I've had this website for probably three years now, so I thought it might be a good time to finally put up a blog post. No need to rush into these things, right? I'm going to try to be faithful about writing posts as ideas and thoughts come up, so we'll see how it goes.
On January 4th, 2019 I walked away from the best paying and cushiest, but most frustrating and stressful job I'd ever had. I had no idea, really, what I was walking toward. I just knew I couldn't continue to walk the soul-crushing path on which I'd been, and if I was going to find true happiness, it was going to be in doing what I'd decided I'm here to do...bring my passion for music and performing to you.
Serendipitously, about four months after I broke out of my corporate carpet cell, I met Scotty Rohr, who happened to have a recording setup at his home and another, separate studio in the planning stages. It took four months, but after that one door slammed behind me, another door opened. Through the new door was control of my own destiny. I didn't want to be one of those people who stayed in a job they hated because "it's a steady paycheck," or "the benefits are good," just to keep saving for a retirement I may never even see. Hell no. In the words of Andy Dufresne, "Get busy living, or get busy dying." I'd given twenty-two years of my life; almost half of it. That's enough dying.
Since that first meeting with Scotty I've recorded two singles, two EPs and an LP, all at Zension Studio in Austin, MN. I'm proud to say a couple of those songs have actually reached over a thousand streams on Spotify, and I have another single scheduled for release this September.
The past four years have been exciting and interesting indeed, but I'm still here. In the spring of 2021 I crawled from the ashes of my state's lingering and overly cautious shut-down policies, dusted myself off, grabbed my guitar and made my way to northern Iowa, where I was welcomed with open arms. I haven't looked back.
Nope, I'm looking only forward now, and today I'm looking forward to another weekend in my beloved Iowa; tonight in Clear Lake at the stunning new 173° Craft Distillery, and tomorrow in Fertile along the Winnebago River at the beautiful Fertile Market. I'm hoping to see a lot of your familiar faces and meet some more!
Thanks for taking the time to read or listen to anything I put out there. I appreciate you.
Peace, Jeff
