Even When It's Bad...

Those of you who have been following me for a few years know the story...

I had been bugging myself to go see more live music. (It's so easy to get into a pattern of playing music all the time, but not listening to it.) I had driven from DC to Annapolis to see the fantastic Chris Trapper play, and sometime around midnight, I began the 40 minute drive home.

Stroke of luck #1: I was not speeding, not talking on my phone, not reaching blindly into the backseat for the next CD in my audio book (as I had on the drive TO Annapolis). The radio wasn't even on.  Some distance ahead of me, a truck swerved out of my lane and directly into the left guardrail. My eyes followed the truck, and my mind registered the event, thinking "that was strange" as my eyes returned back to the center lane. At that point I saw it.  A couch. In the center lane of a 65 mph highway. It was laid out perfectly, as if someone was about to sit down and watch my approaching car like a television.

Photoshopped, for your enjoyment...

Seriously. Like that. But a little farther away

Anyway, I didn't hit the couch. It would have flipped my little Honda, and I'm fairly certain I would have died. The truck was to my left, so I swerved right and hit the guardrail, my car spinning around in the process.

Stroke of luck #2: My Honda (which had been CURSED from the moment I bought it, as was proven by its ridiculous death) was totaled, but my only injury was a small cut on my arm from a broken window. The driver's side door was crumpled in so that it was *just* touching that arm. A few more inches and things could have been far worse.

Whoever dropped the couch never stopped. A few other kind and caring people did. The next day, car-less and confused, I did the only thing that felt natural, as silly as it was. I played piano. I wrote a song.

My car, a few days later.

I knew that all things considered, I was lucky, and that I would figure this out, because that's what we do. It's the only option when things get crazy. I wrote "Even When It's Bad" because upon hearing about the accident, fans had already started donating to keep me on the road. I came up with a plan: lock myself in the office, record this song and a few others, and make a limited edition CD. People could pay what they wanted. A pessimistic friend warned me that "pay what you want" meant "pay little or pay nothing." I didn't believe him.

Within ten days, I'd sold all 100 copies, and raised enough to pay off what was left of the cursed, stupid, silver-stress-mobile (FYI–putting 30,000 miles per year on your car really depreciates the insurance value) and have a little left over to put towards the down payment on a new car.

The song, "Even When It's Bad," got me to the Kerrville New Folk Contest this year. It won Kerrville. Winning got me new fans who have helped greatly in the making this album. I play this song when I'm sad, and I play it when I feel lucky.

Thank you so much for helping me then, and for helping me now. I keep saying this, but it's because it's true, as trite as it may sound. I feel really, really lucky.

We're keeping this one simple for the CD. Here's a peek...