I know it's been a while since I've updated my site, or made entries to here and on Patreon. My apologies to my fans and fam. I've had a whopper of a year helping my partner with some heavy family events. The passing of my mother-in-law hit hard and carried with it a multitude of challenges that required my full attention and focus. So thank you all for your patience during that troubled time.
Now I'm back, with time, tech, and the full support of my honey to continue on my own path.
For those who haven't heard, I've changed locations. Yes, I moved across the pond to the lovely country of Great Britain. It's an interesting place and has its own sense of folk music and style. In the spirit of this, I've obtained a mandolin of my own to add to my repertoire of odd string instruments. Though the start here has been relatively slow due to the aforementioned challenges, I can feel the momentum building up again. Thanks to some folk workshops, I'll be learning some cool tricks over the next few weeks which I look forward to using in my writing and recording. I've a list of festivals to work with, and will be starting my personal foray into the world of Morris Dancing this very Thursday. I have to laugh at that bit as it reminds me of a line from a piece by Professor Elemental titled “I'm British." “Unapologetic Morris dancer? You must mean me!” (If you've never heard of him, he's hilarious and quirky. Highly recommend!)
In addition to this, I've taken up some collaboration projects that should be an interesting blend. Each of these has a different flavour and a unique challenge to working on them. "Challenge Accepted!" I say. Once they've been approved and released, I'll be sure to let everyone know. I can't wait! Working with other musicians has always been one of my favourite parts of all the festivals and events I've been to.
Now for the serious bit…
I know that most of my fans and fam are in the States right now, which is, dare I say it, in quite the state of its own. Things are rough, scary, and not going well in a big way. I have confidence the people of our communities will rise up together to care for each other, the Earth, and do what's needed to get through this shadow period.
+I grew up hearing the phrase “Age of Aquarius” and it being referred to as a great time of peace for humanity. As an Aquarius myself, I just want to remind folks that our ruling planet, Uranus, doesn't just carry with it a humanitarian vibe but also one of upheaval. After all, you have to remove that which isn't serving humanity to replace it with something that does. This is that upheaval time. Use it wisely. Connect with each other, share with each other, and most of all work together. Hand in hand we can rise above this. I know that in my heart.
So breathe, family, use your skills and resources to take this scary time and transmute it into the loving existence that we all really want to see in the world.