Road Stories: The Bombed-Out Whorehouse

Maybe the best sustained musical experience I’ve ever had was playing drums in the band Black Spiral from about 1995-1999.  I was in and just out of high school, and the band started as Chris Crowson, Ryan Dawe, and I were just starting to learn our instruments.  The first songs I was ever involved in […]

The Agony of Love and the Album Title

The phrase “…and surrender my body to the flames” is Biblical, and I can’t say why it’s always stuck with me, but it has.  If you’ve been to a wedding, you’ve probably heard the famous passage from 1 Corinthians 13 that goes like this: “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it […]

Babies and Inspiration

After my daughter was born, I got it in my head that I would die before she got old enough to remember me.  I think this is a common-enough fear for parents.  But what stuck with me was the thought that she might not remember my voice. As an infant, and with her older brother […]