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Lock your doors, close your blinds, and put on your tinfoil hat.

They're coming to get you!

I joined Lucy Steigerwald of The Stag Blog along with a panel of, er, fellow conspiracy theory enthusiasts for a chat about secret societies, the government, aliens, cryptids, and everything else that may or may not be out to get you. Watch it, if you dare.

Our chat – my second time on Politics for People Who Hate Politics – reminded me of my old song about aliens and paranoia, “the alien.” Knowing it was only a matter of time before the Men in Black get me, I decided it was time to give it a proper release. Well, that and I’ve been a horrible slacker when it comes to Patreon.

On April 21 I released my third patron-supported rushmore beekeepers song, “a good impression.” It was a quiet song when I wrote it but somehow turned into a rock song with electric guitar, drums and everything. (Well, electric guitar, bass and drums. So not everything, technically.) Read more and find out what book I still haven’t read on the Patreon creation page.

i used to be afraid of seeing ghosts
but now i wish i could
there are people i’d like to see again
and you, yeah you, yeah you, are one of them

i still have the book you said was your favorite
the last time we got together
i still can’t bear to open it up
but i promise i will, i will, i will read it someday

never know when you’ll get a bad news phone call
never know when your days will end
i just hope to leave a good impression
and you, yeah you, yeah you, you know i love you

Here’s a new song! I recorded this with one microphone in a hallway, taking advantage of the natural acoustics. As a fun compare and contrast exercise, I’ll be re-recording this song sometime in March with more of an electric full band sound. Doesn’t that sound like fun?

the highway stretches out further than i can see
with a choice of direction and everything waiting for me
taking in every sight i can
and hoping you are seeing the same things i am

there are times i don’t notice the details that surround me
other times i find i’m amazed by almost everything
like the feel of the road when i’m driving too slow
or how friendly people can be when they say “hello”
the crunch of leaves and dry grass under my feet
or the effortless way you look at me

some days i don’t leave my house and i’m perfectly happy
some days i can’t stand it, i’ll go crazy if i don’t leave
i need you so bad sometimes it hurts
but saying things like that just makes it worse

Two weeks ago I started my Patreon project and realized that if I told people I was going to write some songs, I should write some songs. This level of accountability helped me complete 52 of 28. Inspiration hit me late that night, so I pulled out my guitar and played around with this melody until the words started flowing. Reassembling my home studio, Dirt to Mud, after a long period of neglect, I recorded vocals, two guitar tracks, octave mandolin, harmonica, and harmonium.

to get to where i’m going i’m gonna need a thick pair of boots
because i don’t know if it’ll be cold, it might rain or even snow
to get to where i’m going i guess i’d better read the news
because i don’t know what happened today and i know i’ll need something to say

to tell you how i feel, i’m gonna need some christmas lights
wrapped around a hundred trees, the lightest rain and the softest breeze
to tell you how i feel, i’m gonna need a few more songs
wrapped around this old guitar and sung kinda poorly to wherever you are

to get to where i’m going, i may need a map or two
i’ll follow the trail wherever it goes, till i find myself on the right road
to get to where i’m going, i may need to get some rest
when i fall asleep will i dream and find in my mind some deeper meaning