home recording, songwriting, gigging, scheming

So you're saying, "Hey man, where you been lately?"

I do believe my brain has switched over to full-time creative mode, after a few years focusing on the "biz" half of showbiz. Henceforth, my energy and time for blogging has been transferred to my efforts in writing and recording songs. It's been a fulfilling couple weeks!

Here's me yesterday singing on a song called "Here at 2141," a peppy little number written way back in the early '90s when Dawn and I lived in student housing at the University of Oregon. These are the clothes I wear when I'm "at the office"...Dad-style flannel shirt and elephant jammies.

I've been doing a lot of digital trickery, singing, some acoustic and electric guitar parts, and engineering performances by special guest musicians. Beki Hemingway, Justin Rimbo, Graham Peterson, and John Kerns sang some vocals, John Kerns played some bass guitar, and my lovely little brother Tim Rundman played some electric guitar parts. In addition to "2141" I've got other songs almost done, including tunes called "Imperfection," "World of Wheels," "Where are all the cars now?" and a re-hash of "Out the Back," the opening track from the Chandlers album .

On the songwriting front, I've been finishing lyrics for songs that have been on the back burner for a decade or more. "World of Wheels" finally got a good second verse yesterday (with a Bruce Cockburn reference hidden within), and some other tunes are really coming along, too. It's fun, and I feel like staying in this zone for a nice long time. More songs, please.

Had some good "private event" gigs these past couple weeks at a church and a local university, plus I played the prestigious Hoot Night in South Minneapolis hosted by local music/journalism mover/shaker Jim Walsh. Man, that was fun...thanks Jim! Also, played mandolin in the band behind Lutheran music legend Ray Makeever last week, and it was a thrill to accompany Ray's amazing liturgical pieces, and awesome songs like "We Come to the Hungry Feast." Completely inspiring!

I'm looking foward to next weekend when I'll be one of the "accent musicians" on the main stage at the ELCA Extravaganza in Anaheim, CA. I'm playing a set, and also leading some workshops on freshening up the liturgy. It's always one of the best events ever at which to play, and it'll be great fun to reconnect with lots of fun folks. I've also got some shows coming up this month for the Finnish-American community, plus I'm gearing up for sets at big festivals in the Spring and Summer.

So that's the story. Musicians I've been enjoying lately:
Nick Lowe/Billy Bremner/Rockpile
Damone
Dan Wilson
Jeff Krebs
Duran Duran
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
Creedence Clearwater Revival
Varttina
Maria McKee