2013 is almost over

Hello friends! The year is almost up and I see that I've not been as diligent in my writing this year... As you know, if you've read this before, I don't do "new year's resolutions." I don't think you should wait till the new year to turn over a new leaf, but it's kinda tradition for most folks, so it's a good time of year to reflect on what has gone by and what is to come, whether you plan it or not. :-)

So in that spirit, here we go...

I've taken the last couple of weeks off from writing. Yes, it's been over a month since I've finished a song, but I am always recording new ideas, thinking about stuff, learning new songs. I tend to take "this time of year" off from actively working on new material and self promotion though. My last "new" song - I Thought That I'd Forgotten

I'm playing in a dance band on Saturday nights in Hornbeak. Just a small place with a little dance floor, but the people really enjoy it, which makes it easier for me to enjoy "performing." :-) I've also been working toward getting something going in the way of Bluegrass. I know the "Bare Basics" of 30 years ago can be no more, but I'm using the name again and getting it started back. My YouTube channel has several videos of James Wallace and I doing some instrumentals.

Dueling Banjos

Berlin Waltz

Nine Pound Hammer

...and others.

We have a lead on a bass player and we plan to get back to weekly practices after the first of the year.

We spent the holiday weekend with Kyle and Devin in Indiana. I took X-Wing and Kyle and I got a game in. We picked him up a copy of Zombicide and we got to play it as well. He called me Christmas Day to tell me about a 2 hour game they had. Sounded great! Can't wait for him to bring it home on his next visit so Colton and I can enjoy it with him.

My old friends from High School (our old gaming group) are visiting family this week and we're trying to work out a time to get together. Fingers crossed that we can do it before they all have to travel back... This is the same group, plus Kyle, that play Edge of the Empire with me via roll20.net.

The local Open Mic thing has not taken off like I had hoped. As I communicated earlier in the year, the venue we were using were told to cease and desist since they didn't have a local license, even though what we were performing was original work and not covers. I had another place in mind, but they closed their doors before I could even go and visit.

I decided to wait about it and see if the first venue called to start it back, but they haven't. After the first of the year I intend to start making contacts and see where it goes. On a related note, I drove by Music Highway Crossroads the other day and the place was empty. Sad, as I had some great memories of performing in that venue as well as some great friends I made... That is where I found out that there are more songwriters in the area than I would have thought!

I've had people come up and ask me, "how's the music business?" and my standard answer has been the following - I'm still writing - I'm still performing - but I am NOT driving to Nashville every few weeks like I was. My style is NOT what's on the radio today and there have been better things to spend that travel money and more importantly spend that TIME on. I do enjoy performing in Nashville and it's still my "favorite city," but I've been working more on honing the craft and making connections that just going there and trying to "break in" from outside. If a move ever takes me closer then I'll pursue it with more diligence, but for now I'm trusting God to lead me in the right (write) direction.

One last thing... There has been some talk on Facebook this morning about geocaching and people hitting milestones, etc. Vanessa and I are up to 1202, but we've not "actively" cached in a while... We will grab one from time to time, but we haven't "hunted." Reading the posts this morning kinda gave me the itch (and yes, it's a game, so yes, it's a form of gaming - and one Vanessa and I can do together) so I pulled up "our map." This shows the caches around and whether we own them, found them or have yet to find them.

WOW - I was shocked at the number in the Jackson area! I can't testify as to whether they are what I would call "good" caches or not, as I don't recognize the names of the cachers, but knowing there are a TON around close means we can drive a short ways and jump in if we want to. If we find that they are not "fun" or "quality" (as we define them) hides then we can go a few more miles...

We do NOT do the numbers game any more. We were on track to hit 1000 cache finds several years ago and we got to where we were not stopping to smell the roses but were so intent with getting "the next one" that we failed to enjoy the scenery, etc. We love caches that take us somewhere new and if you're just for the numbers then you won't drive 20 miles out of the way for that ONE cache and you'll miss that wonderful view! Or you'll miss that store that had JUST the thing you were looking for.

In closing, no matter what your resolutions are for 2014, or what your current plans are, or even what's on your mind - I wish you the BEST year you've ever had!