In the fall of 2020 I got a call I never expected.

Mia Dyson had just had a heart attack and, after being successfully resuscitated, was recovering in the hospital. An earthquake had struck Los Angeles and given her system a jolt that an undiagnosed heart condition was unable to bear - going from a deep sleep to very wide awake.

Mia Dyson’s new album “If I Said Only So Far I Take It Back” is out now on Single Lock Records. We made it in Muscle Shoals last year and put our whole selves into it.

People ask me about the title. It means something different to each of us, but in a nutshell for me, it’s that sentiment where you turn to your friends and say, “If I ever said to you that I was only going to only go so far, I take it back, I’m going all the way.”

Pushing through. Forging ahead. But with a sense of possibility and really appreciating what you’re capable of.

If you haven't seen or heard our music, I'm excited to introduce you to Radio Skies with this beautiful video for "Homeward Angel," one of my favorites from our debut release.

Plus, Another gorgeous artifact of a time now passed -- two covers of Leonard Cohen songs that Mia Dyson and I recorded in the past year.

She really turned me on to Cohen's work and it's depth and I've become a fan of not just his words, but his actions, his humility, his tenacity and his grace.

Hibernation is over. Our west coast dream of donning winter jackets in sub-60º weather has finally come to an end. Another insufficient rainy season has once again passed, water restrictions are still in effect and yet our desert climate is temporarily green.

It’s also the beginning of another season of doing the fortunate work of bringing people together and making music. Work that would truly be impossible without your engagement with it.

About 6 years ago, Dylan, Greg and I dropped off our drummer Sam in Buffalo so he could begin touring and working with [Ben Folds](http://benfolds.com). We pulled up in our minivan right behind Ben's tour bus and watched our friend graduate to the big leagues. Sam was one of the first friends and collaborators I had closely worked with that had worked his way to the next level. It's something that happens more and more the longer you're in the business, and learning how graciously balance those feelings of near-parental pride, petty jealousy, true awe, and total happiness probably makes up the core of a creative life.

Sam's never asked for a day off, but one his closest pals is getting married and he's asked me to step in for him and play with Ben on September 27 in [Charlotte, NC at the Belk Theater with the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra](http://tix.concertmaps.com/benfolds/). I just spent the weekend at the Hollywood Bowl shadowing Sam while he did the gig to see what I'm in for. I have to believe Sam asked me to do it for a reason, and if that reason is to make Ben appreciate how good Sam is, then so be it.

When I first moved to California, my late mother in law, a lifelong Californian, once remarked around this time of year that she could tell fall was close by the way the light fell through the windows. In my young, proud New Englanders mind, this struck me as nothing more than a weak substitute for the mountains exploding in color, the mercury swinging between freezing and boiling, the shared sense of hunkering down for the onslaught of natural punishment, a weak trade for a life where every conversation was a side-bet on the length of the coming dark,cold months of collective one-upmanship of Us vs Nature.