It's been a nutty year. Looking back on it is like looking down into a swamp that's so dense with biodiversity that it's hard to tell what exactly it's made of. The individual events are hard to remember because there were so many that were so heavy. Layers of decaying plant matter that smell really bad but create a wealth of nutrients for... our imaginations, I guess?
To be clear, I'm really speaking about the state of our country and world, not as much about my own life. My life is pretty damn good. My parents had health scares but they're doing really well now, under the circumstances. My band had great opportunities and creatively fertile experiences. The times are just interesting, and not always in the good way.
Interesting times make for great art, though, and I'm grateful to have been inspired by so much music, film, television, and literature this year. My own creative brain goo has been poured into what will become Progger's fourth album, "Dystopia," which will be released on Ropeadope Records this coming March. Progger had a remarkable year in a lot of ways: we made a record, we went to several new cities, including my hometown of Albuquerque, and we got to open for some of our heroes, George Clinton and Parliament-Funkadelic. We had a blast in Montreal and Toronto, stayed with friends in Cincinnati, hung with My Morning Jacket in Louisville, played for a bunch of old-school prog rock fans in Chicago (at the amazingly-named Progtoberfest), and spent some quality time in our binary home-bases of Austin and New York.
2018 is going to bring some exciting things, too. We'll be playing some new festivals, releasing new videos, cranking that new Ropeadope release out, and undoubtedly getting into some road shenanigans while finding new sounds to get excited about.
But 2017 isn't done yet and I have a few more public shows that I'm excited about. Here they are.
Dec 11: with Progger at Rockwood Stage 1, NYC! 10pm set. Right after Ryan Scott and before Nicky Barbato. Gonna be shredtastic.
Dec 18: with the Ross Pederson Electric Jazz Romance Explosion at the 55 Bar in Manhattan! Late set. Julian Pollack, Dave Cook, Sam Minaie, Ross Pederson, and yours truly.
Dec 19: with Mente Clara at Silvana in Harlem! Brazilian jams for dat booty.
