Rhyme and Reason

Are you a worry wart? My mom is 82. She lives in eastern Kansas. And we talk a couple of times a week, by phone. By her own admission, she’s a worry wart. For those of you too young to know, that means she worries a lot. Currently, as you might expect, she’s pretty worried about this whole pandemic thing. And since she has way too much time on her hands (retired and living alone) she w...

“Dad, are we there yet?” Oh yeah. The dreaded (and yet predictable) are we there yet question. Maybe you remember, as a kid, how you or a brother or sister would get bored on a long family trip. And inevitably somebody would want to know when it was gonna be over. Right? Or maybe you’ve even been the parent who got the question from the kids.   I’ve seen the are we there ye...

Who could use a little Sunday morning inspiration? Show of hands…yeah, there’s a few of you. OK, so here it is. You can do it! Now, go out there and get it done! There. How’s that? Are you pumped and ready to take on sickness, sadness, disease, and disaster? What? No?! What do you mean I just used a cliché ? Wow, way to look some Sunday morning inspiration in the mouth.   The fac...

My songwriting for hope has a much broader scope And when I say, songwriting for hope, I’m not talking about a person’s name. I’m talking about actual hope. Yes, it’s a real thing. In spite of all the negativity media and social media channels are putting out. And it’s always available. But most people don’t have a clue where to look. Because they focus on the t...

Fire and brimstone Yeah, we’re already getting close to April. And that means those April showers that bring May flowers. Of course, that leads to Memorial Day and backyard barbecues. Wanna try something a little different this year? How about serving up a nice steaming cup of fire and brimstone? With a side of burning wind? Mm mm good.   What if I told you fire and brimstone won’t be...

Are you ready to sing a song of confidence? Have you heard this quote? “ The truth is still true even if no one believes it. And a lie is still a lie even if everyone believes it .” It makes total sense to someone who’s willing to use logic and reason, instead of feelings, when it comes to decision making. And it’s that kind of thinking that helps me sing a song of confiden...

Ah, thank goodness for our benevolent government. Not! All around social media and news channels you’ll see talk of a “stimulus package.” And it’s supposed to throw gazillions of dollars out to “we, the people.” You’ll also see so-called “leaders” in congress debating over how much money and who to give it to. With lots of resistance from both...

An old song with a musical interlude Way, way back in my songwriting life, sometimes I’d worked on something “more than just a song.” And now, when I go through my old notebooks, I see how little I remember about those pieces. Like the words I’m gonna share to a song I composed in 1981. It even included a musical interlude. It sounds funny to me now. But I even wrote a note...

You don’t have a lizard brain No reptilian brain. Or paleomammalian brain. And certainly no neomammalian brain. (Hey, maybe that’s where they got the Neo character in The Matrix…no, I don’t think so.) Before I go any further, I gotta ask. Why, in the name of godzilla, would you ever want to identify with a lower creature? Why would you ever, ever, ever want a lizard brain?...

A Vernal Equinox 2020 suggestion With all the other chatter on social media and news channels, I didn’t see anything pop up about Vernal Equinox 2020. At least, not till I went looking for it. In case you didn’t know, that’s when Spring “officially” begins. And this year’s beginning is around 9:50 tonight. (as I share this it’s March 19th) “So, why a...

Oh well, what can you do? When I was much younger, I wrote more songs with more questions in them. It hadn’t occurred to me before. But I was looking at some lyric files, today, and I saw that pattern form in the old lyrics. And the ironic thing is, it wasn’t because I didn’t have the answers. Because many times I actually did. In fact, they were as close as my next breath. So, e...

Make hay while the sun shines It’s an old saying. But it’s still true. “Make hay while the sun shines” means to make the best of opportunity while it lasts. But these days there are huge amounts of doomsdayers and naysayers who’d rather burn that hay and dance gleefully around the fire. And sing out joyfully to theirs gods of selfishness.   You can still make hay whil...

Outside the box and inside the lines They tell you to think outside the box. But then they say you should stay inside the lines of a proven system. Oh, what’s a human to do? And who’s right? The outsiders or the insiders?   Stay inside the lines when you’re thinking outside the box. You don’t have to follow my advice. In fact, maybe you shouldn’t. Maybe what I’m...

Who doesn’t love music and creation? I don’t know how many times I’ve seen comments pop up on social media about it. Seems like lots of writers and other creatives like to listen to music when they’re working. And I know, from personal experience, how hardworking people love to play music on the job. They say it helps ’em get it done. So, it just makes sense that musi...

Let’s talk about the beginning of everything Because everything had a beginning. Surely we can all agree on that. Right? What?! You mean to tell me there are still people, in this day and age, who believe in perpetual motion machines?! Incredible! But what are you gonna do? Some people refuse to talk about the beginning of everything. Because it goes somewhere light.   And the beginning of e...

Yes, music does me good. And you? Whenever I’ve gone through a rough patch in life. Anytime I’ve spent hours, days, or even weeks alone. And basically during any part of life’s up’s and down’s, music was there. And I love knowing it’s always there. Because music does me good. Can I get an amen? Music does me good, but not just any music. And that’s true fo...

Warning: Flirt Alert They used to be called philanderers. Or maybe you’ve heard ’em called a   Casanova , a  Don Juan , or  Lothario. And more recently you might’ve heard terms like  ladies’ man , playboy , or stud. Way back when, you could’ve heard:   skirt-chaser , tomcat, and  wolf . Whichever name you choose, they all fall under my warning of flirt alert.   I know...

Analog zone of my own OK, here’s my phone. Now, let’s see. Settings: General: software update. No, not in there. OK, Settings: Wi-Fi. And it’s not in there. Where would it be? Control center? No. Accessibility? No. And it’s not even under Emergency SOS. Well…I’ll toss this question out to all my fellow iPhone users. Where is the analog zone setting for our devic...

OK, here’s your Tuesday morning motivation First, with a show of hands, how many of you even need some Tuesday morning motivation? How about afternoon? Or evening? Well, that’s too bad. I ain’t got none for you. Aw, just kidding. You know I wouldn’t dis you like dat. My Tuesday morning motivation is mostly for my brothers and sisters in the faith. If you’re not one of...

My songwriter journal Over the years I’ve seen my songwriter journal go from a spiral notebook to what your reading right now. This blog post. I remember carrying my nineteen cent Bic pen around in my teeth like a chewed up cigar. And my trusty notebook in the seat of my car next to me. But now I can just tell Siri to “take a note”. Then, I can just copy and paste it into this bl...

Celebrating International Women’s Day I’ve been a staunch supporter of the rights of women my entire adult life. No, I’m not a so-called “activist”. That just sounds silly to me. Because if you need to set aside one day and give it a title like International Women’s Day, you’re missing the big picture. International Women’s Day doesn’t give pro...

I’ve enjoyed writing music for kids Kids give enthusiastic response when they hear music they like. Some will even flip their lids. For those of you who can’t remember far enough back, that means they go crazy. Metaphorically speaking. And that’s part of why I spent so much time writing music for kids. Even though my wife and I never had any, for some reason I was always able to...

Music and math – it all adds up Way back in my school choir days I remember how much I enjoyed when we started learning about music dynamics. Because dynamics give music so much more emotion and depth. And in this digital age, a lot of those nuances are represented by numbers. So, you could say (in fact, I AM saying) music and math go together like logic and emotions.   Music and math show u...

OK, kids. Let’s talk about the Pythagorean Theorem. It actually sounds more complicated than it is. And writing it down certainly makes it look simple. a 2 + b 2 = c 2  But that looks almost a little too simple. After all, it’s called the Pythagorean Theorem. So, let’s give it a little more respect than that. And here’s what it’s talking about… Do you remember t...

 Ah, the color of music notes The only reason I’m writing about the color of music notes, today, is because I feel like it. There’s no underlying or hidden message. And I’m not trying to get you to do, say, or be anything special. Nope. It’s just because. Because I enjoy the imagery of the color of music notes. And that’s as good a reason to write about something as a...