Tim Alexander’s lovely wife apologized to me after the concert. She admitted she didn’t recognize me and marveled at how The Staxx Brothers replaced their singer with another guy that could sound so much like him and had so many of the same moves.
She didn’t see the transformation play out on social media so that is a great tell.
Eddie Hernandez the best soundman for hundreds of miles who has done sound for a over a dozen of my shows – and many of our greatest shows, said I sound better than ever.
Come see me LIVE. Come see me in Leavenworth Nov 8 & 9.
I am on a mission. I had a talent buyer in Seattle tell me I’m not a local headliner and that I needed a local headliner to play a room I packed more than half a dozen times.
What a crock of sh☆t. Eye of the f☆cking tiger. All of you supporting my Patreon, supporting my shows, reading my posts, all yall’, thank you for your help in advance for helping me sell out some Seattle rooms and proving that guy wrong.
Draw, draw, draw, yadda, yadda, yadda. I know I have to promote, heck I like to promote. But I need to transform myself into the greatest musician I can possibly be.
I need to have Daniel Oliver hand me a music chart and play parts in my head. I need to play a harmonica like a trumpet. I need to sing great harmonies. I need to play guitar effortlessly and solo and sing without looking at the fretboard.
I’m pretty good. But I want to be great. Not the greatest…just great.
I want you to pay $100 dollars to see me someday and be satisfied because my band, my performance, my show was just…great.
That’s not arrogance. That’s hopefulness and confidence that it’s even possible at my age.
This weekend the Muscle Shoals & Charlie Daniels drummer that I adore, Gary Pacemaker told me I looked younger.
Well maybe I do. Maybe I am 30 not 40. Maybe this was a miracle. Maybe this was magic. But the blackest magic is just practice.
10,000 hours. Practicing smart. Fighting against the oppressive weight of ignorance and reaching for the light.
It’s about believing in the process. It’s about a master plan.
…and now…and now…
…I am going to run 4 k in the rain. I ran 4 k last night before I left for Bellingham. Hambone Wilson was there in the kitchen of The Little Roadside Tavern, where he greeted me when I came to catch his final set and he put me up on the farm. He packed that little house.
Now I am home again sitting in this warm old house upon on old Everett and its oldest hills.
I don’t want to run in the rain. But I am gonna’. I’ve got to. To the hospital where I smack that sign is 4 kilometers every time.
I got to.
My first full rehearsal with The Original Jazz Cabbage is Monday morning before work. I’ve gotta nail that.
I’ve gotta nail everything. I’ve got to crack the code.
…and every dollar of that Patreon has bought me more time, and freedom, and leverage to chase this dream. And it’s put money into the hands of people like Mell Dettmer who is producing my debut “solo” album, and Garrett Gibbons who is editing the video for my next video Bush Doctor.
Your help really matters. Without your help, I am nothing. Just a boxer punching at shadows, jiving about past glories and dodging the jabs of disappointments like being told after 17 years of Staxx Brothers and 100s of shows, I’m not even a local headliner in a 150 cap room.
When I play that room watch me. Just watch me.
– Musician and writer Davin Michael Stedman has many ventures, such as the AMAZING blog, 100milesofmusic.com. Davin’s recent song has become a global earworm and Caribbean dancehall hit. Listen here on Reggaeville: DAVIN MICHAEL STEDMAN & ANTHONY RED ROSE – FREE YOUR MIND FEAT. SLY & ROBBIE WITH LENKY MARSDEN. The video is now available on Youtube: Tuff Gong Television. His single with British band Sherlock Soul is available here.
