So, I didn’t write a Home Economics entry for January. Quite frankly, I like to ignore January whenever possible as it is a strong contender for being my least favourite month.  Its only rival is February, which has the competitive edge of being short, but the distinct disadvantage of hosting Valentine’s Day.  Or is that an advantage? Discounted chocolate is always a bonus. Ranking months is so subjective that I probably shouldn’t bother.

I have always been somewhat fascinated with Valentine’s Day.  For one thing, I can’t deny my profound love of red Jell-O and pink frosted sugar cookies. For another, the day is simultaneously the cultural celebration and the cultural desecration of my most highly cherished value. Also, my granny Doris, who is sadly no longer alive, used to send me McDonald’s gift certificates for Valentine’s Day, and the anticipation of their arrival made school bearable during the weeks between Christmas and February 14. 

As a result, I belong to the worst category of anti-Valentiners. You know the ones. We publicly scorn the barfy cards and Kay Jeweler ads, but secretly imagine how wonderful it would be to be surprised by a bouquet of wild flowers.  We’re the ones so embarrassed by our own romantic imaginations that we mask our gushy, gooshy, earnest little hearts with our critical social commentary. We detest scripted versions of love because we so highly value true, unique and authentic expressions of intimacy.  Yet, those same scripts remind us of what we want and what is missing in our lives. It’s emotionally confusing for us, but much more confusing for our poor friends, family, and especially for our romantic partners! We spend the whole year tersely condemning all things Valentine’s, then mope about on the day like a kid who didn’t get their fair share of paper Valentine’s cards at school. What’s worse, from the outside we are impossible to distinguish from those rare but lucky folk who honestly believe the day is a waste of time, energy and money and cheerfully ignore the whole business.  How I envy them.

Anyway, the dark days of January and February have left me complacent when it comes to booking shows.  However, I have been writing new songs, experimenting with new tuning techniques, and have even managed to harness that pesky romantic imagination of mine and have written a love song. I have also been collaborating with Brad Gilliard, from the Paperboys, who is awesome and will hopefully be joining me at some shows (when I do eventually get round to booking them).

Check back for updates and, in the meantime, check out my CBC Radio 3 Page.  Should the spirit move you, add me to your playlist! It’s a great site for hearing unsigned Canadian artists.