Don’t fret yourself if a genre of music named ‘American Primitive Guitar’ doesn’t ring a bell. The truth is that almost nobody’s heard of it. American Primitive Guitar may be nothing more than a flimsy conceptual umbrella for academics and critics to get wet under after drinking too much Pabst, but that’s what makes it fun. What few people would argue is that it is a full and embracing sound that creates an atmosphere of welcome and openness.

In other words, the guitarist-author can play the music and tell you all about it, or he could just play and let the music speak for itself.

Audiobook Project

The Year of the Locust is a multitiered project that starts with a new audiobook of Nathaneal West’s 1939 dystopian classic, The Day of the Locust with layers of music, field recordings, and a song cycle inspired by Martin Ballard’s experience of eviction and homelessness after a long, Covid-related illness.

It all begins with an idea. Maybe you want to launch a business. Maybe you want to turn a hobby into something more. Or maybe you have a creative project to share with the world. Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.

A couple of years ago, I took a cold stab in the dark at improvising music to the Wallace Stevens’ poem, The Idea of Order at Key West. I’m hoping to get back to this soon.