A lot of wonderful things have happened since then. That energy company helped a lot of needy people. Joe decided to run for Congress and I became his Campaign Director. When he won, I went with him to Washington to be his Chief of Staff. I did that for four years then spent eight more years in Washington working on public policy for an environmental services company. Then I moved back to Boston and started a firm with 5 other partners that invests in sustainable technologies. It’s all been wildly stimulating, and hopefully some of it has done some good. But I’m moving on from that now too.
Through all of these wanderings, I’ve never stopped writing or performing. John Stewart and I continued our friendship and musical collaborations for the rest of his life. Once again through politics and mutual friends, I was introduced to Stephen Stills several years ago, another of my heroes. Stephen has joined my band on stage several times and we’ve had some wonderful dinners re-engineering the fate of the world. He was generous enough to play on one of the songs on this new record. I never stopped gigging with my California buddies, we fire it up four or five times a year. I’ve always put a little and together wherever we have lived. And if I get to say it, I think all those other experiences have made me a better writer, a better musician.
I’ve tried to put that into this my first record in all these years, “Gin & Rosewater.” When I look into the rear view mirror, I see a world that is home to both light and darkness. I see myself and my fellow man as essentially good but reasonably flawed. I see equal doses of love, humor, curiosity and forgiveness as the balms that heal our well-worn souls. I want to dance with Red Betty. I miss the Girl from St. Lucy. I fear for those hoping to Hold Back the Water. I pray for the soul of James Foley. Yes, People Are Weak, but when you hold them tight – people are light.
Consider this my travelogue on long road from Dubuque.