The Octave has such a sweet and distinct tone chimed and picked. I really love how the nylon guitar compliments your playing. A sweet song my friend. Thank you for trusting me with it.

Delightful!! Beautifully played! Lovely sound quality!

A wonderful piece of musical poetry gentlemen. Very relaxing and enjoyable to listen to. ;)

Words are hard to come by in describing what this man meant to me.  The photo is worth a thousand words capturing his charm and personality. We began our musical pilgrimage together as bandmates at Prince of Peace Lutheran Church in Amarillo, TX.  He was a bit shy, entirely unsure of himself as a mandolin player, but with encouragement and practice his playing began to bloom.  We started to do brief offertories and then expanded that music into some of the tracks presented here which have been updated as noted. 
He noticed a lump on the side of his neck two years ago which became uncomfortable to the touch and started to interfere with swallowing.  He was not a smoker, but a biopsy revealed a squamous cell carcinoma.  He valiantly fought the disease with the best treatments available but succumbed to it July 17, 2023. He leaves behind a loving family, a legacy of faith and faithfulness to his Lord, and his love of music celebrated with these collaborations I was honored to create with him.  Rest in peace dear friend until we meet again at His appearing.

Pat Howell--mandolinist, and good friend--A Memorial Retrospective

Who doesn't know "Limelight" by Gina Dee? It inspired me mightily. Long time ago, but was really the best time back then :)

Honey & Pepper

Happy Spring, Summer, Winter, Fall… it just so happens that it is Spring here. Snow is melting then refreezing at night, forming some nice ice sheets, that I slip on if I am not paying attention. So I was sitting outside, the other day, a couple feet from this rabbit hiding in the rock garden, (social distancing) and both of us were soaking up the warm rays of the sun. That warmth felt good, after a long, dark winter, and it cheered me up for a second or two. Later, I planted a pot with some leek seed inside by the window, and laughed at myself as I was envisioning these beautiful, thick leeks, while dreaming of potato-leek soup. Usually, they don’t grow all that big, after I transplant them out in the garden, and I tend to let them go to seed, so I’ll have more seed to plant. Maybe this year though? Robins are back and staking out their territories in the yard. There are usually 5 or so Robin pairs nesting in the yard at any one time. I wonder if the pair who build a nest on the stop step of my step ladder will return, or the pair that builds a nest on top of a tire, on an old truck in my neighbor’s yard. That pair has nested under the truck for several years now. I am hoping to get outside more this year into the mountains, before I get too old to do so. I make it a habit to talk with as many old people as I can, to ask them about their lives and how aging is going for them. This one wiry old dude mentioned by the time he hit is mid seventies, hiking became a chore. He lives a solitary life like me, so I like talking with him, although he can only tolerate so much conversation at any one time, and heads off somewhere else. I laugh and realize he is more cranky than me. Well this is not really a song… more of a poetic story with some backing guitar. The lyrical phrases didn’t lend themselves to singing it. I created it after I had a powerful dream about my past and it centered on my relationship with a wild woman. This all happened about two and a half decades ago. When the woman, Sarah, (not her real name) and I went on a little journey, we passed by this cottage on a hillside in the country. I was in a dreamy state of mind (hee-hee) and mentioned to her: that looks exactly like the house we will live in one day. Some things are best kept to oneself no matter how one feels about it. She already adored me, and what I said, I meant, but didn’t quite grasp how she would take it. She was skipping along on her tippy toes for the rest of the day, and I felt like I may have overstepped, in stating my affection for her. Obviously, I still care for her, even though I haven’t seen or thought about her in a very long time. I hope she is well, as we both struggled with our own stuff way back when. I dream like an old dog now, mostly about my younger days. And the dreams are vivid in the sense of being enchanted with my experiences and how I felt about them, and they are also tinged with my present perspective. I write them down, whenever they are of significance and have about a hundred pages. If I can muster the time and energy, I will write another novel about all those dreams. But until then, I hope you enjoy this preview, in the form of a short poetic story. Thanks for dropping by, Mark

Lammbone's Album

Broken Winged Angels

March is a month of contrasts, especially on the High plains, and really anywhere in the Midwest and Southern states.  Sometimes after lamb-like weather, a lion of a storm system can form bringing a blizzard to the Front Range from Denver to Cheyenne and tornados to within a few miles of Amarillo.  Pat and I try to put a little of March's moodiness into music first inspired by his mandolin musings that also inspired an earlier track "The Return".

The Lamb And The Lion (Pat Howell; Mandolin, David Dunham; Guitars

Back to the over-the-top lead tone on my Duesenberg guitar for this track... well, it works for me!  ; )

Nasty Little Thing (Can You Hear Laughter?)

An Episode

What Drives You?

What started as a little rambling ditty on my octave mandolin, was turned into fuller, more meaningful ditty thanks to my friend & musical cohort David Dunham (@david-dunhamuser589535203). Visit his page and hear what this truly gifted musician has to share.
Thanks Dave for all your help and support!!

Now & Again

electro flow .... with extended flute improvisation :-) easy listening

funky flute

Another fun project with my dear friend Feddo.
Artwork: Enrique Lopez Garre

Desert Moon

Time is short
The desert sand (the joys abound)
Each grain has memories yet to have been found
Stubborn grit
Irritates the eye (the grain to die)
I'm making my run to launch and to fly

Cigar lit
Like in the film (from birth to doom)
I've been dreaming this existence since the womb
Catch the speed
Feel the shot (like time forgot)
I cannot believe that's really all you've got

CHORUS
In a world where life has frozen firm
Beneath the setting sun
I sit and ponder what a person I have gone and become
Beware the outlaws gun

Crumpled poster
Saying dead or alive (with violence rife)
Hold my hand up in surrender - I lived a good life

CHORUS

Beneath the Setting Sun

Big experimental tune with lots of effects and crazy synth & bass & guitar playing, well I thinks its playing Lol
Not for the weary hearted.
Enjoy, Maybe, Lol

Snow Blind - Con - Fusion

let it flow...this is the next phase of music as we head though into the summer..ebb and flow and themes and dreams of why we are here and where we are going ..we need a great spiritual awakening,a chance to dance and look again at the cosmos and find out who we are...vibe onward

FLOW  [a Purpose For Longtivity]

Collaborated with my good friend and band mate Pat Howell on mandolin to compose this uplifting tune. We first played it as an offertory at church but wanted to do more with it in a studio setting. We like the results and hope you do too. Named in honor of Pat's new puppy, now a very energetic dog:)

Willow Skye (with Pat Howell, mandolin) Updated Mix 3/14/23

Both Pat and I are blessed to have daughters. So when he came to me with this musical idea in honor of his daughter, I was quick to get on board. We originally released the tune (an Irish reel of sorts) as a church offertory, but decided to make a more formal recording, and now with an added second guitar part that Pat loved when we reprised it as offertory in honor of his daughter's homecoming from college for Thanksgiving.

Of Fathers and Daughters-- with Pat Howell, Mandolin (Revised and Updated 11/22/21)

Some clear sky and fresh air for those who have to shelter in place. I floated this tune (pun intended) by my band mate Pat on mandolin and he was quick to compose a part that added a real sense of open sky to my pickings. Hope you enjoy this seafaring shanty.  
With Pat's passing I wanted to post this song with a modified intro--a little ditty he loved to play "The Irish Washer Woman".  
I came across the poem "Sea Fever" by John Masefield. The feel of the song fits the poem, but composer John Ireland does it much greater justice.

Sea Fever
By John Masefield
I must go down to the seas again, to the lonely sea and the sky,
And all I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by;
And the wheel’s kick and the wind’s song and the white sail’s shaking,
And a grey mist on the sea’s face, and a grey dawn breaking.
 I must go down to the seas again, for the call of the running tide
Is a wild call and a clear call that may not be denied;
And all I ask is a windy day with the white clouds flying,
And the flung spray and the blown spume, and the sea-gulls crying.
 I must go down to the seas again, to the vagrant gypsy life,
To the gull’s way and the whale’s way where the wind’s like a whetted knife;
And all I ask is a merry yarn from a laughing fellow-rover,
And quiet sleep and a sweet dream when the long trick’s over.

Hoist The Main Sails (updated with new intro and outro 7/23/23)

My good friend and bandmate Pat Howell shared some of his mandolin musings and ramblings to see what I could make of them. My excitement grew as the production evolved with each "return" to the three note sequence on the mandolin.  As you journey, may all your returns be safe and joyful.

The Return (Pat Howell-mandolin, David Dunham-guitar)

I am a finger-style guitarist living on the Texas high plains.  At the core of my music is melody that is inspired and informed by my Christian faith, family, friends, and countless influences through the years from the great composers, to jazz, folk, rock, Latin, Celtic, and the many fine musicians I have come to love on the Cloud, some I have been privileged to collaborate with.  Thanks for stopping by to have a listen. Comments are always welcome. Feel free to click on the picture of any track to learn more about it.

Now & Again

Patrick Howell

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