Saluda Grade

It’s not perfect but nothing ever is so why even mention that? Maybe because perfection, or the lack thereof, has haunted me for as long as I can remember. I never thought I was a perfectionist because I thought that meant that you always got everything perfect. I realized a perfectionist was someone who is never happy with what they’ve done so that was helpful to figure out. I mean , they’re just titles but they stick.

I got over that by finding out some salient and painful details about various things I loved and thought were “perfect”. Did you know Marvin Gaye couldn’t even listen to his records he thought he missed the mark so bad. That’s apocryphal and I’m paraphrasing but my point remains.

Figuring out the drum programming in Logic Pro enough to trick my own ears into finding the tracks listenable was a huge step.

I also think it’s worth noting that through all of my roadblocks, self-perceived or otherwise, the number one deterrent to my making better music and to making more of it has been my own laziness, apprehension and fear. There is a craft to it like the one I’ve experienced in writing that you can only truly hone by putting in the hours on a consistent basis. Nothing else rewards the creator as much.

But those are best laid plans as they say and we all know what life will do to you when you’re trying to make something out of nothing: wicked fates, God’s sense of humor, that ol’ sonofabitch irony. So this has taken longer than I ever imagined. But it all feels so good I don’t care how long it takes.

And there’s so much more coming. This record was the only thing stopping the headwaters from bursting down the mountain into all the alleys, galleys, and valleys.

Bellevue, bless her heart, is 98% complete and up for free on Bandcamp. Mastering next week and assimilating as data on all the digital streamers sometime in April.

If you’ve made it this far, I praise, thank and love you.

Stay alive.