It is a purely lazy Sunday afternoon. The sky is deep blue without blemish and yet, like a hermit, I sit indoors; tsk, tsk, shame on me. In the den, I’ve got the TV alternating between weekend sports, and here in the office/guest bedroom/sewing room/soon-to-be baby room I’m setting up a Myspace page for Ridgely (my former band: ‘93-’99). It’s been a boot to listen to all these old songs again as I sift through and upload them. I’m choosing songs off both of our albums, The Only Thing (1997) and our lesser-known self-titled EP (1995). It’s interesting to note the timbre changes in the human voice - mine, in this case - over time. My goodness, how high we elected to sing. Kevin and I used to be very fond of capoing and wielded it like it was going out of style. As best as I can recall, we capoed up so high on the fretboard because our first paying gig ($20 + tips) was at a local Baton Rouge coffeeshop (Perks Coffee). There was no PA, nor were we allowed to bring any in, so we simply had to set up in a corner of the cinder-block room, armed to the teeth with our cheat sheets (I still use them), capoes, and we sang as loud as we could so as to get over the din of the coffeeshop’s clientele. After all, who doesn’t want to be heard? My favorite awkward memory of all these shows, and there were many, was one night, once we had established a nice little following, were playing our regular night which happened to be during college exam week. A pair of girls at a nearby table scribbled this note on a blank piece of paper and leaned it against their books for the rest of the evening so we would be forced to read it while we played: “Sunday nights are for studying. Play your music somewhere else”. Oh man, that felt good. If you’re on Myspace (futilely addictive), we’d love to have more than 2 friends: Ridgely myspace

Danielle and I returned from our first official vacation in 9 years this past Friday. Her parents very generously donated a week of their timeshare in Fort Lauderdale, FL to us. Since Danielle will be discouraged from any kind of long-distance travel during the holidays because of the baby (a boy, by the way), we felt this was our final opportunity for a last hurrah as a childless, married couple. During the week, we celebrated both our 9th anniversary and my birthday. As gifts, Danielle gave me a large bag of Twizzlers, some chewy Sweet Tarts, a book on being a father, and two small bags of tobacco for my pipe, an object inherited from Wilton Fortenberry, my mom’s dad. Danielle’s family drove down from Orlando on Saturday to visit with us for about 24 hours. Many thanks to Penny, Mike, Melanie and my niece, Noelle, for sharing in the festivities. While I’m on the subject of Noelle (she refers to me as “Punkle” and Danielle as “Aunt Favorite”), I would guess that at 3 years old, she probably knows more about dinosaurs than most of the rest of the globe; if you ask her she can name most any dinosaur that once roamed the earth. One day I’ll read of her brilliance in the newspaper or Time Magazine.

EP: “Noelle, what’s the name of the dinosaur that flies?”
Noelle: “Pterodactyl.”
EP: “What about the one that has big, sharp teeth and eats other dinosaurs?”
Noelle: “Tyrannosaurus Rex.”

Throughout the week, we managed to do nothing, absolutely nothing, except sleep, eat, stroll along the beach and lounge poolside with beverage and book. Delightful. I’ll need to commit this trip to memory because, apparently, my days of freedom are numbered; or so I’ve been told.

This Tuesday, we’re doing another Square Peg Alliance show at The Radio Cafe. These shows have been loads of fun, especially when Billy Cerveny manages to offend everyone in the room with a song of his. You should come; it’s free. Later this week I get to travel to Minnesota for 3.5 shows. I love playing in the midwest and I love midwesterners; I often tell folks that I should have been born one. Lately, I’ve been especially looking forward to being a part of Andrew Peterson’s “Behold The Lamb Of God” Tour in December. Awhile back he invited me to do about half of the tour, mainly the writers-in-the-round early part of the show, since Andrew Osenga and his wife are expecting their second child during that time. I’ll probably sing some harmony during the Christmas part of the show as well. If you’ve never seen it live or heard his album, I strongly recommend it for its breadth and non-donkey-costumed perspective on this hol(y)day.

I look forward to:
1. Riding on a tour bus again (it’s been 10 years since I’ve traveled in one).
1.5 Not having to drive myself from show to show.
2. Laughing among friends.
3. Sharing the stage with peers.
4. Letting the bus loll me to sleep.
5. Late night Taco Bell. I can feel my stomach twinge even now.
6. Listening every night to Andrew’s superb re-telling of Christ’s coming to earth.
7. Hearing Jill Phillips sing “Labor of Love”.
8. Waking up each day in a new city.

In other revelatory news, I’m finally getting my albums on iTunes. Soon enough my entire discography (MTW, LOTL, MOF, Bookmark, Scarce) along with both Ridgely albums will be available for download. I’m thrilled to no end and I’m really hoping you guys will help me spread the word about the albums and post some honest reviews once they’re up. All seven albums have been submitted to iTunes and, as I understand the process, will be up when they’re up. Keep checking iTunes and by all means let me know once they’re posted in case I have yet to notice. Hurrah.

I bid you good day.