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It wasn't that I didn't like the ukulele, I just didn't consider it a ... well ... respectable musical instrument. Then I met Kevin Ecker.

He strummed that little four-string thing with a rare rhythmic aggression, a steady pulse, and a grip that was tight and true. Almost like Pete Townshend would play the uke ... in a way that was bold and powerful and, actually, quite guitar like. I tried on numerous occasions to talk Kevin into switching to the guitar. "Come on, man, if you sound this good on the ukulele, just think what you'd sound like on the real thing!"

He would have none of that. He was uncompromising in so many aspects of his life. I suppose "dedicated" is the more appropriate word ... dedicated to staying true to his ideals and passions and what was important to him.

Kevin was above all a man of great humor and fun. It's true that he was awfully silly much of the time, and I didn't always relate to that, given that my nature is serious and practical. But I always laughed with Kevin, and he always loosened everybody up, whether they wanted to be loosened or not. Kevin was also smart as hell, irreverent, fast-talking (and fast-thinking) and most of all a gentleman. He adored his family and friends, and would often get misty-eyed and his voice would falter when his thoughts turned to his loved ones.

Today, as we remember Kevin and grieve his untimely passing, I am deeply grateful to have met him, spent quality time with him making music and been welcomed into his inner circle by marrying his sister.

Thanks for always putting on such a great show, brother. Last call is never much fun, especially this one, but something tells me you're smiling and laughing and strumming the bejeezus out of that ukulele on your new stage.

The memories and music go on and on ...


Below is a video of Kevin shot not long ago by a co-worker in Chicago:



Click the arrow below to hear an instrumental song Kevin and I recorded several years ago. He's strumming the uke and I'm adding guitars. He had a different name for this song but it always struck me as "Spooky Uke."
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Got a new stomp box, the Boss RC-3 Loop Station. Where there was one me, there now are two. Rhythm and lead. I'll never leave the house again!!
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Driving through downtown Orlando this morning I snapped this shot of the circa-1926 train station that's still very much in use. It hosts only a miniscule fraction of the 50 million vacationers who come to town each year, but I did behold a few families and their luggage in and around this old Spanish-style building awaiting the next Amtrak. There really is a lot to Orlando if you take the time to inspect it.
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I just spent the past week sailing the western Caribbean on a brand-new cruise ship. In total we covered 2,163 nautical miles. That's a boatload of sea. The swells, the spray and the splashing are hypnotizing. It makes you ponder big things ... the planet, your life, the people you love. Nothing on the frilly vessel itself compares to the mystery and enchantment of the wide open ocean.

"For whatever we lose(like a you or a me)
it’s always ourselves we find in the sea."

e.e. cummings
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Hip club music pulsed from the speakers inside the lobby of Ink48, the hotel where I stayed this week on the west side of midtown Manhattan. Fresh-faced and stylish men and women came and went, and I was reminded how this great city is most alluring and kind to young people. It certainly is a place where trends are born and reborn by the hour.

I, however, can't help but view the city as a portal to its magnificent past. Every time I visit, and it's been more than a dozen times, I think of the writers and poets who lived at the Chelsea Hotel, the jazzmen who blew horns and minds at the Village Vanguard, the abstract painters who bewildered everyone with their in-your-face masterpieces in SoHo. No matter what the current, pressing need is (in my case this week, a crazy back-to-back work schedule), all I see is a city of yesteryear, of larger-than-life personalities and places now gone, but of stories and impressions that haunt each step I take and lurk around every corner.
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I love all the subway's gritty tile
On my trip this week, I only had enough time to venture away from my work and into the city's interior on two brief occasions. Escaping my swanky hotel late one evening, I descended into the subway and strolled my all-time-favorite bookstore, the Strand.

It's always surprising, especially now that I'm middle-aged and tired, to see how many people walk the sidewalks of this city so late at night, seemingly with so many important things to do and places to be.

With my work done on Friday morning, I left the gray, cold, rainy weather and flew back to Orlando, where it was 85 degrees and bursting with color. As a young man, I always yearned to live in Manhattan. Now, it's big fun to visit but nothing beats returning home to the sunshine, my wife and kids, my guitars!

"Beyond the New York City guidebooks and the chamber of commerce, New York is no summer festival," wrote Gay Talese, one of the ultimate chroniclers of New York life, in his brilliant story, New York is a City of Things Unnoticed. "For most New Yorkers, it is a town of hard work, too many cars, too many people."

WHY I WAS IN NEW YORK: I had the privilege of working with an army of super talented entertainment, public affairs and marketing colleagues to support an unforgettable event for Disney. Here's a video summary of the results.
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The seaport city of Bremerhaven in northern Germany
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The stage is set
Guten tag! I just returned from a business trip to Germany, specifically to the seaport of Bremerhaven, and more specifically to a brand new cruise ship docked in icy waters not far from its birthplace at the Meyer Werft shipyard.

I was there to provide speechwriting support to the top executives at my company as we engage a few thousand new crew members and prepare this amazing new cruise liner for its first passengers.

I didn't spend much time in Bremerhaven proper (luckily I did a year ago when we launched a different ship) but it was nice to drive though town and take in a bit of the city's charming mix of historic and modernist architecture.

Most of my time was spent on the ship working, writing, rewriting and not getting much rest. The best part of the trip? Flying home in business class on Lufthansa with superb cuisine, great wine, naps and the opportunity to see a TV documentary about the 20th anniversary of Nirvana's landmark record, Nevermind. It always comes back around to rock 'n' roll, doesn't it?
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Yes, those are chunks of ice in the frigid waters along the coast of the North Sea
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I joke that I'm neither a morning person nor night person, that I'm more of a mid-afternoon person. The fact is, I'm a poor sleeper and usually very conscious in the pre-dawn and late-night hours.

But as frustrating as it can be to wander the house wide-eyed as my wife and kids slumber peacefully in their beds, these moments of silence can be wonderfully enriching. They're great opportunities to read and reflect and sometimes just blankly stare at the wall. You might say they are gifts to be treasured, coming as they do before and after the flurry of email, the family's mad scramble to get ready for whatever it is we're doing, and the noisy routine of life.

Would I rather be sleeping in these odd hours? Absolutely. But since that doesn't happen as much as I'd like, I'll take solace in these fleeting slivers of solitude and try to use them to my advantage.

"Let us be silent, that we may hear the whispers of the gods," said Ralph Waldo Emerson.
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A relaxing spot along the Manteo waterfront
The sea spray and blustery breezes of North Carolina's Outer Banks mixed miraculously with family and friends to create a Thanksgiving holiday Guitar Dad will never forget.

Everything was perfect ... the hospitality and generosity of family members who welcomed us into their stunning home on the Manteo waterfront ... happy kids playing with happy grandparents ... an afternoon drink and some laughs with an old friend I hadn't seen in a decade.

As a younger man, I ventured to the Outer Banks frequently, relishing the sun and sand of Nags Head and carousing with buddies at assorted watering holes, including the wild and woolly and now defunct Mex-Econo in Kill Devil Hills. The last time I'd set foot in these parts, however, was some 15 years ago.

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Bodie Island Lighthouse
While the 200-mile string of narrow barrier islands may be on the verge of over-development, its history and charm and beauty are firmly intact. Making our stay especially delightful was our home away from home, the First Colony Inn in Nags Head. I can't recommend this bed and breakfast enough for anyone wanting to immerse themselves in an old-style Outer Banks vibe, with wonderful accommodations and service. I actually visited the inn 20 years ago as a newspaper reporter, to cover its "re-opening" after the circa-1932 property was preserved and and brought back to life. My old article from the High Point Enterprise is here.

After such a moving and meaningful trip, I pledge never to let so many years slip by before I return to this special place, this magnificent seaside locale perfectly positioned along the coast of my native state.
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It's always a pleasure sipping an ice-cold Cheerwine. Only trouble is, I've had to be two or three states away from home to enjoy such a delightful interlude. This cherry deliciousness had never been conveniently available in Florida, where I live – until now! My wife was shopping at the nearby Publix supermarket this morning and, lo and behold, spotted a stack of Cheerwine 12-packs in the soda aisle. She even snapped a photo of the display and emailed it to me at the office. Can you tell we're excited? Now, it seems, this North Carolina-based soft drink maker is expanding in a big way, and in the process giving me unlimited access to this tasty, highly carbonated, high-caffeine beverage. Sometimes it's the little things that mean the most.
 
Here's what Guitar Dad had to say about Cheerwine back in 2009.
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