This is my favorite photo of Pete and Maura Kennedy (www.kennedysmusic.com). I took it at the 2004 Summer Acoustic Music Week. They have been wonderful and inspiring teachers. For a full resolution (2.2Meg) version of the photo, click here.

This page contains some of the newest songs that I have written and roughly recorded. 

Green Team was written for a bridal shower at work for Kristen LaChance, to the tune of "Green Green". Kristen works on the Green Team.

Delaney's Reel is a tune that got stuck in my head. I had to record it so I could move on.

Island Love for Jen and Kevin's wedding shower. lyrics.

Barry's Smile for Barry Spiro's 60th Birthday. lyrics.

Fired Up! I'm calling this a co-write with Edith Childs and Barack Obama. This is a real rough recording.

I WISH YOU WOULD STOP SINGING. Joined by Kathy Danielson and Tom Maynard, I honored the SAMW community with a parody of "How Can I Keep From Singing", which I learned years back from Pete Seeger. I was blessed that the audience was willing to not refrain from singing the refrain. Here's a recording and the lyrics.

The Song Goes On Forever--a real rough recording of a very new song using "synthetic instruments".

Drill Baby Drill. This was inspired by the 2008 Republican National Convention. Kind of makes me want the gas prices to go up again.

You Cannot Control the Wind. A real rough recording. This was inspired by a plaque in Persy's restaurant in Plymouth, MA.

To Sleep To Dream. This was the second version of an attemp to write a "mostly chorus" song, inspred by Cliff Eberhardt's "Your Face".

 This song has been greatly improved by some skillful editing by Noel Morris, so it's now a co-write. Thank you Noel! Hopefully this song speaks for itself. It's an attempt to connect with my Irish ancesters.

Bhopal--Shadows of Death (On the Evening News CD)This song began in the Penny Nichols songwriting class at Week 2 SAMW 2007. It was inspired by a wrought iron sculpture of two figures holding hands and their shadows on the ground. It was made to raise money for the survivors of the Union Carbide Bhopal, India disaster.

This was directly inspired by a dream. So, thank you to The Kennedys for helping me mine my dreams for song material. The band is courtesy of "Band in a Box".

Old Wooden Chair (On the Evening News CD)This song is an homage to the old wooden chair that disassembled beneath me at breakfast at SAMW in August, and of course, to SAMW and all my friends I've met there.

This song goes out with a thank-you to The Kennedys. They helped me dream and this song's title, chord progression, and song style (bluegrass) came to me in a dream on 8/21/07. This rough recording is performed by my friends at "Band in a Box", except for the vocal and mandolin.

I'm calling this a co-write with Bob Franke (www.bobfranke.com) and Pete and Maura Kennedy (www.kennedysmusic.com) because it takes some lyrics and thoughts from The Kennedy's song "Stand", and sets it to the tune of Bob Franke's "Thanksgiving Eve". It's a tribute to Pete and Maura, Bob, Dick Pleasants, Bennett and Lorraine Hammond, all the SAMW instructors, students, and my music friends. The recording is from Week 2 of SAMW 2007. 

 This is very rough. It is inspired by a Harriet Tubman quote. I'm posting it here as part of the SongADay2007 challenge.

This was written for MF Daisy (www.SalonSunday.com) on the occasion of the final Salon Sunday. MF has had a significant impact on my music the last few years.

 This was written for Bill Andruchow's retirement party, It really captures his style. We will miss him.

Another Knock on the Door (On the Evening News CD)Hopefully this song needs no explanation. It was inspired by a story on NPR.

The following songs were inspired, or finished up, during a song-writing class with Pete and Maura Kennedy:

I have yet to pull off a lucid dream. But at least I got this song from the process of attempting to dream lucidly.

Co-write with Maura Kennedy. This was inspired by a dream that Maura Kennedy had. Then I came up with a lot of the song during a directed meditation that Maura led. The phrase “resisting a cough” came from Maura’s dream.

This was such a powerful title that it took two tries to come up with a song that had a hope of living up to the title.

Inspired by a story Chris Pahud told me about his daughter Emily and how she was sewing to put herself through college.

Here's a song from 2006: 

 New "studio" version, recorded March 2007.

(Recorded at the August 2006 Summer Acoustic Music Week with "two Johns"...John Kirk and Jack Murray.)