I wrote this song as 2007 turned into 2008 and I come back to it every year around this time. I don’t have any religious or family or even social traditions around the new year (especially since I quit drinking) so I have to make my own. This song and the performance of it has become my new year’s tradition. It’s a cleansing ritual of sorts, a way to both celebrate and shake off the past twelve months, and it works for me.
I’ve been doing interviews to promote my new solo album “The Salton Sea” (available here and wherever fine albums are sold) and a common question I get asked is what advice I have for younger artists. This seems to be a standard query for “legacy artists” which I reluctantly accept is my station in the musical zeitgeist these days. My answer for years has always been two fold, one is that you need to make your own luck. Meaning, don’t wait for people to give you things, if you start creating momentum then outside opportunities will find you. They don’t just fall out of the sky. You need to book your own shows, record your own songs, even release your own records in order to get the ball rolling. It doesn’t mean you have to do that forever it just means you have to start the process.
The second piece of advice I like to give is that there is no such thing as a “big break” or your “only opportunity”. I don’t know where I first heard the concept but I always head it attributed to Neil Young. He said something to the effect of that the music industry is like waves in the ocean. The waves get larger and then they recede, the trick to longevity is to wait for the next wave and grab it. Like surfing I guess, though as a lifelong midwesterner I’ve never picked up a board. But, you get the idea. Whatever “this moment” is, however important and life altering it might feel it’s always better to take a longer view. Pause and don’t rush into any decisions and if someone is trying to push you to sign something before you’re 100% then that’s most likely not an arrangement that is going to be good for you long term.
I’m sharing all this because I feel like I probably need to take my own advice right now. I’ve been putting things in motion for the last year. Writing, recording and releasing an independent album on my own. I’ve have lots of help obviously. Greatness is the agency of others after all. I couldn’t have gotten the record off the ground without everyone who pledged their support for the Kickstarter campaign, something I will be eternally grateful for. I couldn’t’ have done it without all the people behind the scenes like Adam Phillips, Peter Katis, Dubin, Wilson, Berwanger, Hector, Ellis, Matt & Seth @ Polyvinyl, Kev @ BSM and Paul @ Pitch & Smith as well as Elliott & Jerzy Pryor. I would not have been able to make this album the reality it is without them.
I guess that’s part of the “make your own luck” thing that IDK if enough people talk about. Being independent and self reliant doesn’t have to mean you’re alone. In fact, it’s better to have a team, a cabinet of collaborators who can help bring your vision to life. But, at this point, at the end of 2025 I think they’ve done all that they can do for the project. Everything moving forward which all revolves around the upcoming tour is kind of up to me. Outside of the performance itself, the seventy minutes onstage, part of which I’ll be accompanied by Lily & Jerzy Pryor the promotion and tour managing and merchandising and everything else is all up to me. BTW I am aware that Jeff Tweedy is also touring with his kids, thank you for telling me but we can move on.
I’m excited to do all these things, I’m excited to perform for people. I’m especially excited by the songs from both the new record and my catalog that we’ve chosen to perform as a trio. The whole “blood harmony” thing, meaning people who are related tend to sing better together, seems to be real and I dig what Lily, Jerzy and I are doing with it. I’m excited to get to tell stories for people, I don’t get to talk much during the TGUK set because it’s so labor intensive for me to sing. Plus, Jim can talk enough for both of us so I figure it’s bests to just let him vamp. I like the way the house shows last year turned out where they were as much stories about the songs as the songs themselves. That’s gonna be a part of the show as well. If anyone is familiar with Todd Snider who was tragically lost this year that might give you an idea of the kind of singer/songwriter/storyteller that I want to be onstage for this tour.
I also have to remember the second piece of my advice mantra and this is becoming more acute as I delve deeper into the Buddhist part of my recovery. This isn’t permanent, this tour, this record, this moment isn’t everything, it’s part of the process. I would like for this album, this tour, this (whatever Substack is … journal?), the livestreams on Mondays all to be part of building something. But, there is no silver bullet, there is no one moment that is going to chance my life. The whole thing, the whole life is the moment. Fuck, that’s the most hippie dippy, new age bullshit sentence I’ve ever written. Even if it’s true I gotta workshop that one a bit.
Thank you for reading these ramblings for the last year and I hope you keep coming back. Next week, which is next year, we’re gonna start talking about Texas. See you then. So it goes.
Housekeeping:
Weekly AMA right here on the Substack continues on at 8PM Central Standard Time tomorrow and every Monday henceforth. Stories and songs, questions and answers, no holds barred.
The US & UK tour starts next month and you can get tickets here.
Finally, there are a few signed limited edition LP’s of “The Salton Sea” and “Never You Mind” as well as copies of my first book “Red Letter Days” in the song shop. Grab one or three if you like good records and cool books.
p.s. in case you were wondering, here are the lyrics to this song.
A Totally New Year
You tattoo the failures on
On to your length of arm
They may run wrist to shoulder blade
Wear them like badges of
Honor you lost and loved
Savin’ the tale of the trials and fails
for another day
This will be a totally new year
Don’t let the pouring rain
Temper your day-by-day
Don’t let the bones the closet may hold
Get in the way
After a long dark night
Bathe in the morning light
Then take your return
The lesson you learned:
You’ll get it right
This is where we begin
It feels like an ending
Say it with no pretense
I’m tired of pretending
You know that life won’t wait
You’ll have to make your move
The choices you make
Every awful mistake
Will try to define you
This will be a totally new year
