the city - not including the big time spots like theaters and arenas :) It's a really, really cool place. It's the old historic home of the guy that invented the Tommy Gun, and their very proud of this fact. I believe you can purchase your own Southgate House t-shirt toting this fact for about $15-20. Anyway, they have three venues in the house. One main room that holds about 1,000, a smaller room that holds a couple hundred and then a lounge. The lounge is where I'll be tomorrow night. It's basically a little space set up by the main bar. You get lots foot traffic and exposure as people come in/leave from the other shows. We had a great time in the Lounge back in April, and I'm looking forward to my solo show there tomorrow night.

As for Nashville, I'm playing with a friend - Larry, from Hurricane Doyle (check them out - they're solid) who we met playing in the area back in April at a venue called the Five Spot. It's in East Nashville and so far I have heard only great things about this spot (no pun intended, of course). Fingers crossed.

I'll heading out around 1pm tomorrow in Ol' Blue - the infamous "touring bus" that you've heard me mention. She's a 2001 Ford E-150 V-8 conversion van. I'm all class. So if the balding front tires can do me one more solid I should be good to go. The van is just about packed up and ready to roll.

My plan is to bring my laptop and blog at least once if not a couple of times a day on this tour, so be ready. You can come join me on the road. If I can get some decent photos with my iPhone I'll post them as well. Some point in the not so distant future I'll have a video camera - and that's when the fun will REALLY start. So for now I say good night. I'll talk to you guys from the road manana. Rock on.

Thursday, July 22, 2010

All Systems Go...

Well we've completed our first three shows with the newly arranged band and it has been AWESOME thus far. Our first show was back on 7/10 at the House Pub in St. Charles. There were definitely some challenges involving sound and getting the right mix....and I could have really benefited from the sweet invention known as duct tape. With my new keyboard and stage setup things get a little out of hand with cables. Kind of like a giant pile of rubber spaghetti. However, I knew everything was going to be alright by the second or third song of the show. I was keeping an eye on people's reactions in the crowd - namely those who have followed the band for a while and are fairly accustomed to the kind of sound/show we put on up to that point. There were certainly many expressions of curiosity being cast upon us....up until that moment in the second or third song. At that point I saw the curiosity and skepticism leave people's eyes, to be replaced by pure enjoyment. I could sense that people had forgotten about the new arrangement, leaving their concerns and doubts behind and were truly getting in to the music and show at hand. Once I witnessed that transition I knew we'd hit on the head. It was, as I like to say, All Rock 'n Roll in the End from that point on.

Our second show was in Terre Haute, IN last week - Thursday, July 15th at the Verve. We've always had a great time at this venue in the past but this was different. Random people approaching the stage and crowding in to watch. Full cheers and applause at the end of every song. I was sweating balls by the middle of the first set - and I hadn't even stood up yet! We were on fire on all night, having gotten the initial nerves and kinks out of a number of the tunes from the first show. I have to give it up to the Terre Haute crowd. They made it a very special night. All the way down to the respect they showed when I chose to do a couple solo acoustic tunes later in the night. I felt like we really connected in a different way than we did during prior shows. We can't wait to be back down in Terre Haute.

Our third show was the following Friday, July 16th in Decatur at the Lincoln Lounge. It was a bit of an off night crowd-wise but again we really turned some of the skepticism of old fans into real excitement for what lay ahead.

I can't wait for all of you to hear these new arrangements and be a part of this new show. Everyone in the band is being pushed and challenged to their limits and bringing some extra to each show. All systems are, most definitely, a go. Rock on.

Friday, July 9, 2010

Out with the Old and In with the New...

After a solid 5-6 weeks of aggressive rehearsals I've got myself and the band ready to rock in our new format. We'll take the stage for this inaugural show of sorts in my hometown of St. Charles, IL tomorrow night and I'll spend a considerable portion of that time behind the first instrument I ever learned - the piano. The new arrangements have kept me up thinking most nights and I think I've solved their riddle, for better or worse :) In certain ways I feel like I'm taking the wheel and letting some of my closest influences crash out in the back of the van - always available should I need them. It's exciting and I sincerely hope that excitement - the stuff that puts chills down your spine and raises the hair on your arms - will be harnessed into a hell of a night for everyone at the show.

It's time to raise an old bottle full of new beer and make a toast...

Friday, July 2, 2010

Movin' Along...

Well, it's finally arrived. Tonight I'll take the stage at Goose Island Brewery, here in Chicago, for the last time with a bass player. Darin Mullins, my bassist from Feb 2nd, 2007 - July 2nd, 2010, will be departing from the Long Haul after this evening's performance. He's been an absolutely fantastic member of the band and an even better person, all around. It's definitely going to be an adjustment not having him around and he will sincerely be missed - especially for those early morning drives on tour :) I'm going to have to learn how to be functional before 10am.

So....tonight we rock it out one more time in the classic four piece (bass, drums, guitar, guitar/vocal) and as of tomorrow I will move forward into brand new territory. I'm saying good-bye to tradition. It's definitely a bit scary, but most things worth doing usually are...ya know? It's also terribly exciting. I'm still working on putting together our first official Chicago show, but if you check out my show calendar on MySpace (http://www.MySpace.com/DanTedesco) you'll see there are a few places you can check out the new line-up if you like before then.

The best is yet to come. Rock on people.

Monday, June 21, 2010

Just A Quick Word...

The rock is definitely rolling as I'm writing this tonight. My brain is on fire. I just came from seeing the Max Weinberg (Bruce Springsteen's drummer in the E-Street Band) Big Band up in Evanston, just north of Chicago. Incredible show. I haven't seen a live big band in quite some time and the sheer energy and amount of sound is really unreal. Some of you know and some of you don't know that I spent a good amount of time in the jazz world and tonight's show definitely presented me with a frothy mug of nostalgia. It reminded me a bit of why I play music.

You see, I play a lot - A LOT - of shows. I love it to death but at the level I'm at there are still plenty of nights playing to no more than a handful of people. It's actually a bit scary, but in some ways I've gotten used to being in the background. Either that or I've just matured and know better than to force the issue that my younger self might have pounded down people's eardrums. I'd like to think that it's the latter of the two. Regardless, seeing a real performance like tonight's show (200 people on a Monday evening at 7pm) reminded me that the audience is out there. It reminded me that the audience is listening.

You guys are going to trip out when you see this new formation of my band. I hope you'll continue to listen, and I promise I'll keep giving you a reason to.

Tuesday, June 8, 2010

And Then There Were Three

Tonight’s entry is going to be short and sweet. Incase you missed the announcement several weeks back, my bass player of the last three years - Darin Mullins - will be leaving the Long Haul on July 2nd. His farewell show will be at the Goose Island Brewery here in Chicago, just down the street from Wrigley Field. For those of you in the area, I would sincerely appreciate the support. Darin is one of the most solid people I’ve met and he will be missed.

Given these circumstances, I’ve made a bold choice in my plans moving forward. No bass. That’s right people. I’ll say it again - no bass. I’ve acquired a really sweet keyboard - a Korg SV-1 (for those of you who might actually want to know). It contains fabulous acoustic piano emulations as well as a full range of classic electric pianos and organs (Hammond B-3, Wurlitzer, etc.). I’ll be splitting my time between keyboard and guitar, forming a hybrid power trio. I cannot tell you how exciting this will be for me…and you - my audience.

Many of you probably don’t know that I actually started out playing piano when I was about 4 or 5. I’ve always played it on the side of my guitar work and during my two years in music school I became quite proficient. I haven’t had an opportunity to put those skills to work for me - until now.

So far I’ve had three solid rehearsals with Brad Quandt (my lead guitar/lap steel player) and Rio Chavez (my drummer). The arrangements are coming together even better than I heard them in my head. I've given the task of providing harmony vocals to both Brad and Rio and little by little we're getting there. Furthermore, the space left by the bass is allowing some really amazing things to shine through and create surprisingly unique elements in the music. The phrase I’ve been using for the past seven years - “Folk Rock on Steroids” - has never been more accurate. This will be a true meeting point between the rawness of my acoustic show and the hair-raising power of an electric band. All topped off with the gospel soul of piano, and the electric organ whistling through a Leslie rotating speaker.

I cannot wait to share this with you guys. It will be a force to be reckoned with. Are you with me?

Tuesday, May 25, 2010

The Road to Memphis...and Back

9:30am, Thursday May 19th - Due to a few obstacles, what was originally supposed to be a tour with my band was now going to be a solo tour. It had been a while. I used to tour by myself all the time. With a new album, changes in the band and new business ideas overloading my brain I very much welcomed the time to just….drive. It’s amazing the kinds of things you can work out by just letting the big wheels roll.

On this particular morning I was Memphis-bound. I packed up the “bus” - my previously mentioned Ford E-150 - and made my way down I-55 S. From there I would make the five hour drive cutting through the flat open plains of central Illinois on through the very swollen Mississippi river valley surrounding St. Louis, Missouri. It was a beautiful spring day. Clear skies. It felt great to be on the road. My mind carved out ideas for new marketing plans, new song arrangements for my new band line-up and the plans for the night’s show at the Hi-Tone Café in Memphis.

After working through various highway interchanges in St. Louis I continued on the additional five hour drive through the deep green hills of eastern Missouri leading on through the flatlands of northeastern Arkansas. Eventually I would meet up with I-40 east and head over the gargantuan Big Muddy officially crossing into Memphis, Tennessee.

I pulled into the parking lot at the Hi-Tone Café having logged ten hours of driving. It’s a long day, but it was the last thing on my mind. I made my way into the venue, grabbed a seat at the bar and received some glorious news from the bartender. Free pizza and PBR - some of the sweetest words a touring musician can hope to hear. By the time I finished my dinner and had a couple drinks the rest of the nights musicians were arriving - it was just about time.

As my set time approached I went into show-mode which is comprised of these general steps:

1) A quick stop at the van to change into my show clothes
2) Assembly of my guitar stand
3) Set up both my acoustic and electric guitars - tune them - place them in the stand
4) Uncover my amp and make sure I have all my cords, tuning pedal, picks, etc. ready
5) Look over my set list with any final thoughts/changes
6) Remember the ten hours I drove to be here and that I better bring it for myself, my band and the 20-30 people who don't know me and who I hope can't forget me by the end of my set
7) Get all of my gear up on stage after the opening band is clear
8) Forget everything I just thought about in my pre-show
9) Take the stage
10) Show time

45 min later - sweaty and breathing hard - I clear the stage and hang by my merchandise to talk with new fans. The folks in Memphis were unbelievable. I sold three or four cds and received various cash amounts from a number of people to help with gas. The last band closed out the night and we headed to a local bar for the post-show during which I got to a know a number of new people and begin plans for my next Memphis show. One of my fans was even cool enough to let me crash at his place. I love Memphis.

I left the following afternoon and retraced my steps north on I-55 back to St. Louis. I would do it all over again in a few hours at Brennan‘s in the Central West End, and get to see some old friends with whom I’d be staying for the night. In the morning the tour would creep further north to Decatur, IL.

On Friday night after setting up the PA, sound checking, having a drink and waiting…waiting…waiting…I’d see a great sight after a long couple of days in the car - my band. They made it down to Decatur to meet up for our show at the Cornerstone Tavern. The stage lights went on, we cranked up the house fog machine and played our best show in Decatur to date. I can’t thank everyone down there enough for their support. After three years of playing the scene regularly it seems we’ve finally had our first break through.

With that said, there was quite the party that ensued afterwards. 5am saw us at Hardee’s purchasing $54 worth of monster biscuits, tater tots and orange juices. 5:20am saw us all passed out. I was up four hours later revving up the “bus”, and home by early afternoon.

A great tour, healthy profit, new fans, great memories and a clear mind.

Sunday, May 16, 2010

How Good It Feels

Moonshine
Kill the headlights
Tall pines
Sway in the night
Red-line
Fire in my wheels
The tires squeal
Man, I forgot just How Good It Feels

It's funny how easy it can be to forget to just have a good time. The ride is short but sweet. Put the pedal down.....and rock on.

Sunday, May 9, 2010

Let Me Play My Old Guitar, and Sing for You My Song

You may have noticed the description of my blog reads “Let me play my old guitar, and sing for you my song/I promise you my friend, I will not do you wrong”. There is an interesting story behind those words that goes a little something like this…

August 2004. I had just moved to LA from Tempe, AZ. I’d come into Hollywood with a duffle bag of clothes and my acoustic guitar. Like the Tom Petty song I had busted “into the great wide open” (and in a lot of ways I was definitely a rebel without a clue). After landing a short gig at Starbucks it became apparent VERY quickly that in order to hang around town I was going to need to rope in more substantial income, so into my cubicle I went.

I worked a standard office job in the small Los Angeles suburb of Glendale, CA. My morning consisted of waking up at 7:30, showering and hitting the road by 8 to fight the infamous LA traffic on my hour commute to work. Most of my work day was dedicated to a lot of time on Microsoft Excel, coffee, customer phone calls, meetings of questionable significance, more coffee, some form of lunch, emails, more coffee (on a really bad day) and an hour commute home.

I did my best. Fighting off mild ADD, song ideas, show promotion and booking plans I focused as best I could at my job. At night I played whatever open mics or gigs I could find, would roll into bed by 2 or 3am and do it all over again in the morning. There were even times I’d drive two and a half hours to Bakersfield on a weeknight. I’d share sets with a band I’d met while touring, drive back in the early morning hours through the San Jaoquin desert on highway 99 - crash out in a truck stop when necessary - and slump into work amidst the morning rush hour. But ultimately this pace couldn't last.

By February 2006 my attempts at keeping my focus at work while pursuing what I could of my musical dreams failed me. I was put on probation after a number of billing discrepancies and mishaps in other administrative tasks associated with my position. I became extremely frustrated with myself, knowing that I was smart enough to handle my job but now realizing I simply wasn’t interested enough. I needed to find my place, and I knew that when I did things would feel right. One afternoon I skipped my lunch break and hid out in an empty office with a pad of paper and a pen. I wrote the following lines -

“Let me play my old guitar and sing for you my song
Let me play my old guitar and sing for you my song
I promise you my friend
I will not do you wrong”

Having worked in corn fields, factories, offices, part-time retail, etc. the time had come to really go for it. The following month I put in my two weeks, got on the internet and began booking my summer full of every gig I could find….in Chicago. I would head home by early-May having found, however permanent I couldn't say, a place.

Thursday, May 6, 2010

A Life in Rock 'n Roll

I am Dan Tedesco, a 28 year-old singer/songwriter based out of the north side of Chicago only a few blocks from the infamous Wrigley Field. I’ve been able to support myself for the last four years solely as a professional musician and in that time I put together my own band - Dan Tedesco and the Long Haul. I’ve performed all over the country, both with and without the Long Haul. There’s been backyard parties, weddings, small-town bars, summer festivals and serious venues in some of our nation’s most historic music cities. I released my first full-length album with the Long Haul entitled, “Starin’ at a Green Light” in early 2009 and toured from coast to coast in support of it. You can check it out on iTunes or CDBaby.com if you like. I’ve done all of this completely independent of any record label, booking agency or management company. I own a 2001 dark blue Ford E-150 which functions as the “tour bus” for myself, the band and LOTS of gear.

Now that you know a little about me, I want to be clear on something else: Rock ‘n Roll. What is it to you? Everyone has their own definition. To me, rock ‘n roll has always been a metaphor for life, and I don’t mean the “Sex, Drugs ‘n Rock ‘n Roll” life. I’m talking about real life: work, family, home, love, community, responsibility, honesty, fear, sadness, loss, hope, failure, dreams and the unwillingness to settle. It is what you get if you distill every last drop of blood, sweat and tears from your daily life.

So…..with that in mind, it is my hope that through this blog you may be able to learn something about yourself. Maybe even become inspired in some way. Whatever it may be, the last thing I want this to focus on: Me.

I invite you to pack up your gear and hop in the van. May Rock ‘n Roll take you home….