Blog
I Was Born on the Thumb of a Hitchhiker’s Curse, Part 1
When my parents named me after a hitchhiker they picked up in a blizzard somewhere between Wyoming and Nebraska, I don’t believe they had the intention that I become a hitchhiker myself. But that’s what happened. I became someone who flings his thumb into the road at...
Tom Cat the Owl Man Was My Cellmate
Before I was taken to my jail cell, the guards made me undress and put on ‘blues’. My new wardrobe. Criminal pajamas. Then one of them taunted me by loudly spitting out from over his desk, “Hope you don’t have claustrophobia!” I did have a fear of enclosed spaces and...
In the Middle of the Night, I Searched for Stories
In the middle of the night, I would wake up under a heavy, red blanket. I’d peer out into my dark, little room from high on my brass bed and survey the shadows on the walls. If there was nothing scary, I’d slide the blanket off my little body and prepare for...
It Was 20 Years Ago Today, the Night Watchmen Released “Lost in California”
Who were the Night Watchmen? Some of you reading will know but most of you won’t. This story is about the band I formed in San Francisco in 2001, and the dark, vaudeville, jazz, blues, and punk-infused music we made together. Our costumes, backstage chaos, circus...
The River, the Railroad Bridge, and the Man with a Knife
The air was so cold that it felt like my lungs would crack when I breathed. We were rushing from the car into the street. Four white-trash, teenage punks on a Friday night rampage. Out onto the icy blacktop of our Central Minnesotan wasteland. Into the freedom of...
A Waterman’s Homecoming and Near Death in Nosara
It had been years since I paddled out. When I stepped out onto the beach in Nosara, Costa Rica, there were lines upon lines of gorgeous, glassy waves. Shimmering, blue, and peeling both to the left and right. I felt like a little boy getting ready to open birthday...
They Called Me Indiana Jones on the Black Sea and Han Solo in a Midwest Multiplex
There are two times in my life when I had the honor and privilege to be compared to heroic, cinematic characters played by Harrison Ford. The first time was when I was dancing under the moonlight with a family of Turks at a party of belly dancers on a veranda...
When you’re quiet, you can hear the sounds of the world become a symphony.
Spending time in quiet places is very important for mental health. What's amazing is that when you are quiet, you notice how much music there is everywhere. As a musician, I know the difference between composing a song and the sounds all around me, but the longer I'm...
How I Became an American Ghost in the Czech Highlands
On my final day living in the Czech Highlands, yellow light from the train station hovered over the snow falling on the tracks. It was a cold December night, and my friends had kept me out drinking until the last train left Havlíčkův Brod at midnight. I found a car...
Put Down the Phone and Turn Off Your Screens
How to take breaks from media, messaging, and the digital world This morning, I woke up, put on my robe, climbed slowly down the stairs, had my vitamins, and put a pot of coffee on. I did the dishes from the night before, cleaned the kitchen, prepared a cup of...