Tag Archives: inspiration

Insomnia Redux

Would that this night provide some small respite, sweet sleep instead of wisps of restless dream; but like a spring o’er-wound and pulled too tight, my mind finds no repose. Each small sound seems a thunderclap that echoes in the … Continue reading

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Thoughts on Willie Nelson

Thoughts on Willie Nelson: I read a quote recently where someone said (and I paraphrase) that “considering all Willie Nelson has done for America, he should be exempt from paying taxes for the rest of his life.” Well, I agree. … Continue reading

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Obviously Lefty Frizzell

I’ve always been obsessed, thematically, with silence, journeys, and the contexts in which real “life-changing” epiphanies occur. It seems to me that one of these places is on the road touring (and it seems to be backed up by what … Continue reading

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I Blame Lawrence Welk

I love old songs, and I love mixing it up and keeping ’em guessing. For that, I blame Lawrence Welk. Some jazz cats look down on Welk’s ensemble (compared to Goodman, Ellington or Kenton it was a SWEET band), and … Continue reading

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Letters to a Young Picker

or Free Your Mind and Your Chops Will Follow: EVERYTHING is a matter of personal taste. Nobody gets “great ears” without playing badly with their betters (betters who are willing to accept a lot of bad notes, ideas or tangents … Continue reading

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As if the hazel mud

As if the hazel mud its edges flecked with dull green and salt-stain, cracked and peeling along the summer dry edges of the viaduct that ran its length, a brittle concrete spine, down through the creosote valley from cinder block … Continue reading

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Sometimes a phrase

Sometimes a phrase, or single word, will prompt a poem. How absurd to think that there is some great plan on my part; so few understand how unlike following a chart this process is. There is no start or end … Continue reading

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