Still Married
               

“I think she misses her people.” 

Those were the profound words of a friend. It was a few months after the Carr Fire and she was talking about Whiskeytown Lake. I had lamented that I’d been unable to visit…

It started with a cow.  A plain black cow in a neighbor’s pasture who ended up getting a Spring makeover when I painted her picture in bright, joyful pinks and blues and yellows. I called the painting “Fancy Mood.” 

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For many years, I've organized a North State Songwriter Showcase at Redding City Hall for the quarterly Artist Receptions. The two mediums seem quite complementary: Original music pairs perfectly with visual art created right here in…

I wrote The Turf o' Tullamore a few years ago, but I recently revisited it to correct ONE, small grammatical error. And I ended up rewriting the whole darn thing. The best-laid schemes o' mice, an' men,  an' songwriters, I…

After Whiskeytown Park burned, I spent a lot of time with my watercolors and my memories, trying — with varying degrees of success — to process the loss and create pictures that capture the beauty and the joyful spirit of…

Whiskeytown Park is one of my favorite places on this planet - just minutes from downtown Redding, it has been my escape, my peaceful place to run, hike and explore. We moved to Shasta County a little more than 20…

A little more than a year ago a group of people gathered at Redding's Old City Hall in hopes of getting a California Cultural District designation for Redding. It was a long shot, there were a lot of…

I'm now six months alcohol-free -- so it's  time to have some Fun with Songwriting.

Honestly, the ONLY thing I miss about drinking is the convivial atmosphere at our local tap house. I felt bad about leaving the…

Who's telling the story? That's the first question I consider when I begin writing a new song. For this tune, the storyteller is a business owner -- a business owner who is frustrated, angry and disappointed by the homeless situation…

Lester and Wilbur, those beautiful, ornery beasts who were vandalized a few months ago will be rebuilt by artist Joel Dean Stockdill -- fundraising efforts are underway at this website: Learn how you can help Lester and Wilbur

Meanwhile…

Lester and Wilbur just appeared one day - in south Redding just east of I5. Two giant bighorn sheep - they brightened up the morning commute and it turns out they were created by artist Joel Stockdill…

The hike to the falls makes Banjo smile

These spectacular falls were known only to a few locals for 37 years - then in 2004, they were re-discovered and opened to the public. "The Lost Falls of Whiskeytown"…