July Update
this one's a real tl;dr
Greetings friends; I’ve finally found time to dust off my PC and say hello to you all. I’ve been extraordinarily busy. Since last writing, the following has occurred (in loose order):
The Trio has done five gigs!
Yes indeed, we’ve done a few events at the local Soho House in the up and coming Wedgewood Houston neighborhood as well as three hits at our residency at Urban Cowboy Bar in the Arts Arcade downtown. We actually got the chance to debut some new material with the OG trio - looking forward to fleshing these tunes out. The plan is to get some live reps in for a good year or so before figuring our how to best record them. I’m anguishing on a daily basis about how to record them, if I want to expand beyond a trio, if I want to loop in a vocalist, and things of that nature. What a joy to be in anguish about your art - I keep reminding myself that there are people who would love to have my problems.
I’ve moved across the main drag of East Nashville from fake Inglewood to proper Inglewood!
The family has relocated for the better! It was a much needed upsize in space and I’m blessed to be in a position to be able to afford it. One of the many perks is I now have a music room again! We have a guest at the moment so it’s temporarily operating as guest quarters but the plan is to get the speakers and interface and blah blah blah all set up so I can resume creative work at the house at all hours of the day. I’ll mostly be tracking demos and writing and editing live takes of the tunes but it’s nice to have a space to do such things after the hours of 6 pm again.
The Hot Water EP turned 1!
Fuck, I guess this is my opportunity to wax poetic about the EP. It changed my life and opened so many doors for me. People take you seriously in the booking/live music world when you’ve done an actual thing and Hot Water was the first of many things. I’ve written about the recording process in the lead up to the release and while it’s not the most critically acclaimed or perfect collection of music, it’s my first as a leader and I’m heaps proud of it.
I went to a work conference in Chicago disguised as Clark Kent!
Some of you may know that I’m a 9-5er and my current 9-5 requires travel. I attended the American Library Association conference in Chicago as part of a large party from my office and had a really great time. I’m in the library business and I left with a lot of perspective about what we do, who we serve, and why it’s worth protecting. I also relished in the great food offerings of Chicago and got a sick double breasted navy blazer from Primark for $60. It’s worth mentioning that I left two days after we moved and I must thank my ever patient wife for putting up with my absence with the house in an absolute tizz.
I took my family of four on a depressing vacation to Connecticut!
It was actually ok in the end - it was really nice to see family, we got to eat seafood while looking at the ocean, and England beat Norway in the World Cup. But ultimately, it was the kind of vacation I need a vacation from. My family is full of contrasts with my family history including an Ivy league professor and the son of a bootlegger - all of the potential baggage was on mental display at full speed and I spent a lot of time wrestling with myself about who I am in relation to the world and what New Haven means to me. What a brilliant use of PTO!
I’m happily turning the page to the future. New music is in the works, the residency rolls on, and I’m happy to announce that I’m playing a set of original music at the WeGo Concert Series 9/30 from 6-6:30 at the North Nashville Transit Center. I’m a big fan of public goods and services like public transportation so it’s an honor to be a part of this series. I’ll be joined by Thomas Altman on bass and Madison George on drums - come swing through and play! The Urban Cowboy Bar residency will take place the next two months 8/13 and 9/10 - October TBA as I balance work and a family holiday to somewhere less depressing. If you’ve read this far, thank you! Grateful to be making music with good friends more than ever.
Ciao,
Colin