If you guessed me, you’re right. In just a few shorts weeks I’ll be takin’ several songs, a number of Texas’ finest musicians, a bunch of masks, and a very large vat of hand sanitizer with me into a top-secret location here in Austin. Me and the fellas are gonna make some new music for you. I’m super excited about this.
On the downside, I’ve realized that I’m going to need to take a little hiatus from Roxi’s ‘Rona Restorative for a while so I can focus on everything that goes into bringing new songs to life, like finishing up the full-band arrangements, writing out charts for my crew and leading rehearsals. BUT. I’m not going to leave you hanging. I’m hoping the following will help tide you over until the new music comes out:
1) I spent some time recording harmonies in my bedroom closet for a collaboration with a bunch of talented Milwaukee musicians (both current and former) called ‘Milwaukee Strong’. Nearly 40 creatives with Brew City ties contributed their time and talents to the song and the music video, and I think it turned out pretty neat. You can check it out at my Facebook page – it’s the very first post, pinned to the top.
2) I uploaded a couple solo videos of two songs I wrote earlier this summer to my youtube page: I Come From Crazy and Daddy Don’t Do Politics. If, like me, you have one or more crazy relatives, you might enjoy I Come From Crazy. (Admit it; you do. And if you’re really convinced there are no crazy people in your family, then it’s probably you that’s the crazy one. Sorry.) If your politics lean somewhat left of center, then you’ll probably enjoy Daddy Don’t Do Politics. If they don’t, maybe don’t watch that one, maybe google ‘pics of cute puppies’ instead or something, I dunno.
3) Past episodes of Roxi’s ‘Rona Restorative (all 6 of ’em) are up for your viewing pleasure here on my website.
Ok! I think that’s about it for now. Don’t forget to take some time for your mental health – get some sleep, talk with friends, get outside. Speaking of things that are good for your mental health – Scott and I took a road trip to do some hiking in Colorado and Utah last month. The first of the smaller pics above is of an alpine lake we ran across in the Rocky Mountains (isn’t it purdy?) The second is of me and my little brother Ian after we summited our very first 14er (I’ve heard that’s what the kids are calling mountains over 14,000 feet these days) – Mt. Bierstadt. Some of y’all in Iowa might remember seeing Ian join me on bass from time to time. More pics (and a close-up video of a mountain goat!) over on my Instagram.
Whoops, almost forgot – remember how I told you back in June that I was one of five finalists in the Corpus Christi Spring Songwriting Contest? They announced recently that my song ‘Bad Decision’ placed 3rd (see nifty graphic at the top of this email). Apparently the top three songs for each contest are collected as Nominees for the Songwriter of the Year award at the Annual Corpus Christi Songwriters’ Festival in 2021. Makin’ some friends in the Texas songwriting community (as a former Yankee, no less) – so yay!
Ok. That’s it for real now. Off to make you some new music!
cheers,
-Roxi