Good Things Happen After the Bad

        It's been a while since I've checked in here. It's also been a wild ride, so to speak. Or, as the Grateful Dead expressed, "What a long, strange trip it's been." It keeps getting stranger, too. I'm sure I don't hold a record for number of disastrous things that can happen to someone, and I'm definitely not trying for it. They just keep on coming, and usually in groups of three. I've just experienced the third, so I'm hoping for clear sailing for a little while. The third thing isn't over, but it's out of my hands. Meanwhile, good things are starting to pile up. Those tend to come in waves, too. My work is stepping up again, even though I'm being picky about what work I want to do. I finished a series of music classes for toddlers through five at The Spencertown Academy in Columbia County, NY and am continuing a ten-week series at Caffé Lena in Saratoga Springs, NY as well as Music Together classes in Delmar and Troy, NY. I love working with these families. Young people are so open and truthful. Now that the pandemic is over, I'm getting hugs at the end of class again. That's the best part.
        This past weekend was packed full with excitement. I released a five-song EP on April 25th. It took a long time to be finished. Band members came and went, new songs got written, and life has a way of getting in the way sometimes, but it's out now. I decided to put the music on USB drives instead of CDs since no one seems to want CDs anymore. Once I had the blank drives, it made sense to add more content. There are 128 mp3s, 320 mp3s, wav files, photos of the various musicians, a few videos of live performances, art work and a short memoir snippet from the upcoming book. 
       In addition to teaching, I'm starting to perform again. I'm trying not to book too many shows at first and am being fairly picky about what venues I seek out. I bought a Fender Highway series electric guitar and did my first two hour show since my accident a few days ago, with that new guitar. I was envigorated playing live again and didn't feel sore or terribly tired the next day. However, I felt it two days after. Thank goodness for CBD. I have another show coming up for families at Caffé Lena. Because it's only an hour, I should be fine playing my acoustic guitar.
        The last thing that happened on the weekend was the Capital District Thomas Edison Music Awards. I was nominated again this year for Folk/Traditional Artist of the Year and, as usual, didn't expect to win. All the other musicians in the category are great. I thought I'd better be prepared, just in case. In 2022, I was taken by surprise by winnning a Listen Up Award and went up to the stage with no idea what to say, standing like a deer in the headlights. This time I prepared a speech, or the outline of a speech. I was so shocked when they announced my name, I almost started to cry. I hardly even noticed anyone in the audience as I passed by. I was so choked up, I didn't think I would be able to speak at all but managed to give a short speech that went over well. I wanted to focus on the fact that we all have differences of so many kinds, but we can set them aside in playing music together. These are such crazy times with angry people starting to lose perspective. As musicians, I think keeping the peace is as important as speaking out for justice,  equality and overall fairness.