June 1, 2005

DeGray State Park
Arkadelphia, Arkansas

It's 7:20 and the sun is getting a little lower in the sky. Afternoon summer storms have been meandering across Texas today as I wind my way back from the Kerrville Folk Festival to North Carolina. I decided to give the books-on-tape a break and listen to the white noise of the road for a while, and found a melody mixed there. I asked Daniela (the GPS navigation system) where I could find a state park and she said there was one less than three miles away. Since the rain stopped here not long ago, there's no one here but some birds and me, so it was a good place to pull out the guitar and record the melody idea before it flew away.

I'm starting to turn my attention toward the next record, which I hope to record late in the summer, and which will be a bit different from anything I've recorded before. My idea at this point is to base the recording on a trio of guitar, cello and percussion, along with my voice. We'll add a few harmonies and accent instruments, I'm sure, but it will be a very acoustic record. Rich, I think, but sort of understated too. Having settled on that idea, I find that the new song ideas I'm having are naturally and automatically incorporating cello and percussion. Now I just have to get the ideas recorded where you can hear them too. Wish me luck, eh?

I'm amazed and a bit chagrined to find that it's been nearly two months again since I've checked in with you. Knowing I was a bit behind on that, and happy to have found this spot, I thought I'd just pull out the laptop and write you a note before I drive up to Little Rock and get a bite to eat.

So, let's see, what's been happening? I've been to a few music festivals lately and had good fun catching up with friends and sharing some music. The folk community has been reeling from some losses in the last few months. House concert promoter and music supporter Bruce Rouse died unexpectedly from a heart attack shortly after Vermont singer/songwriter Rachel Bissex was taken from us by breast cancer. It's been good to be with friends and do some remembering in both organized and informal ways. There were memorial performances at the Susquehanna Music Festival and at Kerrville, and I was honored to be a part of some of that. I've also recorded a song for an upcoming compilation CD of Rachel's music by Tracy Grammer, Dar Williams, Catie Curtis, Ruthie Foster, the Kennedys, etc. Rachel's daughter Emma appears on the record playing violin with me. I heard some of the rough mixes at Kerrville, and I can't wait for the record to come out so you can hear it too.

I did my annual anniversary show at the Six String Cafe last month, as I have each of the four years since it opened. It was a standing room only show, and we had a bunch of fun. The highlight of the evening, without a doubt, was young Samantha coming on stage to sing S.S. Bathtub with me. It was a spontaneous moment that could never be captured or recreated, but the folks who were there got quite a treat.

And while we're talking about anniversaries, mine and Deanna's first first anniversary is coming up next weekend. No, that's not a typo - we had two weddings (an introvert wedding and an extrovert wedding), so we have two anniversaries, too. Hard to believe it's been a year... and hard to believe we still don't have the thank you notes done! My parents will be celebrating their fiftieth this summer with some time in France, and Deanna and I will join them there for a week after my Germany tour this month. Much to celebrate.

The summer will also hold a bunch of editing as we try to chop the DVD into its final form. The recording of it at the Grey Eagle went great in spite of some vocal issues I was struggling with the week before. The tech guys were incredible, the stage set was beautiful and the crowd was enthusiastic. It looks like we're going to put it out in 5.1 surround sound and add a few bonus features to the final disc (interview footage, stuff about P.E.G., etc.). The goal is to get it out by mid-October, just in time for my weekend at the Birchmere opening for America By the way, if you're interested in making that show, the tickets are now on sale, and it's likely to sell out both nights.

Speaking of P.E.G., we had a great board meeting a few weeks ago. We elected officers, and we've since gotten the money to Guatemala to build a preschool in the village of Tzanchaj, near Santiago Atitlan, and to buy four computers for a school in Pachaj, near Quetzaltenango. Your generosity moves me deeply, and we're making some good things happen. In other P.E.G. news, Warren Wilson College has agreed to be our 501c3 umbrella while we're jumping through governmental hoops to get our own non-profit status in order, so we're able to take large donations now and give tax receipts. If you want to know how to do that, please feel free to be in touch.

I guess the most exciting thing that's happened in the past couple of months is the trip to Japan with Deanna. She lived there for two years teaching English, and her friends and adopted family welcomed us like royalty. The trip was mostly vacation, but I ended up doing a handful of school performances, too. I've always wanted to be able to say "I'm big in Japan," and the truth is that I am. Not in the sense of fame and fortune, unfortunately, but I did keep hitting my head on door frames.

It's hard to describe how much fun it is seeing a classroom full of grinning Japanese children singing the S.S. Bathtub (or S.S. Basutabu, as the case may be) at the tops of their voices. Their teacher had taught it to them before I came, and they made some great pictures for me.

Deanna played in a Taeko drum group when she lived there, and they all threw us a welcome party at a karaoke club (if you saw Lost in Translation - kind of like that). A few days later we took the drum down to the beach and I got my first lesson. Great fun.

I'll be back on the road hard in August, and we're busy filling in the dates for the fall. If you see a hole you'd like to fill with a show, a writing or guitar workshop, a keynote, etc., feel free to be in touch. If you do call or email, you'll be talking with MJ Hogan, who has just taken over the reigns at Lower Dryad Music. Heather has moved on to pursue other things, including heading back to school (hey, hasn't this happened before?). I'm completely thrilled to welcome MJ, though, who brings great experience from working with fantastic musician Billy Jonas for two years, and being involved in acoustic music in various roles for many years. I've had some great people work with me over my career, but MJ is the first to bring so much knowledge of the acoustic music scene with her when she walks in the door. She's super-organized, and a good friend, too. I know you'll enjoy her. Click here to see a picture.

I'm also grateful for the work Angela Cooke is doing as the newly appointed LaMottely Crew Leader, working to organize the street team. She's doing a great newsletter and lining folks up to sell CDs at shows, etc. If you want to look into the Crew, we'd love to have you.

I hope I'll see you on the road this fall somewhere, or who knows, maybe in Europe this summer. This will be my first time playing in the former East Germany, and I'm sure I'll have stories to tell.

Oh yeah... and if you see me on the road, you might be surprised. Dan the Tan Van now has 237,000+ miles, and Deanna and I got him a little brother. Woody (short for Woodstock) is mostly Deanna's ride, but if I don't have to take sound gear with me, I'm driving Woody to save on gas.

Between writing and staring at the trees and the water, time slipped by me. It's suddenly 8:30 and I find myself better illuminated by the screen than the sky. I must look pretty funny sitting here in the woods with my laptop. Off to Little Rock...

Peace to you and to all of us,

David