Blog Posts

Long Walk Home

I’m drinking a beer on my deck looking up at the clouds thinking, ‘Where did the sky go?’ I thought I had a pretty good patch of sky reserved for myself. As New York goes, I guess I do. Some nights, when the light’s just right, I can even see a faint star or two.…
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Listen Through The Static

The signal to noise ratio in New York City, as I recall through the static haze of memory, is high. For every police siren, taxi horn, and chattering hipster back in the big city, there is a cricket’s chirp, a locust hum, or distant train’s call here in the heartland. Makes a guy think. Makes…
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What Are You Waiting For

I’m an hour late for the Wagner family reunion in Grundy Center, Iowa, and I’ve yet to wash last night’s show from my skin. This much I will say for now. There is a wave cresting here in Iowa. It’s a melodic, driven, and distorted din. It’s rooted deep in the great and rich soil.…
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Whole Lotta’ Love

My commute to the studio takes me from Ashby Street to 42d Street to Guthrie Avenue. Those are the facts. But I like to think it’s all serendipity. Hal Ashby directed some of the most heartfelt, oddball films of the 70s, including “Being There” (the working title of my last album, as it were) and…
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Do It Again

“When’s the last time we sucked that hard?” Jason asks. “Um,” I offer, “yesterday?” Jon chimes in, “Dude, I haven’t been to the point of playing whole notes in a long time.” In fact, last night’s Lenexa, Kansas show was right on: loud, loose, and a helluva’ lotta’ fun. Considering the way the band set…
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Now That I Found You

The worst rock show billing, or so they say, is second billing to the puppet show. The Nadas might argue otherwise. I’m in the driver’s seat of Louise, The Nadas tour bus, which is parked outside Des Moines University. The boys are playing a Welcome Back picnic. And they’re none too thrilled. I picked up…
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