This instrumental came to me when thinking about sunrise over a lake. The lake I had in mind was Two Island Lake, up in northern Minnesota. Our family camped there a lot. One morning, I captured a picture of a thunderstorm just as the sun poked over the horizon. The photo catches all the shades…

I spent part of my childhood in Peoria, Illinois, which was then a heavily industrialized town. I’ve read recently that whole neighborhoods there are abandoned, similar to Detroit, as populations decline following deindustrialization. While all those heavy manufacturing plants had their problems, I can’t help but feel some sorrow for those large tracts of abandoned…

This is a blues song. Everyone gets in a bad mood once in a while. I tried to create a song that resonated with this kind of feeling. I think it’s difficult to actually convey an emotional state, so this song kind of circles it, with the lyrics and the general tone of the music.…

I’ve never been a farmer, nor did I grow up on a farm. I did grow up near them and some of my best friends growing up were farmer’s kids. I always thought I would have liked being a farmer. I don’t mind the hard work and there is a connection to nature and an…

In terms of a style, I suppose this is a blues song. It’s about a young musician who has gotten a chance to go out to do some limited touring, but the person’s partner is not keen on the idea and doesn’t believe they have a chance of succeeding in the musical world. That’s the…

Sometimes you do a song just to entertain yourself! With this song, I did not have to worry about writing lyrics, or singing, or any of that stuff that gives the song meaning. Instead, I just had a lot of fun with an upbeat instrumental. I am not sure what style this is in, which…

This is a quiet song, kind of a folk song, that slowly builds. It does this musically and also in terms of the lyrics. It’s a simple offer of support and trust in a relationship and becomes almost a statement of core values by the end. Pretty big stuff for a very simple song, but…

I am not sure how I came up with this song. I have certainly never directly experienced something like this! I do have a relative who runs an auto parts store, and that was really my jumping off point. But I had fun making up the story. It really started as a short story and…

I am very happy to announce the release of a new album, News from Terra Mojo. This is a Blues album, but represents a variety of Blues styles. The album includes some songs that have been released as singles as well as some brand new material.  As usual, I’ve written all the songs and performed all the…

This is another blues song, in a minor key, which I love. I used a pretty stripped down guitar sound on this one, which makes any mistakes very apparent. The song is about thinking too much and how that isn’t always a good thing. And it’s about how stepping outside, even in winter, gives perspective.…