Five Years On The Road

by Scott

We recently celebrated our five year anniversary. Five years of self-unemployment. Five years of living on the road. Five years of jumping pictures.

In those five years, we have lived in three different vehicles and visited fourteen countries on three continents. Shortly before starting our travels, I wrote and recorded this song. To celebrate, I thought I'd share it with a picture video. Literally, the song is about taking jumping pictures. Figuratively, it's about the ups, downs, and doubts of trying to figure out how to live this thing we call life. Enjoy.

Floating in Midair by Scott Sturgeon ©2009

If the above video doesn't work for you, try the low-resolution one below, or just go directly to the link:  http://youtu.be/Qic2ZpcNR5s

Floating in Midair by Scott Sturgeon ©2009

Set the timer
And watch the light
Jump as high as you can
Try to time it right

Are we floating in midair?
Did we even get off the ground?
Are we flying high?
Are we falling down?

You're already laughing
Before you've seen the screen
I think we should have stretched
I may have pulled something

What did you do?
I didn't see
I wasn't watching you
You weren't watching me

Are we floating in midair?
Did we even get off the ground?
Are we flying high?
Are we falling down?

You're grinning from ear to ear
But I'm so serious
It says a lot I guess
About the two of us

You want to try again
But I have my doubt
Be patient you say
We can figure this thing out

Are we floating in midair?
Did we even get off the ground?
Are we flying high?
Are we falling down?

Repetition is a Sign

by Scott

We are in the final days of our year in New Zealand. The gear is gone, and it's raining, so I've found time to record a song I wrote last year in Australia.

The song was inspired by Ann Arbor's Chris Bathgate. He writes beautifully mysterious songs with lines like:

I twiddle my thumbs at the rag I've become and wait for the world within
cause all I need is the night as my steed and a kiss to serve as my shield
cause it's comfort and ease on evenings like these that turn all my poisons prose

It takes a secret decoder ring to figure out what he's talking about, but it's undeniably poetic. Unfortunately, my brain doesn't work like that. Simple chords. Simple lines. Simple man. Simple mind. Repetition is a sign (mp3).

My band in a box--every van dwelling songwriter should have one

Make the Most of Every Day

by Scott

As I approached my 40th birthday, I was thinking about getting old. That led to memories of my dad and grandpa. Dad always greeted Grampa with, "How are you doing?" Grampa always replied, "It's no fun getting old." That was as close as he ever came to complaining. I can still hear Grampa saying it, and after visiting Grampa, I can still hear my Dad repeating it. It seemed like a song waiting to be written.

It didn't have to wait long. The dark rainy New Zealand winter was forcing us to spend a lot of time in the van. Unfortunately, for the first time in almost 20 years, I was without a guitar. Never again. I had to work out the song in my head. Poor Heather had to put up with endless renditions of me whistling the guitar solo. After searching New Zealand's eBay equivalent for a month, I finally broke down and bought a used guitar and a calculator-sized digital recorder.

I spent the next month playing with my new toys - recording, re-writing lyrics, and arranging drum tracks. I was hoping to have the song finished by Christmas, but a funny thing happened - summer! The sunshine and long days meant less time in the van and less time for music. Now that the rain is back, and the days are getting shorter, I've found time to finish it. Click here to enjoy it while you can (mp3). Getting old ain't much fun.