The Glinting of Waking Fields I wrote the “The Glinting of Waking Fields” to evoke a morning’s gentle beginning. The song represents a landscape in the first light of dawn, with dew or sunlight creating a shimmering, sparkling effect across fields as they come to […]

Zephyr I initially set out to re-record Gustavo Santaolalla’s ‘Rein’ from the soundtrack of Biutiful (2009). I had shared it on my blog over a decade ago, and with much-improved sound quality, I was eager for a fresh take. But as often happens, my ear […]

All Things New At some point in your life — you’re going to need help from a higher power. You’ll know when the time comes, because you will have completely run out of earthly solutions. I’ll preface this by mentioning I’m not a goodie two-shoes […]

Lullaby for a Sleeping Moon I wrote “Lullaby for a Sleeping Moon” pretty quickly. Although I have a hard time with it — I try to and trust my ear, and (not) to prejudge what I’m doing. I’m a fan of the iconic producer Rick […]

American Primeval American Primeval is an incredible Netflix (Western) miniseries. It takes place in 1857 during the Utah War. The show examines the fight to gain control of the Utah territory — and the violent clash between the LDS Church, native tribes, settlers, and the […]

The Brutalist The Brutalist is a film is about a Hungarian-Jewish architect named László Tóth. Having just survived the horrors of the Holocaust, László seeks refuge and a fresh start in the United States. Being separated from his wife during the war — he carries […]

When I Sleep, Your Eyes Close I wrote and recorded this song in 2016. It was intended for a film (that I was ultimately fired from, lol). The song is very easy to play, as I tried to pick the low hanging fruit and not […]

First Love and the Falling Snow I wrote “First Love and the Falling Snow” for my wife, Jennifer — as we approach our 23rd Wedding Anniversary in just a few days. Foremost in my memory is one of our early dates in 1998. (As a […]

The Light of Hidden Flowers My thematic inspiration for this piece was love sonnet XVII, by Pablo Neruda. Specifically this line: “I do not love you as if you were salt-rose, or topaz, or the arrow of carnations the fire shoots off. I love you […]

Her Life Was Over, by Gustavo Santaolalla, is a short fingerstyle motif from the soundtrack of Wild Life. This film is a documentary about life of Doug Tompkins (founder of North Face) and his wife, Kris. Although the documentary is not widely known, the guitar […]

Leaves From The Vine Leaves From The Vine was recommended to me by one of my guitar students. This piece is from the original anime series, Avatar: The Last Airbender. I thought it was beautiful and poignant. There’s also a nice orchestrated version from the […]

Grizzly Man Grizzly Man is a 2005 American documentary film by acclaimed German director, Werner Herzog. The film accounts the life (an eventual death) of bear enthusiast, Timothy Treadwell at Katmai National Park, Alaska. The park has the largest coastal grizzlies in the world, as […]