The goodbye I never expected

Time stand still

Aging and the music

Motley doesn't disappoint

Ai is not music

As America celebrates 250 years, I have found myself reflecting on more than just our nation’s history. I’ve been reflecting on my own. Today has been quiet. It’s just me, the sounds of Annie the pug snorting away without a care in the world, and the occasional groans from my old beagle, Buster, as he settles into another nap. It’s peaceful, but it’s also given me a lot of time to think. Holidays have a funny way of bringing back memories. When I was in my twenties, the Fourt

Lately I have found myself thinking a lot about something that really hit me after watching the video of YUNGBLUD breaking down and reading the statement he put out afterwards. It made me stop and think. Not just about him as an artist, but about what we have become as a music culture online. Because the reaction to it said just as much as the moment itself. Instead of empathy, there was laughter. Instead of understanding, there was judgment. And it honestly made me realize h

The moon

Some days memories don’t just visit me, they flood in like they’ve been waiting just beneath the surface. A song in a grocery store. A smell in a hallway. A random object sitting in my house that suddenly transports me somewhere else entirely. Before I know it, I’m no longer standing in the present. I’m everywhere I’ve ever been. I find myself thinking about the people who are no longer here. Not just remembering them, but missing them in a way that feels physical, like somet

It started with one bill. Just one. Nothing dramatic on paper. Nothing that should have changed everything. But something about it hit differently than it should have. And it sent me into a spiral. A quiet one at first. Then heavier. Then familiar. That sinking feeling. The shutdown. The sense of everything piling up at once until I couldn’t hold it all in anymore. Before I knew it, I was back in a place I know too well. Depression. Isolation. Loud music. Silence from the wor

There are concerts, and then there are moments in time that become part of who you are. The sold-out Triumph and April Wine show at the Michigan Lottery Amphitheatre at Freedom Hill was one of those moments. The day was perfect for a road trip and a concert. The kind of Michigan day that reminds you why summer concert season is sacred. As we pulled into the parking lot, I couldn’t help but smile. Everywhere I looked were waves of gray hair. Gen X had arrived, with a light dus

I know I have been pretty absent lately when it comes to blogging, music posts, podcasts, bracelets, and honestly just life in general. The past month has been rough in ways I didn’t expect. Most of my energy has gone into helping my son through some really intense health anxiety. First it was high heart rates, then low heart rates, and suddenly we were spending days going back and forth to hospitals, doctors, tests, and trying to find reassurance anywhere we could. Watching

Yungblud-Heaven looked like this....

Troutzillafest is one of those nights that doesn’t just end when the last note is played. It lingers. In your head, in your body, in the quiet after the chaos. It’s the reminder of why this thing exists in the first place, even when it’s hard, even when it’s exhausting, even when it feels like too much for just two people to carry. You have to understand, Troutzillafest isn’t run by a big team. It’s just me and Damien. That’s it. He’s usually the one physically handling setup

Because the moment Mick hit the stage, none of that mattered anymore.

Music

Why I started this journey.

Unconditional love

Today I got to check another musical act off my bucket list, but this time it wasn’t just about the music. This wasn’t my typical rock or metal concert—it was my first time seeing a jazz band live. And this jazz band mattered to me more than most, because it was Alex Skolnick’s jazz band. This night carried weight, personal, emotional, and deeply needed. The morning started slow. I sat with my coffee, staring at my closet, reminding myself to shower and trying to talk my brai

This birthday hit me harder than any other. It hit me mentally, in a way I wasn’t expecting. It made me realize that the years are speeding by, and I only have so much time left on this beautiful planet. Birthdays used to be about celebration, cake, laughter, maybe a wild night or two, but now they feel more like a quiet reckoning. Another trip around the sun, another reminder that time doesn’t wait, and life is fleeting. The past five years have mostly been a blur of factor