This is a story of how life conspires with us to fulfill our dearest dreams - especially when we are willing to follow good feeling and trust our hearts. For years, I dreamed of visiting the Lake District in the north of England - home of English-language Romantic poetry and a hotbed of artistic creativity [...]
I'm talking here to my fellow musicians, singers, poets, storytellers, and performers of all kinds. By "stink," I mean: ask questions, state your needs, request and require clarification. Delay assent until you receive it. Be gracious, be respectful - but make a stink. That graciousness is what makes it a "gentle stink." It's not really [...]
Culture gives women a number of problems to solve, often with no true or satisfying solution. Here’s one. I am thinking today of two occasions during the last ten years when I was manhandled by cheerful, “nice,” married men. In each case, I was a guest in their home, invited there to share music and [...]
Hello, friends! Today I want to tell you about my latest book, "How to Get Gigs You Love: Money, Fun, and Opportunity for the Solo Performer." It's a soup-to-nuts guide for getting gigs you love and rocking them once you get 'em! (It is gleefully inexpensive: $4.99. Here's a link in case you want to [...]
Quick tip for you awesome creators and teachers and musicians today. There's a quality I think of as "sticky" that we human beings sometimes demonstrate. It involves clinging, complication, innuendo, subtle and not so subtle manipulation. Some call it passive aggressive. I just know that it feels - well, sticky. My suggestion: get a bead [...]
Who knew? Doing some e-research tonight, by sheer chance I came across an Irish scholar's review of an essay I wrote years ago for a festschrift for my wonderful mentor, Professor Patrick K. Ford. Professor Ford's "hound love" inspired me to write about dogs in the Finn tales (plus I've always said I'm part-dog [...]
There are many kinds. One example: Just after Christmas, I saw a person in ripped sweatpants and a stained jacket shambling along a main road in Biddeford, Maine. It was the quality of motion that caught my eye – a trudging, struggling forwards movement that conveyed resentment and defeat. And held out at a purposeful, [...]
Hi, friends, and Happy New Book Year! Last year I set no resolutions but chose instead to indulge one of my deepest passions: READING. I decided to let myself read as much as I liked and now, 143 books later, I can say this intention brought me great JOY and satisfaction (and that I'm continuing [...]
Last night I sent in the songs and artwork for my new EP, "The Moon Jig and other dances," and I wanted to tell you how it came to be because I think it's an encouraging story. If you've a mind to create something fast, no waiting - well, this is for you. Over the [...]
Cork singer-songwriter John Spillane (pictured) writes: "On my 18th birthday I got a full-time permanent and pensionable job in Bank of Ireland, and two years later I left it to become a full-time professional musician. My mother nearly killed me. 'If you leave your good job in the bank,' says she, 'don't ever come back [...]
