First: A solemn goodbye to Dolly Parton and Tim Curry. They made the world a more compassionate, musical, and understanding place.
I have three acoustic recordings in this post. Two of them are songs I wrote and one is a cover of Jackson Frank’s iconic folk song, Blues Run The Game.
Previously I said I wanted to post a new acoustic song weekly. I didn’t do that. And that has produced some anxiety for me. I do have reasons though I’m unsure if they are compelling.
My primary reason for not posting is pretty simple. I wanted to improve my vocal delivery. I set about taking my friend Freda’s mandate seriously. She told me, “Give every note it’s glory.”
Korel, my vocal coach told me something similar but I liked how Freda said it. She has soul and the mandate has soul…
I started taking the songs I was playing and learning the melody, note for note, on guitar, taking each phrase and playing it, then singing it, then playing it, then singing it, etc.
I also started taking a few more chances, playing with variation, modifying melodies, learning small vocal runs, and singing higher into my range.
And I got over a hump.
And it’s Wednesday… hump day.
I’ve also been hyper-focused on practicing guitar and overall musicality. In fact, you’ll hear some mandolin on one of the songs.
Which is to say, I bought a used mandolin! 😉 That’s a brand new instrument for me.
Here is a photo of my guitar and her little brother. Cute, aren’t they?
I’m not where I want to be vocally. I’m not where I want to be with my guitar playing and certainly not with mandolin. That’s always going to be the case… or I hope that it is always the case.
But I am fairly happy with where I am and I’m f***ing stoked with where I’m going!
I have not been booking any gigs for the same reason stated above. I do have one scheduled in November in Ojai but that was set up back in July.
I’d love it if you took the time to listen to the songs. Below the songs I have a few more updates - including gigs and other projects.
THE SONGS
BLUES RUN THE GAME by Jackson Frank
This song has been covered by MANY performers. Jackson Frank’s version was recorded and produced by Paul Simon. Simon and Garfunkel did a rendition soon after. The Counting Crows recorded it, as did John Mayer.
And now, I’ve done a version.
PUSHING ON by Me!
I have some mandolin and harmonica recorded for this but this is version is just me and acoustic guitar.
I like this song because it contains some of my most hopeful lyrics.
From the third verse into the chorus:
I look up, I feel laughter
In the sunlight on my face cascading through the trees
Breathe deep, my rapture
Finding bliss in discovering what I might be
I’m still left with all these dreams I hold
I’m still finding sparks in the bitterest cold
I’m still searching for the place I belong
Still pushing on
THE PATH by Me!
I have some mandolin on this recording. It was recorded yesterday. The vocals were recorded this morning. They’re passable. It’s a rough mix of where I want to go with the song. I also have some percussion for this song but it isn’t on this recording.
This song was inspired by Deb and a desire to have some adventures. It is more salient today than when I wrote it in 2019.
From the opening verse:
If we can catch a little break my dear
Perhaps the timing could be right
Can you check to see the coast is clear
Perhaps we’ll slip away tonight
This might play as irresponsible
But I don’t really give damn
The deck is stacked, the dice are loaded here
Take a chance, take my hand
Other Updates
I won’t go into a LOT of detail for some of these but these ideas are rattling around our head and home.
Conversations With Interesting People
I wrote about the artist & sculptor, Peter Fels. He made the 17 foot tall, well-endowed, demon-looking bird, Goose Barnacle Goose. Age and health are impacting Peter and his partner, Phoebe.
Deb and I want to travel up to Big Sur and get a short video interview with him and potentially find a few of his projects to get video or images of those as well.
This is part of a broader project of creating video conversations with interesting people.Motorhome and Performing
There are places to see around this country - and elsewhere. We’d like to take a motorhome and travel around, find interesting conversations (see above), and play music.
While I can do some of my consulting work while on the road, we’d like to develop financial backing for this. More on this later.Where to Take My YouTube Channel
This roles into the above and the above above.House Concerts
I have mentioned this before but rolled into the above, I want to re-initiate the house concert tours I used to do. A few of who have indicated an interest but we’re going to make a more specific outreach soon.Learning to Draw
I’m sketching a few mornings a week. I am just throwing this into a “wouldn’t this be cool” category.
That’s about it. We are looking forward to Hardly Strictly Bluegrass in San Francisco. They’ve been announcing artists and the lineup is already impressive. There are some rumors of a few others who might show up. I also suspect there will be a Dolly Parton In Memoriam at the festival. She performed there in 2005.
And, with all sincerity, thank you for joining me on this journey!
With Love and Gratitude,
Matthew Moran
September 2, 2026
You have an ambitious but commendable agenda ahead of you. Thanks for all that you shared. May all your dreams come true, and may you have new ones to inspire you even more.
J