Wednesday, December 19, 2007

the river delta




this past week i got to drive through the mississippi delta, the birth place of the blues. i got to go to the delta blues museum in clarksdale mississippi and see the cabin muddy waters lived in while he worked on the stouval plantation. it blows my mind to think of how much truly brilliant music came from this part of the country and how it influenced the music we hear today. it is really hard not to hear the influence when you turn on the radio, it is everywhere! if we didn't have the blues we wouldn't have rock'n roll. i think the common misperception is that the blues is only about bad things happening to you or bad things that have happened to you in the past. sure you can find several songs about a woman cheating or about drinking your sorrows away but the blues are about everything. the brilliant "muddy waters" said that there was a point where he wasn't sad about anything and he could pay his bills but he still had he blues, he said it just must be in his blood. i think he is definitely right about that, the blues are in his blood. when you drive through the muddy and tragically beautiful mississippi delta you feel something different from any other place. it is amazing that such a humble place birthed so many kings. all i am trying to say is this, give the blues a chance! listen closer and you will hear things you have never heard before. i will leave you with this quote from "muddy waters",

" a lot of people think the blues are something we need to forget...something from the past. i think the blues should live forever."

Sunday, October 28, 2007

finally i am am home...but i can't sleep.

i just got home today from touring with mat kearney this past couple months and i am so glad to be home...but i can't sleep. i have been so excited to sleep in my own bed and then when i do i am restless. that is is the weird thing about touring, when you are on the bus you wish you were in your own bed and when you are home you wish you in your bunk on the bus, it is so weird. the last couple months playing with mat were really fun and a girl named meiko opened up for us on the tour and she was great, good music+good friends = great tour. now i am going to go back to bed and contimplate the meaning of life...or atleast worry about it, insomnia is fun. goodnight.

Tuesday, September 11, 2007

the training wheels are off, what's next...college?



today was a great day...i got home last night after being gone for three and a half weeks and i was so happy to sleep in my own bed. this morning i was doing my favorite thing, just sitting on my front porch with my wife drinking a cup of strong black coffee watching our sons ride their scooters on our driveway and enjoying the cool minnesota air. my oldest son soren informs me that he is so ready to learn how to ride a bike with out training wheels, so i get a wrench and proceed to take the training wheels off his bike. i tell him to put on his helmet, knee and elbow pads and give him a fatherly speech about not giving up and try trying again, basically getting him ready for reality that he might not learn to ride a bike the first time. he is four years old and i tell him that some kids don't learn to ride a bike until they are five or six. my son tells me that he will have no trouble riding his "steel horse". i lower his seat and tell him to get on the bike and start to pedal. he proceeds to ride down the street like he has done it a million times, like he was just waiting for me to come home so that i could be the one to teach him. shortly after this he rides around the block and by the time we get back to our house he is trying to pop a wheely!!! who is this kid? the morning sun was shining and a cold breeze was blowing and it felt so good to be home and it felt even better to be the one to teach my son to ride a bike! this is one of those huge moments for a father, to teach your son to ride a bike is one of those things that is so simple to you but so big and exciting for your child, it is like a sixteen year old with a license tasting indepedance for the first time. then i started thinking about all of it...and i realized that it wasn't too long ago that i was holding my oldest son, the child that made me a father in the first place mind you... it wasn't too long ago that i was starring into the eyes of this fragile little child that i had never met before but was now instantly grafted into every memory i had ever had. now i am running next to him trying to keep up with him on his bike...it came so fast. it is just so beautiful to see these events in my children's lives unfold before my eyes! i am so honored! i am usually kind of a private person but this morning was too beautiful even for me to keep secret.


t.

Friday, September 7, 2007

i am still alive!

no i am not dead i have just been really busy! the past few weeks i have been on the road playing guitar for my good friend mat kearney. i was honored to be able to play on the tonight show yet again with mr. kearney...how cool! right now i am in dallas texas house of blues getting ready to soundcheck. i am really looking forward to going home for a little while and wrestling with my boys, i think i need it even more than they do! this fall is going to be a pretty busy one but it should be a lot of fun, i know i have said it before but i am planning on recording a record before the end of the year...i'm serious this time...really. i was just in L.A. for about nine days and it was so hot it made me long for fall to come, i am not ready for winter but i am definately ready for fall. i am sorry for dropping of the face of the planet, i know i am really good at the diappearing act! i am alive and doing well and excited for what the rest of the year will bring. stay tuned...

t
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Friday, July 27, 2007

the fruits of summer


this summer has been so good, and so sweet! i have been able to enjoy the fruits of summer like fresh tomatoes my backyard the smell of freshly mowed grass and of course a nice cup of coffee in the morning as i listen to the symphony of surburban sprinklers watering the yards on my street. i know this sounds like cheesy writing which i am probably guilty of but that is okay because i don't consider myself to be a writer at all so i don't have to worry about that. ha. not to be a downer but for us busy "adults" winter will be here in a blink of an eye so if you haven't tasted fresh sweetcorn purchased from an old guy in a ford f-100 on the side of the road or fresh tomatoes from your neighboors garden you should go out and enjoy the tastes of summer while they are still here unless you live in a place where it is "summer" all the time...in that case i am jealous...sort of...i still like shoveling snow. that is all.


t.

Thursday, July 5, 2007

just a leaf in the wind


right now i am am in a weird spot in my life, i am just going to lay this out there. this summer has been great in so many ways and in other ways it has been the twilight zone. i have had so much fun spending quality time with my family but i am also in such a weird place because i have no idea what i am doing right now and that is a little scary. i never thought it would be so freeing to not not what is going on, you know what i mean? all i am trying to say is that it is a good thing to realize and remember that you are not in control and worrying will not help you any. the quicker we realize this the better of we will be in the long run! i guess this is an upbeat thought dressed in drab colors, backhanded optimism has always been one of my specialties. ha.
for all you people out there just blowing in the wind like a leaf, all i have to say is enjoy it while it lasts. we might be blowing out of control in the wind and that can be a little scary but you have to admit that the view is incredible from way up here.

t.

Thursday, June 28, 2007

thank you!


last night i played a show at my neighborhood brew pub barley johns and i had a great time! i couldn't have asked for better weather, it was the kind of weather that makes living in minnesota so sweet! i just want to thank everyone that came out, it was a beautiful evening! see you next time!

t.

Monday, June 25, 2007

running for a cure

my friend amy is running a marathon to raise money for the leukemia & lymphoma society. i you would like to donate some extra change to a great cause you should check out her site. i'm sure you know someone who has been affected by leukemia and lymphoma or have been affected your self. if you have time you should check it out. thanks!

t.


www.active.com/donate/tntmida/AWallenbeck

Tuesday, June 19, 2007

i used to jam.

this past week i was in nashville recording songs for a record, band, or project yet to be determined, pretty cool huh? the lineup in the studio was cason "have you heard my willy nelson story?" cooley, will "the condore of rhythym" sayles, ben "the scientist" shives, and yours truly. it was so good to go into the studio and just write and create with some brilliant guys, in a really free and inspiring setting. it has been a long time since i just went into the studio and "jammed". remember when you first strarted playing guitar and you went to your friend's house and you jammed until your mom called and said that you were grounded because you missed supper? somewhere along the way you got better and then you didn't have time to jam anymore. i think this happens because it is uncomfortable in some way to walk into a room and and not know what is going to happen and you are forced to communicate from scratch with your instrument. great things happen when you just go with your gut and you don't worry about looking good, when you are worried about looking like you know everything you really kill your own creativity. i am starting to ramble or sound like the drunk guy at the party that keeps yelling "you guys really jammed tonight!" in your ear trying to scream over the music...sorry. all i am trying to say is that i had a great time this past week with some good friends and that i realized i need to "jam" more metiphorically speaking. i need to stop playing it so safe and just enjoy the ride, it is alot more fun. stay tuned for more info on the band.

Tuesday, June 5, 2007

summer is nice


hello everyone. i just have to say that summer is so nice...maybe it is because the winter is so long that we minnesotans we really need to soak up as much of the summer as we can. i really think our harsh winters are a small price to pay for our mild summers. the older i get the more i have come to enjoy all the seasons, yes even the winter...i know some people out there think that i may have finally gotten frost bite on the brain for liking the winter. i think i must suffer from some sort of wobegon guilt because i need to have a bitter winter to feel like i deserve a mild summer. i think it is time to brew a nice pot of coffee and sit on the front steps and soak in the beauty. i suggest you do the same.

Tuesday, May 22, 2007

new demo

hello. i have been writing a lot lately so i thought i would put up a new demo on my myspace player for you guys to enjoy...or not, it's all a matter of opinion, but i will warn you that this demo is particularly chopped full of that demo'ee goodness, children playing, computer fan etc. you get the drill. enjoy...or not. this song is about how fragile and beautiful life is, it is a sort of a poem set to music. it's a soem if you will.


my myspace page

Saturday, May 19, 2007

thankful?


today i flew from home from baltimore, and i was on a plane with a bunch of soldiers that were coming home from the war in iraq. they were not that much older or younger than me and you could tell that they were on the last leg of a very long journey home. when we landed i got out of the plane and waited to see their reactions and the reactions of there family members when they saw each other. it hit me so hard that i walked all the way back to the baggage claim with heavy tears in my my eyes! i have to remember that when i am at home in my warm bed and my kids are sleeping safe and sound, somebody else's father, son, daughter, or mother is somewhere defending my freedom! it doesn't matter what your opinion about this war is, you have to agree that all wars are horrible and proof of how messed up and evil that mankind can be. i know it is really early in my blogging career to be doing the "patriotic" blog but i just had to get this out somewhere. this is not supposed to be political, i just want to remind even if it is just myself to be thankful for all the sacrifices that so many young and old have made for me to raise my family in peace. i am very thankful.

Friday, May 18, 2007

baltimore


this morning I flew out to baltimore to visit my good friend jack and to play a show, this should be fun! it is an unexpected treat to come out here and play some songs. I also met an old aa fan named nikki who had some encouraging words about how our music had affected her life. that was cool! it is so cool to fly across the country and have someone you have never met encourage you! this is also the first time I have blogged from my cell phone...sweet. that's all for now.

Thursday, May 17, 2007

vegas baby!



yesterday i had the pleasure of playing with my friend mat kearney in the fabulous las vegas! i haven't played with him for a little while so it was really nice to catch up with him. no offense to people who live in las vegas though...your city is crazy! vegas is an assault on the senses, from the moment you get off your plane you hear the high pitched song of the slot machines! i was only there long enough to play, eat, and sleep and then head back home...short and sweet. las vegas is the opposite of minnesota...but i kind of like it...the strip shines like a giant goldtop in the sky. oh no...vegas has finally worn me down. I recall, Central Park in fall, how you tore your dress, what a mess, I confess, that's not all.
Danke Schoen, darling Danke Schoen. hahaha.

Wednesday, May 16, 2007

mr. tweedy and company do it again


if you don't have the new wilco record "Sky blue sky" you need to go out and get it or just go to their website and listen to it. this record is brilliant! i have been a wilco fan for a long time and they still surprise me. sometimes i feel like a jaded "snobby" music fan but every time wilco comes out with a new record i am excited to hear what they have done the next time around. it is just nice to listen to a band that just keeps getting better and is so comfortable with it's own sound. i guess it is just nice to hear a band firing on all cylinders.

Tuesday, May 15, 2007

hello


hello. i am once again going to try to blog at least once a week! you would think that it would be easy but i am so good at putting it off! i have made a science out of being lazy it seems. well that is all for today. that wasn't so bad.