One evening during the fall of 2020, my wife said she thought I had a calm & reassuring voice. I'd begun playing my guitar more regularly during the COVID lockdown phase, & it struck me that I ought to write a song from that voice. Next morning, sipping some coffee, this little tune just popped right out.

Lighthearted Lockdown Blues

One time, as a young man, I took LSD by myself & spent the evening fantasizing that Robert Frost had come to visit me & teach me about writing poetry. He gave me the assignment to re-write his famous poem The Road Not Taken. The story's really not very exciting after that. The next morning, my brain felt like a useless elastic waistband that couldn't stretch anymore & I had this poem to show for it. That was over 25 years ago. Now that I have a hobby of producing musical recordings, seemed like it might be fun to try & bring some of the old poems back to life.

The Taken Road

The Taken Road (with Robert Frost)

Nothing special here, just an old letter to Tania.

the way to the sea

I go in & out of being a tea freak. I'm a guy who orders his own bulk herbs & then makes his own tea blends. I believe in the power of these plants. Health, recovery, enhanced physical & mental performance. Over the years, I've made all kinds of tea mixtures for all kinds of purposes. I wrote this poem when I was initially entering my first tea obsession, & it's never failed to resonate with notes of truth.

TEA:

A friend of mine gave me a ticket to a show in Iowa City back in the late 90s. She couldn't make it, I was packing to move, I'd never heard of the guy, & I didn't really care, but... I got tired of packing so I walked downtown to take a break & have a few beers & listen to this fellow who called himself Paul K. I didn't know anyone at the club, so I just sat down & paid attention & the guy started telling a story about how he was passing through town after attending a wake in Nashville for a guy named Townes Van Zandt, who'd just died. I'd never heard of him either. Then he played two of Townes' songs, this being one of them. My life changed in that instant. I thought to myself, "Wow! This is the kind of music I've been looking for..." When I got to Santa Fe, New Mexico a few weeks later, I bought my first Townes record & have been trying to play his songs ever since.

Our Mother The Mountain

Our Mother The Mountain (Townes Van Zandt cover)

At some point, my wife couldn't abide by the constraints of a measly two-foot by three-foot whiteboard anymore and started taking the dry erase markers to every available space. First appliances, like the fridge & the washer & dryer. The bathroom mirror. Then glossy painted surfaces like doors & trim. She hasn't started writing on the actual walls yet, but I'm sure she's close, & in any case she's done enough to inspire this song;-)

Dry Erase

This one is a mystery to me. An old scrap of writing whose origin I can't recall & a guitar sequence I like but haven't fit into a song yet. Just seemed like they might want to hang out together while I pay attention to some other things...?

where I forgot I had been

Lungs

Lungs (Townes Van Zandt cover)

I sat down to work on some other stuff... a new original song I haven't tried to record yet, a traditional tune I've started playing harmonica with, but my mind kept wandering, until finally I landed on wanting to play Nothin'. & since I was all set up, I figured I might as well hit the 'Record' button. I don't play it like Townes, & I don't know if the verses are in the right order, but I've loved this song for so long & it was just ready to come out. Like this...

Nothin'

Nothin' (Townes Van Zandt cover)

Back in the summer of 2004, my wife Amanda & I were living in a barn in Vermont when our son Cale was born. Shortly thereafter, we got a care package in the mail from my grandma Lorraine Krumm with a note that was both very amusing & incessantly thought provoking. Her box contained a pack of beef snacks & a hand-written note that said "Here's a snack to keep you going, because you can't live off Love forever." The romantic contrarian in me has always maintained a small hold on the notion that perhaps suspended purely in a state of Universal Love, one could survive indefinitely without food, nourished by the air, the sunshine, &, of course the Love. But another part of me acknowledges the naive idealism of such thoughts & regards my Grandmother as infinitely wise. In the end, of course, simply having experienced such a poignant moment that has always caused me to question this topic was an immense & life-enriching gift in itself.

Love Alone

Just haven't been able to get enough of this song lately, so thought I'd give a shot at recording it. Kinda ended up with more of a low-&-slow Grunginess than a sprightly Folkish sense, but I think that suits me fine. Maybe I needta get a drummer;-?

Ballad Of Hollis Brown

Ballad Of Hollis Brown (Bob Dylan cover)

I heard Guy Clark's song "Dublin Blues" one day & it occurred to me that I, too, often fantasize about being back at a bar a long ways away from times past, so... figured I'd write a song about it. Also my first time back in the studio for a while, so just trying to get my recording chops back with some new equipment upgrades.

Point of No Return

One night when my wife was away helping to care for her mother shortly before she passed away, I decided to put on some headphones & listen to Dylan's poem "Last Thoughts on Woody Guthrie" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qnWXunQhLXY on repeat for awhile. I was washing dishes, doing laundry, guzzling beer, & after an hour or two, I decided I'd stop & just write down whatever popped into my head. Now a couple years later, here's the song those words became. Visit YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lNLOHFzRfjI to see me perform a live rendition.

Whoever You Are

Just re-worked into fingerpicking style for ongoing album project...

Movin' On My Own

In the aftermath of the July 2023 flood here, the lingering wetness in the woods caused much of the ground & trees to be covered in all kinds of vibrant, bright green growth. The Earth was, literally, "going green", & that inspired this song.

Viridescent Fog

Bump & Grind

Caulk Talk

Moonshiner

Dust of the Chase

Coo Coo Bird

The Weeping Song

Crossett's Blues

Unmet Desire

Rake

Rake (live) [Townes Van Zandt cover]

Big Country Blues

21st century fun: heard this song on SoundCloud & it got stuck in my head so I turned on my phone & recorded myself trying to play it. Only weird thing is that sometimes I'd absentmindedly find myself singing "heart & soul" in place of "dark & cold". In the end, I sent the recording to the dude who wrote the song & he said "Cool! Do what you want..." so here it is.

Thrives in the Cold

Thrives In The Cold (Carl Arseneault/NewStrings cover)

"The real appeal of these 10 songs is in the stories... His lyrics showcase poetic wordplay, as well as an occasional foray into the absurd." Chris Farnsworth, music reviewer for Seven Days, regarding Bonji's debut solo album Telling Secrets.

Bonji

Pinned to spotlight

Popular tracks