Although I'm confident the title needs no explanation allow me to flesh it out a little. If you're like me you've been burned enough by sneaky auto service professionals to leave you permanently suspicious of them. Especially the guys in oil change centers where you walk out paying $100 bucks for a $30 oil change. Somehow they manage to talk me into paying them to change filters in my car that I'm pretty sure don't exist!

So now I get to tell you about Jiffy Lube in London Ontario, Canada. I h...
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Over the past few days I've been vacationing in Massachusetts. I've been here before and LOVED IT!

In the weeks leading up to this vacation I had been daydreaming about all the wonderful things I would do and the amazing things I would see. Well, as is often the case, this time reality didn't match up with my expectations.

It took me hours to get across the border from Canada into the US, and then, a few hundred meters after passing through US customs my car started misbehaving. I went to acc...
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I know this is a bit of a departure, but I've decided I'm going to use this blog in two ways: 1) To talk about all things music, and 2) To relate the stories of people whose actions and character inspire me. In this installment I'd like to explore the phenomenon of staying calm in the midst of a crisis. Recently a new story highlighted this phenomenon. It was about Antoinette Tuff, a school clerk in Georgia. A typical day took a sudden terrible turn when Antoinette was  confronted by an armed...
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I love fall! - the cool weather, the bare trees, Halloween. Everyone seems to be hunkering down, settling in, making preparations for the winter. It's such a bitter sweet time. Nature is slowly winding down, colours turn from green to grey. But there are also fall fairs and festivals everywhere. Everyone celebrating another bountiful harvest, and enjoying each others company. All the revelry seems to mock the death and decay nipping at nature's heels. So get out there and tell a few ghost sto...
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I was at Will Ackerman's Imaginary Road studio last week. What an experience! Brattleboro, the town closest to Will, is the epitome of Quaint - beautifully restored storefronts downtown. Many vibrant little eateries, and cozy, disorganized used bookstores. I met Will in a bright coffee shop. We hadn't seen each other before but we immediately recognized each other. Will is warm and approachable.  He talks just as easily about his good times as he does his bad. I was very surprised at how grou...
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So the studio date is getting closer and closer (June 4th) and I'm getting pretty excited. I'll actually be going down to meet my producer Will Ackerman and see his studio in Vermont on May 21. I'll be driving through the beautiful spring mountain scenery and if you visit Will's website you'll see he has an amazing spot http://imaginaryroadstudios.com set right in the middle of it all. Will has kindly suggested that I spend some time getting used to the piano I'll be playing, an amazing Stein...
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As most of you have probably noticed by now, I've been incorporating more of my violin into my songs. Violin was my first instrument. I started playing when I was very young - back before I knew that learning a musical instrument was hard. At that age, your brain is like an eager puppy that's up for anything, "What, learn the violin, ya I'm totally into that!". Somehow, without much practice, or focused attention I did manage to get proficient on the instrument. Then high school happened and ...
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When it comes to the music I write I am horrible at knowing which songs are good and which aren't. Some songs that I really get excited about don't seem to stir much in anyone else. Some songs I'm almost sheepish to share with others end up getting a favourable response. Why is it that I have such difficulty predicting what others will like? I sometimes try to resolve the issue by saying "Just do what you like and let the chips fall where they may." but when it comes time to share the songs w...
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I know the music I should like and the music I shouldn't. I know I should like Mahler, and Liszt, and The Cowboy Junkies, and Lou Reed. This stuff is intelligent, erudite. I should be drinking a Manhattan, and wearing a hat (not a cap) when I listen to it. I know this. But then why do I like REO Speedwagon, and Glee, and old gospel music? Not cool at all. Sure I like some stuff that's "hip" and "out there" like Tom Waits and Nick Drake. I talk about these with pride. And try to hid...
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I've always been fascinated by the way music can speak to us so powerfully and how it bypasses interpretation. In conventional human communication research shows that we perceive a message and then have to interpret it in order to make sense of it. Music pushes that cumbersome process aside and speaks directly to our emotions. It conjures up memories so vivid we can almost taste and smell them, it flings open a window and penetrates our ignorant darkness with  insight. It can inspire us to co...
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I thought I might share a bit about what inspires me to write songs. Even though what you hear are my instrumental piano songs, I have also had a lot of experience writing singer/songwriter-type material. When I am coming up with my lyrics I need a human story to draw from. It helps me structure the song, and it provides the emotional motivation I need to immerse myself in the endeavor. I find that I require the same thing when I'm writing instrumental music. It always helps me to think of a ...
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