Something New: Why I’m Finally Sharing My Songs
The Hoarded Quilts
I’m not sure why I’ve kept my original music mostly to myself all these years.
But I’m trying to change that.
If songwriting were like quilting, my home would be filled with stacks of colorful quilts—neatly folded, packed away in empty, unvisited rooms.
They were created to warm no one except, maybe, my own sense of self-satisfaction.
I’m certain I’m not alone. Somewhere, there are painters with attics full of unseen canvases. Writers with entire libraries of unpublished short stories and poems. Digital graveyards of creativity stored on laptops and thumb drives.
Why do so many of us hide what we create?
The Fear of “Comparativeism”
Part of it, I think, is fear. Fear of criticism. Fear of not measuring up.
I call it social-digital comparativeism—the daily flood of incredible art we see across social media and digital platforms can be intimidating!
Fear hasn’t kept creatives from choosing to display their work. There are roughly 11 million artists and creators on Spotify alone. It is estimated there approximately 66 million YouTube creators. Even before the digital age, the question "Am I as good as they are?" haunted every artist.
Singer-songwriter, Keith Urban, captured it perfectly in an interview with Rick Beato:
"We are observing what we’re doing, while we are doing it, too much—and questioning it instead of just doing it."
He’s right.
Nashville or Iowa?
In 1988, two years after moving to Des Moines, I traveled to Nashville with eight original song demos. Through my radio career connections, I met with several major label A&R reps. Each listened—each encouraged me to move to Nashville and pursue songwriting seriously.
When I asked why I couldn’t just stay in Iowa and send songs down, they smiled politely. In Nashville, you have to be there. You join the songwriting family. You collaborate, grow, belong.
At the time, my wife Karen was carrying our first child. I had a good, stable radio job in Iowa. Moving to chase a dream that might never materialize didn’t feel right.
I told an RCA executive exactly that. He replied with something I’ll never forget:
“No matter what path you choose, never stop writing songs. No one can take that skill away from you.”
I wrote a song on the plane ride home from Nashville. The chorus went:
The next big thing will be a diamond on her wedding band
The next big thing will be his index finger in his newborn’s hand
The next big thing will be two stories tall on a plot of land
There are bigger dreams than just bein’ the 'next big thing.'
No regrets. My family dream has come true. Kids, grandkids, and the love of my life by my side for more than 40 years.
Not Intimidated—Inspired
Today, I still love discovering new music—especially from local Iowa singer-songwriters. But I’m no longer intimidated. I’m inspired.
I have no excuses for not sharing. I’m not a victim of my own coined malady—social-digital comparativeism. Sure, I sometimes battle a little performance anxiety, but that withers away once I connect with an audience. Thanks to encouragement from musical friends, I’m learning it’s better to share now than hoard forever.
Maybe, as my wise friend
suggested, this chapter of life was always meant to be my songwriting adventure.
It's Never Too Late
My wife, Karen, has been my greatest inspiration. She wrote her first play just before turning 50—and became an award-winning, internationally produced playwright. We’re even traveling to Ireland this year to see a production of one of her plays.
And the most important part?
She never stopped writing.
Maybe the reason I waited so long to release my songs doesn’t even matter anymore.
What matters is—I’m finally doing it.
Here’s one of my earliest songs, written after Karen and I fell in love over four decades ago. I recorded it in the late 1990s at Great Plains Recording Company here in Iowa. It’s an oldie but a goodie in my repertoire—and something new to you.
Something New
There’s a new face on the moon…smiling…I’ve not seen before
And there’s a bright star in the night…shining…I’ve not seen before
Could it be love is showing me something new?
Has it just been there since I met you?
There’s a warm wind through my soul…stirring…I’ve not felt before
And there’s a rhythm in my heart…purring…I’ve not felt before
Could it be love is showing me something new?
Has it just been there since I met you?
All the new sights and sounds…the taste of fragrant perfumed kisses
Invade my senses like they never did before I fell for you
There’s a voice whispering soft words I’ve not heard before
And there’s a love song in my mind…forming…I’ve not heard before
Could it be love is showing me something new?
Has it just been there since I met you?
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