Monday Morning Shuffle - Planet Earth is Blue, and There's Nothing We Can Do Mix

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I had just rolled over to try to sleep when my phone buzzed. A bad habit I know, but I looked at it.  "David Bowie Dead at 69". And, I thought it was one of those terrible internet hoaxes. I put the phone down - convinced that was the case, but I picked it up again, and I discovered that it was true. I felt numb.

My own exploration of his music was as random - just like all my explorations of music tend to be. I am not even certain where it began or the exact order.  I knew David Bowie from MTV - probably before, but MTV opened up several musical doors for me.. say what you will about it.  "Ashes to Ashes", "Let's Dance", "China Girl".... Lou Reed was an early influence of mine, and I found out that Bowie has co-produced Transformer - an album that helped transform me. I got a cassette of Hunky Dory and I wore it out. There was a lot I didn't understand about myself. Bowie's music helped. Ziggy Stardust.... 

I am having hard time really accepting that he is gone, but I am heartened by all of the posts on my Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram feeds - so many vastly divergent musicians and fans sharing many shared experiences some of which echo my own.  Music, for me, has been a companion through many lonely times, but it has also been a source of connection with others.

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As we must, we press on... My week long Birthday adventures kicked off last night with a couple of cool rounds a Bobby's Idle Hour on Music Row.  First, "Earie" award winners Joe Nolan, Drew Kohl, and Andrew Adkins shared a stage, and they all sounded fantastic.

There was a second round, and I had intended to leave, but I ended up staying.  Three singer-songwriters that I had not heard before -   Kyler Daron, Joey Maloney, and Peter McKeown. Seems an appropriate part of my Birthday Week.

Tonight, the week continues - moving on up to the Eastside for night 2 of Darrin Bradbury's month-long residency at The Basement East. Tonight's guest are Zach Schmidt and Tim Easton - two of East Nashville's finest songwriters.  Come on out and hang and listen to cool tunes.

On to the shuffle -