In Praise of Porches

Two of my favorite things are playing music and being outside. I have found that porches, whether in the front of the house or the back of it, combine these elements in a way that yields pleasure in my soul.

 

Unfortunately, the house where I currently live doesn't really have a porch. It's more of a stoop, and not much of one at that. I do sit on it from time to time, but it isn't the same. It's mostly just where I hang out with the neighborhood cats.

 

Of all the places that I have lived over the years, only a few of them have had great porches. I played a lot of music on those porches.

 

As a musician, I tend to think of settings like these as kind of a middle ground between public and private spaces. There is a slight performative aspect of playing songs on one's porch or back yard, but to me, it's more about expressing and sharing my love of music from within the comfort of a familiar place. 

 

In my experience, depending on the porch, passersby could hear me but not necessarily see me, and very rarely did anyone ever approach me in that space. Personally, I find that music in unexpected places can sometimes feel almost magical, and I hope that others share that sentiment. 

 

I haven't always been comfortable singing in front of people, and playing on porches helped with that as well. That said, I don't recommend engaging in the very early stages of practicing any instrument (including vocals) in a semi-public place such as this, because frankly, no one wants to hear that. Sorry. It's the same reason I turn down the volume when I tune. However, once you have a song pretty well worked out, playing it on the porch is a good way of easing into the performance part. It's also an opportunity to share your artistry with anyone who cares to listen and happens to be walking by. 

 

Of all the many, many times that I have played music on a porch, no one has ever booed or yelled anything at me. Or maybe I just didn't hear it. Either way. If you have a porch and some songs to play, I encourage you to put those things together and spread some much needed magic in world.

 

   

Lex Luthier

Tangential to my interests as a DIY musician and recording artist, I also like to buy cheap guitars and fix them up with the intent of making them comparable to instruments that cost far more. Personally, I have never played a $2100 instrument that sounded seven times better than one that cost $300, as I tend to think the cost-to-sound ratio plateaus at a certain point. 

 

I paid $90 for this instrument on eBay, new. Yes, Adam Duritz, I bought myself a grey guitar and play. It even came with a gig bag and a patch cord. The seller gave me a discount because the listing had incorrectly stated that it was a baritone. Out of the box, it was kind of shitty. The nut was terrible, such that anything on the first few frets was not intonated correctly. It also wouldn't stay in tune worth a damn, and the pickups sounded muffled. However, the body, neck and fretboard were decent, so I kept it. I then replaced the nut, the bridge, the tuners, and the pickups, all with off-brand parts at a total cost of about $60. I also used a jewelry file to smooth out the sharp frets. It now plays and sounds approximately as well as my actual Fender Telecaster for a fraction of the price. 

 

My point is that you don't need to spend a lot on a guitar to have yourself a decent instrument. Sometimes it just takes a little bit of work.

 

 

Tiny Desk Songs

I decided to submit an entry to NPR's Tiny Desk Contest again this year. 

 

While I had the camera set up, I recorded seven songs in total, all acoustic and unplugged. I present them here (and below) for your listening enjoyment:

 

Pablo Fiasco (official 2026 entry)

 

 

 

Begin

 

 

Better Days

 

 

Haunted

 

 

Dandelion Wine (If Only...)

 

 

Gravel Roads

 

 

Goodbye

 

 

 

Once my entry goes live, you can find it here, along with all of the other submissions for this year's Tiny Desk Contest.

 

Thank you for listening and for supporting independent art. 

 

 

 

 

Protest Music

Here are some more songs that I wrote and recorded during the fascist fuckwit's first term. Sadly, they have only become more relevant in the time since:

 

Panic Attack

 

 

Weather Patterns

 

 

Gravity

 

 

 

There are more of us than there are of them. Find strength and hope in unity. 

 

Resist fascism.

 

 

 

After Dark

Here are a few more songs that I recorded live in my living room in December 2025:

 

Begin

 

 

Turn the Page

 

 

Better Days

 

 

Thank you for listening.