꩜ Door At The Top Of Your Head ꩜
Correspondence 49
*If you are new here you might be wondering (David Byrne voice), how did I get here? I recently moved over my mailing list from Bandcamp, where you may have signed up at some point, to Substack. However you arrived, I’m grateful you’re here. It continues to get harder and harder to find meaningful and sustainable ways of connecting with folks interested in what I’ve got going via digital platforms. This remains one of my favorites as it’s become a monthly ritual to crack a cold one and get a few of my thoughts in order.
Momentum☟
Creative momentum has been top of mind for me recently. When I have it, I’m more present and engaged in the work. I enjoy balancing multiple projects at once because it gives me less opportunity to overthink or to obsess. Creating a rhythm for myself of writing, recording, performing, and curating events makes the ‘getting started’ feel significantly less of a burden. It helps me view sitting with my guitar or an empty page as something to look forward to, to get excited about. I’ve also found that my ability to gain momentum is very much connected to the foundation of support I have from my network of family, friends, and creative collaborators. Stability in those relationships gives me the confidence and motivation to keep going, to try new things, and push myself. Having just finished basic tracking for LP3, I'm feeling the creative wind in my sails at the top of year. Fingers crossed it sticks around.
A question for you - how do you get, create, or keep creative momentum for yourself? Genuinely want to hear from others on this. Let me know!
Just Announced ~ Texas Tour☟
Couldn’t be more excited to be heading to Texas in March for a run of co-headline shows with my new bud Kevin Dehan who records/performs under the name Cactus Lee. I shared a stage with Kevin at Flying Island festival in Marfa last October and was blown away by his songwriting, voice, and band. Certainly didn’t hurt that he covered West L.A Fadeaway on the night we got the news of Phil Lesh leaving us. There’s a beautiful new Cactus Lee single ahead of his next record (that album art!) that has got me even more pumped on these dates. We’ll be joined by Garrett T. Capps each night. Tickets on sale now.
3.26 Paper Tiger ~ San Antonio
3.27 Continental Club ~ Houston
3.28 Rubber Gloves ~ Denton*
3.29 29th Street Ballroom~ Austin
*No Cactus Lee, David Forsyth joins.
February Duo Shows☟
Last year I opened a couple of shows for William Tyler as a duo with my buddy Mathew Peluso on pedal-steel + a drum machine. It was a fun challenge to reimagine some of my material, revisit songs I hadn’t played in a minute and try some new ideas out. Mathew and I will be doing just this for a couple of nights in February here in the Pacific Northwest.
2.21 Portland - Mississippi Records w/ Merle Law + Ann Annie (All Ages, Sliding Scale, Music from 8-11pm)
2.22 Trout Lake - Trout Lake Hall (Opening for Kacy & Clayton - Tickets)
Record Fair & Flea Pt. 3☟
I spend a lot of time in record shops and am spoiled to live somewhere that has more record stores per capita than any other city in the U.S. I took a moment in 2024 to think about what my ideal version of a record fair would be, how I could put a spotlight on some of my favorite Portland-based shops, labels, individual sellers, etc. and bring the crate digging community together. The first two events went off without a hitch, so I’m back with part three on February 9th at Lollipop Shoppe from 4-7pm. Stoked on this lineup of vendors and will be playing records alongside KMHD’s Bryson Wallace. FREE ENTRY. Superbowl Sunday is now a record buying holiday.
February DJ Sets☟
In addition to the record fair, I have a couple of other DJ sets this month in Portland. Here’s where to find me:
-Sunday Feb 2 at Either/Or (930am-1230pm)
-Saturday Feb 15th at Replicant (7-10pm).
Headcleaner Jan ‘25☟
Your subscriber only playlist for January has landed. Enjoy.
Reading, Watching, Listening To☟
Reading:
Haruki Murakami - The City and Its Uncertain Walls
Watching:
Candy Mountain (1987)
Listening:
Find Yourself Lost - Michael Scott Dawson
Candy Mountain—great rec. Will check it out this weekend.