POSSUM MUSINGS
12.30.22
Here we are, friends: approaching the end of one year, and preparing for a new one. Over my years of playing music I've not really felt the change from year to year as such a major shift. It often feels more like the arbitrary marking of time between the this and the next gig. In my field of view (as one who plays music for a living) the calendar goes on forever and the gigging never ends, to paraphrase a fellow Texas songwriter. That being said, I am excited about the new year for these reasons; A) my band mates and I will be releasing a new album in the new year; the first full band studio offering in seven years, as it happens. And B) I continue to have the privilege and honor of working with some of the finest musicians around. My musical colleagues, Chris Ardoin & Mark Riddell who comprise the core of the group, as well as Isaias Gil, Will Story, John Shelton, Derek Hames, and James Rose continue to inspire me both musically and personally. Moreover, these people and events give me a sense of POSSIBILITIES in the new year. It's something I haven't really felt in a long time. As one ages in the music business, one begins to realize that those possibilities, the potential for some kind of forward artistic and professional motion, begin to narrow. However, as I write this and think upon the new year, I feel a sense of impending opportunity. But not in the frenzied, manic way of my youth, casting this way and that, ultimately grasping nothing. Rather this feeling of opportunity is tempered with twenty-five years of experience, and an almost-detached sense of energized calmness. Maybe that's what focus is.  Whatever the case, it is a good feeling. I hope this new year is a good one for each and every person (especially those who have read this far down the page) and I greatly look forward to sharing the new album with you. Be good to yourselves, and be good to each other, friends. I'll see you in 2023.