I am a Patriot

This is a song written by Steve Van Zandt of the E Street Band and Sopranos fame. What caught my attention first about him was his passion for human rights. I first heard I am a Patriot on one of his records, but I learned it from the band that followed The Great Peace March, a coast to coast march for…

By admin October 19, 2025New MixNo Comments

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Remember Who We Are

This song was written in 2025 as students went to Tallahassee to demand safety following the shootings at their high school Parkland Douglas. Some of the students still remain vocal and in visible pursuit of justice. Some never made it past the day of the shootings. This song was awarded 2nd Place in the Woody Guthrie Folk Festival in 2018, earning…

By admin October 17, 2025New MixNo Comments

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Shining through

This is a new take on an older song. This one has become a favorite for me to play at gigs. I think a big part of it is that the song allows me to open up a little instrumentally. The original recording featured banjo, bass, guitar, additional vocals cello..... This is just me and my guitar. backed by a bass…

By admin October 15, 2025New MixNo Comments

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Blame

Blame is a sweet and beautiful song about our impulse to blame everyone else for our problems. The recording was part of the Something to Believe CD from 2014. I was recordedin my old Coventry apartment above Passport to Peru. Joining me on vocals is Abbey Blake. We did the track with a single microphone capturing the two voices and rhythm…

By admin October 7, 2025New MixNo Comments

Song Spotlight

Hemlock Hill

The song of the day is Hemlock Hill. Written for memories of my grandparents summer home in North East Pennsylvania. These are some of my earliest memories, and we are still close to the home when we vacation today. The house called Hemlock Hill is currently owned by a family with roots in Cleveland Heights. This song is mostly about a…

By admin October 5, 2025Song Spotlightdulcimer, eagles mere, family, pennsylvania, vacation homeNo Comments

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Minister Creek

In my free time of late I have been doing a lot of recording. I want to get better at the recording craft and the art of mixing. That happens by doing it. the simplest subject matter is my own music. These recordings are exclusive content on my website. I will be adding these routinely. This is a recording of Minister…

By admin September 27, 2025New Mixcleveland, compression, david grisman, folk music, jerry garcia, minister creek, recording, songs, songwriting, telarc, tom anderson

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2025 FARM Lantern Bearer Award

It was just announced that I am one of two recipients of this years FARM (Folk Alliance Region Midwest) Lantern bearer award. To put it mildly, I am crazy honored. this is a Lifetime Achievement award for work in Folk Music throughout the Midwest. The other recipient is Lilli Kuzma of WDCB in Decalb Il. I am still digesting the news.…

By admin September 15, 2025New Mix

What are we waiting for? It's Time CD cover art

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It is Time! Today is the day.

Today marks the release of my new album What Are We Waiting For? It's Time. The songs were written during the past few years with a majority coming after January of 2025.It's a diverse group of songs. My musical explorations of late revolved around the Piedmont Blues style I have been learning from Kevin Richards and the discovery of the ukulele…

By admin August 24, 2025New Mix

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Finding joy in the ukulele

This CD has been in the works for a long time. It began with a trip to Maui with my wife's family. Before we left, we decided to borrow a guitar while we were visiting. Instead I was lent an Ukulele. An instrument I had never tried previously. I started fooling around with it and ended up coming home with anew…

By admin August 10, 2025New Mixetty hillesum, Folk Alliance International, roots of american musiic, singing for justice, stop the hate, ukulele

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New CD Art

Here is a first look at the CD art for my upcoming CD project. I call the image "I Shall Not Be Moved". In my classes with Kindergarten and 2nd graders, we would sing this song every week and the kids would act out the lyric, becoming trees and water for the tree planted by the water.The image was shot in…

By admin July 7, 2025New MixNo Comments