FranklinTaggart.com

Hello!

2021-10-09T19:00:00.000-07:00

Welcome to FranklinTaggart.com, the official virtual home of musician, songwriter, entrepreneur, coach, consultant, teacher, and blogger, Franklin Taggart. I hope you'll stick around and see what I'm up to. Comments are welcome, and please look me up on Facebook and Twitter and follow me there. If you need to get in touch send me a note at franklintaggart @ gmail.com(take out the spaces first). Hope to see you around sometime...

Another February Roars Past

2012-02-29T16:45:00.001-08:00

This has been a busy month. Of course I'm happy for the busyness. I'm doing some interesting and exciting things. February 2012 included the first ever NoCoIndieShows Songwriters in the Round evening at Harrington Arts Academy, the second meeting of the Loveland Guitar Society, weekly turns at the Wednesday Night Hootenanny at Chillers, and a few other open mics and gigs around town. Mostly I've been down in the basement recording. I started off the month with a quick project, a voiceover reel for Brandon Harrington, I also got started on an EP by new friend and fellow Hootenannyist, Marcy Stonecipher. The past two weeks have been filled with recording the demos of the kids songwriting class I've been teaching at Harringtons. Very full and rewarding month.
February ends today and I've had a few wonderful openings to end this leap year day. I got an email this morning that congratulated me on being selected as a participant in the Creative Capital Workshop sponsored by BeetStreet coming up the last weekend in March. This is a thrill at this point in my career. I'm re-entering the arts world after a large handful of life's interruptions. It will be an intense weekend of learning, shifting, sharing and stretching. I'm one of 24 participants selected from over 100 applicants, so this will be both an honor and hopefully a good leaping off point into my next phase.
The day got even better from there. I received a call this afternoon from the FoCoMX(Fort Collins Music eXperiment) that I've been included in their massive line up. The festival takes place at over 30 venues in Fort Collins on April 13-14. I'll be playing on Saturday, the 14th at the Choice City Butcher & Deli, 104 W. Olive Street in Fort Collins from 6:00-6:45PM. Check out Choice City Butcher's menu here. Get there early to get a seat. Also, keep checking the FoCoMX website for information about line ups and wristband prices.
I've also been asked to play at the newly opened Grimm Brothers Taproom in Loveland on Thursday, March 22nd from 5:30-7:30ish. Grimm Brothers has become both one of my favorite places in Loveland and they make some of my favorite beers(Little Red Cap, and their new brew, the Count are my first choices). They're located in the Anasazi Business Park in Loveland, 623 N. Denver Avenue. Have a look at their offerings here. This is a free show. Tasting trays are $4.00 for 5 brews. This will be fun!

Playing For Free

2012-02-17T10:52:00.000-08:00

This idea has been floating around various friends' facebook pages recently:

While the sentiments expressed are ones that I've previously held, I think it's important to realize that this is an oversimplification of the problem. Over the many years that I've been playing there's been a huge downward shift in the number of paying gigs that have been available to musicians in many of the places I've lived. this scarcity has created some interesting dynamics as far as playing for a living are concerned. I'd like to take a broader view of this trend and understand some of the complexity behind it.

In the area where I live there are at least a dozen open mics that happen throughout the week. I play at a few of them. These are offered at clubs and coffee houses for the most part and also for the most part no one gets paid to play for these events. Sometimes the proprietors of these establishments will offer hosts a few dollars for their work, or they'll spring for some food or drinks, sometime offering a discount to people who play. Others don't offer any incentive to players and hosts. We just show up because we want, even need to share our music with people.

While I'm sure that there has been an impact on paying gigs from open mics, I don't think it's the fault of the players who are willing to play for little or nothing. There are some other dynamics at work here that are probably more to blame. First of all it's become a whole lot more expensive to provide entertainment of any kind in a restaurant or night club. Over the past twenty years the owners of these establishments have seen the cost of their liability insurance almost triple. Taxes on beer, wine and liquor have increased significantly, and food costs are higher than they've ever been, all while our economy has been shrinking. In addition to that these places have been charged increasingly higher fees by cable companies, performing rights organizations(ASCAP, BMI), and other providers of entertainment. Sadly, in trying to keep costs as low as possible, musicians and performers have largely taken the hit. We get paid less if anything at all. And there are fewer places that are offering live entertainment in most areas of the US(I feel lucky to live in an area that offers more live music than anywhere else I've lived). I also think that in general live music doesn't offset its own cost so it's seen as more of an expense than a benefit by venue owners.

Another important dynamic that I believe is causal to the problem of fewer paying gigs is that there are so many more entertainment options now than there have ever been. People have so many choices in the comfort of their own home that going out and paying more to hear someone that you don't know doesn't have as much appeal to someone who's just worked a 70 hour week. In addition to that, if they do decide to go out, they can opt for comedy, karaoke, sports bars, theater, movies, dancing, trivia, bingo...the number of possibilities are staggering. Add to that the shift toward more healthy lifestyles and you'll probably see more people heading to a gym or a church than a night club or coffee house.

In my own experience the culprit has been performing rights organizations, one of which I'm a member. Shortly after joining ASCAP I was sent a survey asking me to list venues where I played. Within six months of filling out that survey three of the places I'd listed had stopped offering music at all, one church based coffee house had shut down completely and it wasn't too much longer before two more stopped paying musicians and opted for open mics. When I investigated these happenings I was told that ASCAP had come knocking and they were demanding a pretty exorbitant fee for these places to offer music(even to have music playing on the house sound system). Not only that, BMI also was charging a similar fee. A double hit.

There are a couple of things that really bother me about this. First is as a member of ASCAP they've been collecting money from places that I play and I've never received a dime of it. The money they are collecting is going into a general fund that is used to pay the members who are already receiving royalties for the use of their music. It's also going to pay for extravagant office buildings in LA, New York and Nashville, along with some pretty significant salaries and benefits for agency employees. In addition to this, my musician friends and I are losing gigs and getting paid less, if and when we get paid at all. This is by organizations that are supposed to REPRESENT us! So far my inquiries of my own performing rights agency have been unanswered.

While I don't think there is a simple solution to this problem, I do think there are things that can be done. I strongly feel there is a place for all manner of gigs from free to paid to exorbitant. To performers I will say that you need to be playing all the time, paid or not. There are opportunities for paying gigs every night of the week. If you're worth your salt get out there and promote yourself(I've seen some pretty talentless hacks get some great gigs just because they were tenacious). If you can't get on a paying stage, get on an open mic. Play your three songs and make yourself known. This is how you build an audience. If people like you, many will eventually pay to see you. It is publicity, and it matters. And don't forget to show your appreciation to the people who give you the opportunities to play.

To proprietors of venues, I'd encourage you to find ways to reward your performers even minimally. It creates goodwill and will make people much more likely to promote your establishment. If you can offer at least a couple of nights a week to paid performers you will also start to see a shift in the quality of entertainment in your business. That will also have a positive impact on your paying customers. If the performing rights fees are too high for you, enlist the help of the performers you hire to do a fundraiser or two for you. There is no law against that and it will again create goodwill between you and your community, not to mention that it will allow you to continue to offer better gigs to people.

To ASCAP, BMI and SESAC, please start to pay the people who are playing in these clubs instead of padding your own pockets and those of the writers that are already getting paid pretty well for the use of their music. We work hard for very little and you are taking away our livelihood. In addition, you need to serve all of your members, not just the cash cows. Please create some services for people who are carving out a living making music. We need the help too.

To the general public, thanks for listening and showing up for shows in your area. Thanks for opting to support local artists with your entertainment dollars. Tens of thousands of hours have gone into making music that entertains you. It's worth the few dollars you pay. My doctor won't work for publicity, so I need you to pay sometimes to download a song, buy a CD or see me perform. I'll give you everything I've got. Lastly, I'd encourage you to create opportunities for performers. Form a community or neighborhood organization that will sponsor and promote entertainment events. Make a non profit organization that will hire musicians and artists for special projects in your schools, detention centers, medical establishments, churches and other community venues. Host a house concert series in your home where you can introduce your friends to musicians that they will not likely otherwise hear(drop me a line if you'd like to know more about how to host a house concert). Most importantly, keep coming out. Without an audience our work is pretty empty.

Thanks for reading. If you'd like a free download of a couple of my songs, click here: Free songs from Franklin

See you soon in a music venue near you!

Songwriting Challenge

2012-01-31T23:26:00.000-08:00

Take the title of a popular song and write your own song to that title. Avoid using any other concepts or phrases from the original song.

Hum(When you don't know what to write, write about not knowing what to write)

2012-01-23T23:58:00.000-08:00

Hum – Franklin Taggart written in January 2012

This could be an interesting day

I’ve got your attention, but nothing to say

I could take you for a tour of my psyche

But it wouldn’t be much of a ride

I could spit out my deepest emotions

But then I’d be empty inside

I could sing you a story with a cut and dried moral

But preaching just isn’t my style

So I wonder if you wouldn’t mind

If we look at each other and hum for a while

Chorus: mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm

I could sing you a song about politics

But that’ll never change the world

I could sing about lovers and heartbreak

But there’re too many songs about heartless boys and girls

I could sing you a song about crying

But I’d rather go for a smile

So I wonder if you wouldn’t mind

If we look at each other and hum for a while

I could sing you a hymn about the glory of heaven

But I’m far too enchanted with hell

I could sing you a song for the ages

But this morning ain’t going so well

I could give you a false sense of anything hopeful

But truth kicks the ass of denial

So I wonder if you wouldn’t mind

If we look at each other and hum for a while

Beginning Fingerstyle Guitar Workshop, Feb 18th at Loveland Music

2012-01-23T16:46:00.000-08:00

Contact Loveland Music to reserve a seat: 970-622-0080

Songwriting Challenge

2012-01-18T16:51:00.000-08:00

This week's challenge is:

Write a four line verse or chorus(you decide) that has no more than five words in each line and doesn't use the word "the" in any line.

Send me your example and I'll compile a collection to put up on the site. If any of you write a song using last week's exercise, send me an mp3 or a video and I'll put it up online.

Thanks!

For Now, by Colin Forhan(written using yesterday's songwriting exercise)

2012-01-11T07:31:00.001-08:00

Songwriting Exercise

2012-01-10T09:29:00.000-08:00

Want to write a song and don't know where to start? Remember a situation. Answer these questions:

1. What happened? Be specific and describe vividly as much detail as you can.

2. How did you feel about it? Try to be as specific about body sensations as you can.

3. Then what happened?

4. How did you feel about it?

5. Why did you feel that way?

6. How do you feel about it now?

The answers to these questions in this order will very probably give you a story and structure for a song.

Answer 1 = Verse 1
Answer 2 = Chorus 1
Answer 3 = Verse 2
Answer 4 = Chorus 2
Answer 5 = Bridge
Answer 6 = Chorus 3

It may be rough at first, but I expect with some tweaking and editing you'll have something great to work with.

Comments welcome. try it and see what happens...

All you need to know about choosing a path

2012-01-08T19:30:00.000-08:00

This is as clear and concise an example of the considerations we all make in choosing our career(and other) paths. If you apply this you just saved yourself a $150.00 coaching fee(and a load of depression).

The Loveland Guitar Society

2012-01-02T23:00:00.000-08:00

For the past couple of months I've been attending the Cheyenne Guitar Society meetings at the Plains Hotel in Cheyenne(first Tuesday of every month). I've enjoyed my time there and have been mulling the possibility of starting a similar group here in Loveland. Today I met with Angela and Greg at Loveland Music and they have agreed to be the hosts of meetings. The Loveland Guitar Society is born! We'll be meeting the last Thursday of each month at the Loveland Music store at 343 E. 4th St. in downtown Loveland. It's an open meeting, free of charge. Anyone who plays or enjoys guitar music is encouraged to attend. If you'd like to inquire please send me a line at lovelandguitarsociety@gmail.com, and be sure to see the new blog site at http://lovelandguitarsociety.blogspot.com(not to mention facebook and twitter).

Settling In

2011-12-06T10:19:00.000-08:00

We've been settling into our new home in Loveland, CO since November 7. It's a lovely place with more than enough room for our lives. Monica hit the road the day after we moved in and was gone for most of the next two weeks. Bodhi and I got busy with familiarizing ourselves with our new locale, finding such necessities as pizza delivery and sources of our favorite root beer. We welcomed a new member of our family, Sylvester the gerbil who has quickly endeared himself to everyone. So it's time to start getting ourselves embedded in a new community.

I'm starting to make some connections in the local music world. I'm hoping for some part time work this month, and I'm playing some open mics and jams to introduce myself to the locals. I'm also excited about finding places in both Fort Collins and Loveland to host the MusicBizEXP clubs. Starting in January I'll be teaching a weekly songwriting class for teens at the Harrington Arts Academy, and I hope to offer similar classes at Boomer Music in Fort Collins and other venues in Northern Colorado and Cheyenne.

We also have found a delightful community resource in the Chilson Center, a recreation center run by the City of Loveland. I've been happy to start swimming every day, and they have an indoor water park that Bodhi and I love. Monica's been a few times, too, although she says she's not all that excited about getting wet(except for maybe the hot tub). Good thing they also have exercise equipment and a ton of classes to choose from :)

I'm always amazed at how it feels to be in the West. The dry air and space and cold truly feed my soul, and even though circumstances may not be easy, I'm still very happy to be where I feel this good. I'm grateful to every person who helped us get here. There have been literally hundreds of you, so I'm sorry that memory and space are limited so as to not mention your names. I'm especially grateful for our families. Mom let us stay at her house and provided some much needed support in a few pinches. Monica's parents and my Dad also continue to lend their generosity to our family. Never let me forget how much tangible love I've received from all of you. Thanks, indeed.

With Monica and Bodhi at Tom Forhan's for one of our farewell house concerts before we left Maryland.

Moving

2011-09-20T20:45:00.000-07:00

I'vestayed longer at my current house than any other house in my life. 10 years. In other words, this is the longest amount of time I've ever gone without moving. We're getting ready to make the trip to Fort Collins, Colorado on Sunday. A new home with new possibilities, closer proximity to some family, further away from others, a chance for me to come back to where I am from, and for Monica and Bodhi to go where they've never been. Such an adventure...

The past few weeks have been jammed with activity. I've played six house concerts, Monica's been teaching and consulting, Bodhi's been pretty bored with all of his friends in school while he waits for us to get to where he'll go to a new school. On top of that we've been doing the usual packing, sorting, selling, giving away and throwing away that goes with moving. The hardest part is not having time to sufficiently visit with and properly say goodbye to all of our friends here, not to mention that we're total stress bags that you wouldn't want to talk to anyway.

If anyone reads this, please tell everyone else we know to read it, too. I've loved living in the DC area. It was a happy accident that I landed here in the first place, and you've seen me and my family through the very best and the very worst of times. It's scary to leave you all behind and go somewhere where we have to start pretty much from square one; meeting people, setting up businesses, enrolling in school, jumping in to a new group of school parents. We will miss each one of you in your own very special way. Thank you from the far reaches of my heart for all you've done for me, Monica and Bodhi. Please stay in touch. With today's technology distance need not interfere with our friendship.

We'll be back soon enough. Monica is teaching some food and nutrition courses at TAI Sophia in Columbia, and we're already anticipating our summer trip next year to come back for an extended visit. It's also our hope that you will feel welcome in our new home. We will be looking for a place that will be able to accomodate friends and family for extended stays. As always we love you and are grateful for your friendship. Please come by and help us pack, load or write on a box, and I hope you'll be joining us for our send off party at Rachel and Henry Cross' house in Takoma Park on Saturday the 24th. Please send me a note if you'd like the address.

MECA - Musician's Energy Conservation Alliance - REGISTER BANDS

2011-08-19T17:33:00.000-07:00

This is a great idea for musicians and foodies. Check it out and register today!

MECA - Musician's Energy Conservation Alliance - REGISTER BANDS

Amy Winehouse Died From Flying Too Close To The Sun

2011-07-23T21:42:00.000-07:00

So much has been said today about the early death of singer, Amy Winehouse, that it seems pretty silly to even have a thought of my own about the whole thing. I enjoyed her music and did feel like she brought a unique fusion of classic musical styles into a very contemporary setting. I'm saddened that she refused help so consistently and that in essence led to today's news. I don't know if what I have to say about it really matters much, but I do have an opinion.

Because of her age, 27, she's been put in the same category as Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Jim Morrison and whatever other rock stars died at that age. I don't have the same sense because I don't see Amy Winehouse as being on the same level of creativity and musical innovation as the others. Yes she was a brilliant singer, and when she was sober enough, a great entertainer, but she didn't bring anything really new to the culture with her music. Hendrix, Joplin and Morrison all left their mark on popular culture and music that lasted for generations, and continues to have an impact on young artists today. Winehouse will be remembered for her hit, 'Rehab", and maybe a couple of generations from now there will be some remembrance of her drug addled antics and public displays of insanity.

The most sad aspect of her death this morning to me is that she never really had the opportunity to take her music to the immortal level that she could have. When I first heard her album, Frank, I thought she had tremendous potential. Her hallmark jazz influenced style was appealing and her somewhat gravelly voice had all the characteristics of the great torch singers that came before her, but even with her Grammy winning second album, Back to Black, she had just barely begun to make a mark. That is the tragedy to me. Not the ongoing legal and personal trouble or the fact that she is better known for her personal life than her music, but that she never fully realized her own tremendousness. That's the real pain.

I feel much the same about Hendrix, Joplin, Morrison and others, like Shannon Hoon and Kurt Cobain. They made such an impact early in their careers and they were forever defined by that early success. They flew too high, too soon and the fragile wax that held their wings together liquefied and they were all brought crashing down, only to be heard from in a crystallized form of albums re-released on CDs and forever on the airwaves of classic rock stations.

I think that is a trend that isn't necessarily reserved for musicians. Artists, authors, actors and people in other creative pursuits often are brought to the very edge of sanity because true creativity demands it. Most survive, but as we've seen, often the greatest don't. We rely on our creative people to go to that edge for us because we, in our security and safety loving lives don't have the balls to go there. And when the worst happens we display all of the stages of grief that Elizabeth Kubler-Ross ever discovered and more, knowing full well that on some level we expected that demise.

So another voice has been silenced too soon. Fifty years from now, few will know or care, but today we are all thinking about it. If there are lives to come, I hope Amy will return in some form that has the same courage but a more stable constitution. I would love to see some of these great artists really reach the stars they are aiming for and be able to come back down to earth and stay longer.

Favorites

2011-07-05T20:30:00.000-07:00

My sister, Jane recently posted on her blog about not really having favorites(having to reach back to the early 80s to identify something that had been a favorite song). Great post by the way. Read it here

Though I can certainly understand what she's saying and where she's coming from, I have to say that I have cultivated a few favorites over the years. The thing that's kind of cool is to realize that you can have favorites that vary only by subtle degree. They may do similar things, but they can all be favorites. An example for me is the case of guitar players. I have several favorites, but the qualifying factors are different for each. I like Doc Watson because nobody else plays like him. I like Jeff Beck because nobody does Jeff Beck better. They're favorites because at some point in time something they did touched me deeply.

I want to list a few of my favorites and encourage you to check them out. Here they are:

Favorite Entertainer: Mark Noone Mark is a multi talented musician probably most well known, at least in the DC area as the lead singer for the Slickee Boys, a punk band from DC that played their final show ever the other night(sadly I missed). Mark can single handedly energize a stage, a room, a hall, a club by grabbing a mic, snapping his fingers and going to town. I wish that Mark would have become a huge success only because I would like more people to see him. Watching Mark perform just feels good. You can still hear him from time to time with his other bands, the Hula Monsters, the Rhodes Tavern Troubadors and the Yachtsmen.

Favorite Fiddle Player: Bruce Molsky Though Bruce is an amazing talent with many instruments and one of my favorite singers, I have to say that his fiddle playing has elevated my being more often than probably any other instrumentalist. There are times when I hear Bruce play that I could swear there are two or three fiddlers playing. Yet I look up and see it's only him. He plays straight from the heart and his playing reaches my deeper places and is a joyful thing. I like this video.

Favorite Guitar Player: Though I have many favorites, my absolute favorite player is one I know well. My friend Avril Smith is probably the most inspiring guitar players I've ever heard. I've heard her hold her own with some of the best players around and in a bunch of different styles. I've also had the good fortune to do a lot of playing with Avril both in my band in years past and in most of the significant jam sessions of my life. I've learned more tunes from her that any other human. Check her out with her latest bands, Big Chimney and the Great Unknowns, or in some of her past bands, Della Mae and Zeala.

Favorite Chef: Monica Corrado And not just because I'm married to her. I know that whatever she tells you about food is the truth and nothing but the truth. You won't find a more well informed authority on food.

I'm sleepy now. I'll add more later. You should have enough to do here for a few hours. Carry on. Let me know in the comments of some favorites of yours I should check out.

The things That Matter To Me

2011-06-20T22:38:00.000-07:00

I've been faced recently with having to choose the things that really matter most to me. Hear me out:

Family--I can't get any more real than this. I would do anything to make sure that family members are thriving. Especially one Bodhi Jack Taggart. He defines my world every day.

Freedom--I'm becoming more aware of how our individual freedoms in America are being compromised. I am afraid, angry and dedicated to making sure that our most basic rights(like choosing our own food sources) are not taken away.

Art--We need to continually be reminded of who we are, and nothing does that better than art. It will helps us see our wholeness as well as our fragmentation, and it will move us to evolve.

Love--It doesn't matter who it's from or for. Love is the reason we're here. There can be no other foundation for life. Period.

I love you in whatever particular way makes the difference. Thanks for loving me.

Stardust, 1975 Film Featuring David Essex, Dave Edmunds

2011-06-20T22:23:00.000-07:00

Was surfing on Crackle tonight when I found a film from 1975 called 'Stardust'. A movie featuring David Essex at the beginning of his heyday. I suspect 'Rock On' had recently or was yet to be released. Great fictional story about a Beatlesque band called Stray Cats. This was an amazing story that echoes the same line as the stories of Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Jim Morrison, and ultimately Jerry Garcia and John Lennon.

The story centers around the rise and fall of Essex' character, Jimmy, who rises to the ranks of superstardom, only to fall to the dangers of drugs, alcohol and corporate manipulation. Larry Hagman plays an American manager who ultimately sets up Jimmy for his death.

I have to say that I have never heard of this film before tonight, but as music movies go, it reveals quite well the dynamics that set up the most significant stars for ultimate early demise. If you are a music lover, Beatle fanatic, Early rock and roll fan, you will likely find something to love about this film. It left me wondering why David Essex has been relegated to one hit wonderland with only his song, 'Rock On' as a testament to his greatness. Also features Keith Moon about 4 years before his untimely death and the music direction of Dave Edmunds.

Worth seeing for music fans, Beatle lovers, British music fans and Dave Edmunds followers.

See it now on Crackle: Stardust

Videos -- Washington Folk Festival, Glen Echo, MD June 4, 2011

2011-06-05T10:18:00.001-07:00

Join Me At The Washington Folk Festival. Saturday, June 4 at 6:00PM!

2011-06-02T21:05:00.000-07:00

Thanks to the lobbying of Jim Clark and the gracious acceptance of the selection committee, I'll be playing at this year's Washington Folk Festival at Glen Echo Park, Saturday, June 4 at 6PM. I'll be playing on the Yurt Village Stage which is right off the path from the back parking lot. Remember that parking for the Festival at Glen Echo is pretty treacherous, so take advantage of the free parking and shuttle from the Geico Building in Friendship Heights(a couple of blocks West of Wisconsin Ave. on Western Ave.) There are also Ride On bus routes that stop across the street at the intersection of Goldsboro Rd. and MacArthur Blvd.

This is my first public solo performance in over 4 years. When my performing career was interrupted by illness in 2008 I wondered if I would ever be able to play again. I'm happy to say that my rehearsals of the past week have been great and I'm looking forward to getting back on stage. If you are attending and have a request, please drop me a line and I'll do my best to fulfill it. See the Washington Folk Festival website for information about all of the different performers that fill the schedule both Saturday and Sunday

Also, don't forget that I still have CD's and mp3s available through a variety of sources(the easiest of which is to click the tab above that says"My Music"). I'm starting to get the itch to record again. I'm not likely to release another CD due to cost considerations and the phasing out of that technology. My plan at this time is to release a music collection on a USB thumb drive. The advantage to this is that I can(and will) include not just the new songs I've written, but live recordings of my songs that you may already be familiar with, and some of the instrumental music I've written. There will also be some guitar lessons included featuring TAB of some of my songs, and video if there is enough space, along with much more descriptive liner notes and song information than I could ever fit onto a CD insert. This will be an incredible value and I will look forward to both the production of it and getting it into your hands.

After ten years, Falling All The Way still receives attention and acceptance from an ever growing audience. I'm excited to be able to play for all of you who have never heard me in person before. This summer I'll be jumping in the van with my family for an extended trip West and back during which I'll be scheduling several house concerts. I'll be letting you know about those as they are scheduled. Locations so far include Indiana, Wisconsin, Colorado and Wyoming. If you can recommend both possible venues and places to stay in either Iowa or Nebraska, let me know. And be sure to order a t-shirt or other curio with the Falling All The Way album cover art. Finally available here: T-shirts and stuff.

Thanks for continuing to support and encourage me in all the ways you do.

Fractured Fairy Tales

2011-04-19T09:43:00.000-07:00

Steal this picture...

Excitement and Another New Venture

2011-04-17T19:40:00.000-07:00

My last 24 hours have been very exciting. I've been entering logo design contests in which people ask a large pool of freelancers to give it their best shot and they pay the winner. Last night I heard that I won my first contest. I'm not at liberty to put up the winning design just yet(keep watching attractionlogodesign.com for that.) I just wanted to share it with you all. This one carried a modest reward, no fortunes but good fortune and a healthy thump to my creative soul.

The other new venture is a specialty shop called TheAntiHeroShop.com. As you all know by now, I've been enthusiastically pursuing a CafePress shop called HappyWorkStuff.com(home of the top selling t-shirts in the jazz, bebop and Miles Davis categories). That shop is starting to rapidly reach the limit of the number of sections so I started looking at possible spin-offs. One of the themes I've been having fun with lately is the glorification of being average. I have a handful of designs with that theme, so I decided to create a parallel store for that series of designs. Hopefully it will take off like the Life is Good Stores did. Wouldn't that be cool? In any case, drop by and look at the few designs I have there, and be sure to sign up for the shop newsletter so you can hear when new products have been added. And please, tell your family and friends to take a look too. I'd love to be your first source for unique and perfect gift ideas(Plus, if you refer 5 people to my shop, and they buy something, I'll give you a unique gift of your own). If you would like me to make one of your t-shirt, mug or other novelty designs a reality, just drop me a line. The design is free if you buy the shirt.

Here's a new one from TheAntiHeroShop.com:

Supermeh! Women's T-shirt

I'm having fun. the diet I started this week is working beautifully(7 pounds in 6 days). I feel great! I'm excited about my new possibilities and I'm glad you care enough to read about it. Oh yeah, I almost forgot to mention that I've picked up another couple of coaching clients and am starting to be involved in an exciting collaboration, as yet still in the creative phase, but you already know that's my favorite phase to be in. I appreciate all you do to support and encourage me. Thanks! Things are looking up...

This really makes me want to pay my taxes...not.

2011-04-07T19:00:00.000-07:00

Source: US Uncut - No Cuts Until Corporate Tax Cheats Pay Up!

Pals

2011-04-01T23:33:00.000-07:00

Jimmy on the left. This was at the hotel our great
Aunt Lue owned. A home to every possible adventure
a kid could have.

My cousin Jimmy was my first best friend. I don't think I have any early memories that don't somehow include him. Walter James Blakeman, Jimmy to all of us in his family, was a year older than me, born in 1961. There are a handful of pictures of he and I that I ever remember seeing. The two in this post are from my cousin Sarah. Until very recently I'd never seen either one. They remind me that there is a story to tell and remember.

The best thing I can tell you about Jimmy is that I never had to know from a very young age what it was like to be friendless. He was there literally from the day I was born. Though we didn't always live in the same town, we did live close enough for frequent visits, and our Aunt Lue's hotel, the Sims Hotel was the gathering place for a widely scattered family. We were there often. When we were there, Jimmy and I were inseparable. Our coonskin caps and arsenal of toy guns were at the ready and we were always on one crusade or another. Though he was a year older I don't ever remember feeling anything less than a mutual, deep kinship. He was the closest thing to a brother that I would ever have.

Jimmy on the left again.

In 1967, I was 5 and Jimmy was 6, it was decided that he needed to have his tonsils taken out. Take care of those pesky throat infections once and for all. While the surgery was being done, there was an explosion when static electricity sparked and ignited the ether that was being used as an anesthetic. Jimmy died instantly. I don't remember the last time I saw him alive. I wish I did. The last memory I have of seeing him was this still, little body in a white casket. I also don't remember grieving. This was the first death I'd ever been close to. I had no idea what it was or that it was final. I felt like it was my job to console all of the people around me who were weeping. Another lingering memory of that time is me, suggesting to all of the grown ups that we all go to the A & W for ice cream cones, my treat. No takers.

Since Jimmy died, there have been many other people I've been close to who have passed away. First my grandparents and a couple of friends from school, then an uncle and Aunt Lue. In more recent times we've experienced the death of our infant daughter Sarah and our dear neighbor, George who was the first in Bodhi's young life to leave us behind. In the past few years, while dealing with the health issues that have slowed me down I've had plenty of time to think about death. I haven't really reached any conclusions other than it's probably not all that important to linger on. That's a waste of life. In worrying about death you're already dead. All I really know about death is that life is worth holding onto, even if it can be excruciating at times. Death will come when it comes and knowing that makes every other moment worth engaging in and wringing the life out of.

Bodhi's the same age as I was when Jimmy died. In talking about death we've used the word sparkle, that when a person is gone they become a sparkle, and when you see sparkling around you, that is a person who loves you coming back to check in. That feels pretty good although it leaves a whole lot of theological questions by the wayside. It's informed my own loose theology enough to convince me that if there is a supreme being that is unconditional love, then there can't be a hell. All but the most heinous humans have a point at which they will stop the suffering of another human. Why would the being who supposedly created all of this in love also be willing to send a soul to eternal torment. I refuse to have that kind of God and I implicitly don't trust anyone who would. In the same breath I'm willing to go as far as saying that I'm OK with waiting until my own death to find out if there is indeed a heaven. Fuck you if you believe I'm damned because of it.

George and Bodhi at the zoo.

Though Bodhi hasn't been faced with the death of a close loved one yet, he does now know what loss feels like. His best friend George( not our dead neighbor) just moved to Michigan. He's just now going through the heartbreak of realizing that he's not going to see his best buddy again for a long time. He's more subdued than usual and he hasn't wanted to go back to school since George left. It's so hard for me to watch and know that all I can offer is a little bit of consolation and empathy. A part of me wants to rage that these kinds of circumstances should ever arise. But his grief makes me wonder just how I made it through losing my best friend when I was only five. I really don't remember other than knowing that Jimmy's death was the first event in a long series that really rocked the foundations of our whole extended family. I made it through but I don't know how.

It's only been recently that I've had any sense of missing Jimmy. Now at almost 50, 45 years after he died, I finally miss him. As an adult I can experience the hole that's left behind and cognitively understand that there is a process to go through to rob that hole of some of its sting, but that doesn't make it any easier. Jimmy, I wonder how my life might be different if you'd been able to stay? I wonder how all of our lives would have been different? Yours included. It's comforting somehow to speculate but just as soon as there's any consolation there's a jag that comes along and reminds me that those things can never happen and that just sucks beyond sucking. I miss you buddy. I always will. If there is a heaven, will you be the first to greet me? Please? We only just got started here. And don't leave again.

Two Day Sale. Pay Attention. This Won't Happen Again.

2011-03-31T11:52:00.000-07:00

Today and tomorrow only(March 31 and April 1, 2011) I'll be running a one time special for my services. The following prices will be available until 11:59Pm on April 1st:

One year of group guitar classes: One spot in a weekly group guitar class(50 weeks, I do take a vacation). Half price. $600.00 paid in advance.

Five 1 hour web presence and social media, or career coaching sessions. Half price. $250.00 paid in advance.

One logo design for you or your organization. Half price. $125.00 paid in advance.

Ten hours of on location, multi track recording with 5 copies of the end result on CD. Half Price. $300.00 paid in advance.

If you'd like to take advantage of any or all of these offers, drop me a line at franklintaggart@gmail.com.

Offer ends April 1st at 11:59PM. Jump!

(Not an April Fools prank either, this is serious).