A few weeks ago while stuck in Munich for about 5 days awaiting a break in the ash cloud so I could fly back to Atlanta, I had a lot of time to contemplate things.  One thing I couldn't put my finger on was why I was so bothered by being in Munich a few extra days.  Obviously, I wanted to get home to see my family, but I knew that would happen eventually, even if I had to book a ticket on a transatlantic cruise :-)   I decided to sit down in the room one afternoon and really dig into what was bothering me -- sort of meditate on what I was feeling at the time and really try to pin down the source.  What I discovered really surprised me.

It just made no sense to me.  I was in a great city, had a nice hotel room in the historic center of Munich, was able to get to the Spring Festival, had friends keeping me company, but I was still really bothered by the flight cancellations.  What I finally came to understand was that I wasn't just stranded in Munich, I was stranded in my head.  Yes, of course, I was in Munich, but I had this expectation of what should be happening stuck firmly in my mind and that was causing all the anxiety.  Once I let go of that expectation and just went with the flow, things got better.

I began to think about how many folks must experience the same type of "strandedness", stuck with expectations of how things should be and afraid to fly in a new direction.  While the volcanic ash and the prevailing wind was keeping me from flying anywhere, it's the expectations I had and the fear of facing change that were really keeping me on the tarmac, so to speak.  Over the past two weeks a song has begun to take shape about facing change and uncertainty and not being afraid to look into the winds of change.  After all, a plane takes off easiest when facing into the wind.  Seems like that might apply to people, too...

Well, after getting temporarily stranded in Munich due to the volcanic ash cloud, and finally being able to spend some time getting back to work on the next CD over the past weekend, I decided it was time to start updating folks again after being silent the last few months (lacrosse season has totally distracted me).

Of all the places that I could have been stranded, Munich was one of the best places to be. I happened to be there during Fruhlingfest, which is the Spring equivalent of Oktoberfest. Smaller in scale, but no less interesting! There was also a flea market there with people from all over Europe "selling their rubbish", as one local put it, but I found a couple of really cool antique Soviet hats that are just too cool. I had to ship them from Germany, so hopefully they arrive soon.

My friends in Munich showed me a great time while I was there, keeping me occupied as much as possible; coffee in sidewalk cafes, celebrating Bayern Munich's soccer victory over Lyon, dining on exquisite Bavarian food, etc. I also took part of the weekend to walk all over the place seeing lots of historic buildings that I've only seen in pictures from the post-WWII era. It's quite amazing. I've been to Munich before but it is amazing every time.

I realize that it's been a while since anyone has heard anything new from me, musically. I have posted a new song on Facebook and MySpace called Bittersweet. I wrote this song last year and it will be on the next CD.  I hope you enjoy it!

I'm also returning to the stage in mid-May at Ragamuffin Music in Roswell, GA for a musical variety show of sorts.  I'll send out another note when more details are available.

Cheers!

Kevin

I have finished up the recording for the Museum CD and am working with a few folks on the artwork and packaging. In other words, it'll take me another couple of weeks. I've already started recording new material for the next CD which I hope to be able to complete in mid-2009.

To look out in that crowd and be able to pick out a couple of familiar faces was really cool. I sent an email out to my mailing list just over a day before the show and it felt great to see some of my long time supporters in the crowd. I can't thank you enough for continuing to support my musical efforts!

If you haven't see The Screaming Orphans, please check them out when they're playing near you. They are a lot of fun, quite talkative with lovely Irish accents and they are great musicians. I enjoyed everything they played, especially some of the traditional Irish music.

Thanks again to everyone who came out to the show last night. It was great to have such a huge crowd in the park!

I began to notice that a lot of my lyrical attempts were focusing on my anger about the loss and weren't really helping me move past things. I tried to turn things around and focus on the great relationship we had and how close we became as his time drew nearer. December of 1993 was the last lucid month of his life and we had conversations about life, death, good times and bad times -- I had never felt closer to him. Two months later, he was gone.

I don't think that I'll ever really completely "get over" this. I'm not sure anyone that loses someone ever really moves beyond the memories of a great relationship and the desire to have that back once again. I tried to capture all of the conflicting emotions of joy, sadness, gratefulness, disappointment and angst about that experience in this song. I hope I did it justice.

In early 2006 I had been to visit someone I knew that was in a hospice and when I entered the room, I saw his daughter talking with him. It was a stressed relationship and they were finally attempting to make things better before he was gone.

What struck me most was that they were both looking for something miraculous to happen. He was asking his daughter for forgiveness. She was wondering why her childhood was so difficult and never felt loved. The song is about the miracle of forgiveness and acceptance that I was able to witness that day.