A.C. Bushnell

Taz Halloween, the great singer, will be joining me on the Blue Bayou Club stage in Hillsborough this Thursday night, December 4th at 8:30pm. If you have never heard Taz sing, she is a force of nature! I am delighted she is coming. The show starts at 8:30pm with Andrew Marlin singing — he riveted everyone when he played at my CD release party at the ArtsCenter a year ago.

Then I will be taking the stage with The HappyJoy Band: Robert Sledge on bass; Rob Ladd on drums; Mitch Rothrock on electric guitar and Lance Ashley on keyboards. These guys are great!! I will be singing songs I have written including several new ones that will be on my next CD which will be out in the spring.

I am dedicating this show to Kevin Brock, our drummer, who passed away unexpectedly at the age of 37 at the beginning of November. Kevin was a wonderful man and a great light, so this show is for you Kevin.

Dear Friends,

It is with much sadness that I share the passing of our band’s drummer, Kevin Brock on Monday, November 3rd. Kevin was such a bright light. It’s hard to know why anyone’s time is up when it is. I am comforted only by the thought that his shining spirit goes on. Still it is not easy for the people who love him.

Kevin was also incredibly supportive of my music and when I asked him to be in the HappyJoy Band, he said, “AC, I love your music and I’m a hundred percent for you. I am there, man.” That was Kevin, one of the world’s nicest people — a great guy and a great drummer with a delicate touch who could always really bring it. All I can think is let’s really enjoy and cherish each other while we’re here. I am so sad at his passing.

It was unexpected and the loss has many reeling of the sudden absence of this gift in our world. Kevin was a beautiful soul, amazing musician and a bright light in this world.

I know that Kevin would want the show to go on and I will play this evening in honor of Kevin Brock. Please join the HappyJoy Band on Thursday, December 4th at the Blue Bayou Club in Hillsborough to honor Kevin. The flier for the show is attached. As we all are once again reminded of the preciousness of life…

I hope you will join me and my fellow musicians — Mitch Rothrock, Lance Ashley, Robert Sledge and Rob Ladd — for a magical evening of music.

For more information about Kevin and his music you can go to this link: http://kevinbrockdrums.com/music.html

Always,

AC Bushnell

I’ll be on WCOM Radio 103.5 in downtown Carrboro tonight on the Dave Bellin Show from 7 to 8pm. Jon Seskevich and I will be talking about our BlueGrass Kirtan project — old time Appalachian roots music with ancient chanting in Sanskrit and other languages. I never knew originally if this would work or not, but it does! This will also let people know about our concert this Saturday night, September 20th at 8:30pm at the ArtsCenter in Carrboro, NC. Tickets are $14 and can be purchased at: http://www.artscenterlive.org/detailpopup.php?id=531 Without a doubt we will be playing some tracks from our new BlueGrass Kirtan CD (see BlueGrassKirtan.com for more). We are also going to be playing our own bootleg copy of the Vote Barack Obama song that lots of people really like. This song is on this website!

Speaking of that song, the presidential campaign is much on my mind. One third of me seeks to completely ignore all of it and ask someone to let me know when it is time to go vote. Two thirds of me realizes that the country has gone seriously off track — country is literally bankrupt, engaged in a foreign war that costs $12 billion a month, high gas prices, housing crisis, etc., etc. That two thirds of me feels that I have an obligation to you and everyone to do everything I can to have a new day when Barack Obama is inaugurated as President of the United States on January 20, 2009. How does that feel? Does that thought feel good to you? If so, we have got to work for it. If you want to help me with voter registration in North Carolina, call me at (919) 932-3037 and I will provide you the opportunity to do it! Since the beginning of the year, there have been between 300,000 and 400,000 new registered voters in North Carolina. It’s a huge key to the election.

It sounds a lot more modest, but I have written 20 new songs since the first of the year. I have been in the studio three times recently recording these songs and will return to the studio next month to continue my work. It is a work of joy and a big part of my lifetime work. I know that I won’t be on the earth forever and I want to leave these songs for the world. I think they are very beautiful. I have no way of knowing what you will think, but I am certain that if I didn’t like them the chances are you wouldn’t either. I have therefore made it a policy to only write songs that I love. I am looking at a possible spring date to release a new CD. It’s a good problem but nonetheless a problem to figure out which songs to leave off the album. I’ll keep you informed.

I am grateful to be alive. I always welcome your comments and communications. I have been inspired by some of the beautiful things that people have said to me recently. But I will take your comments to heart whatever they are!

Soon, AC

I’ve been reflecting on getting older which I am in a good position to begin to do. I have developed a three-part policy on aging:

1. I am aging. I don’t deny it. I accept it. I embrace it.
2. I ignore it!
3. I have a good time and keep doing what I love to do.

That’s it! What do you think?

Your comments on anything I write are always welcome.

It’s been a while since I have written to you. That should change with the addition of some new technology I am just installing.

I wrote several new songs in January and February that I have recorded in the studio. I will be working on mixing some of these songs over the next few days. It takes a while to produce these tracks and make them sound like I think they should, which is to make them be as beautiful as I can possibly make them. These songs include Precious Jewels on the Lost Highway, a rock and roll song; a reggae number called Be Yourself and a beautiful song called The Moon Rises. It begins:

“The leaves fall down from the trees
All things fade and pass
The moon rises
My love for you still lasts.”

It’s an exciting and creative time for me. I love doing this and I hope you will love the results!