October 10, 2004
Alamogordo, New Mexico

On the road again... with a little help from Daniela

 

Hey y'all,

Four months into being a married guy, here I am on a six week tour, soon to be followed by a three week run up to New England. Deanna and I have a cell phone plan that allows for unlimited minutes, so we're in pretty constant contact, even though that pesky day job of hers keeps her from coming with me. I've been touring long enough that I spent several years of road life relying on payphones, and I have to say that in spite of my fundamental belief in living simply, cell phones are a vast improvement.

And the technology doesn't stop there, I'm afraid. Dan the Tan Van now has 217,000+ miles. We've spent a lot of time together on the road in the last few years, just us guys, and I guess me getting married has been a big adjustment for him. So he's got a girlfriend now, Daniela the GPS.

Daniela has a lovely voice and is very helpful on the road, saying sweet things like "Turn left a half-mile ahead," and "please make a legal U-turn," and she knows where all the hotels and gas stations are. Since Dan and I spend a lot of time in places we haven't been before, it's pretty helpful to have her along. No more getting lost. And if you happen to have been at the show in Missouri a couple of years ago where I arrived about thirty minutes after I was supposed to start, you'll appreciate that. That time I think I drove the wrong way on the highway for about forty-five minutes before realizing what I had done. Doh!! Daniela will brook no such behavior from Dan.

This afternoon I'm finishing up teaching a one-credit weekend creative writing course at New Mexico State University, then heading south to Las Cruces for a show there tonight, then catching dinner in Albuquerque with my folks, who happen to be visiting New Mexico at the same time I am. It was satisfying to call Mom and tell her that after all these years I finally got a real job, if only for a weekend, as an Adjunct Professor at NMSU. I insist, of course, that students address me as Herr Professor.

In other news, I've been back to Guatemala to take some money down for our first project there with P.E.G., and we're well on the way to having the money together for the next one, a pre-school near Santiago, Atitlan. The support y'all have shown on this is truly inspiring. It's fun to be able to make small differences (if you have no idea what I'm talking about click on the July 1 Notes From the Road). People have been writing asking where to send donations, so I'll let you know: write checks to P.E.G. and send them to Lower Dryad Music, P.O. Box 551, Montreat, NC 28757. We're now incorporated and are working on our non-profit status, but that apparently takes about nine months, so donations are still not tax-deductible at this point. Watch for a whole P.E.G. website about a month from now.

There are several new things on the web site since the last update, too, including two new free MP3 songs and lyrics to three unrecorded songs. Poke around a little, or just go to the What's New page.

In the saddest news I have to share, I need to tell you that Jennifer is leaving Lower Dryad Music. She and her husband Paul are moving since he's going back to grad school, and I hate to see them go. I had just met Jen when I hired her, but she's become a real friend, and has done an amazing job of running Lower Dryad Music. I'm doing a whirlwind flight home late this week to interview five folks to fill that position, leaving Dan and Daniela to keep each other company at the Salt Lake City airport.

Thanks, as always, for your support. It's a good ride. If you feel so inclined, check out the tour dates and see if you have friends along the route I'm running and send them along. That's really the whole thing with an indie musician - people bringing and sending their friends along. I'll be playing in New Mexico, Utah, Wyoming, Colorado, Kansas, Missouri and Arkansas before Daniela leads me home to Deanna, then off to Georgia and one stop in Cary, NC before NYC, Massachusetts and New Jersey. I've got a couple of new songs to bounce off of you, too. Hope to see you out there somewhere.

Oh, and a parting word... VOTE! ...and read a lot before you do, especially from folks you disagree with. Check their facts (factcheck.com is a good place to start). Check your heart. Then vote. I won't tell you who to vote for (though I'm a Kerry man myself), but I will tell you to vote, even if yours will cancel mine. It's hard to overestimate the importance of this election, and if you don't participate in Democracy, you don't live in one. It's that simple. If you give your power away, you don't have any. It's the world you live in, be careful with it.

Thanks for making it all worthwhile,

David

a picture of David rendered by a young fan and helpfully labeled "Boy."
The hair is confusing for lots of people, actually...