Rejoicing and Sorrow

tonight my brother kevin married mindy smith at lake ellyn in glen ellyn illinois. it was one of the more beautiful and sincere evenings i've had in a while. so glad that they've taken this step and are so much more mature than i am. not to mention great taste in music. . . seriously. . .

then i got home and bob costas was on the leno show talking about tim russert's heart attack and death today. for some reason, it hit me really hard. this is a man who i've grown to respect and admire for his insight, journalism and honesty over the last couple of years. one man in a sea of journalistic bullshit that i can actually listen to and evaluate an issue with some clarity. i feel like we've lost an ear as a nation. .. .
God bless Tim Russert and his family. my heart is heavy for them. . .
good night.

early may

mid-week. smack dab in the middle of it.
cinco de mayo was celebrated with a long day of recording with kate york and daniel tashian. long story short, we started "Give It Away" for the third time and it's coming together much better. its turned into sort of a late eighties madonna thing. . . i'm quite in favor of it.
meg is on the set of "Gospel Dream", the (you guessed it) gospel version of american idol. so far it sounds likes it one of those situations where there is absolute talent and beauty, but also some strange undertones. . mainly to do with faith/commerce and such. .. .
anyways, life is good.
we've both been so busy that time seems to be getting the best of us. . . . lucy is working away at figuring out words and learning to 'share'. so proud to see my daughter becoming a little (very little) girl. . .
i head to detroit this weekend for a "country hoedown" with emily west. should be interesting. . . . on that note, i had the pleasure of playing the Opry with emily last saturday. . . . that experience really warrants its own blog. wait for that one, i guess. . .
much love. ian

growing

each day i notice new budding on the trees surrounding our house.
i sat with lucy watching the heavy rains yesterday.
this morning the back yard glows green.

as the earth has been nourished and prepares for blossom
my daughter has discovered walking and enters a whole new season of life.

winding up

the momentum subsided, but i'm ready to get back to a diligent approach to 'blogging'. . . . .

its a much needed quiet friday night. i'm about to go to bed and prepare for the weekend. just finished a great week with The Lonely Hearts but am quite tired. i'm grateful and overwhelmed with all that has been swirling around me lately, both personally and professionally. . . . can't wait to share more as i find time to do so. . . .

ian
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drums at the 5 Spot

good friends. will and ruthie sayles

more

what a whirlwind since the last post.
we returned to nashville 2/3 sick. meg got better and lucy got worse. lucy's cold developed into the "croup" . . . and ultimately into a stomach virus (lots of vomit). . . . yuck.

here's somewhat of a list of what happened from thanksgiving until now. . .

megan doing a shoot for Mindy Smith
me going to Minneapolis, MN. for a one-off with Marc Broussard amidst a blizzard.
moving out of the studio on 16th Ave. (music row nashville) into the new studio at neal's. . . . . .
rehearsing with peter bradley adams for his upcoming sessions
recording tracks with Ricky Young & Slow Films
show with ricky at the 5 spot. . .
recording at Alex The Great with Peter Bradley Adams. . . ( jeff irwin on bass, peter on guitar/piano, james digirolamo on keys, lex price producing, jason lehning engineering)
writers night, 8 off 8th. . .performing songs i've written ("ordinary day", "good morning eyes", "this is the life") with a killer band. . . . . court clement, guitar. . . jeff irwin, bass. . . richie lister, keys. . . calvin turner, drums. . . . neal dahlgren, pedal steel. ..

also did a set with "Thompson York & Nash". . . . killer band with will sayles on drums and matt slocum on bass. .. a late night. . .

sessions with Bethany Dillon for an upcoming EMI/CMG release. .. . much fun. . . .

uhggghhhg. . exhausted. . . .
more later,
ian