Hi All! Home from tour and pretttyyy much fully functioning again.

I can tell I’m gearing up for the next phase of songwriting (what this next album will actually be about, and the stylistic leanings of the lyric writing) as I find myself going on mini-sprees at a couple of my favorite book stores. I just picked these beauties up from Spectator Books in Oakland. For those who are far away but interested, they ship!!

Absorbing and seeking inspiration from historical and contemporary literature and non-fiction has always been a part of my songwriting. There’s no way 2016’s A Man Alive would exist if I hadn’t stumbled upon Marilynne Robinson’s Gilead. The writing of Ursula K. Le Guin and Octavia Butler helped lead me to and through multiple songs from Temple, most notably “Phenom,” “Disclaim” and “Rational Animal.” And Le Lay Hayslip’s When Heaven and Earth Changed Places: A Vietnamese Woman's Journey from War to Peace was vital as I wrote “Temple” in my mother’s voice.

What are you reading out there? And do you feel bad if you buy a stack of books but don’t get through them before you buy more? I used to feel bad but I’ve been trying to loosen up and now I feel amazing.

OH- Last post I mentioned lower back pain from touring and thank you to Ward and Robert who sent along tips and websites! I am on the stretching mend—

For all those lamenting their lumbago right now this website helped me as well: https://www.healthline.com/health/lower-back-stretches#childs-pose

all my best,

t