Nice Weekend, Spooky Tunes, Looking Better

This was probably the best weekend I’ve had in almost two months. That heaviness I’ve been carrying around seems to have lifted. A major reason for that is that my 20-year old daughter seems to be doing better, her heaviness and sadness over the whole dog debacle is diminishing. She’s still pissed at what the ex did, but she’s coming to the conclusion that her losing and missing the dog doesn’t outweigh how much better she is mentally and physically with the shit head out of her life.

The kiddo came over yesterday morning. Her and her older sister were heading out to get breakfast and take a mini-road trip. She told me she reached out to the shit head via email and asked if she could possibly just meet with him so she could see Frankie. Of course the answer was no, and he gave some moronic excuse as to why. She said she got some closure with this final interaction. It became a back and forth that showed what an immature gnat he is.

Good riddance.

We discussed her getting a dog of her own, one that would be hers and hers alone. She’s going to wait till she finds out if this new apartment is going to happen. It’s almost $400 cheaper, closer to work, and an overall pretty nice spot for her. They don’t allow pets, but will allow emotional support animals. So she’s firmly in the present, looking towards the future.

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Last Tuesday my new Tascam Multi-Track Recorder arrived from Sweetwater. Due to all the craziness we dealt with last week I hadn’t gotten a chance to dig into it. Well Saturday was that day, and I have to say I haven’t been this excited about a piece of musical equipment in a long time. I’m always worried about whether I’m going to get on with new equipment, or if it’s going to be too complicated for my nearly 50-year old brain. Turns out it was breeze. Within a couple hours of goofing around I had my first spooky season track done. My Halloween music project is back, and I’m hoping by the end of the week I’ll have four songs to post for any/everyone to download for free and do with what you will. Score a Halloween party, autumnal trail walk, your leaf raking session, or just your morning commute.

It’s been a long time since I’ve been excited about making music. I’m always ready to write and record, as inspiration seems to come out of every aspect of my life. But when the means to put something down makes it hard, clunky, or just a drag, inspiration tends to get watered down and crushes that ambition. I mean, I had my original Korg D-1600 for 21 years. Yep, since 2002 I’ve had that thing. It still works, but it’s a pain moving around as it’s probably 12 to 15 lbs. A couple of the buttons have broken so they’re hanging halfway into the recorder. And pulling media off requires burning it onto a disc with the onboard CD Burner that’s older than two of my three kids. The Tascam DP-03SD, by comparison, probably isn’t even 5 lbs and an 8th the size. I can easily pull tracks and songs off the recorder with a USB connected to my Chromebook.

I feel invigorated and ready to write some tunes.

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Besides my daughter’s turn for the better(and in turn, mine), I spent three hours yesterday cleaning the roof and gutters of the mounds of pine needles that have accumulated over the last week and a half. I also cleaned the front and back yard and mowed. The yard is looking pretty good. Grilled some burgers and dogs for everyone and had a nice Sunday overall. Temps are supposed to get up into the 70s this week, so another mow or two is almost certainly inevitable. I also watched some episodes of the new Creepshow on Shudder. Love a good horror anthology series, and this Greg Nicotero-led series does not disappoint. Some are better than others, but it’s still good stuff.

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I’m hoping these good vibes last awhile. Nearly two months of worry, anxiety, and general malaise takes its toll on the head and heart, man. I try to be positive these days, and I’ve kept my head and heart on the even keel. I don’t let anger get the best of me like I used to. It appears I’m becoming the calm one, where that wasn’t the case a decade ago. Here’s to my daughter’s upcoming New York trip being the mental and spiritual salve she needs for some continued psyche healing. Here’s to me finally getting out of that long-standing funk and start creating music again. And here’s to all of us making the most of this life. We all know how quickly it goes by, and until we find that DeLorean time machine, there’s no do-overs.

Here’s to making things, experiencing things, loving your tribe, and fantastic weekends. Savor them, folks.

Oh, what’s that below? Well that’s the new track I came up with. Give it a listen. More to come.