Pain

 I’m thinking today of how we deal with pain - both physically and emotionally. It’s a really interesting phenomenon that I think we eventually learn to live with, but how do we do that? I wrote about pain a couple years ago when I had a leg procedure that caused some exquisite new pain in a way I hadn’t felt before. I then talked about the curiosity of pain. Instead let's look at how we cope with it. Some people don’t mention it - shoving it down in their minds somehow through willpower. Some people really suffer with pain - feeling it intensely with seemingly no way to escape it. Some people medicate with prescription drugs or alcohol. Others seek holistic ways of escaping it such as meditation or awareness training. There are older medical practices such as acupuncture or massage that also work for some. Most of these solutions work for both physical and emotional pain. Personally I usually look at pain's role in my life. Is it teaching me something? Is it something I am causing myself? Is it something I can avoid with a different outlook or different approach? Is it something I can solve through diet or exercise? I’ve found that not all pain is bad. I have to be careful not to relish in pain, but living with it a little bit does season my life with a bit of excitement. It’s kind of like eating a hot pepper for me - a little pain from heat makes my tongue tingle and my endorphins fire which reminds me I’m alive and here to experience life.  It also makes me have more facets of awareness and wisdom. 

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What have I been up to?

Last week I had a few senior facilities which were very enjoyable. It was fairly hot, so I did have to reschedule my Friday outdoor facility though. The cool down this week will be very appreciated. 

My Thursday online show featured Fall songs which was a lot of fun. These songs really make the season feel right. If you’d like to watch it the replay is on Facebook and my website. My website has a new page dedicated to my online concerts. 

facebook.com/tom.munch

tommunch.com/online-concerts 

My Sunday online show was very enjoyable too. We were all over the board with diverse requests of rock, folk, cowboy, and original songs. The replay is up in the same two places as above if you want to see it. 

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What am I up to this week?

I have three or four senior facilities this week. I’m starting to lose touch with some of my facilities as folks are moving around. They are going through a pretty tough time there. My heart really goes out to the residents and staff. I wish there was something more I could do to help. 

Thursday 7-8:30 mountain time my themed online show will feature the music of The Eagles. I’ve always loved their music, and I hope you’ll tune if you like them too. Again the link for my website is new. 

facebook.com/tom.munch

tommunch.com/online-concerts

Sunday 7-8:30 mountain time my favorites show will feature some good favorites and requests. I had some really interesting and challenging songs suggested this last week, so this show promises to be really good. Same links as above. 

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That’s it for this week. I’m mulling over other things to say about pain. I’ve always kind of masochistically liked pain in my life although I’d rather not have so much at times. I know other people live with much more pain than me, but I’m grateful for the chance to live and experience all the pain and joy that life brings. 

Best always,

Tom

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Details this week:

Who:  Tom Munch

What:  playing and singing an Online Concert of Eagles songs

Where:  facebook.com/tom.munch and tommunch.com/online-concerts 

When:  Thursday, October 1, 7-8:30 pm mountain time

Who:  Tom Munch

What:  playing and singing an Online Concert of favorites and requests

Where:  facebook.com/tom.munch and tommunch.com/online-concerts 

When:  Sunday, October 4, 7-8:30 pm mountain 

All I Know

 I've been thinking a lot about what I’ve learned in my longish but not ultimately long life. In my younger years I was kind of cocky, and I definitely ruffled some feathers even though I was relatively tame. I had some wisdom early on, but it didn’t keep me from making a lot of dumb mistakes and miscues that hurt my relationships. As I aged I continued to think that lots of work was the best way to go - sometimes avoiding deeper situations just to make another buck. As I went through mid-life I gained some perspective on health and well-being - trying to put some continuity in my everyday existence. Now that I’ve almost reached retirement age (even though I don’t plan to retire) I look back on possessions and situations with a different eye. Security is important, but relationships and caring for others seems to be all that ultimately matters. Through it all I see more and more that no matter what your race or religion, social status or politics, wealth or location, the love of friends and family is all that matters. That’s all I know. 

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What have I been up to?

My outdoor senior and facility shows went very well last week. The temperature has dropped just enough to make them very comfortable. It’s so good to see these folks. 

My Thursday show doing Chuck Pyle's music went swimmingly. I love Chuck's music so much, and I even got to have some surprise guests along on the show like Gordon Burt who played fiddle with Chuck for 30 years. 

My Sunday show was a big crowd with a lot of fun. I cherish these nights of camaraderie with so many good friends even when they are crazy wild. 

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What am I up to this week?

I have senior and facility gigs almost every day either online or outdoors this week. I absolutely love seeing these folks. 

Thursday my online show 7-8:30 mountain time will feature Fall shows. I have a bunch of great Fall songs, and I figured that rather than doing another artist I would do a variety of Fall songs this week. I think you’ll like the surprises I have in store for us. 

facebook.com/tom.munch

tommunch.com/photos-videos 

Sunday my online show 7-8:30 will have a variety of requests and favorites as always. It’s amazing some of the songs I’m learning for folks. Please tune in if you can. 

facebook.com/tom.munch

tommunch.com/photos-videos 

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That’s it for this week. I wanted to say something more profound above about life, but I think it was pretty well summed up by what I said. Love is ultimately all that matters. 

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Details this week:

Who:  Tom Munch

What:  playing and singing an Online Concert of Fall songs

Where:  facebook.com/tom.munch and tommunch.com/photos-videos

When:  Thursday, September 24, 7-8:30 pm mountain time

Who:  Tom Munch

What:  playing and singing an Online Concert of favorites and requests

Where:  facebook.com/tom.munch and tommunch.com/photos-videos

When:  Sunday, September 27, 7-8:30 pm mountain time

Beats and Life

 I wrote a new song last week that has bedeviled me. The idea was to create a song that demonstrated the concept of being behind the beat and ahead of the beat in a way that anyone could actually feel the pull of the beat the way a musician does. By doing this I hoped to convey my belief that we can play with time in our minds, and that time is the most interesting thing in our life here on earth. The way I wanted to do this was to create a guitar melody and rhythm with a well-defined beat that the voice could contrast against by pulling and pushing the beat to go with the lyrics talking about falling behind and getting ahead of the beat. It would have an effect like the t-shirts and posters that put a word out of focus just enough that you strain to focus the word, except that you would strain your sense of timing to pull the words back to the beat. It’s an interesting concept, and it’s something that musicians, especially drummers, practice with exercises that help them hone the skill and mastery of rhythm. The problem for me is that I can’t disassociate my playing from my singing enough to coordinate the effect of pulling and pushing. I would like to intuitively pull and push the beat, but it would be better to actually count the rhythm mathematically so that I’m am just behind and just ahead of the beat. Hopefully I’ll get it figured out so I can actually play the song and get the effect I’m going after. In this way I can demonstrate that our life is really just the moment we are in right now and not the memories of the past or the worry of the future. I said it once in a song, “This moment is my goal, the only thing I can truly know.” That is the key to the current popular practice of mindfulness. Wish me luck in accomplishing this. 

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What have I been up to?

Last week was a really busy week. The weather was bad enough that I had to reschedule all of my senior facilities since I couldn’t play outside in the cold to the residents, but I had four evening gigs. 

My Fogelberg online show on Wednesday was so sweet. I often forget how much his music had an effect me. I will long remember this night. 

Thursday was my private virtual show for a women's group in Wisconsin, and it went very well too. Thanks to Mary for setting it up so well. 

Saturday was an online group show for the Yellow Pine Guest Ranch where I normally play a weekly summer barbecue. It was so good to feel a little bit of the spirit of that place and those folks. 

Sunday was my favorites and requests show online, and it was like old home week with so many friends from over my whole life. Wow!

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What am I up to this week?

I have several senior facility shows scheduled outdoors this week, and it looks like the weather will be just right for these. Every one of the good days is a gift until the weather changes and I won’t get to see these folks for a long while again. 

Thursday 7-8:30 for my weekly theme show I’ll be featuring the music of Chuck Pyle online. Chuck was a phenomenal songwriter, and I have loved his music since the first time I heard it and met him. This will be my tribute to him since we won’t have a big tribute in Denver for him again this year. I’ve recorded his music, and if you don't know his tunes then you’re in for a treat. Please tune in.

facebook.com/tom.munch

tommunch.com/photos-videos

Sunday 7-8:30 I’ll do my favorites and requests online show. I can’t express how much I enjoy doing this evening of music and interaction with so many friends. It is very special, and I’d love to have you with me. 

facebook.com/tom.munch

tommunch.com/photos-videos

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That’s it for this week. I’m still thinking about time and how it dominates our existence. Hmmm...

Best,

Tom

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Details this week:

Who:  Tom Munch

What:  playing and singing a Facebook Live Concert of Chuck Pyle songs

Where:  facebook.com/tom.munch and tommunch.com/photos-videos

When:  Thursday, September 17, 7-8:30 pm mountain time

Who:  Tom Munch

What:  playing and singing a Facebook Live Concert of favorites and requests

Where:  facebook.com/tom.munch and tommunch.com/photos-videos

When:  Sunday, September 20, 7-8:30 pm mountain time

Creative Performances

 I have heard and read a few interesting stories about how people are making and getting their music during this time of isolation. I’ve been doing only online shows other than my distanced shows for senior homes, but there are all kinds of other ways that people are performing and spreading music. One classical music couple are doing custom recorded video performances of song requests for special occasions like birthdays and anniversaries on viola and piano. They call it “pick a song.” I did a custom CD of favorite songs for an anniversary and another for a long-time friend. One musician in Canada has a platform on his vehicle that he performs shows from in front of people’s houses, and I’ve heard of others doing this from pickup truck beds in parking lots and driveways. There are several bands that have set up concerts on stages at drive-in movie theaters to people in their cars. I even heard about a performance that had speakers mounted on hot-air balloons that flew over neighborhoods in an area with the live music wirelessly broadcasted. Music is just very important to our well-being, and it turns out there are a lot of ways to deliver it. I may try some of these more creative ways of performing, but for now I’ve been enjoying the intimacy of online performances a lot. The technology is finally good enough that the quality is acceptable even though there is always room for improvement. I guess we will see where performing music returns to after the pandemic is over. 

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What have I been up to?

Last week was a lot of fun. I just had a couple senior homes. With the weather changing quite a bit this week we will have to think of other ways to entertain the folks. Online shows don’t work as well for them yet until higher speeds and more screens are available in the facilities. 

Thursday online I did more of my own original songs, and there were songs I haven’t played in 30 years that I attempted to reconnect with. Some worked better than others. I’ve had an interesting career with quite a few different songwriting influences. 

Sunday online I did a bunch of new requests and one new song I wrote in the vein of John Prine. It being Labor Day weekend I had a lot of folks tune in whom I hadn’t seen in a while. It is so good to connect with old friends and acquaintances. 

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What am I up to this week?

Wednesday 7-8:30 mountain time I’ll be doing my weekly theme show instead of Thursday because I have a private online show on Thursday. This week I’ll be doing the music of Dan Fogelberg. I can honestly say that he is one of the few artists that I have every album. I didn’t hear his first couple albums until a few years after they came out, but I was a big fan once I latched onto his music. He had such vocal and instrumental talent, not to mention very poetic lyrics. Many of his songs affected me in very deep ways. Please tune in if you can. 

facebook.com/tom.munch

tommunch.com/photos-videos

Thursday I have a private performance for a women's club in Wisconsin on Facebook. One of my childhood friends is part of this group, and I’m really looking forward to playing for them. 

Saturday I’m playing a show on Facebook for folks who have joined me at the Yellow Pine Ranch for the barbecue over the years. The barbecue was cancelled this summer due to the virus, and this is my chance to connect with all the friends I’ve made over the years at the Yellow Pine in Cuchara and get to sing for them a bit. If you’ve been to the Yellow Pine and would like to be part of this then let me know. 

Sunday I’ll be performing virtually for the Cuchara Chapel service that is recorded and shown online on the cucharachapel.org site. My good friend Rev. Eileen Ramsey leads these services all winter, and I’m proud to play for the second Sunday of each month. Tune in if you’d like a little inspiration and a few songs from me. 

Sunday 7-8:30 mountain time I’ll be doing my weekly favorites and requests show on Facebook. My list of requests grows every week, and I spend a lot of time learning new songs each week for this show. It has become a very special time that I look forward to. Please join us if you can. 

facebook.com/tom.munch

tommunch.com/photos-videos 

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That’s it for this week. I’m pacing myself for performances and recordings each day. 

Best always,

Tom

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Details this week:

Who:  Tom Munch

What:  playing and singing a Facebook Live Concert of Dan Fogelberg songs

Where:  facebook.com/tom.munch and tommunch.com/photos-videos

When:  Wednesday, September 9, 7-8:30 pm mountain time

Who:  Tom Munch

What:  playing and singing a Facebook Live Concert of favorites and requests

Where:  facebook.com/tom.munch and tommunch.com/photos-videos

When:  Sunday, September 13, 7-8:30 pm mountain time