2026 Goals & Lifestyle Challenge

Here with Angelee Feltner and Bill Meck at the Lexi Awards!

Well.....this post certainly is late! As I write this, its already mid May - a long long way from January!

In my defense, I got pretty ill back in December, which led to a prolonged issue that I'm still not 100% recovered from...but I'm pretty close!

(Note: In addition to both bronchitis and pneumonia, I contracted the pertussis bacteria, which is a mean, mean illness. My advice: Get your DTaP if you haven't stepped on a rusty nail in a while!)

Today, I'll be using a format that ya'll (at least those of you who have read these for a while) are familiar with. Though I'm late writing & posting this, I have been pondering the goals for quite a while and, obviously, have been working on them since January....so this post will also find updates included.

Let's jump right in!

For those new to the challenges, it isn't to compete against others. It's to push yourself to greater heights, have some company & inspiration along the way, and a few ideas the help get us focused. For example, you can use this waving of the analytical knife to help organize your goals:

1) Exercise - Set a specific plan or goal(s). Keep us posted weekly (or more) on your progress!

2) Creativity - Music, art, writing, acting...set a goal to complete by month's end. Keep us posted!

3) Personal life - Re-affirm your personal relationships, get to that project/chore you've been avoiding, or just read a book you've always wanted to read!

4) Professional life - Set a work goal or change jobs or....just tell us what it is and keep us posted!

Sooo.....feel free to post your personal goals in the comments below, shoot me a message, or just keep them private (but let me know you're joining us, please!).

My goals are below.

1) Exercise - My illness covered abut 90 days and I missed getting to the gym or any other regular exercise for half of December, and all of both January and February. When I got back into the gym in March, I spent most of the month just getting my sea legs back.

That said, in the 6 weeks that I've really been hitting it hard again, I've managed to put on weight (I actually weigh more than I did in December, though my bodyfat percentage is higher), get my endurance back, and am feeling almost as strong as before I got sick.

Sooooo.....that brings us to goals for the latter half of the year!

I intend to get my bodyfat percentage back down to "ripped abs" levels and, in the performance department, I plan to run several road races, starting with a short 5K and ending (in late 2026 or early 2027) with running an ultra. As in, ultra-marathon. Specifically, a 50K, which is about 30 miles, if I understand correctly.

Other than that, the goal is just getting as strong and flexible and mobile as I was just before I fell ill.

2) Creativity - I had album projects that were supposed to be recorded last year, but things popped up and things didn't go as planned.

Luckily, we now have the means and the time, so the following albums will be recorded and released:

Project ONE - The first project is "Music for Agatha" and features three compositions (for piano, music box, and metal percussion) in the "A Personal Note" style. The music & recording is complete, and is currently being prepped for release.

On stage in Lexington, KY

Project TWO -  Next up is "Public Domain 2", a follow up to my 2017 release. Songs include covers of "Black Betty", "Georgia on My Mind", and "Saint James Infirmary Blues". Recording to take place late summer.

Project THREE -  After that is under the working title "Alien Blue: Revisited". Alien Blue was my blues duo, and I'll be re-recording my favorite songs in solo format!

Project FOUR - No working title, but the last of the year will be a collection of unreleased original material, including "A Minor Blues" that I performed a decade ago for my appearance on "Balcony TV".

There are other projects (like recording a collection of songs written by local songwriters), but I will likely focus then on an full band project where I'll be playing all the instruments. A return to the same ideas that inspired my 1991 release "Innova Mode". Heavy instrumental rock fusion type stuff.....polyrhythmic ideas with spooky textures, symmetrical harmonies, polychords, and plenty of screaming guitars!

The working title was "Javelin", but I have some other ideas that may win the day. Time will tell....

3) Personal life - My personal life has been fantastic. Some specific tough times with the gen-2 kids behind us, been able to travel to see my parents & siblings more than in the past decade, and things with Agatha (my better half) are fabulous!

I did have a couple of goals for the year on the personal side, from exercise (see above) to organization to education to taking some of the "hobbies" to the next level. 

Education - I've continued to take classes via Open Culture, EdX, & other platforms. Some are actual interactive classes one can take for credit and others are just the lecture series available to consume the information. I like a mix of both! 

Started in 2025 and completed this year: A couple of lecture series in history (Ancient Greek History from Yale and Ancient Israel from NYU) and the Ethics of Jazz Lecture Series (Herbie Hancock, Harvard).

Current courses started this year: Aesthetics & the Philosophy of Art (Oxford), Intro to Pitch Systems in Tonal Music (UC Irvine), From Chemistry to Life (WSU/Harvard).....and looking at several others for the year, including a refresher music appreciation course called Listening to Music (Yale) and pouring over what Berklee College of Music has to offer, as I greatly enjoyed my past classes with them.

Mind Sport - As some of you already know, I have an affinity for mind games (specifically, abstract strategy games) and play both Chess and Othello daily. But I typically only play "the machine" using apps & websites. 

Well, I decided to sign up with the WOF and register at eOthello, and test my skills on the international stage, with the primary goal to have fun, but secondary goals to see if I could break into the top 1000 in the world. I figured if I ever got that far, I could shoot for top 500 or even top 100, though players that high up are absolute assassins, so that was more theoretical, as it were.

Update: I cracked the top 100 in the US and am in the top 500 in the world as I write this (more specifically, I'm #50 in the US and #426 in the world). That's only at eOthello, mind you. Not every WOF ranked player is there, so don't get the idea that I'm THAT good. But its been both entertaining and educational, and I hope to test my skills in an official WOF tournament before year's end!

4) Professional life - In addition to what is listed above regarding my album projects, I'm looking to condense my weekly teaching schedule and make room for....

Monthly Gigs - I already play a First Friday gig at Doc Crow's Social (formerly Goodwood), as well as host a Second Sunday Open Mic. I'm looking to add a monthly evening performance.

Workshops - Teaching group workshops is always joyful, whether its songwriting, social drumming, improvisation, or pretty much anything musical. Definitely looking to add this back into the mix!

Update: Late May will see me both at the Woodsongs FPA Gathering teaching guitar as well as special guest performer in Shelbyville at The Vibe's annual guitarist retreat! In addition, we're discussing a September workshop(s) as part of a larger event in Midway.

Patreon - My illness delayed the Patreon re-launch, but that's happening later this year. Details soon.

SD Magazine & SD Universe - Again, due to illness, I'm behind in my stated goals for writing, but I already have several pieces outlined for SD Magazine (including pieces on Billy Idol and Prince), so stay tuned for those!

Backing the incredible Rachel Crowe!

TV/Radio/Media - The last couple of years, I've not been quite as active "on the screen", as it were. I hope to return to doing more media, with TV & radio appearances happening by year's end. These are always fun gigs and almost always me backing amazing artists (one of the most rewarding parts of live performance for me). Nothing in the works yet, but we'll see what we can conjure up!

That's should do it for now.

What are YOUR goals for 2026???

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