Springtime - Rebirth and Renewal

Springtime - Rebirth and Renewal

My season of repairs is giving way to a springtime of music-making.  As with spring, it’s starting slowly and gathering momentum.  As of December, my energy returned to 100 percent.  My arm has been getting stronger, and I am now back to playing the guitar with much the same energy and skill that I had before Everything Went Sideways.  I’ve even added a few new chops, and I’m working as always to expand what I can do.  

So to celebrate, I’ve scheduled my first solo streaming concert in more than a year, for Friday, April 23, at 7:30pm Eastern.  It’s on Zoom, because I’d like to be able to see your faces and hear your voices and/or applause.  We’ll also take a little time afterwards for conversation, for those who want to stay for that.  

I’d love it if you could make it.  For more information, and to reserve a seat and make a donation, go here:  
https://april23patwictor.eventbrite.com

I’m eager to share several new (unrecorded) songs, and I’ll reprise a few old favorites as well.

Spring is the time of nature’s rebirth and renewal, and I’m undergoing a version of that too.  As late as November, I couldn’t clap my hands without experiencing pain in my arm.  I couldn’t play the guitar for more than a few minutes at a time.  I’m now back to clapping my hands when and how I want to, playing the guitar however much I want to, and making music without worry of physical pain and limitation.   It was a long winter, but spring is here.

And our world is in another kind of springtime, as we can see the beginning of the end of this pandemic.  We can see it, but we’re not there yet.  As I’ve taken to saying, it’s not over until it’s over for everyone.  My 2nd vaccination is scheduled for April 24.  The months ahead are going to be murky.  Some of you may wonder:  should I go to live music events, or not?  Under what circumstances?  I’m asking the same questions about performing.  I’m carefully adding dates to my calendar later this year.  But I know that the particular circumstances matter a great deal, and can rapidly change.  May you stay healthy, keep observing good public health measures, and may we all eventually reunite (safely!!) over live music.
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Ears and Eyes:  What I’m Listening to, Reading, and Watching

Listening:

Nick Drake, Five Leaves Left  https://tinyurl.com/cjyk8u7w
Big Joe Williams, Classic Delta Blues  https://tinyurl.com/hu56txed
Unit Wail, Pangaea Proxima  https://unitwail.bandcamp.com/album/pangaea-proxima-remaster-2016

Reading:

Rodney Jones, Salvation Blues: One Hundred Poems, 1985-2005  https://tinyurl.com/y373ctz7
Andrea Tova Wang, The Politics of Voter Suppression  https://tinyurl.com/4dz643nw

Watching:
Ted Lasso.  (Watch it. The perfect antidote to cynicism.) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3u7EIiohs6U