Stephen Sondheim passed last Friday, and I’ve been trying to figure out what to say about it. His influence on me is hard to overstate. I fell in love with his music when I was in college, and ended up writing my master’s thesis about it. I even tried to be him at one point, […]
2011 went out with quite a bang. In October, our 20-year-old car died and we had to buy a new one. Shortly after that, I got laid off from my job; for the first time in my life, I found myself unemployed. In November I started a new job, at a company unlike any I’ve […]
Song-A-Day is always a big challenge. Producing a brand new piece of music every day and posting it for everyone to hear is a pretty good recipe for crazy-making. There are moments of doubt compounded by exahaustion that make you wonder why you ever signed up in the first place. That’s par for the course, […]
I have a hard time naming things. Since I mainly compose instrumental music, coming up with titles for the pieces I write is especially hard. During Song-A-Day month, I have to deal with problem every day for the full 28 days. And it’s frustrating every time. This year, however, I’ve noticed a pattern emerging; it […]
It was another night in February, and the usual ritual began. The family had gone to bed. I did a few chores, then, as I do each night during Song-A-Day, I sat down at the piano and fired up my music software. It was late – later than I like it to be when I’ve […]
We’re about a week into Song-A-Day 2011, and there’s already something a little different happening this time around. In previous years, the project felt like an endurance challenge. It was always fun, but it was also something of an uphill battle for everyone. Just get something posted each day, no matter how rough and ragged, […]
It’s that time of year again. And so soon. I am once again taking part in the February madness known as Song-A-Day, in which participants write, record and upload a new song each day throughout the month. How hard could that be?? Ha. When I wrote about this last year, I had some clear goals […]
If we were a medical school, and you were here as a med student practicing appendectomies, you’d take your work very seriously because you would imagine that some night at two AM someone is going to waltz into your emergency room and you’re going to have to save their life. Well, my friends, someday at […]
If you have even a passing interest in the arts scene in the SF Bay Area, do yourself a favor and check out Chloe Veltman’s excellent blog, lies like truth. It’s one of the most refreshingly paced blogs I’ve come across. Veltman posts a few times a week and the posts are short, but very […]
I’m always excited about playing live shows, but this one is a little special. On Tuesday Sept 7th, I’ll be playing at the Beta Lounge in Berkeley with trumpeters Jason Parker and Dave Hoffman, guitarist Rob Michael, and bassist Steve Uccello. This gig will be the first time group has ever played together. In fact, […]
Darin Wilson 