2020 NPR Tiny Desk Contest Entry

Very pleased with the way this came out and the work that was put into it. NPR holds their Tiny Desk Contest every year and every year I pass on it…

Why?

I guess it just never happened. But I wanted to do just the opposite this year and not only do it… But kill it!

We decided to shoot in the woods of Salem, Massachusetts. Already in a world of complete isolation and quarantine we wanted to take it up a notch and set up shop in the center of these reeds in the middle of the forest.

My partner Lauren had our 9 month old son (Mosey) strapped to her back and she handled all the cinematography/framing of this shot. She pushed me to play this song [Honing Hollow Stones] from the beginning. I was hesitant because it is one of the more difficult songs I have ever written. I back-burned it for years because of that reason. Yet, she urged me to do it and the more I played it I realized that she was right.

This. Song. Moves.

The triplets in the finger picking, the underlying message of the song and the rapid changes all pointed in the right direction when it came down to choosing this piece. I hope everyone out there can take something from it.

A very special thanks to Lauren + Mosey, my “shooting star of a Sister” Julia and to my dear friend Matt Page of Mapache Films who offered consult and input throughout the creation of this video. All of these people have contributed to this video as much as I did myself. Round of applause.

Good luck to everyone out there that enters this contest and good looks to NPR Tiny Desk for providing the quality content and intimate setting for songwriters in a world of constant hustles and shuffles. Enjoy + support the clip on YouTube if it moves you!

… Or maybe we don’t, just understand. Like a dog and a master, or a death and a laughter …

Tiny Little Treat: Shadow Boy

So incredibly thrilled to share this tiny molecular gemstone with your mind, face and brain.

Slow down. Where are you going? Where have you been?

A question you may have asked yourself recently due to COVID-19 and the lack of social interaction.

Perhaps it was:

• In a bathroom stall

• Eating a corndog that sucked

• Full throttle drunky-poo in an outhouse

• After that person in your life disappeared overnight.

I am sure you have been there. We have all been there.

Constantly lost in your own world - yet [somehow] always finding a way out. Somehow.

I’ve been there. Yet I’ve found myself knee-deep in great emotion after the birth of my first baby boy. Like an over-weight teen boy hunched over a plate of chili cheese fries: I had to give in. The long-legged short shadow boy by trade.

What are you gonna do?

This song was a special one for me. Are you switching lanes? Are you fully capable of driving in the first place?

Do you need a hand?

Sit down. Watch. Listen. This Shit Right Here.

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