Known Unknown Territory

A person walks in front of grafitti written over a whitewashed wall, reading "Seguir Luchando" ("Keep Fighting")
Photo by Ignacio Amenábar / Unsplash

As my 39th trip around the sun gets underway this week, the next steps with Somewhere Else!!!! are making themselves apparent. I'm planning a trip to Chile in January to finally use the plane tickets I bought almost three years ago. Nico and I are setting up performances in Santiago and Valparaíso, as well as some studio time. It's also looking likely that Nico will be up in this part of the world next spring, so possibilities are afoot for tour dates out here as well. Meanwhile, I am now officially an Artist-Owner at Ampled—thank you so much to everyone who has stepped up to support the project so far!

In other words ... this is really happening. Hoo boy. I've been staring into the abyss of this strange potentiality that keeps getting more real every day. The biggest challenge has been to let go of expectations about what this will even sound like and to trust that the mysterious force that has compelled me to keep returning to South America has good things in store this time around, too. Now that what I had for so long thought impossible is now becoming possible before my very eyes, as it becomes more real I have been waking up to my own fears of stepping through that door as it opens. To some part of me, this is existentially dangerous territory, and I can't travel it alone. It has been so humbling to see who has stepped in to help already—not just on Ampled, but also through encouragement and affirmation. That helps me remember the value in following through with this simply because I am who I am (or perhaps: the trombones and I are who we are) and if I don't do this, nobody else will. You all help me listen for the music as sound for its own sake—as the healing force of the universe.

This month, I'm looking forward to returning to Temenos for a two-day retreat, where I hope to connect with the energy of where I am now to support wherever it is that I'm going next. In the meantime, I'll be here practicing, listening, and keeping my slide moving. If you've been checking out any music recently that you've found especially exciting, please feel free to send recommendations! One of my goals for the month ahead is to nourish this process with more new music. For example, here's a new album from Dan Schnelle, one of my favorite drummers during my time in LA, with an appropriate opening track title:

Shine Thru by Dan Schnelle