Battle of the Bands (book review)

I wrote about Lauren Gibaldi and Eric Smith's outstanding short story anthology for Performer Magazine -- it's a really special book I wish had been published when I was a teen starting to play in bands, and I think it will inspire more than a few folks to join one.

Check out the review here: BOOK REVIEW: Battle of the Bands (Candlewick Press)

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Book Recommendation: Lonesome Dove saga (RIP Larry McMurtry)

I think I read more this past year than I have in any year since grad school, and nothing kept me reading quite like the Lonesome Dove saga. I picked up Lonesome Dove because one of my favorite podcasts, The Watch, was doing a special on it - I'm so glad I did. Not since I was a kid have I been so fully immersed in a novel as I was with this series. The sequels are each great too (Dead Man's Walk especially), but nothing quite like the first. If you haven't read them yet, I highly recommend diving in, and The Watch pod is a great companion. I've been picking up other McMurtry books since finishing. I first posted this yesterday (3/25) and just read that Mr. McMurtry passed away today. Thankful for the books he wrote, especially in this pandemic year.

Jeff Tweedy: How to Write One Song (book review)

Jeff Tweedy is probably my favorite songwriter (he and Todd Snider flip flop around, depending who I'm listening to at the time) - and I also love how he pointedly dismisses a lot of the mysticism around songwriting and creativity. I really enjoyed this small but powerful book. You can check out my full review in Performer mag here: BOOK REVIEW: Jeff Tweedy ‘How to Write One Song’

The Son From Harry Chapin’s “Cat’s in the Cradle” Responds to His Dad After First Hearing the Song (Humor)

Hello Dad, So Mom just sent me the song and...wow. I mean, first of all, the fact that you didn’t even send it to me yourself is just so *you.* You should make that the last verse of the song! But I digress. Let’s dive into some of these lyrics, shall we? Okay, so right off the bat, there’s this: “He learned to walk while I was away.” Really, Dad? You’ve always told me you were there for my first steps! There’s even a picture with what you’ve said were your outstretched arms I was supposedly toddling into. I have it framed on my desk right in front of me! And now I have to learn - in song form - that it was all a lie? Whose arms are in this picture, Dad? Speaking of lies, let’s move on to that baseball anecdote in the second verse. Why yes, I do recall when you gave me a baseball for my tenth birthday and then - when you had literally just given me a ball as a gift - you suddenly had “a lot to do” and didn’t teach me how to throw it! On my birthday! What kind of sociopath does tha

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