Behind the Scenes: Washington

I am self-employed as a piano teacher and songwriter. A few weeks ago, I went in to my boss’ office and asked for a two-week medical leave of absence. She said it was okay. She gave me a two-week extension, which started four days ago on March 6. While I’m trying to figure out why […]

Usually these attacks hit me in the dead of night: 3:00 a.m. seems to be the average. Why then? Beats me. Just starting another one…been building up to it all day. I feel like throwing things. Instead, I’m going to do my best to listen to the demo recording I made the other night, hopefully […]

Yes, I am up at an ungodly hour again, but instead of moaning and groaning over a toilet in pain, I am in front of my digital piano playing around with the settings. I am having a hard time containing my exuberance. Then again, I could hoop and holler in joy and Ken wouldn’t even […]

This morning was rough. For me. For Ken (who is probably tired of being my caretaker: first through cancer and now this). He never complains. Quite the opposite. He cries with me and feels helpless; this morning, he drove me to the scheduled doctor appointment since I couldn’t. Several of you have commented, “Thought it […]

Well, I did a thing. After spending an hour or two working on a composition the other night—yes, with pencil, paper, and acoustic piano—I wandered down to my office to check out Facebook. The first thing that popped up in my feed was an ad referring to a music contest: “Deadline extended to January 31.” […]

Back in January of last year when this picture was taken, I was doing a little songwriting into the wee hours of the morning. I had the beginnings to four songs in that binder behind me: one in the key of D major, one in A, one in C, and my first attempt at 6/8 […]

That awesome moment—albeit at 4:00 in the morning—when you finally, finally, finally come up with those words (to wrap up your chorus to that new song you’re working on) that have been eluding you for weeks.

Just when I think my day can’t get any better—found the perfect red-barn picture to use for that album cover I was telling you about—it does. I have been waiting and waiting and waiting for the fifth and final master of a song I recorded in Nashville back in May, not because Dallas doesn’t know […]

For one of my songs (that will be out later this fall), I am looking for a local, pretty red barn for the album cover. Yesterday, I took a bunch of pictures of this barn (after getting permission from a nice lady named Debbie who thought I was the Amazon delivery guy at first and […]

I am leaving for Nashville next week, so I’m thinking I should probably a) finish my latest song and b) come up with a better title.