There’s a lot that has happened since my move to Tucson last November, though at times it seems like things are going more slowly than they should.  But when I stop to think about it, I’ve been pretty active.  Of course, becoming familiar with one’s surroundings takes a bit of time.  I can’t say I know this place like the back of my hand and maybe never will, but I at least know how to get around pretty well.  I’ve met some cool people, jammed with musicians, joined some bands and written a few pieces of music.  I’ve also managed to have some fun with my wife & family, something that we were not really managing to do so much of our last year in California.

The terrain here is beautiful in a very sparse and barren kind of way.  Lots of open space, blue skies and greener than you might think a desert would be.  I actually like the fact that here in Tucson, people seemed to have adapted to their environment rather than trying to force their environment to adapt to them.  Case in point, you won’t see a lot of green grassy lawns here like you do in California, but the truth is that you wouldn’t really see that in many parts of California either were it not for irrigation.  They spend a ton of money and waste a lot of water to make their lawns green and pretty there, probably one of the many reasons it costs so damn much to live there.  Most lawns here have the natural vegetation of the area, some of which is actually green, but most of it is course and spiny; cactus, shrubs, that kind of thing, not really your typical American Dream lawn. Beautiful in it’s own other-worldy way though.  Fine with me, one less thing to have to worry about maintaining….. The community we live in has a pool which I try to use almost daily.  It’s generally pretty sunny and warm here, actually it’s getting quite hot these days.  It’s a dry heat where you bake more than boil, not for everyone for sure but it suits me just fine.  I like this place……

I’ve bought myself a new bass, it’s an Ibanez ATK 305 5 string bass which was supposed to be a backup bass since I’m playing a lot, but I like it so much more than my Fernandes Gravity that it’s become my main bass and I will most likely try to sell the Fernandes and get something else entirely.  Or not.  It’s nice to have options!  I also bought myself a Schecter Ultra III guitar which will be the perfect tool for the spacy, twangy sounds I plan to be exploring over the next year or so.  I’ve also sold a bunch of gear I didn’t use and plan on unloading and acquiring even more stuff.  Typical gearhead musician……

My main project these days is updating both this website and my composition site and of course continuing to network and hopefully drum up more work.  So if you know anyone who needs a composer for their film, website or other multimedia project, send them my way.  Likewise, if anyone in the Tucson area needs a bassist or guitarist for their project,  I might be able to lend a hand…….