Marscon is, without question, always a great time for me. It’s a chance to see friends, make music, and try to shake off the stresses of mundane life for the weekend. This year was no different, though moreso than in other years, it was definitely a working vacation, with me playing seven(!) shows, in several different capacities: as myself, as part of The Blibbering Humdingers, and sitting in with Dimensional Riffs, and working to establish my “brand” so to speak as a solo artist and move some merchandise.

All in all, I think I played well, especially for my inaugural solo show at my “home” convention (Thanks Butch, for giving me a shot!), which, in spite of being scheduled for 10am on Saturday, brought out a pretty big crowd of fans, supporters, and curious con attendees. People seemed into it, laughed at the right places, and sang along with stuff I wasn’t sure they actually knew.

My place in this community is an interesting one, having started as strictly a fan, moving from observing from the fringes of the filk circles to playing along, to joining up with an established group, to sitting in with all kinds of other talented folks (and becoming known as “The Guy in EVERY Band™) to sharing my own music in informal settings, to finally getting solo gigs and being presented as an artist in my own right at the con-closing Round Robin performance. I am, honestly, homegrown Marscon “talent”. The community has watched me make this progression, and have backed me all the way, which is tremendously appreciated. I am truly honored to have come up through and been part of this community of artists and fans.

I was delighted to spend my weekend receiving unsolicited comments and praise from both my fellow performers (all of whom I admire greatly) and from fans, who really seemed to dig my stuff. Marscon fans bought up my entire back stock of World’s Okayest…” CDs. It was, okay, a small print run, though I am truly honored and humbled that people liked my stuff enough to take it home with them.

It goes without saying that I really enjoyed spending time with my friends, old and new, both in socializing over drinks, and for more experienced musicians sharing their perspective, constructive criticism, and advice (thanks, especially, Valentine Wolfe, Mikey Mason, and Jonah Knight for your input).

So yeah, it was a great time, as always, and also uniquely special, as my creative output was embraced by the Marscon community. I truly love and appreciate you all, which has, over the past decade or so, become such a huge part of my life.

Other observations:

♦- You should definitely try and get hold of Jonah Knight’s latest project, Songs of the Faithless, which turned out really great, and not just because I played a part in making it. There are a ton of great performers on this one, presenting some excellent music and songwriting.

♦- One of the things I found particularly amusing this weekend was the bonding between my lovely spouse, and the spouses of some of the other performers this weekend; I’m glad you all found each other, and I look forward to seeing those t-shirts you were talking about!

♦- If I’m going to bring local craft beer to share, I probably need to bring a bit more than I did.

♦- Three words: Queen of Nebraska.

♦- It’s not every day you see two men deep in conversation, mansplaining to one another, and it’s certainly not every day you get to participate in improvising David Attenborough-style narration in response to it!

I’m sure there’s a bunch more I could talk about, but there always is. Thanks once again, Marscon for being what you are.