FINANCIAL LITERACY FOR ALL
October 10, 2018
It may seem strange that a rock ’n’ roll band is traveling the countryside, talking to kids about finance—but in my mind nothing is more rock ’n’ roll than the freedom to make your own decisions, follow your own path, and level the playing field for others who are working hard and putting their best foot forward. After making my … Read More
TRAVELOGUE—WAPSIE, IOWA
October 3, 2018
October 1, 2018, 11:30 p.m., Comfort Inn, Des Moines Hello, sports fans. Just took two flights from California to Iowa. Yellow cab to the motel here in Des Moines, where the band arrived a little earlier. Been a barn-burning last few days. Had some great meetings in LA, met some rock ’n’ roll avatars at Steve Vai’s charity jam for … Read More
BORROWED, BEGGED, AND STOLEN WISDOM, PART 10
September 13, 2018
(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
ODE TO THE SUPER 8 MOTEL IN LINCOLN, NEBRASKA
September 5, 2018
Cities, and especially hotels, have their own energy built into them. We attach meaning and memory to everything we experience, and there are a few tour stops we have been back to so many times, they have taken on their own history and glow, regardless of how they might seem to an outsider. Fort Collins, Greybull, Casper, Cheyenne, Lawrence, Winter … Read More
TWO GUITARS AT THE SAME TIME
August 29, 2018
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
BORROWED, BEGGED, AND STOLEN WISDOM, PART NINE
August 22, 2018
(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
BRICK BY BRICK: FIVE NONNEGOTIABLES
August 15, 2018
“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
10 THINGS WE LEARNED FROM PRODUCER MATT WALLACE
August 8, 2018
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
BORROWED, BEGGED, AND STOLEN WISDOM, PART EIGHT
August 1, 2018
(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
MY LOVE OF WEIRD TUNINGS
July 25, 2018
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
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