WHAT I DID (AND DIDN'T DO) IN 2009...

It was about this time last year that I did the “Year in Review” assessment, to see how many (or how few) of the year’s goals I had managed to accomplish. In 2009, I didn’t do well. I think I spent most of the year waiting for something to happen, and it never did, and if there’s a plus in that, it’s that I finally figured out there’s no point in waiting, and I just have to move on. What I’ve accomplished that was on the list:

FIND/CREATE A BAND. Did that. “Deathgrass” are the best group of musicians I have ever played with, and they want to keep playing together. (And we’re doing mostly my stuff. This is cool.) I did okay in the WRITE department, too—10 new “keepers” thus far this year, plus a dozen musications of others’ lyrics. I did PERFORM ONCE A WEEK, if you count the sessions at the library and with the Friday Night Group; actually, the band’s been doing a concert about every two months, and I’ve had a solo gig about once a month. My attempt to crack the Portland market, both solo and with a band, did not work out, however—it was a waste of time and money, and I see no point in continuing. I learned how to DO VIDEO; the three experiments I did taught me the limitations of my equipment, which are not excessive, and how to get a good product. (The experimental videos also got a little cult following.) I’m ready to try a real music video now.

I did SIGN UP WITH BMI, as a writer (which was free), but not as a publisher (which costs money); I will need to sign up as a publisher for release of the next album, because it will have a couple of co-writes on it with published writers. Didn’t FINISH THE NEXT ALBUM, but we are working on it. Got the band (“Deathgrass”), got a good sound engineer with good equipment (John), and one song is “in the can.” I am inclined to let that take its course—it’s working out the way I’d like it to, even though it’s doing it slowly.

I managed to STAY IN TOUCH WITH EVERYBODY, too, I think, despite not traveling much. More travel next year. One group I need to add to the “must stay in touch with” list is the city managers I used to work with, because I won’t be doing that kind of work again, at least for a while. And some of them are fans, and some are musicians.

I did not FINISH THE SOUTHERN PIGFISH ALBUM, but I got two songs closer; “The Dog’s Song” and “Love Trails of the Zombie Snails” were both “Pigfishies.” I think I know how I want to do the album, but my players haven’t committed yet. The “Doing Dylan” contest in England was the only SONG CONTEST I entered this year, and we didn’t win that. UPGRADE THE RECORDING EQUIPMENT? Nada—my excuse is I couldn’t afford it. (I still hope Santa’s listening. Dude, I have a List…) Ditto for the WEEK IN NASHVILLE.

The CD-BABY ACCOUNT is still deliberately waiting for the new album. For the JOE WEBSITE, I really have no excuse; I’ve started a couple of times, but gave up when I couldn’t produce anything acceptable. I want to take a class in Website design this winter (the community college offers one, and it’s on line).

There were things I did that weren’t on the list (and listing those will help me feel better). I’d done the Joe Songbook last Christmas, but this year I converted it to an “eSongbook” and got production costs down to a reasonable level. I produced an album for somebody else, and managed to make production costs reasonable there, too, even though the thing was (and was intended to be) a gift. I did a couple of PBS shows, too—true, Ashland is a small market, but I never thought anything like that would happen. I performed in a burlesque show—and hooked up with some really neat writers and performers that I hope will continue to tolerate me. I’ve done some graphic-design projects (all for free, to resurrect my reputation, but I’ve finally been invited to bid on a paying one, too). And I’m writing for the local paper—both a column (for four months, now) and (just last week) news stories. And I’ll finally get paid for that, too.

The power has gone out twice while I’ve been writing this (ah, winter on the Oregon Coast), but it hasn’t stopped me from finishing it. I should approach all of life the same way. There are no excuses for not getting things done. You just can’t let things stop you.

Joe