Second Hand Smoke, my new solo album, was released (finally!) November 20, 2007.

It is now available at CD Baby.

Single tracks are available on iTunes.

2HS Timeline

• August 22, 2007 - Mastering done.
• October 7 - Packaging complete.
• October 11 - Off to the factory.
• October 16 - Final proofs approved.
• October 17 - waiting on the porch...
• November 20 - Official release
• January 3, 2008 - Available on iTunes

Listen to 90 second promo spot HERE

Click on the to hear the music. Click on the to read the lyrics. Just like Denny's. 8)

These sound files are short samples to give you a feel for the song. Note that these are 96kbps .mp3's so the sound isn't even close to what you'll hear when you buy the CD. The times are for the full length tracks. The sizes are for these free downloads.

It's summertime again!

4/23/04:I was at Catalina drinking coffee with my good friend Malcolm. Somehow the topic of second hand smoke came up (probably something to do with California's (and now Washington's) stupid nanny law). I started making connections and we spent the next two hours kicking around ideas for this song.

From that first day I had a vague sense of the feel it would have but, as often happens, it took a while to emerge. Nothing happened with it until about nine months later. Pretty much every line in the song changed at least once. Some of the first stuff was pretty funny but I knew the good stuff would come to the surface sooner or later.

I never know when a song idea will come or what form it will take. This one came to me one day when I was doing some filing. All I got was the word "innocent" and sort of the rhythmic feel. It took a long time for the rest of it to develop.

My paean to visual aids.

A last minute addition to the list. This song has been with me a long time.

1/11/06:First recording with my new resonator (Dobro) guitar. More to come on that.

Malcolm says "Write 'em quick and get 'em done." Okay Bud, this one's for you.

This song came with my new Martin acoustic. It fell out very quickly. Maybe 20 minutes to have most of it written. It's a sweet, simple song about being in love.

The title is from a piece in the method book I use with beginning students. That piece is nothing like this!

Most players have a lick they play automatically when they pickup their instrument. Sort of a 'Hello'. The riff to this song used to be my 'Hello' lick.

War music. This song (different mix) was used in the "Big Fix 2006" video. Watch the trailer