The Seven Stages of a JourneyThis forty-nine week journey is divided into seven
stages of seven weeks each. The first seven weeks we will be spending time
at the “base camp” telling stories and singing songs.
It is also a chance to see how everything is working before we “set
out.”The second stage begins the journey. This stage chronicles
the years from 1969 to 1971 when I was first with The Brothers Four with
lots of music and stories from that time.The third stage includes the year
from 1971 to 1979. These were years of developing a personal style as a songwriter
and solo performer. At the end of this time I simply ran out of ideas and
energy and imagination of what a musical career might look. This stage ends
and the next one begins with The Brothers Four asking me to be part of an
extended Japanese tour in the summer of 1979.Stage four is made up of the
years between 1979 to1987. It was a time when performing mostly meant with
Mike McCoy and beginning in 1985 as one of The Brothers Four. These were
productive times for McCoy and me. Still by 1987 it was hard to figure out
where we were going with our career and important for me to get back on stage
as a solo performer.The fifth stage begins in 1987. These were productive
years for The Brothers Four including many tours of Japan and the Orient.
McCoy was going through a hard time in November of 1995, and when he opened
himself up to me our friendship changed in so many good ways. We talked every
day for 500 days. A concert in Spokane in 1997 was the only time I ever opened
for The Brothers Four. McCoy was a guest artist. It was Easter weekend. It
was the last time I saw my dad healthy. This stage ends at my dad’s
memorial service with McCoy sitting next to me in the family section.Stage
six were the ten years after my dad died. I spent a year writing a musical
memoir honoring my dad that I performed at the Richard Hugo House in Seattle
as well as my mother’s home in Spokane. The Brother Four continued
to travel lots including a number of trips to Japan. McCoy joined the group
in 2004. That fall The Brothers Four spent a season of touring with The Kingston
Trio and Glenn Yarbrough and his group that included original Brothers Four
member, Dick Foley. This stage ended with a career retrospective at Benaroya
Hall in Seattle.The final stage includes lots of small changes as a songwriter
and performer. The changes resulted in a new solo album as well as one with
McCoy where nearly 30 years after recording Between Friends we brought in
the same musicians in the same space with the same engineer and producer
and recorded a follow-up titled appropriately Between Old Friends. This last
stage will end a year from now when the songs are sung and the stories are
told. I am curious to find out what that’s going to look like.
Thank you for being part of the journey.
