Dave Hawkins December Newsletter
Happy December!
Hope y’all have had a nice fall as we head into the final days of 2024. This past month I was invited to my kid’s schools for a couple events, “physical education night” at my oldest kid’s kindergarten, and a thanksgiving lunch at my middle kid’s preschool. It’s fun to see them in a different environment where they spend so much time with their friends and teachers. And as excited as the kids were for our feast at home, I think they mainly gobbled up cranberry sauce and maybeeee I saw a few nibbles of stuffing. Anyway, Fitz ate well.
The night before Thanksgiving, my daughter asked to hear Raffi’s “Thanks a Lot.” Listening to it sparked a little creative fire, and shortly after the kids were asleep, I’d recorded my own quick cover of the song.
Lately, I’ve been reflecting on how much the music community has meant to me this year. Threads has surprisingly emerged as an incredible place, filling my musician’s heart in ways I hadn’t realized I was missing. I even got to play piano on the Mannequin Shop Band’s Christmas single, “You Put the ‘Jesus Christ’ in Christmas.” (PS: My daughter still requests their song “Dad Bod” on the regular 😂)
As for my own projects, I’ve been cooking up a reimagined, funky version of “Santa Fe” with some incredible guest musicians I’ve met on Threads, as well as my dad and uncle on trumpet and sax.
But, as it tends, inspiration struck unexpectedly, so I pressed pause on that (just briefly!) to write a Christmas song. “It’s a Long Drive to Christmas” is inspired by the 20-hour trek I made with my son from Colorado to Michigan last year (we’re doing it again this year). The song will arrive on streaming platforms on December 10th, but you can grab it early on Bandcamp now, where you’ll also find an exclusive post-apocalyptic, instrumental, melodica-drive B-side, “Nuclear Winter, Wonderland”! (something completely different)
This season, I’m reminded of how music can be such a gift. A way to celebrate, connect, and share stories. Hope you have a wonderful rest of 2024!
-Dave