April 30, 2023
There are a few times during the year when I just have to hang on for dear life and plow through my schedule with no hope of writing or communicating with you. This is the worst. It is the last week of classes at Le Moyne College. My students are preparing for their final recital - one week from today. All week there have been and will be the final concerts of the semester. All the while, work in the studio must continue on pace. So, BIG apologies for a tremendous lack of communication this past month. There will be an explosion of communiques going out as we enter May and the glorious days of summer. So hang on.
A little later today we will be celebrating our little Vega’s birthday. It is number four. A dance party. What else would you expect from her? She and her sister are really into dance and music. Lyra is learning to play the piano from this old man. Too much fun. You should know that - as busy as I am at this advanced age, I consider my job to be a professional grandfather. That is job #1. Party on.
The MOVIE - We took The Artist and the Astronaut to IOWA this week. Sadly, Dubuque is suffering from flooding from the mighty Mississippi. We were able to get a couple of showings at the festival before the deluge. Our next screening will be in Stamford, Connecticut in a couple of weeks. Joann will be coming with me to the gala at the Stamford Museum and Nature Center. It’s a $500-a-plate affair. Black tie and gowns, baby! Then I will fly off to Arkansas for a screening at the Walton Art Center. No rest for the wicked.
The movie website is https://www.theartistandtheastronaut.com/ I’ll be working on that site with continued updates. Currently, I am designing a brochure and some other promotional pieces. It’s a weird area for me. Yes, I am an illustrator, but I never thought that I would be called upon to do this kind of design work. They say that new skills are the key to keeping your brain from turning to mush. So far, so good.
I don’t know how I am doing all of this but, I just finished up a few more pages in my 6th book in the Old Doc Turtle children’s book series. Here’s a couple of pages.
Brett and I are working on two albums right now, by two very dynamic women. Cheri Giraud has been killing it LIVE with her pianist, Dan Pugh. We’ll be recording the trio. She is unstoppable. And Lisa Levin is very near completion of her album, filled with original and very unique offerings.
There’s more, but I must run.
One casualty of the dreaded overbooked schedule is that I have no time to even think about playing music in public. No time for band rehearsals, no time to book a show, or even consider putting something on the schedule right now. This fills me with sorrow. I miss playing for you. I miss you.