Sound Traveler had the great good fortune this weekend to play at the Melbourne Main Street Fall Festival in Melbourne, FL. We were there on both Saturday and Sunday courtesy of Vapor! Hookah Lounge and Social Club. Honestly, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect, but I found the lounge to be charming and the staff to be very friendly. In fact, we will be back at Vapor! on October 6 for a Sixties night. That will be a lot of fun for us because we can travel back in time and focus on some songs that we really get into. The festival was lively, and everyone seemed to be wearing a smile. As we were playing, I couldn’t help thinking of some fall festivals that I’ve performed at in the mountains. At times the temperatures were so cold I [...]

Seems there is a movement to preserve “Old Florida.” I guess that’s a good idea. Florida has a long and rich history. Who knows when the Native Americans first travelled down the sandy peninsula stretching hundreds of miles into warm ocean waters? And who can forget the Spanish who “discovered” a land that someone else was living on? And what about those early farmers scattered about the swamps and the coastlines, ones who battled malarial mosquitoes, rogue hurricanes, and searing sun to make a living in a land far removed from the center of a young America? “Old Florida” is a worthy subject for historical ballads and songs that romanticize times long ago. But it’s not the only way to look at the Sunshine State. There is another Florida – a modern landscape that people come from everywhere to experience. [...]

Shakespeare wrote about “star-crossed lovers” in his classic drama Romeo and Juliet. John Lennon wrote, “Life is what happens to you when you’re busy making other plans” in his lovely song “Beautiful Boy.” And countless people have either said “I was lucky,” or “I just couldn’t catch a break….” Most of us, I think, live life as if we are in control of what happens to us. We make good choices, we reap good results. We choose foolishly, we suffer. But the longer we live, the more things actually happen to us, the more we realize that we deal with many things which are ultimately beyond our control, and the best we can hope for is to try to deal responsibly and meaningfully with the reality with which we are presented. Sometimes fate throws a real curveball, and there never [...]

Einstein filled notebooks with calculations, pondered the universe for inspiration, then wrote a three-letter formula for which he is best remembered — E=mc². In that deceptively simple formula he distilled a tremendous amount of information to reveal a basic reality of our physical world, something that no-one had expressed so succinctly before. Creativity strives for that same thing. The feelings are huge, the experiences myriad and varied, but the essence is invariably simple yet profound. “Not Walk Away” is one of those simple songs that allows me to express so much. The rhythm and melody almost burst forth from my mandolin unrequested. I was tired and frustrated from working on some other recording. During a break, I just leaned back, closed my eyes, and started playing. Next thing I knew, I had this little song rolling along merrily. I quickly [...]

You head down a narrow, paved road that winds along a rushing mountain river. On either side are mixed woods of deciduous trees and hardy evergreens. Also alongside the road are domiciles carved out of the sides of mountains, complete with outbuildings and varied livestock. Then for no apparent reason, you make a right turn onto what appears to be the head of a trail. The trail heads directly into the woods and steeply up the side of a mountain. It’s time to shift the car into low-range 4-wheel drive, settle the tires into the ruts etched into the rocky surface, race the engine, and begin the climb to one of the more remote places you will ever visit – Smoky Hollow. Once on the trail, you can’t turn back until you reach the top. What begins as a steep [...]

Sound Traveler, live at Captain Ed’s River Roost on Merritt Island. It’s our first time in this venue. What should we expect? The setting is glorious with fading sunrays settling on the Banana river, a light breeze blowing in off the water, and members of the staff greeting us at the door. I turn to Patty and say, “They sure make us feel welcome.” As we’re unloading the car, friendly faces show up. Steve, a new acquaintance, says, “We’re coming to see you, and we’re bringing a bunch of people.” Although we’re the hired musicians, Steve’s statement brings music to our ears. Restaurant employees Angie, Ricki, TJ, and Jer all help us to find our place to set up and perform. I’m fighting a slight headache, and Angie fixes me up with some Tylenol and candy – “A can’t miss [...]

“And now it all comes to this.” The song “Long Time Waiting” has tremendous meaning for me, and that line, the last line of the song, is the focal point of the whole thing. I put the song together hoping to create a good wedding song for someone in Ellie Hjemmet’s extended family. I wanted something with a dialogue between two people contemplating a major step, two people getting married later in life. These two people would have lived full, rich lives, but somewhere, somehow, deep within would exist a sense of subtle anticipation – somewhat softened with the passage of years, but finally allowed to surface into reality. The speakers both begin their respective stories with “I think I’ve been a long-time waitin’,” or “I think I’ve felt a long-time cravin’.” It’s like they are discovering something within themselves [...]