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I'd like to thank all of you who have called, emailed, or posted their thoughts and prayers. They have certainly helped me take things in this month. The day before I became aware of my mother's declining condition, I had logged some time at DARE Studios in Long Beach with the intention of demo-ing "Phases And Changes" for a songwriting competition I was planning to enter. We opted to reapproach the demo at a later session, with a slightly different structure. This was not to say that the session was for naught. I took a copy of one of the takes with me to Boise, where it was played at my mother's service. In the meantime, producer Tony Dare immediately began augmenting the track with some additional etheral tracks. The result is what Dare and I wish to dedicate to the memory of my mother, Marilyn Rayburn.

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words & music: D. Rayburn

When my body fails me, I will cry no more
Take my tears and give me life forever more
It's just a phase we must all go through
And when you think of me, child, I come back to you
These are the things handed down by God
And I'll be there to greet you, and things won't seem so hard
With these phases and changes
I'm only here for you, but I could never stay
A hero to guide you, but now you must find your own way
It's just a phase we must all go through
And when you think of me, child, I come back to you
These are the things handed down by God
And I'll be there to greet you, and things won't seem so hard
With these phases and changes

Dave Rayburn: guitar, vocal
Tony Dare: guitar, keyboard
recorded August 2004 - Long Beach, California

Happy Birthday, Baby!

The glorious lead voice of Buddy, Caroline Gomez, celebrates her ** birthday today! Drop her a line if you get a chance this week and say hello.

Happy birthday, sweetie!

Marilyn J. Rayburn (1934-2004)

It's with deep sadness that I must mention the passing of my mother, Marilyn Rayburn. Words fail to bring to life all of the infectious smiles and winks. The loving hugs. The deserved scoldings. The pain and the joy that a family endures from generation to generation. I can't imagine my world without her, but now I have to (in the physical sense, anyway). She leaves me with a lifetime's worth of scrapbook memories in my mind. She leaves me with traditions that were born and handed down. And, in the end, she leaves ME. For, without her and my pop, I would not be the man you know today. Still, you'd think I would have picked up on how to play the organ as energetically as she did. Playing music always made her happy, and that made me happy.

She and my father were married for forty-nine years, up until the time of his passing. We still called it "fifty" last year because he was around in such strong spirit. They shared the same birth date. They celebrated their anniversary on New Year's Eve. They lived overseas during dad's service in the Air Force in the 50's. They came back to the states and raised a family according to the American dream. They got by, and ultimately retired to Boise, Idaho where they enjoyed visits from their children and grandchildren. They lived very full lives, and nothing can be said to deny that.

Mom always had a sharp memory. She always knew everyone's birthday, and all the anniversary dates across the board. She kept the family history at the forefront with her recounting of various events that took place over the years with everyone on both sides of my family. Hard times. Good times. She even made bland detail seem special. It seems impossible that my favorite storyteller can offer no more stories. I can only be thankful that I was a captive audience as often as I was. And, I can proudly say that many of the stories were about me (and that beat-to-death Bugs Bunny doll I always dragged around as a toddler). My only self-instilled obligation now is to keep that spirit alive and never forget where I came from. After all... tradition is tradition.

I love you, mom.

Dave In The Studio

Dave entered the studio for the first time since February of this year. The purpose of this solo session was to record a more-proper demo of "Phases And Changes" for entry in a prominent songwriting competition which will take place in September. A pair of live passes were captured by producer Tony Dare, but it was soon decided that it would be best to recreate the original demo structure, which would entail a bit more work. Other songs that managed to get recorded included Bruce Springsteen's "I'm Going Down" (including an odd homage to Rick James, featuring Tony on some funky-ass bass) and John Doe's "Tragedy By Definition". The session concluded with a loose jam of songs ranging from Dave's own "In Peace (Dogstar)" to Vince Guaraldi's "Linus & Lucy". Don't ask. Sessions may resume next week, which may also lead into the initial sessions for the long-awaited Buddy debut album. Stay tuned.