So things have been going really well for The Shelter Dogs in the last few months...we've put together a new CD that everybody seems to like, our musical catalog has expanded quite a lot, our playing has gotten tighter and more cohesive and fun, and we're gigging a bit and folks are showing up and enjoying it! I feel good about it. Although, as one of the principal guys in the band doing booking, I would love it if I had a manager who would do that part. Maybe someday. Things still seem to be progressing slowly to me...but that may just be my nature to see it that way. Actually, for the time we've been together, things are doing great.

This week I'm getting ready to start moving my old Magic Attic Studio into my farmhouse...it's gonna be a lot of work but it'll be a better space and I should get a lot more done. I'll have to scrape together a few more pieces (anybody wanna give me a nice beefy computer? Ours melted down), and get the rooms ready, but I'm looking forward to recording the band there, as well as doing some of the Beowulf Kingsley stuff and producing a few of my friend's bands as well.

Still wrasslin' with the Upright Bass! It's a monster...but a good one. Every time I think I'm starting to really get it down, I wind up looking at a Ray Brown video on YouTube and it's "Well, back to the practice room"!! Currently I'm looking at a new fingering method (for me, anyway) by this amazing cat named Francois Rabbath (check HIM playing on YouTube too!), a remarkable soloist and teacher. Thing is with the Upright (BEWARE! Boring tech talk follows): the darn thing is so huge that most practical fingerings have had to be divided up into whole-step and half-step positions, and there's a lot of shifting your hand around the bass. And the traditional method involves a LOT of positions...it's sort of debatable how many there are, but more than a dozen...it's very confusing and easy to get off your intonation (tuning). Rabbath divides the bass up into just 6 positions, and uses a fingering system that apparently helps your intonation stay spot on. So I'm gonna give it a shot! It involves learning a whole different approach, but I like learning new things, so we'll see. I might even start bringing the bow out to gigs. Earth people, tremble in fear!!!

Anyhow, I'm feeling strangely positive for being a 59-year-old looking towards February. It was a mess of a year last year, and there's been a lot of challenges, but I'm still afloat mostly, still living with the coolest girl in the world, still feeding all these dang cats, and still playing music. I'm feeling more creative and energetic these days, even if my back might be a little creaky in the mornings (well, sometimes in the afternoons too). We'll see what the future brings in!