Blog & News:

Somewhere Above Texas

May 7th, 08

I write today from about 40,000 feet above the Earth on my way to Birmingham to pick up my car. Yes, my car is in, of all places, Alabama.

I can't always remember what city I'm in. I can't always remember what day it is. All I know is that over the past five weeks, my best friends have loaned me their couches and invited me into their homes, and because of these incredible people, the road isn't such a hard place to call home.

It's a long journey to make music. I was with a good friend in San Francisco last week, and we were discussing the extremes of touring. On one end, the glory of rock and roll on stage awaits. On the other, lie the hardships of paying rent and traveling. In the end, the hardest memories always escape me, and I'm left with only the bright pictures of playing music and making new friends along the way.

There are many people who believe that the music business is in dire straits - that the age of the Internet has taken a serious toll on creating art. As someone who writes songs and spends late nights in studios and drives across the country to play them, I can proudly say that this is not the case.

I was in Los Angeles on Friday night and I went to a bluegrass show in Hollywood. One of my good friends is in this 11-piece band that really give definition to what it means to make music. 11 friends, on stage, singing and playing everything in their hearts. And as I watched them play and heard their harmonies pair effortlessly into the Friday night, I couldn't help but think that it's this kind of energy that gives the middle finger to the music business. This is the kind of energy that makes songs more than "radio singles." This is the kind of energy that creates real music.

The age of artists selling a million records each week is over, but the age of millions of artists selling enough records to get by is just beginning. There is music EVERYWHERE. Chances are that the digger you deep to find it, the better it will be.

I'm not even sure where I'm going with this anymore. I could write for hours and hours and hours about the past month and my excitement for the upcoming summer, but I'll leave it at this:

To everyone on this tour who bought records, who talked with me after shows, who shared drinks with me - you're making my dream a reality. Thank you.

Comments:

Sign in on the right, or become a member to leave a comment.

None