I have lost track of the days since my father and I started working in our home studio. Time flies, as they say.

Our first track is scheduled for release on September 23. It’s a comic song about our current infatuation with being outraged. Entitled, appropriately, Outrage.

The track is already available for patrons. It will be on most streaming services once it goes public. You can keep track of this and upcoming releases at https://reverendpillsbury.hearnow.com/.

Now that we are getting a feel for what works, my father and I can start pushing the envelope a bit and dig into some slide blues.

I won’t say any of this is easy. My hands are so bad that just getting dressed is a challenge, but, there is a bright side. My father and I are working closely together. I’m the hands and he is the ears. While there are days when everything seems difficult, I am aware of how lucky I am. Not many men get to work like this with their father.

Audio quality, my comfort with the electric banjo, and everything else will improve over time. Learning as we go has always been our favored methodology.

In other news, Crisfield, Maryland, has seen another summer come and go. While the weather won’t start cooling down until late October, there are little signs of autumn all around. I still have a standing invitation to play dominoes with some local old-timers. I hope to get some kind of wheelchair, so I can roll a few blocks down the street and see my friends. My Irish stubbornness dislikes begging for a ride, and walking there hurts so bad that I’m lousy company when I get there.

On the bright side, this is the best time of the year for sitting on the back steps in the evening. Just as the sun starts going down, a cool breeze will start to drift in the air. Dragonflies the size of sparrows buzz and dart at one level. Above them, bats circle as, above them, swallows circle in the twilight sky. Sitting quietly brings welcome visitors. Whitetail deer wander under the pecan tree as foxes, raccoons, possums, and groundhogs come and go. Owls have been crying at night, while the crickets, toads, and other night musicians play a rhythmic backup.

I will be experimenting with recording the electric using a slide tomorrow. If the tinkering yields interesting results, I’ll post sound files for patrons.

Well, there is a storm rolling over town. Neuropathy and arthritis are riling up something fierce. Going to curl up with the three cats and a cheesy movie. Given how bad the pain is presently, it feels prudent to break out one of those mind-bendingly weird movies I keep in reserve for extreme situations: Samurai Cop. It’s my version of chicken soup.