After 14 months of pandemic isolation, it was my great pleasure to play PaigeFest again (for the third time) last weekend. Thanks to Mike Baskin for making it better than ever and having me back, not to mention posting this video of me doing a new song of mine called Begin Again.

Danny P joined Darrel, Gray and me (aka Icy Cinema) on Gray’s front porch for an ambient Easter evening. Gray set the recorder in the yard and captured all 2+ hrs. of ambiance, including background chat and Chachi barking. Enjoy the mix.

Here’s my space-cowboy diddy about traveling the vast plains within the small spaces we’ve been confined to and the ambiguous future we’re waiting for.

Up In The Air

I done my time in cell upstairs
I didn’t do the crime but nobody cares
We all made the mistake of lookin the other way
We shoulda learned by now but we’re still unprepared
And now it’s all up in the air

I’ve been ramblin round way out in west
Travelin day and night across my little nest
I’m countin the numbers under house arrest
Someday I’m gonna fly and kiss this mask goodbye
For now it’s all up in the air

I got a job herdin cattle all day
Ropin docs in my inbox across the superhighway
Ya gotta route those doggies before they go astray
At night I play solitaire before I send my evening prayers
Under my breath up in the air

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View lyrics w chords at https://tabs.ultimate-guitar.com/tab/j-molin/up-in-the-air-chords-3863126.

This song comes from hearing stories from frontline workers and minimum wage workers, being astounded at the trials they face, their generosity, and their resilience.

One thing I’ll say it’s been a day
I think I finally lost my faith
I try to give whatever I can
Only to have it slapped out of my hand
I spend all day caring for folks
that treat me like some kind of joke
I’m always doin for someone else
When do I get to do for myself?

Sugarcoat my love
Let me be with my sweet girl
Sugarcoat my love
Take away the bitter taste of this world

I’ve got a beat-up Chevrolet
I’ve got a payment I can’t barely pay
I’m driving deliveries and cleaning homes
Getting treated like some robot ghost
And now my heart feels like a fist
Getting tighter every-time I’m dismissed
I’m feelin crazy and bad tonight
I’m ragin in my cage ready to fight

Sugarcoat my love
Let me be with my sweet girl
Sugarcoat my love
Take away the bitter taste of this world

The bitter taste
of endless days
a nothing wage
of bills unpaid
of time apart
an aching heart
and for my pain
I get disdain

I’m doing better than before
I’m sorry that I walked out the door
I needed some time alone
But now I need to come back home
Please forgive my wild ways
I do what I do to make it through the day
What would I do without you
And your sweet love to pull me through

I’m gonna sugarcoat my love
Show you how I love my girl
Sugarcoat my love
And take away the bitter taste of this world

Here’s an experimental ode to the deep of night, when the world stops and I can be alone in the luxurious late-night obscurity of the studio to howl into the dark and follow the echoes.

This one gets a little trippy as I play with layers of vocal delay and feedback on the minimalist poetry over vocal Aaaahs. I tried to follow those echoes into an extended late-night feeling. I also try something here that I don’t often do: make the chorus out of an instrumental guitar line. It’s got a good beat, so if you’re inclined, dance along like everyone else is asleep.

Listen to Dead of Night on YouTube.

Dead of Night

Out of mind
Out of sight
Nothing wrong
Nothing right
Catch a vibe
Catch a flight
Dead calm
Dead of night

Take a dive
Take a bite
After hours
Gravesite
Deconstruct
Candlelight
Walking with
Dead of night

Misanthrope
Socialite
Prison break
Searchlight
Smuggle out
Extradite
Running from
Dead of night

Twitchy tongue
Sit tight
Barely there
Or upright
Making way
By flashlight
Deep into
Dead of night