Two words: Life changes.
During my very first hour visiting in Clarksdale, I met some traveling musicians who had just met up with a friend and were going to seek out the farmland where Howlin' Wolf's cabin originally stood. So I tagged along for their jam session; in fact, I drove one of the two cars, and I remember clearly that we listened to Led Zeppelin on the way back. The CD was live on April 27, 1969, at the Fillmore West. When we got to "As Long as I Have You," the guys in my car hadn't heard music like this ever before and their jaws were dropping. I provided the appropriate volume adjustment upward while the young band on my car stereo quoted Spirit, Cream, Miles Davis and Chuck Berry, all before tagging on the "As Long as I Have You" ending. The effect is shattering!
My Led Zeppelin sites have been an on-again-off-again hobby, a way to cut my chops writing a few times a week. I looked forward to finding out the latest news about anyone named Page, Plant, Jones or Bonham and sharing it online with my own approach. In total, I wrote nearly 365 editions of "On This Day in Led Zeppelin History" per year for half a decade. Later, I wrote about 150 Led Zeppelin News updates each year for another half a decade.
The drop-off in my Led Zeppelin writing activity in February 2011 coincided with the first of several changes in my life. That was a road trip through the South, with myself, my car, and a big but portable keyboard. I took off to Mississippi by way of Nashville and Memphis, and all sorts of destinations in Texas and Arkansas. I spent a few weeks in each setting I chose. There's no denying my itinerary was inspired by the people covered here on this site, and their music was part of the journey.
In the South, I was seeing and doing things, having all sorts of new experiences, and I was bringing music to people. And I was soaking in theirs. I basked in the glory of my life's passions: music and travel. One of the effects of my road trip was my decision not to write for a living anymore, to trade in my notepad for a new keyboard. I insisted that live music become the biggest pursuit of my life. It has been that way ever since.
Apart from taking up music full-time, I am thrilled to report that I found an amazing woman and married her. I'm still writing, though much less and barely any of it is on this site. There's tons of Led Zeppelin news being made, and other fan sites are doing a great job of tracking it all. I haven't. My priority has been playing live music, and now I'm 35 and enjoying every weekend playing somewhere with somebody.
On a side note, Jimmy Page is putting together a new band, and I want to be his keyboardist. I'm declaring this on the off chance somebody reading this is interested in getting me an audition.
