Corona Spring

Hello all,

A monumental shift in the world over the last few weeks, I hope everyone is safe, well, coping with the new reality and weathering self-isolation.  It’s hard to find words except we’re all in the same boat and there will be an end to this.  Very important to heed the advice of doctors, epidemiologists and those in science.  Be alert to irresponsible claims and misinformation.

We’re alright here at home and began taking this very seriously about three weeks ago when we quit eating out in restaurants.  A week later I bailed on my gym, purchased some dumbbells, exercise ball and mat, resistance bands, etc. and crated a temp gym in our basement-rec-room.  In the plus column I can listen to records on the hi-fi while pushing the weights around.  Playlist?  Ben Webster, Gene Vincent, Johnny Smith, Webb Pierce, Eddie Heywood, to name just a few.  The usual sonic whiplash.  I’ve also been digging deeply into my 78 rpm records that I’ve collected since I was a teenager.  Currently leaning toward blues, gospel and r&b with the shellac.  Sonic soul food for the times.

Being confirmed introverts we’ve been training for this all our lives.  The coronavirus pandemic is epic but the isolation is not an inconvenience.  I alway have plenty to keep me busy… reading, writing, practising, cooking.  I appreciate every day.  One of the very first things we did was re-stock the bar.  Abundantly.  My new motto is:  drink up and stay home.  I think we have some food as well.  To that end, we’ve been cooking our asses off and eating like royalty.

I’d been making good headway on the new record until everything came to a screeching halt.  No matter, I’ve been writing in the meantime. and will pick things up again when all this in the rear view.

My final day prior to isolation I spent recording with guitar hero Robben Ford who will be producing an album for another artist in the coming months and has asked me to play on it.  The session I did with Robben was a ‘demo’ for  a couple of songs he’d written for the project.  Robben’s a wonderful guy and player, I’m very flattered to be involved with this upcoming project.  We’re scheduled for mid-May, though depending on how things are looking with corona, it might be postponed.

That’s about it for now.  Keep yourselves safe, heads up, hands washed and hearts open.

Cheers,

Richard