M. Erik Matlock

AbigailAlthough there was plenty of laughter and commotion from the travelers in the back of the wagon, the front was mostly silent. The young lass hadn’t given her name as Abigail, but the young king repeated it to himself after she was called to from the back. She was a bit guarded, somehow detached in a way from the group jostling about behind them. Allowing her the peaceful portion of this…

Becoming the KingWritten by M. Erik Matlock Chapter One – Isabel Isabel had been the first of the young king’s muses to appear, but at that point he was only prince. Not even a prince, and he knew nothing of who he was. As child, his father, the true king, had placed him in the care of a young widow until he might find his own way back home. At the time of that decision, it was at first to…

The grass was green, the sky was blueThe stream gurgled a familiar tuneAnother day as pretty as the lastFinds three little turtles having a nap The one in the middle woke up quite surprisedTo find a big turtle looking him in the eyesYou’re tiny and weak and a little bit weirdSaid the much larger turtle with a growl and a sneer I think I will harm you, probably now and againHe pushed him quite…

I wish I’d taken that right turn in NashvilleGone south, and knocked on momma’s doorI did a damn poor job of putting roots downWorked too much, just afraid of being poorListened closer as the kids were getting olderAnd running off, like I’d always done before But I find myself just looking backAt all the things I don’t regretThat life somehow handed right to meSome things I thought I’d never…

The old father and the old mother took their young child out to play in the sunny meadow at the edge of the woods near home. The child found an old swing and a few trees to climb, but nothing held his attention for very long and he began wandering around, noticing trails leading into the woods. Old father found a knotted, fallen tree in the shade to rest on. Old mother walked to the child. The…

As a child my playtime was spent much in the woodsTrying to climb every tree that I couldEven covered in ivy, the poisonous kindThe swelling lasted weeks, and did not change my mind Exploring and fishing and hiking all dayWatching the clouds until they’d all drift awayButterflies and beetles and birds everywhereAll held my gaze without any cares Then music and books and the arts caught my eyeI…

A Van, a Plan and an X

The digital nomad idea began forming in my noggin sometime in the mid-90s. I thought it would be awesome to travel the country with a small studio in a van. Which is comical now, because I was in an analog world with digital audio gear still in its infancy. Analog is bulky. And what the hell could I do with anything that fit in there anyway? The van In 1997, I addressed my fellow CRAS students…

I’m not great at asking for help, but 2020 has been rough…

We launched the WYWU: Working Your Way Up podcast in July of 2019 with the support of ProSoundWeb to capture face to face interviews for the benefit of the next generation. Season Onewas built around interviews with industry professionals willing to share their “map of the minefield” that took them from amateurs to top professionals,…

Freelancers and road crews already understand how seasonal event production work tends to be. But, the Coronavirus issue is pushing the limits of our endurance as concert season of 2020 was just about to kick in.

As we’re in the midst of what might be the toughest season in the history of concert and event production, I thought I’d offer some suggestions for making the most of the…