The Perfect Song

Every now and then, we find ourselves in jams that are so much fun that we stay in them for hours. The weather’s great, you have a compatible bunch of pickers, the perfect mix of instruments, and a blissful vibe. These kind of jams can’t be planned or concocted....

The Persuasive Arts

I’m one of those nutjobs who enjoys band practice. I really do! This goes way back to my earliest days in a rock band, when we were all novices and it was just miraculous how putting some time in together can smooth some of the bumps in a band’s sound and allow them...

The Pickup Line

I’m considering buying a guitar and a mandolin with pickups. Jeanie and I often drag our instruments around as we travel around the state and beyond, and we find open mics or some kind of music showcase at a restaurant, bar, or café. We’ve learned that most of these...

The Pictures I Didn’t Take

(Editor’s Note–Here’s one of my favorite archival offerings from Nancy Zuniga.  It goes all the way back to 2007, yet sounds like she could have written it yesterday.  Yes, we’re running another oldie today.  In case I...

The Pictures I Didn’t Take

Anyone who knows me, knows that I take pictures…and lots of them. I have no training in the art of photography, and don’t know an aperture from an F-stop. But I love pointing and clicking and trying to capture something that might, years later, help to recall...

The Pioneers (and the Settlers)

When I was a younger (read: thinner) man, one of the hobbies I enjoyed was spelunking. If you don’t know the word already, spelunking is cave exploring as a hobby (as an avocation the same activity is speleology). I liked the tight spaces, the darkness, the chaotic...