So we’ve been in Austin almost three months now, and every week it seems like I am liking it more.

Yes, it was 106 degrees yesterday.

But other than that, I live close to work, in a great neighborhood, I am loving the job and I am getting in shape.

Part of the reason I am getting in shape is the awesome nature hike right in my neighborhood.  Just walk down the street about ten houses and you’re in a hill country paradise – four plus miles of rocky hills, scrub flats, streams and rivers nestled right up against Lake Austin.

I call the whole loop (about 4.5 miles) the “Death Hike” – the first time I did it I was around 220 pounds, it was 90 degrees, took me pretty much two hours, I had to stop to rest three times and it still almost killed me.  Now I am a little better prepared for what to expect, a little lighter (just under 200 pounds last I checked), and in a little better shape.  A trip around the loop now takes me about eighty five minutes, I don’t have to stop to rest, and I run up most of the hills (the notorious heart rate hill below notwithstanding).

Along the way there are some awesome waterfalls, great hill country views (you can see Mansfield Dam, for example) and lots of sun and shade.

If you look closely, you can spot the heart rate monitor strapped under my shirt – heart rate hill can definitely max out your heart rate if you go fast enough.  For now, I am happy just making it up the hill without stopping.  That picture above is only about 1/3 of the hill, it twists and turns twice more as you make your ascent.  It may not look like much but I assure you it’s a chore.

Come visit and I will take you on the Death Hike in 100 degree weather, and you’ll love Austin!

On The East Side.mp3

A songwriting demo I recorded with Jon Mellen – he also works at eBags.com with me. I wrote the song, he sung the vocals. Everything else I did with samples and virtual instruments. The lyrics for this were orginally written in the early nineties.

Around The Block.mp3

Someday I will finish this.  Recorded in 2003.   Just another demo.

Highway 84.mp3

The original songwriter’s demo of this song, which eventually made it onto J. Gilligan’s compilation in 1996, although in a more polished format.  The song is missing the guitar solo in the middle.  Almost everything here was sampled, other than the organ and vocals.  We eventually recorded the whole thing live.

Drum Solo.mp3

This was recorded at a live outdoor concert in 1986 or 87, when I was around 17.  I switched from drums to keyboards in college, though I have recorded some tracks where I play drums since.

Cigarette Away.mp3

Written in ‘93 or ‘94, before I started my music studio. A simple piano ballad. There’s a story here, ’cause I never smoke.  This is a live demo I recorded in 1996.

Fall Down Mary.mp3

This was the first song I did totally on the computer…except for my vocals, of course. Something like 1995…though I think I transferred it to MP3 in 1996 or so.

The Fall Of Nathan.mp3

I wrote this in the early nineties, I think. Obviously, before I knew my way around a studio. Someday I will record it again.  I transferred this from a cassette tape around ‘96.