Spring

I can’t believe that Spring is here once again. As I watch the trees and prairie and hear the sounds of the birds awakening on my morning walks with Beau, I am delighted to feel the changes. It’s an invigorating energy like the earth is inhaling after long sleep before the sprint and marathon of summer. I write about it every year, and yet every year I’m swept up by it once again. I love it! Of course it means a lot of work in planting and tending and pruning, but it’s all about being alive and involved in what we’re here for - living and loving. I get to watch for the eggs and little songbirds and prey birds as well as baby rabbits and coyote pups. Occasionally I’ll get to see a fawn or a group of young quail scurrying after their parents. It’s pretty magical. I’m always amazed at the resilience of the earth and the beings we share it with - from worms to wolves. And it does the same in me - I take that energy and apply to my tired, older body to drive me to start each day with vigor and joy. It helps me remember that I am part of this earth, and we are starting to see all the wonder of rebirth as we take another trip around the sun.

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What have I been up to?

I had 10 senior facilities this week, and it was so good to see them.  I’m doing Spring songs among others for these facilities, but I’m always up for anything they want to hear. One facility was a birthday party for one resident who is a friend that was so much fun. Two facilities had to cancel with norovirus unfortunately. I always hate to see this, and I hope the folks heal well and safely. 

My Wednesday online show was more songs from 1975, and it was so much fun. As I wrote before these songs are the ones that I was learning when I first started playing guitar, and so they are really a part of me. It was so gratifying to play these songs, and I think the folks who tuned in got so much out of the songs and the reminiscing.

Friday night I played instrumental guitar at the Garden of the Gods Club in the Grand View restaurant, and it was so much fun doing requests and watching the diners react to my tunes. It’s a real joy to experiment with arrangements and tunes in a spontaneous way on these nights.

My Sunday online show was favorites and requests, and it was a wonderful night of great tunes. I even did a song I had written 40 years ago. This audience is just amazing.

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What am I up to this week?

I have 9 senior facilities this week, and I’m hoping that more aren’t affected by illness this week. I look forward to seeing the folks and hopefully making their day better.

My Wednesday online show 7-8:45 mountain time will be Spring songs, and these songs are so full of everything I wrote about above - the rebirth and joy of new life and the beauty of Spring. Come on out and join in with the wonderful audience.

My Sunday online show 7-8:45 mountain time will be favorites and requests, and I’m sure there’ll be some great moments and sweet requests. I’m happy to play yours as well if you tune in. These nights are so much fun!

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That’s it for this week. I hope you’re enjoying the changes that come with Spring.

Best always,

Tom

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Details this week:

Who:  Tom Munch 

What:  playing and singing an online concert of 1975 songs

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

When:  Wednesday, April 2, 7-8:45 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, April 6, 7-8:45 pm mountain time

Sunrises

If you have known me a while or follow me on Instagram or Facebook you’ll know that I love getting up early to see and capture pictures of the sunrise. I’ve been both an early-riser and a late-night person at different times of my life. I love both. They’re quiet, peaceful and full of reflective time that I thrive on. Of course the sweet reality of the early morning is getting the chance to see the sun rise in all its glory. It’s not always the moment that the sun breaks the horizon, but the buildup when the clouds are just right to catch the light and there is just the right amount of dust or volcanic ash in the air to make an outstanding display. I studied just enough meteorology in college to know different cloud formations and conditions. I also did enough professional photography to know my way around a camera, but I’m using my phone for all my sunrise photos, and for the most part the phone does all the settings except for adjusting exposure and composing the shot. The key is just to enjoy the moment and watch the light for just the right time to take each shot. Of course I’m also walking Beau, our almost 10-year-old dog and taking pictures of him too. He’s a very good boy on walks - always stopping when I ask him so I can get a shot. He doesn’t always pose when I’m taking a shot of him, but I get some good shots of him anyway when I can. And the real reason I do it is just to capture the beauty and stillness of the moment to share with others. There are so many things you can do to encourage others, and I’m happy to have a gift to give to others. If you want to see them you can follow me on Instagram or Facebook. I also do a couple calendars every year on lulu.com. I’m not saying this as an ad, just wanting you to know in case you want to see them.

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What have I been up to?

I had 14 senior facilities last week, and I was still singing Irish tunes for many of them even though St. Patrick’s Day was just the first day of the week. I just couldn’t let it go, and the energy it gave me and the audience was amazing.

My Wednesday online show was songs from 50 years ago - 1975, and there were so many memories tied up in these songs. Everyone had a great time, and we’ll do some more songs from 1975 this coming Wednesday.

My Sunday online show was favorites and requests, and there were some great ones as well as a couple new songs. I did a couple Jesse Colin Young songs too in tribute to him on his passing. I love this group of folks so much.

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What am I up to this week?

I have 10 senior facilities this week, and I’ll be doing Spring songs for most of them. This is the time of year when everything starts to green up and the birds beginning singing in the trees again. It’s a wonderful time to share.

My Wednesday online show 7-8:45 mountain time will be more songs from 1975, and it’ll be so much fun. This was a really good year as music transitioned from the folk rock of the early ‘70s into the rock and dance music of the later ‘70s. Come on out and hear some old favorites and relive some memories.

Friday night 5:30-8:30 I’m back playing instrumental guitar tunes at the Garden of the Gods Club in the Grand View restaurant. Last time I was there I was getting folks who wanted a little bit more rock and roll which was a lot of fun. I’m ready to play whatever the diners want to hear.

My Sunday online show 7-8:45 mountain time will be favorites and requests, and it’s always a very special evening of music and friendship with my online community that I am so privileged to play for and share time with. You’re always welcome, and it’s always a worthwhile time.

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That’s it for this week. I hope you had a good St. Patrick’s Day, and that your Spring is starting well. We’ll probably do Spring songs next Wednesday for my online show.

Best always,

Tom

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Details this week:

Who:  Tom Munch 

What:  playing and singing an online concert of 1975 songs

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

When:  Wednesday, March 26, 7-8:45 pm mountain time

Who:  Tom Munch 

What:  playing instrumental guitar tunes

Where:  Garden of the Gods Resort and Club in the Grand View Restaurant. 888-994-3156

When:  Friday, March 28, 5:30-8:30 pm 

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, March 30, 7-8:45 pm mountain time 

1975

1975 was an interesting year. Some of my favorite music came out then, and  I was learning a lot of popular songs. It was a little past the very acoustic folk rock era, but there was still a lot of music being recorded on the kind of instruments I was playing and that I was interested in. Our local radio station, KRGI, played a little bit of everything as a lot of AM stations played back then, and so I heard a good cross-section of what was being released. My favorites were the songs I could pick up mostly by ear off the radio. I had a little portable cassette player that I would set next to the radio during the top 40 weekly countdown to capture the songs I wanted to learn. I did buy sheet music and songbooks for a few of the songs I liked that year including “Wildfire” and “Black Water”. Of course you had to pick up what the intros and outros of the songs were through the DJ patter of the day. I got to be pretty good at recognizing the little guitar riffs that people like James Taylor or John Denver would play. I liked the challenge of learning these, and I also started to write my own songs too in little notebooks I’d carry. I mainly played baritone ukulele that year. It was easier on my younger fingers, and it was tuned the same as the top 4 strings on the guitar, so the fingerings were the same. It was the next year when I’d finally get a guitar and launch into more serious playing. But 1975 was a good year for me. I was a pretty short kid until I had a growth spurt later in the year, and it was finishing up junior high school and 9th grade. I was coming into my voice and myself. The music made it all the better. 

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What have I been up to?

I had 8 senior facilities last week, and I had so much fun putting on rambunctious Irish shows for all of them. The Irish tunes are just too much fun. I had a resident that had passed away at one facility who always requested the best songs, so I did a few of his favorites in his memory. You’ll be missed, Lee. 

My Wednesday online show was Irish tunes as well, and there were some great ones with a nice group of folks supporting. I love these people. 

Friday I played the Garden of the Gods Club in the Grand View Restaurant, and I had kind of a rowdy group who wanted to hear more rock and roll than Irish music. It was fun!

My Sunday online show was favorites and requests, and there were some new Irish tunes too. I love this group!

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What am I up to this week?

I have 14 senior facilities this week,  and I’ll only get to do Irish tunes for a few before St. Patrick’s Day season is over. I’m sure I’ll do some 1975 songs for those who would like those. It’s such an honor to play for these folks. 

My Wednesday online show 7-8:45 mountain time will be songs from 1975, and there will be some wonderful tunes. Check out online how many favorites came out that year if you have the chance. Looking through them I see so many favorites that trigger many memories. I already have 101 on my list. This will be a sweet show, and we’ll do it again next week to make sure we hit a lot of the best songs. Come on out!

My Sunday online show 7-8:45 mountain time will be favorites and requests as always, and I know there’ll be some good ones. I’d love to take your requests too if you’d like to tune in. 

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That’s it for this week. Today is St. Patrick’s Day, so I’ll wish you a Happy St. Patrick’s Day, and I’ll shout, “Slainte!” (To your health!)

Best,

Tom

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Details this week:

Who:  Tom Munch 

What:  playing and singing an online concert of 1975 songs

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

When:  Wednesday, March 19, 7-8:45 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, March 23, 7-8:45 pm mountain time 

Feeling the Music

I’m noticing in this time of playing Irish songs for St. Patrick’s Day that I’m very captivated and possessed by the music as I play it. This happens to me often, and it’s part of the reason I play music for a living. I frequently tell people that I feel music is a magical and spiritual experience, and I believe it truly is. We are beings of harmony and rhythm and melody. Music spurs all these elements deeply in us. The harmony is how we relate to each other and our world in finding ways we work with and against every situation just like the notes work with and against each other. The rhythm is fairly obvious - going with the pace of the flow of moments as we encounter them. The melody is how we follow the ever-changing expected and unexpected thread of life just like the melody in a song. Some songs are fairly mundane in that they don’t surprise us much with the harmony, rhythm, and melody, and others surprise and delight us at every turn - just like a grand adventure or good conversation. (I think I’m carrying this analogy too far.) Add in some great words that wrap us up in a story or idea, and the interplay of words, harmony, rhythm, and melody are just magical and spiritual - bringing us to tears. All I know is that I feel these things profoundly with music - especially songs that I can feel were written with true passion like so many Irish tunes I get to play during this season. How about you? Do you feel the music in ways that feel deeply magical and spiritual?

What have I been up to?

I had 7 senior facilities last week, and I did Irish tunes at most of them. There’s so much energy in these songs that the folks really liked them.

My Wednesday online show was Irish tunes, and the energy was palpable for this show too. Everyone commented on how much they enjoyed them, and several said we should do Irish tunes often during the year as well.

My Sunday online show was favorites and requests as always, and there were some great requests with a couple Irish tunes thrown in for good measure. This is such a wonderful group of people who are so supportive of each other. It is a joy to play for them and call them friends.

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What am I up to this week?

I have 8 senior facilities this week, and I’ll be doing Irish tunes for all of them, I’m sure. I’m playing an Irish guitar and an Irish bodhran drum while wearing green and an Irish cap, so most folks are really liking that and getting into the spirit.

My Wednesday online show 7-8:45 mountain time will be Irish tunes once again, and I have many, many more great songs to sing. There will be lots of passion and history. I’d love to have you listening too!

Friday 5:30-8:30 I’m back at the Garden of the Gods Club in the Grand View restaurant. I will love playing some Irish favorites as well as some other favorites for the diners. With the beautiful view of Garden of the Gods and Pike’s Peak, it’s always a beautiful time. Come on out if this sounds good to you. Reservations are at 888-994-3156 or you can usually sit at the bar or the small table near me in the bar.

My Sunday online show 7-8:45 mountain time will be favorites and requests, and you know it will be a genuinely good time with good folks. Come on out and toss in your request too!

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That’s it for this week. I’m so enjoying this time of pre-Spring and Irish spirit. I hope you are healthy and happy even with the uncertainties this year has brought.

Best always,

Tom

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Details this week:

Who:  Tom Munch 

What:  playing and singing an online concert of Irish songs

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

When:  Wednesday, March 12, 7-8:45 pm mountain time

Who:  Tom Munch 

What:  playing instrumental guitar tunes

Where:  Garden of the Gods Resort and Club in the Grand View Restaurant. 888-994-3156

When:  Friday, March 14, 5:30-8:30 pm 

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, March 16, 7-8:45 pm mountain time

Irish

I’m trying to pack as much Irish spirit as I can into the next two weeks. I dearly love Irish music, and I lament every year that’s there’s only a few weeks when people really want to hear it. There is so much passion in the songs, and I get wrapped up in it very easily. I’m working on playing the Irish frame drum called the bodhran (pronounced bow-rawn). It is a very deep-sounding and impactful instrument that really brings excitement to the music. It’s played in a different way than other drums in that you hold it in the crook of your arm with one hand resting on the back of the head while beating on it with a stick called a tipper on the front side of the head with the other hand. I’ve heard that it probably came from people playing their animal-skin bowls that they used in food gathering and preparation. One of my good friends, Connie, gave me a bodhran last year, and I’m having so much fun with it! It drives my emotion about Irish music even deeper as I feel the drum against my body as I play. I wrote last year in March about how Irish songs reflect the struggles and joys of the Irish people. It’s true that angst can motivate songwriting, and when I sing many Irish tunes I am transported to the times and places where the music was inspired and played. I feel this with most genres I play - especially if I have had similar experiences in my life. With Irish songs I feel this even more intently. So at this time of year with St. Patrick’s Day approaching I relish in the opportunity to share the Irish songs I know and to learn new ones. I think that life is so much more worthwhile when we let ourselves feel everything with gusto and enthusiasm. I’ll be playing the bodhran and my Irish guitar at many of my gigs this month.

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What have I been up to?

I had 11 senior facilities last week, and I enjoyed every one so much. Unfortunately one of them has a bad virus going around that’s going to make them shut down to outside visitors for a few days over Mardi Gras and Ash Wednesday. I’m hoping for the best for them.

My Wednesday online show was songs for Mardi Gras, and it was such a good time with lots of upbeat and interesting songs. I really have to get down to New Orleans again. We had jambalaya for dinner 2 days in a row too!

Friday night I played instrumental guitar tunes for the Garden of the Gods Club in the Grand View restaurant, and it was so much fun. I had many compliments, and I came up with several new off-the-cuff arrangements for Mardi Gras songs and others.

My Sunday online show was favorites and requests, and there were some good ones. It is so wonderful to have a community of music and people lovers to share music and friendship with.

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What am I up to this week?

I have 7 senior facilities this week, and at least 2 of them with have Mardi Gras parties that I get to play for. The other ones I will play Irish tunes for if they’d like to hear them.

My Wednesday online show 7-8:45 mountain time will be Irish tunes in anticipation of St. Patrick’s Day. I’ll also do Irish songs next week. I’d love to have you tune in and experience the passion of this music.

My Sunday online show 7-8:45 mountain time will be favorites and requests as always. I can’t say enough about how much I enjoy this group of fine folks and the great times I get to experience sharing music every week. You’re always welcome, and it’s always a very sweet time.

Garden of the Gods Club will be alternating me with a violin player this month on Friday nights, so I won’t be there this week, but I’ll be back next week. I really love hearing the violin, and I hope the diners do too.

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That’s it for this week. I hope your winter is ending well. The changes we are going through in the world are really keeping us on our toes.

Best always,

Tom

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Details this week:

Who:  Tom Munch 

What:  playing and singing an online concert of Irish songs

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

When:  Wednesday, March 5, 7-8:45 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, March 9, 7-8:45 pm mountain time