Hi Friends!
I came home off the road 2 months ago and old man winter in ‘My Little Corner of the World’ in Vancouver, WA was in full swing. Grey leaden skies. Rain turning to showers. Then more rain. Rinse and repeat. Then we had one magical night of snow, on Christmas Eve. Then the rain came back, it turned to ice, and a truck crashed into my car on Christmas morning. Merry Christmas! Lately it seems that everyone is in full panic mode over the State of the Union speech, the freefalling stock market, or Facebook changing their infamous ‘algorithm’. So I’m taking an unusual degree of comfort in the same old rainy Pacific Northwest weather algorithm: Grey skies and rain. Expected to continue. Rinse and repeat.
I turned 50 last year on ‘9-11’ and thus it seemed like the right time to take stock, clear my head and decide what exactly I wanted to do when I ‘grew up’. Being my father’s son, the simplest solution for clearing one’s head was to do some manual labor. His famous salve for all that troubled him was either vigorously raking leaves or sweeping. He excelled in both but was an Olympic level leaf-raker well into his 70’s. At one month removed from the hospital for a series of blood clots in his lung he complained to me that he could ‘only rake for 2 hours’ instead of his usual 4. In my case I clean and/or organize things. But like him, then I sweep.
So I started in the most logical place, the garage, which is a detached single car 1940’s deal that you can’t actually fit a car into. Or much else, except 20 years of clutter. I went to start moving some firewood out of the way and thought “That’s it—I’ll build a woodshed!” So I did and just finished it yesterday. It’s over engineered, over-built, and might withstand a small hurricane. I spent a lot of time measuring, cutting, re-measuring and dodging all that January rain in and out of the garage where I worked. And in doing so, I had more time to myself and more time to think than I’ve had since I was a Park Ranger in Canyonlands National Park, 25 or so years ago.
I thought a lot about where to go from here. I thought about the more than 40 songs that I had ready for a new CD a year ago and then ‘life happened’. I thought maybe I should put those songs to rest and start over, just write a new batch. And I honestly gave a fleeting thought that maybe I should just ‘hang it up’, take up woodworking—after all, I WAS kind of getting the hang of it! But more than all that, I mostly thought about all the cool places I’d been in the past 5 years since I started touring and all the wonderful new friends I’d made along the way. Folks like YOU. The touring life, for what it’s worth, for all its long miles, weird motels and bohemian up and downs, was something I’d never thought was a possibility and yet somehow it’d become a reality. And the best part was the friends I’d made and the stories that went with them.
Then we had our first warm spell this week. The annual February ‘tease’. Up the block I heard the first lawnmower of the season. Later I noticed that the incredible scented Daphne along the chain-link fence had started blooming—after all that rain—finally a sign of Spring! So damn the algorithm’s. The heck with the State of the Union. Let someone else worry about the stock market. Yesterday I finished the shed. Even loaded it up with wood. Then of course, I swept.
I have a handful of mostly local shows coming up, then I’m headed back to New England in August-September. If you have a house and always wanted to do a house concert, let’s finally make it happen!! Then I’m booking a Spring tour in March-April 2019 in the Midwest.
Come see a show and if you can’t please tell your friends and family in those parts—I’d Love to see them at a show and meet ‘em!!
Here’s what’s Happening Next!!
THIS Saturday Night!:
I’m playing the fabulous Seattle Folklore Society series in Seattle with my good friend & great bass player Michael Henchman. I’m really EXCITED for this show so tell your Seattle friends to come on down, would ya??? Details / Tickets
Also—Saturday at 11am I’ll be on KBCS, 91.3FM, playing live on ‘Our Saturday Tradition’ with host Larry Lewin KBCS is a great, non-commercial, listener-supported station located at Bellevue College. Listen in!
Tuesday, Feb. 27th NW Portland Hostel Cafe, Portland, OR
Saturday, March 10th Aji Tram Restaurant & Bar, Lake Oswego, OR
Thursday, March 29th Alberta Street Public House, Portland, OR
(with Roxanne de Bastion and Matt Kingsley)
Saturday, March 31st ‘Three of a Kind’: A Benefit at Cafe Artichoke, Portland, OR
(with Ed Haynes and Rich Waggoner)
Sat-Sun, May 5th-6th Tucson Folk Festival, Tucson, AZ
Saturday, May 12th Peninsula Performing Arts Center, Long Beach, WA
Saturday June 16th THE Storytelling Show at Cafe Artichoke, Portland, OR
(with Avery Hill and Mary Anne Moorman aka ‘Auntmama’)
Note: some shows are still in the process of being confirmed, so check back on the website for info. on specific venues, times, etc. at: https://danwebermusic.com/shows/index.html and you might check on my Facebook page occasionally as well.
Lastly, I wanted to say ‘THANK YOU’ again for all the support. So many great things have happened in the past few years and every bit of ‘success’ I’ve has come because folks have embraced me and I’m so Grateful to all of you who’ve helped me chase my dream a bit. THE most rewarding part is playing the shows and meeting folks all over the country and getting to know them. I meet so many Wonderful people and your hospitality and kind words are what keeps me going. It’s as Simple as that. So ‘Thank YOU!’ for Listening, Reading, Sharing, and Helping me make this long, Crazy musical journey of mine possible…I’m really humbled by your enthusiasm and show of support.
Hey BTW–If you have a favorite local venue you’d like me to play at or would be interested in hosting a House Concert (which ARE the greatest things since sliced bread!), shoot me an email, let’s talk!!!
And one last BIG Thanks! to my crack team–my ‘Tribe’–of ridiculously Cool Friends, Fans, Independent DJ’s and just Wonderful People (You know who you are!!!) who keep sharing the songs and the CD’s with their friends, family, etc. It’s truly extraordinary and it means so, so much to me. Please Don’t Stop Now!
Gratefully,
dan
