I need to tell you about my friends.

I recognize that as I share my songs, other people’s stories are woven into them. And those are not my stories to tell. So more often than not, I’ll keep the anonymity of the other people in my life. But I have many great things to say about these friends, so I will gladly tell you about Jenn and Nolan.

I should probably start talking about music by now.

After all, there’s an album of my music that will be released soon! And a question I’ve been asked, (and honestly asking myself a lot,) is ‘how do you write a song?’

I think I’m very under qualified to answer that question. I didn’t set out to write a song, much less a full album of songs. I don’t think I would have arrived here if I set out to reach this point.

There’s some rocky parts of this trail, but this spot is just a pretty outlook.

This is jumping ahead in the overall story of this album, but I’m revealing the album art and it seems like I should make a quick little detour for it. Which means I get to write about design, and that is my second favorite thing to write about behind music. So, of course I’m eager to share the process of designing an album cover!

A journal entry written in 2023, after a moment of significance in the Smoky Mountains: 

“I am tragically in love with beauty. I am miserably wooed by the sublime. And I desperately hope I am not alone in this entrapment.

It’s a cumbersome thing to carry; these encounters with magnificence. I often find myself uncertain of how to behave. Should I spend a length of time gazing at it, though it makes me feel small and bittersweet? Should I avert my eyes and preserve my good mood, though I’d have to tamper down a call from somewhere beyond?

“I can’t wait to hike these mountains in a glorified body.”

I recall saying this thought out loud to my friends as we were trekking back from Andrew’s Bald. I had experienced beauty in my life, I had seen many gorgeous things. But that trail in the Great Smoky Mountains surprisingly had catapulted into the top spot. And it was because I experienced it in the context of immense and long-lasting physical pain. The beauty heightened the awareness of my suffering. And the suffering heightened the beauty of the mountains. 

Light shines brighter in the darkness.

I love a good plan.

I’m great at going with the flow, but I like knowing where the flow is generally headed. Traveling really gives us a raw, introspective look of how we handle plans. When I first traveled to the Great Smoky Mountains, I had already done a few hiking trips with my friends. We had experienced that adrenaline-inducing way plans can go awry, when you find yourself trying to book a flight from within the airport. 

I’ve never had nice handwriting.

Well, I can have nice handwriting, but I’ve never had the patience to get there. When I want to write something down, I am most concerned about capturing the thought before it escapes me. The neatness in which it is captured has very little priority. 

But a few summers ago, I started slowing down and taking the time to dutifully put thoughts to paper. It became a very helpful tool in properly thinking all the thoughts I had. 

I have an album coming out. 

It’s been true for 9 months now, but the thing is almost done and it feels more truer than ever. I’m approving mixes. I’ve finalized album art. I’m picking out a release date. 

By the way, how does one pick out a release date??