Events |

“We must let go of the life we have planned,
so as to accept the one that is waiting for us.”
—Joseph Campbell

“Getting older is only acceptable
when you consider the alternative.”
—Me

And so we arrive at September, 2026. Since I began playing music in the early 1970’s September has meant two things: 1. My Birthday’s here! 2. The beginning of the Fall booking season, when the bars start to get busy. This year is different. My birthday came, as usual (and it was fun!) but I am no longer filling up the calendar as I did in past years. The possibilities are still there, if you’re looking, but I am now choosing not to look. At the end of this year, I am planning to be (mostly) retired.

There are many reasons for this, but the shortest version of the story is that the place inside me that drove me to PERFORM has been filled. What I want to do now is be home with Colleen and Nellie and Maxine. I want to be able to see my kids and grandkids and family members without having to consider my engagement calendar first. Physical wear and tear is a contributing factor and preparation and recovery times have grown as my tolerance level for the absolute idiocy woven into the fabric of “the music biz” has shrunk. In short, it’s time to turn out the lights and exit, stage left.

All of that being said, I am not quitting music entirely. I need to continue writing and (hopefully) recording new songs as they come to me. I have been lucky to be surrounded by incredibly gifted and fun musicians, and I hope to be able to work and gig with them in the future as situations arise that feel right, make sense, have some importance, and/or seem like fun. We’ll just have to see how the coming years play out. As of now, I will look forward to playing the dates that are booked through the end of the year and will let you know where and when I will be in the future.

One of the opportunities to perform that I always classify as “Very Special” occurs anytime I get to play with the MojoSkillet. Exciting things happen when I get to join Jim Nelson, “Gypsy” Dave Wisniewski and Dave “the Detonator” Steffen to rock the house with our own unique selection of Original Songs, Country Classics, Rhythm and Blues Favorites, 60’s Rock, and whatever-the-hell-else we feel like throwing into mix. Happily, I am able to invite you for THE RETURN OF the MojoSkillet to the Copper Fiddle Distillery, in Lake Zurich, on Saturday, September 12, 2026, from 8:00 until 11:00. We’re going to start off the night with some acoustic songs and rock on until they throw us out, so come early and stay late! This is your chance to see some of the finest musicians in the Chicago area, playing songs they love (including songs from their EP/CD “Learn to Dance” and some freshly minted Skilletoons) in a great, friendly, boozy environment perfectly engineered to ensure that a good time is had by all!