The Greatest Thing You’ll Ever Learn
One of the songs I heard my mother sing when I was a kid was “Nature Boy” by Eden Ahbez. It was one of the pieces I cut my teeth on when I was learning to ‘fake’ music from chord charts. It has a haunting melody with simple, beautiful chords. There’s one thing I just... read more
How My Dad Sang at His Own Funeral
I love to share this photo every father’s day. It’s one of the only pictures I have of me and my Dad, and it’s on the day of his second wedding. Decades later, I would help my father sing at his own funeral. Let me give that some context: About 30... read more
Chappy Chanuka
This is an archive post ~ originally published Dec. 23, 2011 When I was 12 and living in North Carolina, I wanted to send my grandparents a Hannukah card. I’d never celebrated the holiday, since only half my family was Jewish and that half – my mother... read more
Music is Connection
When I grew up, music was a huge part of my life but I never listened to records or went to concerts. It was all live. It all happened in my home – or my relatives’ homes – most of it spontaneous — and it ran the gamut from us playing ukes and... read more
Tony and Me… and the Barn
After a few years away from “The Barn” – The Celebration Barn in South Paris, ME – I’m going back to perform on June 20th for one night! Click the ticket image to I wanted you know WHY the Barn is so important to me – because of... read more
Where’s My Cowboy Now?
We went down the driveway to the main road to throw rocks at cars. I remember it as the day of my Grandfather’s funeral. My good buddy Stephen Holmes was visiting. We were about 4 or 5, I guess, and we’d been told to get out of the house. So we went to... read more
Headless Venus
She was my 5th or 6th grade project for history and social studies. I waited ‘til the night before the project was due. Not avoiding it – just obsessing over it. We were studying ancient Greece and Rome. Finally I took my mother’s Venus, the eight-inch statue... read more
Nixon or the Kildeer??
Somewhere recently I heard that, depending on when you grew up, and who was president, you’ll have a different outlook on life. In the U.S. for example, they said, if you came of a certain age (which I forgot) during the Kennedy administration, you’ll be... read more
AGT Blog 5: Authenticity: Marylee Hause
To start at the beginning of this blog series: you’ll know that I was invited to compete on”America’s Got Talent” last March in Seattle, I played James Brown “I Feel Good” on electric harp, was rejected with lightning speed, and... read more
