6 Days Left

We're less than a week away from the end of the fundraising phase of the Watershed Project. We passed the bare minimum budget a while ago, just recently hit our second landmark, and now we're just under $1500 away from a solid, workable budget. So if you're wanting to pledge to this project but haven't yet, you've got until March 22.

The record will come out in May thanks to the 27 backers who got behind it so far and the generous work of the musicians, producers and artists involved.

Watershed Art

We boxed up all the art (over 120 pieces that together make up the massive Watershed painting) and shipped them east before we left California. Now we're looking for the right place to install it. It's got to be the right place -- high ceilings, good lighting. We're looking at galleries and churches around Goshen, Indiana. We could also transport it to Ohio, Pennsylvania, North Carolina or Texas if the right place opened up. If you have ideas, leave a comment. We're dreaming about setting it up for a show or two on the tour if it works out, so it won't be available for a more permanent installation until June or July.

Guitars, Divine Alchemy w/o Timetables

Today it was finally my turn to actually record something as opposed to help the other musicians create and shape their parts. It was humbling and frustrating. My guitar teacher told me today that there's some things that I can do better than him in my playing -- something to do with barely controlled chaos. Which is good for the songs that need that (about half of them on this record). The other half need someone to play simple parts steadily and I can't do it. Very frustrating. Great news is we have another guitarist working on this record with me who can do about anything, and who is incredibly precise.

After all these years of making music it's not much easier to see my own weaknesses and inadequacies -- and no less amazing to feel and sense something beautiful happening in the midst of them. How does that work? Why is it still feel so vulnerable? I give the little piece I have to give, as incomplete and flawed as it is, leaning into this hope for some kind of divine alchemy, that I've experienced enough times to know it's worth the risk, but also knowing that you never know how or where or when love will show up and turn your little gift left on the altar to gold. There's not printed timetables for this stuff.

Transition & Rest

Two themes run through the songs and art of the Watershed Project -- transition and rest. After a couple of days away from recording (spent w/ Christa hanging out/packing up/moving out of CA) I realize that a. we're definitely in the middle of a large transition, one of the largest we've been through, and b. I haven't been doing so well with the rest part.

Over the last few years Christa and I have developed some helpful patterns of rest -- taking a day off each week, trying to do a retreat periodically, etc. Since I started recording I haven't done my normal weekly days off. Hmmm...

This is me seeing the irony/hypocrisy in that and turning/getting excited about living out the themes of the record while I'm making it... :)

California Breather

I'm in California with Christa. It's amazing to be able to step out of the apartment and walk without a coat, hat, gloves, etc. This is not Detroit! It took a while to get there (left Detroit at 6am) but I woke up at one point when the plane was flying over the south rim of the Grand Canyon, and snapped this shot.

We're in CA packing up now. The art looks amazing! 15 feet is longer than I imagined. It fills the room. I thought I'd post a picture of that too, for those of you who have been following it's evolution from 50+ blank canvases to this! We're doing official photos of it for the book tomorrow.

Lyric Excerpt

I've seen you mine what I couldn't even find
Out of my head
You take your time drawing water for your wine
Out of my head
I've been a slave bowing to the fear
Here in my head
Love take this cup, fill it over, bring it up
Out of my head

- from Out of My Head (J.Reuel 2011)

Watershed Set List Revised

We finished recording drums today! If we were making a main dish it just got spicier. Thank you chef Nate. Now we have a short break (in which I get to see Christa for the first time in weeks and catch up on other work) before recording bass, guitars and vocals. I wrote a song a couple days into recording drums and it made it on to the album -- surprise -- and a few songs got booted. Here's the current track list.

Carbon Blanket
Sun Show
The Everything Change
Stars & Oceans
Timepiece
Name Me
When the Enemies Close In
The Way You Are
Watershed
Out of My Head
I'll Never
Where Nothing Stays the Same