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The first people to ever hear this song were my wife-to-be and her friend Kerri, who were stopping by to check out our apartment on Comm Ave. I had just finished writing it and wanted to play it for someone. (Yeah, and so maybe I wanted to impress Gina, too, which makes me embarrassed. I was pretty smooth , let me tell ya.) Anyway, I've always loved this song, even though it's kind of dark and melancholy. It was a dark and melancholy time — I'd just gotten back from a life-altering trip to Ireland, been laid off, and had no idea what to do with my life. I was writing a ton of music but had no money to record any of it. I desperately wanted to travel more, and had actually signed up for WWOOF in the UK & Ireland. Thankfully, Gina moved in shortly after, and I began driving her to work each morning, which made me feel worthwhile! (Yeah, that's pretty much all it takes. I just like to have a purpose.) Gray Blue Morning © 2004 by Jon Gorey Oddball chords...

Well, I can't fight it any longer. The sick has finally got me. Oh, don't worry, I'm not swine flu sick or anything like that poor college kid . (Can you believe that? It's wicked sad. Whole campuses are like, infirm! It's mad. The first week of college should be the best week of your life, meeting hundreds of new people on equal footing, with a chance to define yourself on a blank slate. You should be exploring and conquering your new world, roaming from new class to new party with new friends — not in the sick bay. Poor kids.) No, this is just that run of the mill cold you get when it's warm outside and then cold inside, and then it's cold outside, and then it's warm again and your body's tired of playing games so it just gives up. Plus everyone on the T has been hacking all over me for the last two weeks; it was bound to happen. And I got like, an hour of sleep last Wednesday night so that couldn't have helped things either! But it did...

Saturday night, after a gorgeous day watching Will Dailey perform outdoors and savoring some  Great Pumpkin Ale  at the Cambridge Brewing Company, we finally returned home to a chilly house — and lit our first fire of the fall. Summer, I barely knew ya. Now, I'm a huge fan of fall; October is even my favorite month , by far. But between the second cloudiest June on record , my workaholic month of July, and our late August sojourn to the cool, damp, west coast of Ireland, I kind of feel like I missed out on summer. For the first time in years, I'm not quite ready for apple picking, or football, or sweaters. I mean, I probably donned shorts all of a dozen times in the last three months! What happened ? Anyway, this post is actually about a book: Last Days of Summer by Steve Kluger. Read it, and you will love it. It's hilarious, charming, and surprisingly beautiful. We met Mr. Kluger just last week at the Harvard Square " Bookish Ball ," and I got him to s...

It's been a little over a week since we got back from Ireland. Gina and I promised ourselves we'd try to bottle (mentally) the inspiration and exhilaration we felt, to keep us going for awhile upon our return... it's lasted this long anyway, which is more than I expected! In related news, I just took my first of 12 Irish fiddle lessons through  Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éire , which was awesome. I'm so excited about this, and the timing of the class was serendipitous; I'm hoping I can keep my momentum going through the dreary Saturday mornings that are sure to lie ahead in November and December. In more related news, I'm going to start playing out a little more (by a little more I mean more often than not at all , which has been the norm of late), so keep an eye out for upcoming shows. I'm officially inspired again. Thank you, Ireland! We've got lots to catch up on. For starters: The Pats Last night during the Patriots' season opener, during the...