Author: Eric Schuurman

1-25-23
Last night I dreamt I was in my dark basement and the wind started rising outside. It kept going, getting louder and stronger, and it caught my attention. I got down on the floor and it burst open my window and began pushing on me. The house started to shake, and the wind continued roaring. I was surprised that it continued so long, and I thought it must be a huge F5 that was massively large and took a long time to pass. Eventually it did, and I went upstairs and looked out the front window. There were fallen trees all around, and the tree in front was a naked, decimated stump. I went outside and looked around. Standing on the sidewalk across the street, I looked back to see what my house looked like, but none of the houses across the street was mine.  I wandered around briefly, and went into a building. Inside, I realized it was one of the old places I lived in years ago. I saw someone, and when he saw me, he told me not to worry. My studio and all my music gear was in safe storage, he told me.

12-5-2022
Going into the TVP interview, there were 4 things I really wanted to have a chance to talk about. First: When I was a young 24 year old artist, I kinda threw everything up in the air and let things land however they did, to send my life off in some new direction I felt it had to go. That’s when I met Stan, just before my 3 month Europe trip when I was 24. I knew nothing about Poland. He was my introduction. Second: At that point, he became my mentor and a very good friend. For the better part of a decade when he was in Chicago in the ’80’s, we were hanging out, or talking every other day or so. I would go to his events. We would write and record music together. We would go to clubs. I was part of his world and he was part of mine. Third: I wanted to mention how when I separated, I was supposed to have 4 friends helping me to move out. Stan was the only one to show up. He was always a loyal friend. We both helped each other move out several times, all during rough times for the person moving. When I moved out and he helped me, what originally would’ve taken a few hours with 4 friends took the whole day. Fourth: I wanted to talk about our song ‘For Nothing More’. How we wrote it in ’90, but I didn’t finish it until ’07, and now we are re-releasing it under his name finally. I was able to hit all these points in the interview, and I felt comfortable and loose during the interview, so I think it went ok. I would be really interested in seeing the footage, but that’s not gonna happen. If they use more than a minute or two of the interview, I would be surprised. The director will have an existing narrative and he will be looking for material from our interview that meets some editorial need for him. I don’t expect my entire tale to be included. I just wanted to prioritize my talking points, have them ready, then deliver them best I could. At this point it’s out of my hands. What will be will be.

October 29, 2022 – Chicago
Tomek messaged me asking if I was going to be in Warsaw by March. I told him that’s exactly when I’d be getting there. I’d hoped to be there closer to New Years, but I had been given a work contract extension that went thru mid February. I would be floating between Chicago and Warsaw. Tomek said he’d look into the possibility for short term apartment leases. Then he invited me to tour with him later in spring, playing organ. Rehearsals would begin in March. Performances began in April. Surreal.

August 29, 2022 – Warsaw
Natalia, Julia and I met with Tomek at his studio in Warsaw. I’d contacted him in late spring looking for advice on monetizing my material in Poland, connecting with a Polish audience. I mentioned I’d be in Poland late summer, and he invited me to his studio to discuss things. We sat at an outdoor restaurant near his studio on a sunny afternoon, and my future was revealed to me. Tomek asked me to join his production team, along with his engineer. There were a number of projects he was involved with that I could co-produce. Most notable for me was him recording an English language project for an international audience. It is something that I have always thought he should do, and a project I dearly wanted to be part of, and suddenly I was! The focus now was to put the logistical puzzle pieces together that would allow me to join Tomek in Warsaw. I told Tomek I would find a way to get there.

March 30, 2021 11:10 am
1155 Oakton Des Plaines, IL

Got my first Pfizer shot. Guy next to me in the observation area went limp and wound up on the floor. Other than my upper left arm being a little sore, I’m fine. Walking into this old Kmart, the sight of it took me off guard. I’ve gotten thru the pandemic better than a lot of people, but it was weirdly emotional. Second shot in three weeks.