Dave Wendelin: Blog

I am an old dog (with a young spirit) learning new tricks. I joined ASCAP recently and have been reading Dean's List which I am finding is very informative. Trying to keep up with all of the new methods of communication can be a bit frustrating for someone like me. Facebook, Tweets, Blogs, YouTube, etc. how to keep up with it all and use it efficiently. This is an ongoing story that consumes almost more time the the music behind it all. Anyone got a comment? In the meantime, I will be in the studio recording some new material starting tomorrow and am looking forward to it!

I woke up this morning to a light dusting of snow here in the Western North Carolina mountains, and all I could say was ... I'm ready for it to be warm. I usually like the cold weather and the snow, but for some reason this season (there's a ryhme!) has dragged on. I think that this cold and long winter springs from a long and cold time at my previous job which ended recently... and also seems to have ended my long career in that business. Then I listened to the ongoing story about the huge earthquake in Japan and the tsunamis that are spreading across the Pacific Ocean, and am reminded again how fragile our existence is on this earth and how quickly any and all of our lives can be taken. It also seems apparent to me how desparately we need to respect the life next to us or across an ocean from us, because these seem to be desparate times. But before I can respect you, I need and long to respect the power and grace that resides in me... then it is so easy and natural to see it in you [...]

I am still making my adjustments and going through my processes on the loss of my recent job...more time on my hands to either sit and get lost in the loss or see it as a new direction to move in, and so far moving in a new direction feels a lot better than the other. Music has always been a way for me to let those inner feelings out into a concrete and feeling way and now I have more time to go after that and take what I hear in my head and heart .. and get it out! I have scheduled two days of recording at the new Sound Temple Studio here in Asheville in mid April and will be recording new material that I am very excited about. At my age, it is somewhat daunting to be doing this, but one thing that I have learned in my life is that my past contains memories and experiences that have shaped me...but they are gone. And the future is yet to be told. But the gift of my breath is now with each one that is given to me, and in that I find a great feeling of fullfillment and excitment!

Life always brings changes,and sometimes it is hard to see that the changes that come are just a way of following the trail as it heads in a new direction. After 40 years in the construction business it seems that I am finally done with it on a steady level and hopefully will be able to spend more time pursuing my love of creating music to express what is going on in me. Loss of a job is always hard especially if it has created a comfort zone... but new creativity and challenges are coming and that is a good thing! Last Saturday I went to the grand opening of a new studio here in Asheville where I will be recording new material and for the first time in my life I felt like a musician instead of a construction manager.