(Things I have borrowed, begged, and stolen from books, movies, conversations, etc.) One must still have chaos in oneself to be able to give birth to a dancing star. —Friedrich Nietzsche (thanks, Pat Brown) Every day that you communicate from the heart, you have a chance to change the world. —Karl Staib The more they feed people popcorn, the more … Read More

I’m asked almost every show, what is that weirdo see-through guitar on the stand? Well, it’s a Yamaha Silent Guitar. It’s a classical guitar with no body. The magic pickups under the strings allow it to resonate through the speakers without any sound coming from the actual body of the guitar. If it weren’t plugged in, you wouldn’t hear it … Read More

(Things I have borrowed, begged, and stolen from books, movies, conversations, etc.)   How sad it is we give up on people who are just like us. —Fred Rogers Ensuring financial literacy and economic opportunity is the new civil rights issue for this generation. —John Hope Bryant A camel is a horse designed by committee. The universe is full of … Read More

“The chains of habit are too light to be felt until they are too heavy to be broken.” —Maria Edgeworth “You must be more interested in remaking yourself than breathing.” —Hero the Band I remember hearing my grandfather say a lot of old saws that I shook off as fluff when I was a kid. “Nothing is built in a … Read More

On our upcoming record, Building The Sun, we were able to work with one of the finest producers (and human beings) on this planet, Matt Wallace. Matt has produced Maroon 5 (Songs About Jane), Faith No More, Train, O.A.R., John Hiatt, the Spin Doctors, and Blues Traveler. He has mixed for REM, the Rolling Stones, Blackberry Smoke and tons more. Thanks … Read More

(Things I have borrowed, begged, and stolen from books, movies, conversations, etc.) No individual or nation can be great if it does not have concern for the “least of these.” —MLK No matter what people tell you, words and ideas can change the world. —Robin Williams There may be times when we are powerless to prevent injustice, but there must … Read More

Welcome back to the weekly blog! Some of you fine folks have asked me about my tunings at the shows and online. I dug through the guitar cases and studio files this morning and (drum roll, please), here they are all in one place. I’m pulling back the guitar case curtains and giving you every tuning I have ever recorded … Read More

“What’s on the other side of fear? Nothing.” —Jamie Foxx Well, it was a long time coming, but it’s here. CDs will be off the shelves in Best Buy this summer, and iTunes plans to stop selling downloads sometime next year. (Downloads fell another 27 percent in sales in the first half of this year alone.) Streaming runs the record … Read More