When he was small, my youngest son had a habit of filling his pockets with treasures he encountered in his daily adventures. I didn't always understand the value he saw in his chosen objects -- really, how many rocks and sticks could one boy keep? In his eyes, though, each one was beautiful and important. Life is just like that on a larger scale, isn't it? We gather up the precious bits of our experiences and save them all to learn from and enjoy later. Perhaps you'll find a little something here that you'd like to keep in your own pockets. Thanks for visiting.

Sunday, March 18, 2012

For the love of music



When we were kids, my brother Frank and I used to entertain ourselves by "writing" and performing our own songs.  One composition that sticks out in my mind was a ridiculous country song we called The Breakfast Blues.  Frank would get out his guitar and strum an overly dramatic melancholy tune, and I would belt out the story of some poor sap who lost his dog and his truck, and who had to eat burnt toast for breakfast (which, to a kid, I suppose, is a real cause for woe).  Our songs were hilarious to us (and probably more than mildly annoying to our poor parents), but our performance exercises actually helped lead Frank and I to some serious and useful discoveries:  first, that there would definitely not be a singing career in my future (thankfully, I do have other talents!), but more importantly, that Frank had a wonderful gift and a true love for music, one that he would continue to nurture and develop beautifully as time went on.

In the years since our early duets, Frank has poured his heart and a lot of hard work into his music, and he has grown into an incredibly talented songwriter, performer, and teacher.  It's fascinating to me to hear him talk of the broad range of creative projects he's working on, ones that encompass many different genres of music and allow him opportunities to travel and meet interesting new people.  Listening to his recorded albums and hearing him play and sing live always fills me with huge emotions, both because his music is so honest and inspiring, and because I'm so proud of the amazing person my little brother has become.  I have such a deep admiration for the way he has always been true to himself, for how he has followed his dreams and filled his life with what he loves best, no matter how difficult that may have been for him at times.

I'm very excited about Frank's latest music project:  a new album with a new band and a tour that will bring him to my city to perform.  frank deresti and the lake effect's this time, a folk/jazz/roots-influenced collection of songs, will be released on April 12th, and you can listen to the title track here:



Thank you for sharing your extraordinary talents with the world, Frank.  Your beautiful music moves us all.


You can find more information about frank deresti and the lake effect and a schedule of their upcoming tour here. 
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