Stagnant? No Way!

Wow, I really have let this blog die a little bit. Sorry about that to anyone who actually reads it. Since part of why I created this blog was to prevent stagnation I'll give you a quick update on what I've been doing to continue growing. My blog may have stagnated slightly but that may be because I've been so busy trying to prevent personal stagnation.

Professionally, there has been much going on! With Downhere, my full time rock band gig, growth has

come in

a couple of different forms. We've got a new touring timeline plan that I'm excited to see for the new year which will give us more time with our growing families. This came about after a good many months of being away too long from our wives and kids. We often forget how important it is to just sit down with each other and say how's everybody doing? We also had an opportunity to again work with performance coach Tom Jackson on a few songs. Those few songs have really made our set more interesting for the

audience and has brought the songs new life for us to play.

My side project Hark The Herons has had a couple of cool developments lately as well. We've heard that one of our songs (New Start To Start) has been playing regularly at H&M stores seemingly across Europe. At least in Paris and Vienna for sure. We've also started to rehearse the tunes as a two piece which is causing reason for major growth. I'm enjoying spending a bunch

of time learning how to be more proficient on the accordion and the banjo. The banjo is a very fun instrument and the accordion is heavy. OK, the accordion is also fun, but man it gets heavy!

I've actually also had the privilege of seeing two live shows this year which I always feel like I learn a lot from. Back in the early Spring I saw Muse and this fall it was Sufjan Stevens. Very cool shows both times for hugely different reasons.

I've also taken on teaching trumpet lessons at a local arts focussed high school. I love doing this since I need to make sure I'm on top of things in order to teach. It's definitely a fulfilling thing to do!

Then in the reading department I've really jumped into the historical fiction world of Stephen Lawhead and I'm loving it! Below is a list of most of the books I've read during the past yearish.

By Stephen Lawhead - In the order I read them.

Byzantium **still my favorite**

The King Raven Series - Hood, Scarlet, Tuck

Patrick, Son Of Ireland

Song Of Albion Series - The Paradise War, The Silver Hand, The Endless Knot

The Pendragon Cycle series - Taliesin, Merlin

From other writers:

On Writing Well - William Zinsser

Keeping The Bees - Laurence Packer

The Concise Guide To Self Sufficiency -John Seymour

The Magicians Nephew - C.S. Lewis

Lyrics, Writing Better Words For Your Songs - Rikky Rooksby

Currently:

Writing Better Lyrics - Pat Pattison

The Lion The Witch and the Wardrobe - C.S. Lewis

Arthur - Stephen Lawhead (once I find a copy)

Some great books in there for sure. I can see how they are shaping my thoughts when I see all the titles here in front of me. Reading, it's a good thing!!

That should pull my blog somewhat out of stagnancy.