My goodness, it's been a long time since I posted. Music took a back seat for several months while we worked on the house and it took some time to get motivated again. Inevitably, all writers hit writer's block and my name came up in the rotation because I wasn't playing and wasn't writing anything. The good news is that I'm back in the saddle (not literally, you understand - I'm not going to become a singing cowboy) and enjoying playing and composing again.

I have two finished guitar instrumentals and a third that is almost complete. I also have a work in progress on getting lucky (in several senses) on the internet. There may be a verse in it about what a huge time-suck Facebook is. I'm not addicted to the internet. Really, I'm not. I can stop any time I want.

Sometimes it's the little things that kickstart you. For several months now, I've been playing in a jam organized by my friend Laurie every couple of weeks. I have to learn a new language living in Nova Scotia. I used to call it a song circle but down here it's a jam. If you're walking down Lincoln Street in Lunenburg every other Friday afternoon, you might see several musicians sitting in one of the storefronts, and if you stick your head in the door, you'll hear some interesting sounds. It's an eclectic mix of styles and we do have people dropping in just to listen, so if you're in the neighbourhood...

Here's some news on upcoming performances. On April 1st, 6:00 to 9:00pm, I'll be playing for the dinner and after crowd at the Scuttlebutt Restaurant on Montague Street in Lunenburg. The owners, Traci and Rob, are great people and are encouraging local artists by putting on music events and I'm pleased to be part of it. The food is good and won't break the bank. They have a liquid license so you can have a tasty beverage while dining and while listening after. One of my personal favourites: they serve breakfast all day so you can get bacon, scrambled eggs, and home fries whenever. Yum. Oh yeah, no cover charge. How good can it get? Click here to link to Scuttlebutt's Facebook page.

I'll also be part of a Songwriters Circle at Lunenburg Sessions on Tuesday May 3 at 7:30pm in the 3rd Floor Theatre of the Lunenburg Academy. I love doing songwriter's circle generally and I'm looking forward to this one in particular. Joining me will be Catahoula Brown, who was featured not long ago on CBC's Atlantic Airwaves, and Bonnie Ste. Croix who is a great singer/songwriter living in Halifax. Bonnie is one of the finalists at Folk Fiesta for the last spot at the 2011 Folk Harbour Festival. Click here to link to Lunenburg Sessions Facebook page.

Shortly after the Songwriter's Circle, it's off to Wolfville for the 3rd Annual AMP Festival, presented by Andy Flynn and Ariana Nasr. I'm on the bill for Mother's Day Sunday Night, May 8th. The format is a rapid-fire event with quick changeovers between acts so we get to see a lot of performers in a short period of time. The other good news on this gig is that Ariana will be joining me to play violin with me. Click here to link to the AMP Festival website.

So that's it for the moment. I will try to be a more regular correspondent now that music moves me again.

Cheers, Bob