Sunday, April 26, 2020

Holey Moley submission video #1



Last summer my buddy Rich from NYC told me that he had been watching a crazy show on TV and he thought I’d be great on it.

That show was Holey Moley. The show is built around an extreme minor-golf competition. It’s wild. I’d never seen the show (I don’t have TV), but I went online and signed up anyway based on Rich’s recommendation alone. I got a call back a few days later and after a series of interviews and further submission videos I was in serious talks with the producers about being featured on the second season of the show.

To make a long story short… I made it! I’m going to be on TV. Holey Moley  (Season II, The Sequel) premieres 5/21 9pm, 8pm central on ABC

I pitched myself to the show as a Rock Star and I think that set me apart from the other entrants. I had no idea at the time but have since learned that with online submissions and open casting-calls in LA, the producers had thousands of people to choose from. It’s amazing that I made it through so many other people that wanted to be on the show. You might not guess it but I golf. I’ve never played on a professional course but I have a true Scottish-style, home-made golf course at my house and I also co-founded a radical, underground renegade golf tournament called The Silver Baby Cup. I’ve read the Zen Putting books and yes, I can putt. But it still blows my mind that I made it on the show. I flew to LA for 10 days in February and it was a blast. I met so many cool people and had a wonderful time being on Holey Moley. 

I'm still pretty blown away by the whole experience. It was intense and I had a great time competing. If you watch the show… it’s a LOT harder than it looks! When I made the online submission for the show, they ask you to upload a video telling more about yourself and showing you making a variety of different putts. I shot the video with my phone while I putted on my home golf course. I also have a putt-putt hole in an old boat in my yard. 

Here’s my original submission video for Holey Moley:

Friday, April 17, 2020

Forbidden Planet


I live a secluded life. Even under normal circumstances, I don’t see actual humans other than my immediate family that often. I don’t mind it so much, to be honest. I’m used to it. Recently the gloom of impending doom has been extra strong. I took a trip to California and got back to Ohio just under the wire before the pandemic and the travel restrictions set in. That first week back was a strange transition. I had just come home from a wild and fun experience. But Ohio and home were different now. I lost my straight job (selling and delivering draft beer for a cool micro-brewery) and was faced with many quarantine related family and health dilemmas right away. I’m sure that anyone reading this went through similar trials. I know it’s tough. These are the times that define us.

I write songs. That’s what I do. Earwig has been on a break for a few months and we were scheduled to get back to work on 2 upcoming album projects upon my return from the West Coast. Currently that’s all up in the air. But I did sit down at the piano and write this song that first week back. Being home without work and uncertain of what the future held, I spent some free time watching old VHS tapes that I have collected. The first movie I watched was Forbidden Planet. The current situation mingled with the image on the VHS cover is what sparked me to write this song. I felt powerless in the onslaught of the daily news cycle and it all came out in this song. I did try to include some positive lyrics. Something I’ve tried to do more as I grow older and keep writing songs. I hope that comes through.

After writing and recording the demo, I immediately tried to find a way to record this song with Earwig and get it released. Ideally, I’d like to see it on some sort of compilation or fund-raiser to aid artists who have lost their income stream because of the COVID19 outbreak. Alas, that has not happened yet. We’re working on methods for Earwig to continue recording our new album and have it released this year. This song will likely end up somewhere in the mix. 


FORBIDDEN PLANET

am I trying too hard
just to make something happen for us
maybe it's a forbidden planet
and we just don’t know it yet

tell me something beautiful and fast
give me something so I can relax
and sink into the emptiness of fear

if these demons come for us
I will carry you home
what if it’s a forbidden planet
and we just don’t know it yet
tell me what I should have been
if all my fantasies are wrong
I will always be the one 
who will carry you home

I will always love you more
in a world that’s beautiful and fast 
here comes the thunderhead
singing we are not alone

I will always be the one
who will carry you home
maybe this is a forbidden planet


and we just don’t know it yet