Sometimes it is just hard to write… I didn’t finish this week’s column for the paper until nearly 1 a.m. (about seven hours later than I like), and it was hard to get the two news articles for the paper done, too. They are done, though, along with yet another job application (which just might turn into an interview—they did call to talk after they got my stuff), and maybe the worst of the Dead Writing Spot is over.

The Ballad is still waiting on a fifth and final verse—I would like to be done with it before I work on anything else. There’s a new Wyman Lloyd song I’d really like to musicate (and I’ve never done any of his stuff), a dark, spooky thing hight “The Cat Goddess Creeps.” I hear it as a bluegrass waltz—of course—with cats as backup singers (I do have a number of cat voices recorded in the ‘puter, back from recording “The Cat with the Strat”). And it would make a great music video, too. (I probably want to do it as bluegrass music because our cats hate country music of all types.) It’s even been suggested that Polly Hager might sing it.

Sent off ideas for the Southern Oregon Songwriters newsletter to new president John Cummings; I don’t know how interested he’ll be—or even if he wants me to do the newsletter (it wasn’t brought up at SOSA’s annual meeting, though they do know their current newsletter editor is leaving). SOSA will be doing a “recital” (better term than “open mike,” I think) at the Talent Community Center in mid-to-late February, and do want me to do the posters for that; I’d like to go, too—it’ll be the first time SOSA has done one of these outside of a bar, and it would be interesting to see first-hand how it goes, and what needs to be improved.

Got invited to be in a play—our local little theater, the Tillamook Assn. for the Performing Arts (TAPA), is doing a production of Shakespeare’s “The Tempest.” The invite is through wife Sandee, who’s performed in a lot of TAPA productions and is on their Board; the director is apparently a high school speech coach who knows me. I ‘spect it’ll be fun; performance, as I’ve lectured a lot, is performance, no matter what form it takes, and I can act a 16th-century boatswain as easily as I can a reincarnation of Hank Williams with a roadkill fetish. Audition is Sunday evening.

And I’m trying an old thing. Eric John Kaiser is still doing (or doing again) his “Portland Songwriters’ Showcase” Tuesday nights at the Thirsty Lion in Old Town Portland, only this time there’s no pretense that “winners” (those who bring the largest cheering section) will get paid gigs. Instead, he’s offering a prize of a recording session—which I really don’t need. I messaged him anyway; the Thirsty Lion is a nice place, with a relatively attentive audience on Tuesday nights (I played there once, about this time last year), and I would like to do it again. I guess I’ll get to see if he’s really as excited about my music as he acted last February.

Two months (and one of them a short month) until St. Leif’s Day (March 29); since St. Leif is the patron saint of bagpipes (among other things), one should really be playing music somewhere. I wonder what I can arrange?

Music Friday this week (along with jury duty), Friday and Saturday next week—plus banjo and dobro player Matt Snook is supposed to be visiting the area. My deadline for getting the song entries off to the Merlefest is Feb. 11, so there’s not a lot of time to work with. At this point, we still have only “base” tracks for “Take-Out Food” and “Un-Easy Street.”

Joe