Looking Forward

Princess (a half-wild mallard cross we rescued about a year ago) has decided she likes our home so much she wants to raise a family here. She got busy a few weeks ago, laying a total of fifteen (!) eggs before deciding to settle down and sit on them. Her boyfriend Attila is cruising back and forth across his pool, looking smug. Expect news in mid-November…

Meanwhile, I was back in the studio today with Devin for a final re-hash of the mix for the new album Wrong and Wright, which will go to press as soon as my genius artist friend Dan finishes the cover art. Devin (a rare polymath) not only finished engineering my music today but also helped me design new business cards for GriffinEd and some new sample advertising to place in magazines, etc. while telling me about the new book he’s writing about magic card tricks.

I went to Descanso Gardens on Saturday morning for their wonderful Halloween/Harvest Festival: they had asked me not only to provide music but also to serve as Grand Marshal for their Halloween costume parade! Alas, it was definitely raining on my parade. We hastily moved the show to the pavilion in the rose garden to avoid the rain as well as some heavy bee activity in the camellia forest, but it’s all good because that’s how I roll. Under the circumstances, we had a surprisingly large turnout of small fairies, pirates, and wood elves. The show was fine if a bit damp; Sunday’s show was less damp and therefore had a much bigger turnout. My favorite thing about performing at Descanso? You don’t have to sit quietly: you can get up and dance if you want. Come dance on the stage with me, run through the roses, tiptoe through the tulips if you like. I cannot imagine a better place to share music with kids, weather and bees notwithstanding.

Okay, time to get serious for a minute. The bank accounts are finally open for Griffin Education Solutions, which means you can now make a tax-deductible contribution of cash or stock if you wish. Please contact me if you’re interested. Bear in mind that at this point it all goes to keep the music free online and in schools: my own modest salary won’t kick in until we’re funded for several years out.

Speaking of the future, I have plenty of openings in my performance schedule as of this writing. I’ve had about a dozen school shows so far in September and October and all were very well received, but few schools have booked me for November or December yet. Schedule’s WIDE OPEN, people…