“Your task is not to seek for love, but merely to seek and find all the barriers within yourself that you have built against it.” ~Rumi

Lucky 13. I love this year already.

When I turned 35 I finally lost my tolerance for my own bullshit. It was a long time coming. I had slowly been letting go of habits, relationships and “shoulds” for a while but 35 was the marker of a bigger shift.

I can’t remember ever feeling better in my life. I had a lot of  housekeeping to do in order to get here. I’m still emptying my pockets and though the letting go has been painful at times, I laugh now more than I ever have.

So, this year I’m hoping to do some things I haven’t had the courage to do in the past.  Write and record a new album, Get in the best shape of my life and tour 6 months across Europe and the US. . . Slowly aligning all the pieces.

[singlepic id=340 w=320 h=240 float=right]I’m writing again. It has been one of my greatest gifts and one of the most frightening and humbling thing I have ever done. I intimately know the power of song as you do. It penetrates and binds the hearts of people who perceive themselves to be friends or enemies in a common melody or groove.  It surpasses language. It unites body to spirit. It’s medicine. And my job as a writer is be one of the folks who are stewards of song. No pressure.

(This is my desk. . this morning we put the framed Alice Walker poster up- and my whole room/sanctuary is filling with tokens of love from fans & beloveds . . ——->)

So instead of trying to write 3 songs a year (yea, that’s been my average for as long as I can remember) I’m trying to write 3 a week. That way if some come out- well – not as good as others, it doesn’t really matter. . . In yoga, after 8 months without practicing, I don’t expect myself to do some crazy pose where I’m perfectly balancing my whole body on one arm’s strength, so why would I expect to be able to write masterpieces after avoiding writing for months on end? Yea. It’s uncomfortable and I’m falling on my face a lot, but it’s happening. And there is some really stunning stuff coming out. . . I just keep trying to get out of the way. . . And that’s no easy task. But well worth it. . .

I will be recording a new album with producer Mark Addison. He’s a stunning writer and producer, has a true gift of getting the best performances (writing, playing, singing) out of songwriters and has recorded some of Austin’s finest albums of recent years including Matt The Electrician’s Animal Boy, Guy Forsyth’s Love Songs For & Against and countless more.

To be completely truthful with you, I almost quit music altogether in 2010 when I was sick for 8 months on the road nonstop, digging an early grave by not allowing my body the rest it needed to heal. After I got off the road, I sent a message to the Universe daily saying “I surrender. I won’t fight for what I think my life/career “should” look like. if music is supposed to be my livelihood, make it so clear and healthy that I can’t say no and if it isn’t just help me to let go.” Tiny, weird miracles happened. I got jobs writing for Korean Pop music, I was given opportunities to play on the Austin City Limits stage, co-write melodies for others’ songs, perform for the Austin Convention and Visitor’s Bureau and serve the Health Alliance for Austin Musicians by producing events and albums that raise money to keep my musical community healthy.

So, I recon’ it’s time to move forward and give birth to a new WC offering/album. . . I hope you will support me in bringing the new album to life. It’s going to take a lot of work, love, faith and resources, but it will be well worth it.

More to come. . .