Note by Note: Keeping Vigil | No. 41 | 1.14.24

As the temperature plummets, the world and I are frozen in place. Winter means fewer gigs, sorting through endless notes and scraps of paper, and waiting. This hibernation is both comforting and disconcerting. I take a deep breath and remember…

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Note by Note: We'll Hold the Light | No. 40 | 11.10.23

From my front row to heroism, I wrote We’ll Hold the Light. For decades, my wife Linda, an anesthesiologist at a safety net hospital/trauma center, has worked long, stressful shifts within an overtaxed medical system. 

“Working all night at

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Note by Note: Hear Our Voices | No. 39 | 9.16.23

Like many women, my experiences around reproduction are complex. 

I am a mother and sister by birth and adoption and also a stepmom in a blended family. My friends have had abortions as well as easy and challenging pregnancies. Assistive…

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Note by Note: Measure My Heart| No. 37 | 9.08.21

“It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye.”  ~Antoine de Saint-Exupery 

If you were an Ancient Egyptian, you probably believed your lifetime of good and bad deeds were recorded…

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Note by Note: Light the Stage | No. 36 | 8.25.21

When I began attending songwriting workshops, I felt slightly annoyed by the emphasis on being “satisfied” with our own songs. Is this the best we could hope for when we all have big dreams? 

And then you learn that Spotify…

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Note by Note: Dear John or Jane | No. 35 | 8.18.21

What are your favorite sounds from childhood? (I’ll give you a minute to ponder….) 

My top picks include listening to my mom play piano downstairs as we fell asleep, the school librarian reading us another chapter, Stevie Wonder singing as…

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Note by Note: Prairie Wind | No. 34 | 8.11.21

“Dr. Wilson (note: her husband) has determined to go to California. I am going with him as there is no other alternative…Oh, my dear mother…I thought I felt bad when I wrote you from Independence, but it is nothing like

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Note by Note: Not Enough Time | No. 33 | 8.6.21

 

 

“Don’t live the same year 75 times and call it a life.” ~Robin Sharma 

Next to love—or the loss of it—time might be the most popular song topic. Consider “Time After Time”, “Time is On My Side”, “Back in Time”…

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Note by Note: Courage Walks Alongside| No. 32 | 7.23.21

“Life shrinks or expands proportional to one’s courage.“  ~Anais Nin 

I once heard that our most vivid childhood memories involve loss. The deepest mark is often left by discomfort or pain. 

Revisiting my own childhood brought back two such scenarios…

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