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Photo by Lukáš Patkaň

Music to me these days is about beating some different bushes hoping to flush the same birds. It’s about putting music in places people don’t always think about these days. But really, it’s about bringing music back to where it came from, living rooms and other places where people feel at ease, most like themselves. I don’t always see my role in these endeavors as the evening’s main focal point. I can tell stories and jokes between songs, or I can just provide the soundtrack for the evening.

Last night I played a show at the Shultz residence in Barrington, a party Kevin Shultz threw for his real estate clients. While most of the night was spent without a tremendous amount of engagement with the party guests, setting ‘em up and knocking ‘em down as they say, it was still tremendously satisfying to know I could play this role without feeling self-conscious. This would not have been the case say, two or three years ago. I would’ve felt somehow obligated to be a larger part of the dialog, although really, sometimes letting the music speak is best in these situations. There’s always a self-conscious part of me that feels the need to explain myself. Why are you here? Thankfully this part of me has retreated into the black hole from which it came.

I also have to say the acoustics in the Maison du Shultz were second to none, with it’s cathedral ceilings and vast hardwood floors. I half-jokingly told Kevin we should record a live record in this space, but in all truth, it would sound amazing, as the space needs very little amplification. It felt like I could just let my mouth drop open and anything that fell out would somehow sound musical (well, almost anything). It’s also the same reason I used to visit a place we called “the Sound Tunnel” back in the 80′s and early 90′s, a cement underpass in Dover, NH that runs beneath Route 95. You could spend hours effortlessly playing music while feeling like you’d purchased the world’s biggest reverb machine (and let’s face it, everyone sounds better with reverb) and stepped inside to lose yourself. Somehow the world felt tighter whenever we departed the Sound Tunnel, as if all of the water had dried from the air or something.

Speaking of putting in music in different places, I’m currently booking a campground tour for Summer 2010. The idea came to me a couple of years ago while Jenny and I were vacationing with the Jacques at a campground in the Adirondacks. One night Jacquese and I started jamming around a campfire and looked up to see a crowd had gathered on our site’s periphery. I mean, what better place to present music than to folks who are on vacation, half-drunk, and in great moods, right? Outside of the half-drunk aspect, I’m just not convinced bars and night clubs provide folks with this same modicum of relaxation, and in my estimation, people are ultimately better listeners when they’re relaxed and in their elements. The jury’s out on how this campground tour will play out, but one thing’s for certain: the stakes are low. It’s worth a gamble.

Thanks again to Kevin and Michelle for having me into their gorgeous estate to perform. I truly appreciate the opportunity and also the supplied hospitality. It was a night to remember, and I hope to return some day, perhaps to record Martin England – the House Concert Tapes.

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