Tag: diy

consistency

Spring is coming and I can feel it. I’ve done a very good job of staying consistent with training indoors through the summer months but I am very keen to get into the river valley and do some running and biking.

Before long I’ll have my summer tour schedule and I’ll know if & when I can race this summer. I might be too busy again this year but I guess we’ll see what shakes out. I do have a new album to promote and the summers are short and fraught with festivals in this part of the world.

I’ve been running between 45 and 60 minutes per day, 5 days per week – followed by a 30-45 minute weight session. Naturally that’ll have to change a bit once the snow melts and I’m back outside, but realistically it’ll be the May Long Weekend before I’m really digging into Edmonton’s river valley. It stays pretty cold and icy down there for a long time under the shade of all those trees, so realistically I have a quarter of the year to go before it really matters.

In the meantime… consistency is key. But progressive consistency…

My goals in the next few months are to extend my running intervals and shorten my walking intervals. Part of my desire to extend running intervals stems from a desire to get on the stationary bike more than I have been, as well as getting into the pool now for a bit before I find myself in the tattoo chair again, which pulls me out of the water for a while each time. With my weightlifting, I’m already going to failure on the final set of each exercise. The next step is progressive loading, which I am doing a bit of already as well.

I’m trying not to get too far ahead of myself.

Often I will devise a new plan for the future, and then say “why wait” and dive into a new routine, but I’m really trying to ride this out so that when I do change, it’s an appropriate shock to my system. I aim to change my diet a bit once we’re into a season where food grows, as food that grows on trees and bushes is rather important when you’re vegan.

I’ve been learning that this fitness routine and priority is of great advantage to me in my newfound condition. Not that my condition is new, but the knowledge of it is rather new to me. I’ll be speaking on that more in the future, as I’m still just wrapping my head around it, but as it turns out – healthy diet and regular exercise remains very important for those who are fortunate enough to be able to do it.

Before you speculate on my condition, please know that I am happy to have it, as it’s part of who I am. The only thing new or startling about it is that I wasn’t aware of it before, but at this stage of my life where I’m implemented so much positive change, I’m ready to take on this new thing in a positive light. It’s certainly not as scary as it would have been 10 years ago.

… only a little scary.
More on that later.

Thanks for reading.

outlets

I’ve recently taken on a new project, and a direction of learning I’ve never spent any time with before. It’s a wild trip, if I’m being honest. I purchased an online course during boxing week and it’s likely the closest thing to a New Year’s Resolution I’ve ever done… though the timing is somewhat coincidental.

I’ve decided to dig in on Brian Wampler’s guitar pedal building course, which is a very thorough and fairly in-depth way of learning all the ins & outs (HA!) of guitar pedal building.

I’ve long been frustrated with the availability of things I need in order to accomplish what I want to accomplish as a performer. I have a number of great pieces of equipment I’ve acquired over the years but there is a piece of the guitar effects market that; I feel, anyway, is largely ignored. I can’t be certain that there’s a market for what I’m hoping to accomplish once I attain the knowledge I’m setting out to find, but it’s quite possible that there is. I’m hesitant to get into what that is in the event that this does turn into some measure of side-hustle but there are some things I know about myself that are definitely helpful here:

  • I am really good at playing guitar
  • I am really good at getting sounds I am happy with
  • I have an intense level of focus
  • I have an artistic vision

But… if all I end up doing is building things for myself then I honestly think I’ll be happy with that… but you never know how things will go until they go. Anyway, it’s very exciting and extremely nerdy and I’m happy to have this new direction of learning.

If you tuned in to this blog from some spiritually-driven snack, and feel like you’ve been denied that, don’t worry… I’m not done yet.

It might sound a little bonkers, but this is truly something that aligns with me spiritually and is truly helping me navigate the prairie winter months. When I am immersed in this, it can only happen in real time… it’s an incredible experience where I am not thinking about food, or work, or anything except for what’s in front of me. It’s an incredibly meditative (active meditation, obviously) and grounding (HA!) experience that seems to tie me to the present moment in a special way.

Sure, I have other things in my life that offer that level of detachment from the world around me, but the way my brain seems to thrive is to have a few options to alternate through – songwriting and composition, recording, performing, my vintage automotive pursuits, and now this new exercise – all provide me with a break from my distractions and put me into a moment where I can completely lose track of time and just create.

It’s thrilling.

here we go again

We’re a couple days into 2026 now, and although I’ve done my level best to clean up my feed, there’s still so much negative posting about 2025… celebrity deaths being the main culprit, I suppose, as there’s been a bunch of those in the past little while.

I’ve got some real sour news for everyone. If you’re hanging your entire year on the prospect that no celebrities, filmmakers, or musicians you ever liked will die then you are setting yourself up for massive disappointment. Death is really the only thing we’re guaranteed in this life, as it’s the only thing that fate really owes any of us.

Of course, many of these are close to home, and it’s perfectly natural to be upset about the loss of people who shaped your childhood. I’m still upset about Harold Ramis, and nobody can take that away from me, BUT the people who enriched your life as you were growing up are much older than you, and they; too, are given a finite number of days to spend on this planet.

We’re lucky to be alive at the same time as any of them.

This year is going to have it’s ups and downs.
Some really great things are going to happen.
Some absolute shit things are going to happen, too.

How do you want to handle them?
I recommend grace and optimism.

I used to refer to myself as a realist, until one day I came to the conclusion that this “realistic” view of the world I was holding onto was inherently negative. I guess bad things happen… but good things happen just as often, sometimes more often.

I can’t honestly say that my life is worse now than it was a year ago… maybe you CAN say that, but we all have the power to improve things in our lives. It starts with wanting it, but you’re going to have to do some work to get there.

I wish you all the best this year.

vibration

I’m sure I’m not alone in my observations here, but my social media feed has devolved a few notches in an effort to show me content that does not align with my values at all… and by that I mean the advent of artists talking shit about other artists in an effort to… I don’t know, raise their own profile?

I move in country music circles a bit, so I’m speaking primarily about this Gavin Adcock character, whom I’ve never heard of before a few weeks ago, who has grabbing headlines by talking shit about Charley Crockett and Zach Bryan. I won’t get into the back-story because the back-story isn’t the point. The point is that I have now heard of Gavin Adcock, a man who’s decided to take issue with the ‘authenticity’ of other country singers to the point of publicly slinging arrows at Charley Crockett, who has said nothing and continued to just do his thing, which includes making records and entertaining fans.

Since then, Zach Bryan (another country singer) and Paul Cauthen (yet another country singer) have decided to weigh in on a discussion that never involved them in an effort to grab some headlines as well… Bryan going so far as to climbing over a chain-link fence at a music festival to confront Adcock.

I hate this.
This is Trump-style politicking within the arts community.
These people should be creating community and art and propping each other up rather than tearing each other down.

Since then I’ve seen some other musician I’ve never heard of is taking similar shots at Yungblood in hopes of netting a similar result.

This is some low-vibrational shit.
I hold nothing but contempt for so-called ‘reality TV’ and do not wish to see it permeate culture more than it already has. It’s done irreparable damage to our artistic media already, and only serves to distract us from our purpose on this planet.

We should be creating or supporting.

Just take care of each other.
Build each other up and support what you love, and leave what you don’t love alone. There’s so much amazing stuff being created every day and this soap-opera drama is negatively impacting our lives, even if we don’t realize it at the time.

This is not normal or healthy behavior.

Create or support.
Those are our only real viable options here… make something, or support someone else who’s making something.

Increase your vibration.

what you are

I’ve regurgitated this piece of philosophical knowledge so much at this point that I don’t really know where I heard it anymore. However; I’m not so sure I’ve written about it here despite how frequently it comes up in conversation… so I feel compelled to share it with you now.

You don’t get what you want in this life.
You get what you are.

If that doesn’t immediately make sense to you, I assure you it will, and I hope you hang onto it the way I have.

I spent a good number of years longing for things like… artistic encouragement, and opportunity… things like respect and appreciation… to be surrounded by people who understand me and work as hard on their art as I do… people who are even keeled and professional.

A bunch of years ago, I said fuck it, and went for it – I played with the best players I could find, I played with prolific songwriters and I recorded in pro-level studios… it got better and better. Eventually I decided to stop playing with everyone (as hard as that was) and put all my eggs in one basket – The Confusionaires basket. Since then, things have been going progressively better. The Confusionaires are equally yoked. Jayson & Adam work just as hard at their craft and the extra stuff they bring with them into this band as I do, and the hard work has shown over the course of 3 full length albums, 3 EPs, and the recording we’ve started to do that will come out next year.

We work with an incredible mixing engineer.
We work with an incredible booking agent.

Similarly in my non-musical life, as I delve more into philosophy and fitness I find myself aligning more with well-read, healthy individuals. They find me and I find them… some of them are old friends, and some of them are newer folks who’ve come out of the woodwork. Some are family who have always been there, but we’ve grown closer.

The other side of this coin is that people who are not good for me and my psyche, people who are not good for my art-life, people who are volatile or unsafe… they’ve stopped running with me and are standing in the dust, making their way to the sidelines.

In the end, we find our people.
It takes time… like sedimentary rock makes layers over thousands of years.
Musicians find musicians.
Artists find artists.
Vegans find vegans.
Athletes find athletes.
… and… drunks find drunks.
Abusers find abusers.
I believe this is the natural order of things but it gets so much more granular then that.
People who are moving the culture forward find each other, too.
And the naysayers… get left behind.

Similarly, and possibly even by default… the lowlifes and negative forces find each other too, likely as the positive people in their lives move on ahead.

So it’s good to look in the mirror every so often and take inventory of who you are and where you are. If you don’t like where you’re at, then it’s time to move… because; again…

You don’t get what you want.
You get what you are.

environment

I think about the environment a lot this time of year. Not just THE environment, but MY environment, and not just THIS time of year, but ALL times of year… I just think about it more affectionately this time of year because it’s not actively trying to kill me at this time.

I’ve said it in this blog before, and although I cannot credit myself with saying it first, I will repeat it: The biggest error the human race ever made was to view itself separate from nature. A grievance I can take up with the church quite easily, but not something I can fix, especially by complaining about it.

I get into Edmonton’s river valley almost every day in the warm months. There’s a path down into it less than a mile from my house, and between dog walks, recreational running, and mountain biking, I can say I am down there between 4 and 7 days per week… and even when I travel for work, most major Canadian cities have a river or two flowing through them, and I go find those, too.

In Edmonton, you don’t have to go far into the valley to feel like you’ve left the city, and if you’re down there pushing your own body’s boundaries, it’s not hard to find god – and by that I mean the infinite wisdom of the universe more so than the variety of idols adorning every temple under the sun.

I’ve dabbled with meditation; of course, but for my money, getting into nature and losing yourself is the best way. I like to get my heart rate into it’s beloved Zone 2 and see what god has for me – often by way of a message in a podcast or a new song, because my environment includes a level of privileged technology, though I wish I weren’t so married to my headphones. They have a tendency to distract me just as much as they inspire me and I’d like to be more of an antennae for creativity than a consumer of it. I suppose it can be both… and now that I think of it, it is both.

I don’t ride my bike with headphones. That’s as dangerous as it is uncomfortable. And I’ve been blessed with many songs, visions, and ideas on those rides.

I receive so much from my environment, and from the people and creatures that share it with me. It’s not enough to know that we are made up of the same cosmic stuff, but once we remove the man-made concepts of space and time, we are literally THE SAME stuff, all of history existing at one time, all creatures with no space between them.

If we looked at eachother with that in mind, I can’t help but think that none of us would find reason to kill another, be it for resources or religious differences.

This line of thinking reminds me why I am vegan.
Not that I need a reminder.

I’m not sure what this blog entry is about.
Perhaps it’s a reminder to myself what my role is here.
Maybe this entry has inspired something in its readers.

I hope I never find out.

whatever you want

I have it pretty good.

I don’t take that for granted. I understand that outwardly, I’ve got a really great life. Middle management support role for a big company that works with things I’ve very interested in, a great house, a great family, a killer rock & roll band that people care about… I drive a cool car… I’m in good shape… I’m 43 years old and on zero medications…

I take none of this for granted because I’ve worked very hard to have all of it.

What if it was all gone tomorrow?

I’m no stranger to the notion; or rather, the assumption that “we’re all just a couple paychecks away from homeless” and the privilege-check we’re all constantly called to do.

But I’m really not a couple paychecks away from homeless.

I mean sure, misfortune could befall me and my family. My life could fall apart in biblical fashion the likes of which have only been alluded to in the Book of Job… but in the end I’ve concocted a combination of skill and fortitude that have set me on a track of progress. I have come from nothing and built what I have, and I can start from nothing and build what I have again.

What nobody wants to tell you anymore is that you can do whatever you want.

Nobody will stop you. They might not help you, but it’s pretty unlikely that they’ll get in your way. And this… is how I know I’m not done. I haven’t written my book yet, and there’s always one more rock & roll record in me to make… the only thing I don’t have is a short-cut.

I read somewhere; multiple places, really, that you need to be happy where you are in order to move forward. That used to sound contradictory to me because if I was happy where I was, I would stay in that place… but no, that’s not true. I actually am very happy where I am because where I am is in a constant state of growth and evolution.

I love being in a state of change for the better… and if I can stay in this growth mindset then I will never be in the same spot again, and I am happy with that.

Whatever you want.
You can do whatever you want.