Early one morning in October of 2012, I wrote the song ‘Heart of Snow’ in little my Chicago apartment on Magnolia Avenue.  I liked the melody and the words came quickly. A few weeks later, I recorded it live at Kingsize Sound Labs.  

A couple of days after that, I released the song into the world. 

Three years passed. 

In January of 2016, I got a Facebook message from a man by the name of Hans Günther Wahl.  He said he found the song on Spotify, that he liked it a lot, and that I should consider touring his native country of Germany.  He said he could organize the tour. 

I figured this guy was scamming me.  But I played along. 

For a couple of days, we emailed. To my delight, it became apparent that this German man was in fact a real person, a person who just really liked that song.  He said he would even fly to the U.S, just so we could talk in person. 

And so it came to pass that last Thursday, Hans Günther Wahl—a complete stranger—came to stay with us.  We drank a lot of wine.  I made him omelets in the morning.  I found out that he really liked to play music himself, and so we jammed for a bit in my dining room. 

And now my new friend Hans Günther is putting together a German tour for me in September. 

My dear Reader, there are too many morals here.  First, Spotify is miraculous. Perhaps it doesn’t pay me much for plays, but its ability to connect strangers with my music is an even greater reward than money.  Second, it pays to trust.  Every friend was once a stranger. 

And perhaps the greatest moral of all: DO THINGS.  Had I not sat down at the piano that one morning in October of 2012, I would not be touring Germany this September.  I’m so grateful that I made music that morning, rather than kill the time.   

With that, I’m off to make a little more music.  Until next Sunday, Reader: do the things! -Em