another new beginning

       MONDAY 12/31/18--about five and a half hours until bedtime...I hope I can stay awake; might have to eat some cereal to accomplish that...
      TUESDAY 1/1/19--There's an acoustic open mic on Wednesday--in Olney...hosted by Sandra Dean...it starts at 6:.30, so I would likely leave the house by 5:30...I dunno who else is going to go, but hopefully I'll find out before I leave here for Olney...I REALLY wanna practice whatever songs I'm gonna do...
6:43pm--the Plan is to do WISHES and have two or three other songs ready...songs that I know way more than just a little...waiting for the tablet...I'd like to have it by Friday, but it's not due until Monday 1/7/19...
WEDNESDAY 1/2/19 7:47AM--decided NOT to do WISHES tonight, IF I go...mostly because it's STILL not completely finished...therefore I don't know the song as well as I want to...because I keep changing it, dammit...
9PM- well my solo set at the Olney Winery OM is over… I’m gonna give myself an 8.0...it could’ve been better, but of course, it could’ve been a lot worse…my guitar didn't sound good to me at all...maybe I'll start using the EQ and Chorus more often, if not everytime...my best vocal moment was in CAN’T BUY ME LOVE with Michelle Murray and Jeff Karn...of course I wish  someone had recorded THAT...
10:57PM--just got home, ears ringing a LOT...should be in bed by Midnight...I found out that the set Oz is doing on Sunday at JVs is only 30 minutes long...we are far from being the only act...and the Powers That Be want to end the event at 3:00 period, no ifs ands or buts...gonna leave some stuff at home, apparently I need to make room for Oz's photographer friend...dunno if I'm gonna use the gizmo or not...leaning towards :"not"...I don't think it's worth the potential problems just to have a wah-wah pedal for 30 minutes...
THURSDAY 1/3/19 4:18PM--I guess I'm not gonna get the tablet today and even if I did, I don't think I'd go out anywhere to test out the camera/video capability...I THINK it's sitting in the Gaithersburg post office, wherever that is--Shady Grove Rd. I think...
6:03PM--now the tablet is at the "local" post office, maybe that's Diamond Farms...it has GOT to arrive sometime tomorrow, right?
FRIDAY 1/5/19 10PM--It feels like it has taken all day, but I finally have the lyrics to four songs on my tablet...the bad news is that I apparently have to have a wi-fi connection to see 'em...
SUNDAY 1/6/19 11:45 AM- well the Oz adventure has started…I’m parked near his residence , in what I believe is a free on Sundays parking lot… I am going to wait until about five minutes before noon and then I will make my way up the street to Charter House...
2:08PM- well the 30 minute session with Oz is history… I guess I did well enough; at least that’s what everybody says... I felt a little better once Tom Blood and then Mike Lessin (separately) jumped up on stage and played second guitar and shortly thereafter we were finished...

when will things get back to "normal"?

           SATURDAY 12/29/18 9:20AM--I think I'm going to Damascus today...not 100% sure my voice will be as good as it sometimes is--like Thursday night...probably won't get to do anything by myself, but maybe that's OK...
       Heard from Oz...gonna meet him in Silver Spring...and there is supposedly another Oz gig on the 26th, in Woodbridge, which may be a bit further than Falls Church...
    11:51AM--looks like I'm going to the Music Café and so is Lou...I don't expect to do any solo stuff, but that's OK...I guess...should be home by 6PM, if not earlier...Dianne and Linda are going to Unique together, it was important to her that she have something to do...
1:15PM- hanging out at the Music Café in Damascus, waiting for Lou…I’m not going to screw it up this time-at least I don’t think I am...I don’t have much of a voice to sing with, but hopefully I have enough to get the job done...
3:16PM-I DID have enough voice to get the job done...didn’t really have a chance to demonstrate my lead guitar ability, but that’s never been what L&S is about...
5:51PM--back home, having a Wendy's cheeseburger and fries for Dinner...I expect to be in bed before 10:30...
8PM--now that it's a done deal, I hope I'm making the right decision about buying an Amazon tablet...the waiting is the hardest part...might be another week before I get it...

well, it worked at home

     THURSDAY 12/27/18 8:51AM--I was so wrapped up working on the Buck Owens Xmas song that I almost forgot about some song that Arlene wants (wanted?) to do...I figured out THAT riff (harmonized!) in less than 10 minutes...I plan to be at the 3PM load-in...I'm planning on using the gizmo tonight...kinda hoping Angela will give me back BLUE XMAS...dunno if she will or not, if she doesn't, so be it...
     1PM--Angela is keeping BLUE XMAS...boy, once ya hear Sherri Robbins, almost no one else can compare...
 2:51PM-Now it’s not quite 3 o’clock and I am here at the OTWC waiting for the other bandmembers to get here and bring in their stuff...
5:20PM--and now Dorothy wants a spot...*I* think we all deserve a raise, but I don't know how to make that happen...
FRIDAY 12/28/18 2:30AM--we didn't get a raise but we DID get a bonus, an extra $5...we (the house band) backed up Alexia, a cute little singer songwriter who, unfortunately knows and occasionally plays with Dave Sharp...I wonder if he's still as "eccentric" as he used to be...she seemed to like my playing; I'll take any compliment I can get...
  10:49AM--so the 4th Thursday open mic is really history...I inadvertently screwed Lou over--I thought he signed us up, he thought *I* signed us up...so, nobody signed us up...major bummer...I did apologize, at least once...I dunno for sure, but I imagine it will take some time for him to get over it...
    5:27PM--I dunno who's playing where tonight, but it doesn't matter to me--I ain't goin' nowhere...that may be true about tomorrow as well...
10:42PM--I've been cyber-chatting with Alexia to determine whether or not she was already in a Band besides the one she's in (part time?) with Dave Sharp...his band is the band she's in...I dunno if I should tell her about my history with him...it seems so long ago, I can't really remember any details, I just remember he was an angry wack job...

for $50, I'm not sure it's worth it

           
                 XMAS DAY 12:07PM--it has taken me about an hour, more or less, but I was FINALLY able to take JINGLE BELL ROCK outta my iTunes Library and put it in Audacity to slow the intro way down so I can learn it...I had been thinking about how if I didn't use Audacity for something I'd forget how to use it...and of course I did forget how to use it...so I kept pushing buttons until I got the result I desired...like I say, it took about an hour altogether...I can't imagine the dozen and a half other songs I need to learn by Thursday being as hard as that...

4:16PM--on the other hand, I needed to change keys for one of the songs...again I used Audacity, but it only took half as long, if that...I'm not sure WHEN I can practice this stuff, but I'm thinking some tomorrow and some on Thursday...I bet that Barnaby won't practice any more than I hope to, probably less...I'll be sooooo glad when December's 4th Thursday is history...

WEDNESDAY 12/26/18 8:26AM--listening to the Xmas songs, the beginning of practicing them...I dunno if the guest singers are expecting to hear exactly what they hear on the records, but I think I can guarantee that they won't...

9:49AM--it's ultimately MY fault for procrastinating, but I HATE doing homework...especially at the last minute...to me, it's just not worth $50 bucks...

4:04PM--after the intro to JINGLE BELL ROCK, the hardest guitar part I have to wrestle with is the intro riff to SANTA LOOKED A LOT LIKE DADDY...I'm on my way to getting the both...I have to use the gizmo though--Harmonizer setting C3...

7:39PM--the homework is getting better...well, the homework I care about...
9:15PM--the guitar riff homework is getting better still...
11:09PM--dunno how, but I accidentally silenced iTunes...I could see the songs playing but I couldn't hear them...suddenly figured it out and got the Music back (whew)...

my tenure as a member of the Combustibles could end soon

     SATURDAY 42/22/18 8:51 AM--If I can wait until the Sears repairman leaves, I'll write my resignation letter...He won't be here for at least another hour...how long he'll be here? who knows? and of course, there's the option of listing all the reasons why I'm leaving--or NOT...
              I think listing those reasons would hurt some peoples' feelings, whether they would admit it or not...I would send the resignation letter today, but (although I don't think it WOULD happen) there's a slim chance that Barry would not pay me for last night's gig...who thinks clearly when they're angry? So I'll wait until the $80 is in the Bank...
10:45AM--instead of waiting until AFTER the first time I perform one of my songs in public, I started refining the lyrics this morning...it might be the next one I play out--somewhere...there won't be a GYY open mic until January 7th, and I can't guarantee that I'll be able to go--Dianne's last surgery is that same day...maybe there's one semi-close by that I can go to...on the other hand Xmas and NYE are coming up...
1PM--spent about an hour and a half on the phone with Stoney...he thinks I should reconsider my plan to leave the Combustibles...I hope he doesn't repeat the content of our discussion to anyone...especially the part about wishing *I* could be a sub for Lenny in the Crimestoppers...sometimes I'm such a fucking idiot; I can't stop myself...
      I had the idea of dropping the Xmas Concept for the 4th Thursday Open Mic a the OTWC...Stoney agrees, but seemingly no one else does...rats...so we're doing a Xmas show on December 27th, TWO DAYS AFTER Xmas...oh well...
6:39PM--feeling down, emotionally...physically? I'm ok, not quite up to going out though...that's as much because of my emotional state as my physical state...the roomie is happy that I'm staying home tonight...it's taking a fair amount of effort to remember that today is SATURDAY...
7:06PM--actually feeling quite anti-social; I don't think I'd go anywhere even if the roomie was OK with it...
7:25PM--refining the lyrics to HIGH HOPES, my break-up song--is it a romance breaking up? or a Band? Not sure about the Music to it yet, but I think I have a groove in mind for it...dunno when I'm gonna work on it...I don't suppose there are any open mics to go to on Xmas eve, right?
SUNDAY 12/23/18 10:40AM--*I* think the some of the guest singers at the 4th Thursday o.m. don't appreciate the house band as much as they should...the more I work with Arlene, the less I like it...I feel like I've got a LOT of homework to do between now and Thursday--and (at this point in time) I don't feel like it...I barely feel like playing the gig at all...but I can always use $50 bucks...my advice to the guests--this is what we're gonna play, sing the song or don't, take it or leave it...

the opposite of fun

         FRIDAY 12/21/18 11:27AM--so tonight I have a gig with the Combustibles...I'm already wishing it was over...I'm just gonna keep my head down and count the hours until it ends...thankfully it's a three hour gig and not a four hour gig...gonna do my best to ignore the inevitable mistakes...I'll TRY to count them, but that won't be the least bit easy...I wish I could care, but I just don't...I suspect the gig pays about $50 bucks...that doesn't seem like a lot to me...Any less than $75 and gonna be disappointed...Maybe having Stoney on Bass will make the gig more enjoyable for me...
5:17PM--almost as ready as I'm gonna be...Barry is scheduled to get here at 7...which leaves me time to shave and wash my hair...half of my gear is in the living room...I'm NOT taking the amp stand or the guitar stand...I expect to regret not bringing the amp stand, but I'm still gonna leave it home...
11:37PM-when I get home I’m gonna send an email informing my band mates that I’m resigning, effective immediately...
SATURDAY 12:48AM-except I want my $80 first...I can’t imagine Barry keeping my share of the money, but I don’t feel like taking any chances...*I* made my share of mistakes tonight; it seems like once I make one, I inevitably make more, a sort of domino effect...four of us have been playing JUNIOR'S FARM for a number of years, but Barry fucked up big time tonight and the rest of us fell apart to show solidarity...and, for whatever reason, Ric is a terrible singer, maybe even (in some ways) worse than Barry...he forgets most of the lyrics to just about every song he sings...and Barney sometimes over plays...and IMO the a capella breaks SHOULDN'T be a capella breaks, there needs to be something to keep the beat and/or the tonal center...more than usual I can't wait to hear from payPal...Barry thinks it won't be until Wednesday because of the Xmas Holiday...

not bad at all

          THURSDAY 12/20/18 11:50PM--A Derwood Xmas is history...Michelle Murray and Friends did pretty good...my guitar playing was fair, the harmony singing was on the money IMO...and I spoke to a few more songwriters and learned some stuff...ears ringing, voice damn near GONE...I have singing to do somewhere around 9PM tomorrow night...kinda worried, now at least...hopefully it will be better by then...
         Spent most of the evening sitting with two strangers--Steve and Nancy...had a fair amount of fun hanging with them...it felt like almost every woman I've ever had a crush on since moving to G-burg was there..Cindy, Angela, Eryn, Reneé, I'm sure there were more...

not yet ready to give up

 
           TUESDAY 12/18/18 3:45PM--I think the next song I'm gonna present to the public is the song I currently call AIN'T GONNA BE YOUR CLOWN...but I'm kinda semi-determined to get ONE good performance of WISHES under my belt--somewhere, I just dunno where...and I'm not talking about the basement...There IS an open mic in Damascus, but after two days of going out in a row, I'm pretty sure I won't have the strength to go to Damascus--even if I want to...
     WEDNESDAY 12/19/18 7:50PM--took Dianne to the Dr.'s Office this morning...we arrived at 11AM and didn't leave until almost 4PM...I'm frankly hoping my reward will be the opportunity to go to the OTWC tomorrow night...I won't know until sometime tomorrow...I think I'm gonna practice LET IT SNOW just in case I can go...
THURSDAY 12/20/18 9:17AM--I can go...I need to work on Michelle's songs at least a little...and buy a toy, which is the price of admission...I'll likely go to CVS soon to buy a toy--one less thing, right? I guess I'll "rehearse" after my midday, before I take a shower...I think the midday will start by 1PM, last less than two hours...As far as *I* know, I don't need to bring ANY gear with me, John Trupp said I don't need to...we'll see...
2:33PM--the midday started and ended early...I expect to be outta the shower by 4PM, more or less...
4:21PM--the Plan is to leave for the OTWC in about 10 minutes...
7:45PM-just about every local woman I have had a crush on is here now or soon will be...

dunno what to say

            SUNDAY 12/16/18 8:15PM--band practice went the way I figured it would...I arrived at the SAW Xmas party at about 5:30 or so...the director of a high school vocal ensemble singled me out as an exceptional guitarist..I have no idea what to do with that kind of adulation...and Jay asked me three times if I wanted to perform...I said "no" each time...and I don't yet regret it...
                            I might do one of my songs tomorrow evening at GYY...I'll probably play it safe and sing WISHES, because I know that one better than the newer ones; I really need to remedy that....as for covers, I probably should have COMES A TIME ready, in case Jodie shows up...that would be two...I should be prepared for her to NOT be there...I'm gonna try to decompress and hopefully be in bed by 11-ish...
              MONDAY 12/17/18 8:49AM--still thinking a bit about what [that guy] said last night...but what I should be doing is prepping for tonight...so that's what I'm gonna do...
9:29AM--I'm probably gonna play WISHES tonight, and two other ones...I'll only do COMES A TIME if Jodie shows up but I strongly suspect she will...so I probably only need one more...POSITIVELY 4TH ST. perhaps...
7:27PM- no that’s not what I’m gonna do...I’m going to do Comes a Time and my original tune… That’s all I have time for; it’s crowded tonight...and folks are still coming in...
   Is there any open mic that Jeff Karn doesn’t go to? *I* don’t go to that many...
8:27PM- COMES A TIME was great, WISHES, my original song was a trainwreck; I think Xanax woulda helped...no one has offered any comments good or bad...that’s because I sucked...I think there’s a domino effect at work...once I make one, I make more...I guess I wasn’t kidding when I told a certain woman (Susan) that her presence was gonna mess me up...it doesn’t help that I’m rewriting the songs minutes before I play them...I don’t WANNA give the songwriting thing up, but maybe I should...Or maybe I should be satisfied with the Musical abilities I already possess...
          I suspect I’m gonna have more fun at the OTWC on Thursday than I will at the Combustibles’ gig...I already know that we'll probably suck and that no one will hear that but me...and there won't be much of an audience...oh boy...
TUESDAY 8AM--the bad always seems to be "louder" than the good...even though HE stumbled a bit, the spontaneous (on MY part) vocal sit-in with Rob Gould and the super ubiquitous Jeff Karn on WILL YOU STILL LOVE ME TOMORROW sounded f**king fantastic, to ME anyway...I had forgotten about it...the next o.m. at GYY won't be until January 7th...I absolutely plan on staying home that night...
         IF I'm gonna continue to play solo, I absolutely HAVE to figure out a way to rehearse even though Dianne is (literally) in the house...gonna try the basement, when I feel up to it...which needs to happen soon, probably Thursday--..
   Finally something positive--I spontaneously fixed a lyric that I didn't like in WISHES; I had taken the verse completely out...it felt unsingable to me...I can put that verse back in...I just don't see any opportunities to sing it in the near future...

I did it

                      THURSDAY? 12/13/18 10:30PM-I’m gonna give myself a generous 8.0-all FOUR songs had mistakes in them...some of those mistakes were a bit bigger than others...I DIDN’T use the lyric sheets, they were too far away and the font was too small...Daryl Davis was in the audience-that didn’t help...still, I did it! In fact I get two more songs when we started over, LMYR and THANK YOU GIRL...
11:42PM-I’m keeping the 8.0 for now...maybe... I think the Xanax had worn off by the time I hit the stage the FIRST time, never mind the second time... but I’m not sorry I came...
     SATURDAY  12/15/18 I think unless I actually hear from Jay I'll stay home tomorrow--maybe...although Michelle (who WON'T be there BTW) said if Jay invited me, everything is cool...
4:42PM--went to Litz, got new acoustic strings and a thumb pick...the thumb pick works, as far as I can tell...the plan is to put the new strings on tomorrow, dunno when though...
SUNDAY 12/16/18 8:37AM--I heard from Jay, it's OK to go...I put the strings on yesterday...not taking my guitar though...Dunno if there's a dress code, but I will probably dress up a bit...if I'm NOT gonna sing any of my songs, what's the point of going? I really dunno if I'm gonna go or not...I do now know there's no dress code...obviously, I'm gonna take at least one Xanax right before I leave the house...
11:13PM--BULLETIN--I've just been informed there's band practice at 2PM--that sucks big time...I told Barry I'm leaving at 5...he may not be happy about that, but he said OK...I hope to be at IPO (where the SAW Xmas party is being held) by 6PM...I probably wouldn't have lasted for four hours anyway...

close call

             WEDNESDAY 12/12/18 9:32PM--when I arrived at Agrodolcé I was told that the open mic was cancelled...so I got back in the car to come home when I had a flash--I want the host to tell me the open mic is off...so Mike arrived, straightened things out and the open mic went on liked I hoped I would...I would say I was an 8.0 on a scale of ten...the more I do it the better I'll get at it...I did TWO originals and BLUE... XMAS...I did not announce that they were mine, but I did mention it after I finished...Mike unexpectedly allowed me to do a fourth song...that threw me off guard...I did YOU AIN'T GOIN' NOWHERE...
            11:49PM--forgot to mention, I took a Xanax before I went to G-town...and I'll probably take one before I go to the OTWC...and play the three songs I played tonight, most likely...although I might swap out BLUE XMAS for I'LL GET YOU...
         Thinking about songwriting--still...I have to remember that, never mind David Crosby, I can't write like Rob Gould, Matt Holsen, Ray Weaver...the list may be quite long...the idea that some of my older songs ain't half bad (IMO) gives me hope...But I need to get on with polishing/learning the newer ones...currently working on CLOWN NO MORE...
3:15PM--although I'm STILL making changes to YOU WON'T HAVE ME ! As for tonight, if I get four songs, I'll do BLUE CHRISTMAS, unless someone  beats me to it...it’s good to be prepared...Alan is here, as is Nancy...Angela says she’s going to Hershey’s...maybe that’s a good thing after all...

it may be too soon to know for sure but...

                 TUESDAY 12/11/18 PM--I'm actually starting to feel like a songwriter...on November the 26th, I played a song *I* wrote--THE FUNNY SONG...it was an old song, I polished the lyrics a bit...I also played YOU WON'T HAVE ME, both at Gumbo Ya Ya...then I went thru some of my other (old) songs and polished THEM up as well...in the past week or so I've written three new songs and I've started another one...I continue to worry about playing my anti-Trump song in public, which is probably why I haven't done it yet...
         Unless my Plans mysteriously change, I'm going to an open mic tomorrow night...I haven't made up my Mind yet which original song I'm gonna sing--I was gonna do THE FUNNY SONG but now I think I should play it safe...I'll probably do YOU WON'T HAVE ME and two covers, I'LL GET YOU and BLUE XMAS...
                WEDNESDAY 12/12/18 8:30AM--later, while I'm doing laundry,  maybe  I'll practice...if I AM gonna do BLUE XMAS, I should probably practice it...and, of course, I should continue practising MMMM as I call it to be quick about it...maybe I should rename it...dunno WHEN I'll ever play that one in public...
9:41AM--and, whatever it's called, it's actually growing in length--that's a surprise, but it pleases me...
11:02AM- I have wanted to add a third chorus  to  YOU WON’T HAVE ME for the longest time… Sitting here at Harris Teeter I just did...NOW  I’ll probably play it tonight at the open mic…

maybe it's OK, I dunno

             MONDAY 12/10/18 9:49AM--maybe it's not so important that *I* be knocked out by my own lyrics...the audience decides almost everything, right? So I think HIGH HOPES, my newest song, is finished...
    4:15PM--the Plan for tonight is to play one of my older songs...I just finished writing the Music...My voice sounds a bit ragged to me, so even if I had the courage (and Warner wasn't around) I don't think I would sing/play THE MAIL...
    5:42PM--suddenly changed my Mind about playing at GYY...I'll just go and spectate...Ray's gig (amazing) and band practice (terrible) have taken a lot out of me physically...but I'm leaving in about 15 minutes...
7:14PM-I wish I felt up to participating at GYY...
9:30PM-I’ll stay til the end, because leaving would be obvious...Jay is expecting me at the SAW Xmas Party on Sunday the 16th...he says I should play one of my songs...we’ll see...I plan to go to Charlie’s acoustic open mic on Thursday...but I felt damn near invisible here tonight; to some degree, that was my choice...
TUESDAY 12:44AM--came home, worked on my own songs...gonna pick one (or two) for the open mic on Thursday...I have to remember that the songwriters I know have been doing it way WAY longer than me...but I also wanna remember that the second verse of Neil Young's Ohio was "la la la la la la la la"...and Paul McCartney came up with "wo wo wo wo...wo wo wo wo, my love does it good" so for now I'm gonna keep at it...
   8:43AM--started another new song overnight...I'm in no hurry to finish it...just found out that Agrodolcé is starting up an acoustic open mic on WEDNESDAY, once a month...it's indoors, which Lou has said is a tight squeeze...guess I'll find out...
           12:31PM-hoping to have the courage to play my proposed arrangement of BLUE CHRISTMAS tomorrow...it's gonna be an uptempo shuffle kinda thing...I let Lou know about the open mic; I dunno if he CAN go or not...
           4:10PM--Lou won't be there either...I'm thinking about tomorrow night; thinking about playing THE FUNNY SONG in addition to BLUE XMAS...
7:14PM--hopefully gonna practice while doing laundry tomorrow...gonna try NOT to work in the 1180 Lab...
 8:30PM- in the past 30 minutes I’ve done what I’ve been  thinking of doing ever since I heard some of David Crosby‘s newest music… expand one of my instrumental tunes to have more than just two parts…now all I have to do is practice the darn thing... it’s rather exciting, to tell the truth… But it’s time to start winding down for the evening; fired up though I may be...
 9:25PM--I might not ever get to play THE MAIL in public, because Warner gets around, thanx to that spooky guy who (I think) drives him around everywhere...I know THE FUNNY SONG better than most of my other songs...I SHOULD start learning the newer ones...

wow

             SUNDAY 12/9/18 2:11AM--got home from KH 11 minutes ago...it  took an hour (maybe less) to get home...it took about an hour and 10 minutes to get there...I can't EVEN believe I got there at 7PM'''I think I was the 2nd one there after Cory...we finished at just past 12:30AM...I hung around, but apparently as long as it felt...I'm $10 dollars richer, I'm OK with that...I trust Ray when he says money is tight...I woulda felt like a bastard asking for more...there were 6 of us in the "band"...unlike shows in the past, we actually took a break...
                   We were a 10.0 easily...after I warmed up, I played well...from what I could hear, the harmonies were very good...I think Johnny and I mostly stayed out of each other's way...I spent most of my time sitting on a bench, although I did stand up occasionally...Neither Carolyn nor Ren attended tonight's gig...Someone hollered out "Led Zeppelin" and *I* foolishly played the intro to--STAIRWAY TO HEAVEN...so we played it...I would give it an 8.0 on a scale of 10...but (hopefully) I'll never ever noodle that one again...
            11:05AM--most of the guitar solo in SHAKE IT UP is fairly easy...as for the rest of it, I don't care all that much, Barry might not care all that much either...and yeah, a rehearsal with the Combustibles is a MAJOR comedown after the Saturday *I* had...
        5:36PM--I don't have the words to describe how horrible band rehearsal was...Barry decided NOT to try to learn SHAKE IT UP...I'd say that was the only good thing to happen at practice...Some of my songwriting friends may have a method, *I* do not...But I DO wanna write a song which could be about my unhappiness with my relationship with a woman but it's really about my unhappiness with the band...that's not new, but I'm gonna try it anyway...
7PM--and I 'm doing homework for the GYY open mic...I'm working on COMES A TIME, in part because Jodie said she liked that one...I wanna play an original tune, but I dunno which one...which leaves one more song to do, usually...maybe I'll try DRAGGIN'
9PM--I'm roughly halfway thru that new song I said I wanted to write...I'm taking a break from it, hoping I can pick up where I left off tomorrow...I think all I need is one more verse...
10:53PM--be it good or bad, it's finished; well, the lyrics are finished...for Music I'm kinda thinking a slow rocker, if there can be such a thing......I tried not to be so rigid with certain concepts--like syllable accentuation...and exact rhymes...

another new beginning

            FRIDAY 12/7/18 4:36PM--getting excited about the SAW workshop AND the sit-in with Ray...not exactly looking forward to the drive to Killarney and back, but that's where Ray is gonna be...I made a CD for the journey to Davidsonville...and, as far as I know there's still band practice on Sunday...if it were to get cancelled, I wouldn't cry...
            SATURDAY 12/8/18 8:47AM--Man, I hope I remember to take a Xanax before I go to the SAW workshop...I have no idea how long I'll be in Rockville...I hope I'm home before 3PM, although I doubt that I'll get much of a mid-day if any...tomorrow's band practice feels like a big anti-climax...
5:06PM--I DID remember to take the Xanax...actually played one of my own sons, listened  to some other writers' songs...got a teeny tiny nap...eating Dinner now, gonna leave for KH in a little more than a half an hour...

still at it

                    WEDNESDAY 12/05/18 7:06PM--started a song last night, just finished it...the Music came from LAVENDER DAWN...I dunno if it's any good, but I think it is...I'm considering playing GET HIM OUT, my anti-Chump song in public...MY desire? ignore the subject matter, judge the song...looking forward to Saturday--the SAW workshop AND the sit-in with Ray--Tish says she's gonna be there...we'll see...Dianne sez she's fine with all that activity...we'll see...
               THURSDAY  12/06/2018 NOON--I plan on going to the SAW open mic tonight and pay attention to the songwriters...hopefully I'll be sitting by myself, or at least NOT sitting with Nancy...I actually don't think I'm gonna get the chance to listen to the performers all that much...but ya never know...
     Turns out the best place to hear the song writers’ songs is on their website…assuming they have one-I’ve collected two business cards already…Michelle just came in...she of course has a website; I suspect every songwriter, good or bad has one...
   Michelle said she was going to come over and visit me, but she has yet to do that…getting nervous/excited about Saturday...
    I don’t know if he was kidding or not, but John Trupp said to me “come up with an hours worth of material and you could play the singer songwriter showcase”...
             FRIDAY 12/7/18 12:21AM--jumped onstage to assist Michelle with harmonies to a song I'd never heard before...I've kinda forgotten who's song it was..the harmonies sounded pretty damn good though.: got an email from Barry--the Combustibles have a pair of gigs scheduled for next year....
             9:09AM--might use the Music from GET HIM OUT (Industrial Strength) to write some other (non-political) song...one of the songwriters told me that sometimes he'll come up with a chord progression and a melody and he'll scat sing nonsense syllables until the words come...maybe I'll try that while Dianne is seeing the Doctor...
10:18AM--maybe I'll give it some thought while I'm Dianne's Doctor's appointment...I almost started a little while ago...apparently, the Music can/does suggest lyrics...the Music is not at all "warm and fuzzy" so IMO the lyrics oughta be NOT warm and fuzzy...maybe (maybe) my friend Rob is not likely to write anything resembling Rock, but I think *I* can...I'm actually trying not to work on the song now...it's kinda tough...

should I keep at it?

                  SATURDAY 12/1/18 I'm gonna try to get back to thinking about songwriting...now that I've recovered from the open mic, that is...it's my fault that I've re-started so late in Life...
12:41PM--I added some lyrics to THE FIDDLE SONG, working on some other ones...
1:33PM--then I heard one of Ray's older songs on youTube...why should I bother writing songs, anyway?
5PM--songwriting? I could take it or leave it...I have to stop comparing myself to other writers and remember they've been doing it for a lot longer than me...
                 I'm thinking about what I might play at GYY on Monday...the Plan now is to include an original tune, YOU WON'T HAVE ME probably...
              I need to remember that, for me at least, trying to write when I'm not at all inspired doesn't work;
I just got word, the GYY open mic is moving into the Main room...Like I already said, the Bar was big enough for me...gonna be innaresting...but scary...
      SUNDAY--if I get three songs at GYY, I think I know what they will be...but IF I'm gonna do CLANCY, I need to practice it...so that's what I'm gonna focus on; the songwriting can wait...
      MONDAY--still planning on doing CLANCY tonight...and maybe YOU WON'T HAVE ME and HEAVE AWAY...
3:36PM--so I practiced a teeny bit, hopefully it was enough...I predict I'll be a 7.0 at least, 9.0 at the most...and that's OK by me...

8:45PM- I would say (maybe) 7.0 outta 10...but I really shouldn’t have followed HEAVE AWAY with one of my own songs... it took me a while to remember how MY song went-that’s very embarrassing…
9:28PM-yeah, I think I’ll keep at it...I actually have bits of Music that I might be able to do something with...LAVENDER DAWN and INCIDENT AT BONNEVILLE specifically...and I’m considering playing THE MAIL next week...as for covers, DRAGGIN’ is a possibility...or maybe I'll do some more Neil...

7:50AM--for a bunch of reasons, I'm NOT going to my mini high school reunion...for one thing, there's the SAW workshop in Rockville on Saturday...today, I feel like a (rookie) songwriter...of course a lot can happen between now and Saturday...but I hope it doesn't...

7:24PM--I was gonna ask SLR about her songwriting; but I thought I should listen to her songs first...I tried to listen to GOOD 'N' PLENTY, but I just couldn't...my Bass playing wasn't THAT bad (it was replaced) and my lead guitar playing was forgotten about...so that's that...

9:02PM--it was a bit like pulling teeth, but I finally heard from the friend of mine who hosts a songwriters' workshop in Rockville once a month--it's coming up this Saturday...I still dunno who else is gonna be at Ray's Killarney House gig Saturday evening...maybe that doesn't matter...