Season’s greetings friends. My offering to you is one that is truly special to me, and there is a story to be told.

The cinematography for this video was done by my very talented friend Nate Shoutis. To see more of his work, and some of our collaborative efforts for fun, and money follow him on Vimeo HERE. We live in different areas of the country so most of our collaboration is done online, but last October Nate asked me to compose something for a holiday video we planned to shoot when he passed through Missoula. I wrote this piece, “Shooting Star”. If you are interested in adding the single to your music collection, or sending it as a gift, it’s on iTunes HERE

I did not mention last year that this musical piece was a tribute to my late mother. She passed in October 2011 very suddenly from a brain aneurysm. The great unknown on the other side of life always leaves those of us living with lots of questions about what might be out there. I don’t mean for this post to delve into my spiritual beliefs other than to share a cool story that gives me hope for what’s waiting for all of us eventually.

My mother really liked to mark special occasions by releasing sky lanterns into the sky. It’s a tradition that has carried on through both my nuclear and extended families. There is really something special about seeing fire rise into the sky until it climbs high enough to vanish beyond our vision. Shortly after her passing I had a family member relate a story to me about a sky lantern tribute in my mom’s honor. As they watched the last lantern fade from sight a shooting star streaked it’s message across the sky…

At my mom’s service I played a piece called Bron-Yr-Aur that was one of her favorite pieces for me to play for her. It uses a unique guitar tuning that my guitar set in for a week or so after she passed away. While I was reflecting on things and noodling on my guitar, I had a melody in my head that you’ll hear as the “chorus” of this piece. To me it was saying shooting star. I wrote the rest of the parts keeping that melody and her memory in mind.

To me those moments of inspiration happen when someone reaches across the divide to let us know that we won’t be alone when we pass into that great beyond. Hopefully this is enjoyed by you and who you choose to share it with. It’s a story I tell to inspire hopefulness and not sorrow, and I hope it finds you all in a comfortable, festive, and happy place.

As a last side-note I wanted to give a quick shout-out to the tree. It was a tree sprout gone wild in our yard that had reached an unmanageable size in an inappropriate spot. I’m reminded that it’s last moments were beautifully captured by Nate’s cinematography here. The folks at Guitarborist are grateful for all the positives trees offer us in this world!

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