Participating in Humanity☟
As a teacher in Oregon, I was recently afforded the opportunity to receive my first dose of the COVID-19 Vaccine. Earlier this week I headed to Portland’s Convention Center for my shot. Hearing strangers conversing, joking and laughing wound up being a far more emotional experience than anticipated. It was also the first time I’d seen some of my co-workers in months. I was overcome with a sense of gratitude, pride for my fellow educators, and dare I say it…hope. My goal is to keep that feeling front and center as we enter the 11th month of this pandemic. I am so ready to participate in humanity on a larger scale again.
Mood List - Objects & Sounds☟
Objects & Sounds is the world’s first mood-based record store based in Ghent, Belgium. The shop focuses less on trends, genres, and release dates and more on timeless records that capture a specific feeling. For their mood list series, I picked my top ten records for recentering. Ultimately these are LPs I’ve turned to countless times to help ward off anxiety and thoughts that don’t serve me in the here and now. As the years go by I find instrumental music having an even greater capacity to bring me back to a place of calm. Hope you find something you dig and please let me know if there is a record that does this for you - would love to put ears to it.
Guest Mix - Love In The Afternoon☟
Was very excited to put be asked to put together a guest mix for the London-based series Love In the Afternoon complete with psych-folk, country, and one of my favorite live J.J. Cale cuts. Listen here and be sure to give them a follow on Instagram and Mixcloud for supremely righteous jams.
Keep The Beat Running Club☟
Keep the Beat RC is a new, inclusive run club founded by Nathan Walker of Riot Act Media aimed to help keep independent music alive. Back in December I participated in their inaugural virtual half-marathon which helped raise over $2000 for the Union of Musicians and Allied Workers. With my Stump Runners crew unable to meet due to the pandemic, I was grateful not only to have a race on the calendar for motivation, but also to tap into a wider community of music obsessives all at different stages of their running journey. Sign ups for their Winterfest 8K are now open. Profits from this race will go to Backline, a platform for music industry professionals and their families to learn, ask questions, and find clinical support to navigate mental health challenges. Registration also gets you a beautiful long sleeve shirt designed by Darryl Norsen. Join me?
Felt Time Episodes 12 & 13☟
The first two episodes of Felt Time for 2021 are now archived on my Mixcloud page. Looking for loner-folk? Gospel-blues? Country-funk? I’ve got you covered, and then some. Reminder: I’m live every other Tuesday from 7-9pm PST on Dune Buggy Radio.
Reading, Watching, Listening To☟
Reading
+Absolutely On Music : Conversations with Seiji Ozawa (Haruki Murakami)
+I Think About This Legendary Neil Young Story A Lot (Chris Stanton for The Cut)
+She Come By It Natural : Dolly Parton and the Women Who Lived Her Songs (Sarah Smarsh)
Watching
+JJ Cale and Leon Russell at the Paradise Studios, LA 1979
+All of the Guitar Power/Guitar Moves Videos with Matt Sweeney
+Worst Cooks In America (Hulu)
Listening To
+Outside This Life, 1968–76 (Jimmer Glynn & Alan Rackin)
+Paraclete Tongue (Matt LaJoie)
+Tape 3/Tape 4 (Felbm)
+Miracles feat. Ty Segall (Bill Callahan & Bonnie "Prince" Billy - cover of Johnnie Frierson)