September always feels to me like the first month of my yearly cycle. Everything begins now. The vibe quickens with the seasonal descent into autumn. The touring season is new. October and November are typically my busiest months of the year, September and December being the bookends. I'm psyched: once I acclimate to the pace of moving from town to town I'm at ease with all things. Strange but true.

The milepost reached this month was the first week of September spent in Nashville mixing The Trade with Bil VornDick. The album is "in the cans" as they say, and the finished product is--if I do say so myself--wonderful! Each day was a seminar on the "how to" of mixing an album. Observing Bil and adding my two cents from time to time was an experience I'll never forget. Stored forever in the hard drive of my mind. The album is now in the process of being shopped to various labels. My hopes are that it will find a home this fall and be released by January or February.

The night of the first day driving to Nashville I made it down to the Shenandoah Valley in Virginia. My intention was to sleep in the van and save the motel bill, so what I did was veer off the interstate and climb up to the Blue Ridge Parkway. To my great pleasure National Public Radio was airing a two-hour documentary on the life of Woody Guthrie. It was heaven camping out on the Blue Ridge in the quiet and darkness, immersed in the stories of Woody's life. It gave me a sense that what I'm doing with my own life must be right.

The other significant bit of work done was an intense week last week of recording Lui Collins new album. We brought in Gideon Freudman on Cello, and Johnny Cunningham on Fiddle, and added various vocal, guitar, and mandolin tracks. Leaving Fort Knox, as it's titled, is shaping up very well and will have it's last tracks recorded and mixed in November when I'm back in Massachusetts.

Besides that I've mostly been living at my computer and telephone getting ready for the fall tour. How boring. How linear. But life on the road wouldn't be possible if it weren't for these binges of pushing paper. I'll bet I've send out four dozen packages in the last two weeks of press releases and posters to all the towns on my tour route. I've blown my savings again on what............paper and postage!! Oh well, this is what I do for the privilege of writing songs for a living.

Next months entry I'm hoping will be full of scenes from Wisconsin and Minnesota, Missouri and Nebraska. Meanwhile, keep in touch. Let me know what you think of this website, and where you think I should be touring. Remember, house concerts are always a possibility in folk venue deprived communities. Host one. Go to one. Support live music. See you on the road.

Kindest Regards,
Dana