January 10th I head out to my annual songwriters retreat in sunny California, where I will finally have the spiritual space and time I need to cleanse and decompress my soul, which appears to be trapped at the moment in very non-creative space! 

Honestly, I think it has to do with finding a stress-free zone post holiday festivities, to get back on track with all of those creative goals I started out with in 2009.   I promised I would devote energy and time to my music last year, forcing myself to go public in a really big way and I did exactly that by getting out on the festival venue ...  

So, this year, I hope to take more creative risks ... seizing opportunities which may, at first glance, be absolutely scary going in, but if you've learned anything at all about me in all of these blogs, by now, it's that I'm all about leaping tall buildings!

Stay tuned for updates on Ben Lomand, CA, Jan 10-17th.   Always an exciting gig, because I meet other songwriters from all over the world, and get to create and co-write in spiritual "Sequoia" space.

A little concert I put together 'on the fly' the other night, to celebrate the season.   Two traditional ballads, and one I wrote (Christmas Lullaby) when my niece was born.  Merry Christmas!

 Playlist : 

It is hard to get into the Christmas spirit when you are isolated, alone, without family or friends to remind you why you are here, how valuable your contributions are.   Living alone has its perks, but believe you me, the flip side of all of that independence is the isolation.   You can drive yourself nuts in no time talking to the walls.  Or your guitar strings, take your pick.

Yesterday, I had the notion that Christmas needed to be acoustic this year, not all built up and layered with all that commercial gloss.   We needed softer tones, not bigger ones.   Acoustic vibes, not over-mixed sounds sailing up through the hemisphere to the North Pole ...

I forced my guitar out of the case, greeted it once again and began the long journey back to Love yesterday.  I sang a few notes of Silent Night and was crumbling by the second stanza.   Working out the chords to Oh Holy Night, I was a basket case.   Exhausted I thought.   Too exhausted at the time.  But, it wasn't that.  It was the pulse of something alive in me that brought me to this understanding:

We need to connect, form as communities, heal and help each other.    I grabbed my guitar, my nephew and headed to the open mic last night at JP Hopps House.   I planned on singing some new stuff, and did, trying out Sawdust Sunlight to a live audience, but found most of all, that we were connected by the music of the Season.

We only did a few tunes, because sets are limited to three songs, but I've got to tell you, there is something magical this time of year when you get so much joy out of singing carols that were written centuries ago.  In the joy I gave, I received more in return last night.  Santa Claus would be proud.