December 2025: "Be Here Now"
Hey y’all,
Here’s the Austin B. Sweeney newsletter coming in hot for the month of December. I put these out once a month to keep you updated on upcoming shows, what I’m listening to, general musings, lyric breakdowns, and much more! I hope this newsletter will provide value for you, if for no other reason than it may introduce you to music you haven’t heard before!
Let’s quit wasting time here and jump into it, here’s what I’ve been listening to in the last week:
Song: “Tombstone” – The Droptines
Album: “Near Truths and Hotel Rooms (Live)” – Todd Snider
Artist: Todd Snider
RIP Todd Snider. A tremendous songwriter. Dig into his music, you won’t be disappointed. He was also from my home state of Oregon, so between that and being signed to Jimmy Buffett’s Margaritaville label in the early days, I knew I liked him.
My new EP, “WAGON” is available NOW everywhere you get your music.
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I played the Desert Valley House Concerts recently with Laura Hamlin, Grady Hoss, Robert Creelman and Chuck Back on pedal steel. You can find a really cool version of Wagon we recorded from that show HERE
This month, I want to break down some lyrics from a song from my previous record, Long Walk Out of the Woods. The song is “Be Here Now”.
I got a steady, dull pain that still nags at me
Lie awake at night with old memories
I’m in a padded room in the Chino jail
My father’s gonna kill me if he posts my bail
There’s a devil on my shoulder and he won’t depart
And an angel there to fix mama’s broken heart
There may be better days down the road I’m on
But every billboard reminds of the wrong I’ve done
Be Here Now is one of my favorite songs I’ve ever written. It comes from a title of a book put out in 1971 by Harvard professor Richard Alpert turned spiritual teacher Ram Dass. The book itself is interesting and weird and dense, but the concept of Be Here Now always stuck with me. Note to the curious: if you want to get into Ram Dass, don’t start with Be Here Now. It’s not a light read, nor is it even entirely intelligible for the uninitiated. Even the initiated folks have trouble with the esoteric, strange illustrations and meandering written passages. I’d recommend “Experiments in Truth” which is an audiobook of lectures by Ram Dass as a good jumping off point if you’re interested.
Back to the song.
Be Here Now was written as a self-inquiry into my own struggles with presence. As a perennial overthinker, I have trouble staying present. If you catch me at any random moment, you’ll find me ruminating on nostalgia or mistakes from my past, and/or projecting my life into the future. Whether that projection is positive or negative, really depends on the day.
Interestingly, my ability to stay present and squeeze the juice out of each moment has increased dramatically since abstaining from alcohol. Do with this information what you will. I just hit the 2-month mark on November 15th, which is a record for me since beginning my illustrious drinking career.
Folks have asked me if the lines about the Chino jail are true.
Yes, yes they are.
I’ve spent a few overnighters in jail – in more than one state – due to too much alcohol and the mistakes made thereafter. Nobody died, I just tended to do dumb shit. I spent a night in a Chino, California prison one night as it was the closest facility in the middle of the night that was doing intakes. I spent the night in a padded room with two guys. One who was arrested for his 5th DUI and another guy who was shaking and scratching himself while coming off a meth binge.
Nice guys. We had many hours alone to get to know each other.
I spent the next couple of months in correspondence with an attorney in California as my court date was coming up and I couldn’t be present (no pun intended). She would be my representative. I was living in Nashville at the time and was near-broke. This event made me completely broke.
The legal aftermath of even a single night in jail is a real pain in the ass.
These are the kinds of thoughts that I, unfortunately, ruminate on that keep me out of the present moment. Optimism about the future is a wonderful thing, but it gets shrouded in darkness when – on the road of life – I have negative thoughts that pop-up like billboards every other minute.
In the quiet moments of life, why can’t I just be present? Why can’t I just Be Here Now?
Part of it, I tell myself, is because that’s also where the songs come from. The endless parade of thoughts, scenes, words, and nonsense that run through my brain on a minute-by-minute basis is my ever-present companion, and sometimes it gives me songs.
I don’t ask for these waterfalls of thought that bombard me, they just pop-up. The more negative ones have been categorized as intrusive thoughts.
Intrusive thoughts are defined as: “unwanted, involuntary thoughts, images, or urges that pop into your mind and can be upsetting or distressing.”
You’ve heard of the “Call of the Void?” It’s that feeling when you’re standing on the edge of a cliff and the thought pops into your head about what would happen if you jumped. You don’t, of course, and you know you won’t. But what if…?
It’s like that.
It’s not all doom and gloom in my head though. I’m not trying to imply that I walk around all day quietly waiting for death. Some thoughts are silly. Some are nonsensical. Some are positive visions of the future, or fond reminiscences of beautiful moments in my life. Many are pun-based and frustrating to my family and friends when I make a terrible pun joke and sit there grinning like an idiot at my own stupid, but clever, turn-of-phrase.
I’m still not present though.
I’ve done meditation for a lot of years. Yoga. Psychedelics (every now and then); things that are purported to entice you into the present. Music can do that for me as well, as I’m sure it can for many of you. There’s nothing like a brilliant live concert to bring you into the here-and-now. It’s spiritual.
Those are just moments though, what about our day-to-day existence? We sit around late on a Sunday night and dread Monday morning. We go to work on Monday morning and constantly check the clock for when it hits 5pm. We go back to work Tuesday and silently pine for Friday. We all know the cycle.
It’s worth noting that pure presence has drawbacks as well. I pay attention to those who seem to live more presently. I observe how they conduct themselves on a daily basis.
The folks I know that seem the most present often aren’t very financially secure. They carpe the hell out of their diem but live with no plan for the future. I envy their presence but not their lives.
There’s got to be a proper middle-ground isn’t there?
How can we plan for the future and work diligently towards it, while still enjoying the present? I’ve found a few methods that have helped me and I’ll share them with you. This won’t be groundbreaking information, you’ve likely heard all of this stuff before, but I write them down as a reminder to myself. You might have wanted a reminder too.
· Exercise – It’s non-negotiable for me. Early morning if I can. Putting myself through self-inflicted pain early in the day sets a tone for the rest of my day that subconsciously conveys to myself that I am capable of tackling whatever is thrown at me. The hard part is already done.
· Music, not podcasts – this is a tough one for me as I am an avid podcast listener. I’m not advocating that you discard listening to podcasts, however I’m making a point about podcast ubiquity. Think on the best times of your life, can you pinpoint the album, mixtape, burnt CD, or playlist that you were listening to in that time of your life? You probably can. You know what I never picture? What podcast I listened to. Podcasts seem to exist in a different space in my brain. There are a few select podcast episodes that have changed my life, no doubt, but a lot of them are simply great space-fillers when you’re driving, walking, cleaning, etc. They are very entertaining most of the time, but they have no staying power. Music moves you. Music transports you. I get songs stuck in my head all the time. I’ve never had a podcast conversation stuck in my head.
· Meditation – the success of meditation varies wildly. Some folks say that it saved their lives. Some say that it’s a waste of time. The truth is likely user-dependent. Feel free to try it out, be consistent, but if it doesn’t work for you, let it go. It’s not a cure-all.
· Spending time with family – this one is also user-dependent. Not everybody enjoys time with their family, but spending time with my family (which now includes a bunch of nieces and nephews that I love) is one of my favorite ways to Be Here Now.
· Walking – seriously underrated form of activity and a portal into the present moment. Headphones or no headphones. Purists will say that you need to walk with only your thoughts, but with the “perfect being the enemy of the good”, just make sure you walk, however you want to. The walking is the point.
· Psychedelics – not recommending unless you’re into that sort of thing. If you’re drawn to it, maybe try it out. But this is not a recommendation. I’ve had some life-changing and life-affirming moments from these substances, but it is absolutely not for everyone.
· Sobriety – again, this might not be necessary for everyone. Also, in this case I’m talking about alcohol specifically. I don’t necessarily consider myself a sober guy (it’s only been 2 months after all, and I’m not intending to never drink again – a beer at a tailgate, a concert, or at the Après Ski lodge after a long day of hard skiing is damn near heaven-on-earth), but I can say with absolute certainty that it has brought more color back into my world. Worth trying.
· Just a good long drive listening to new records – ‘nuff said.
There’s no magic formula to Be Here Now. Trying too hard at being present is, in itself, an anti-presence activity. It’s all a dance, I guess, but you can always be a better dancer. You can improve your rhythm. You can improve your listening ability. Maybe even find someone you love and learn to dance with them. You can learn to cut loose.
Footloose.
Alright, I’ll see myself out now. Thanks for coming to my TED Talk.
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Here are the shows that are coming up in the month of December (2 in Oregon for any of you Oregonians!), might book another couple so keep your eyes peeled on my socials.
· 12/5 – Old County Inn, 6-9pm (Pine, AZ)
· 12/6 – Old County Inn, 6-9pm (Pine, AZ)
· 12/7 – Catalina Brewing Songwriters Show – w/ PJ Bidwell, Maree Montagnini, and Alyssa Olson, 2-5pm (Tucson, AZ)
· 12/10 – Copper Blues Downtown (w/ Cade Kitzmiller on bass), 7-11pm – (Phoenix, AZ
· 12/12 – Muks, 6-9pm (Payson, AZ)
· 12/13 – Private show
· 12/18 – Rooster’s Country (Tall Paul’s final show), 7pm (Mesa, AZ)
· 12/20 – Rogue Pub, 7-10pm (North Plains, OR)
· 12/21 – Coast Fork Brewing, 1-3pm (Cottage Grove, OR)
· 12/25 – MERRY CHRISTMAS, FRIENDS!
Stoked to see y’all soon.
Austin
Listen now!
https://open.spotify.com/artist/433eTr5V5LEv1VtP1ejbkt?si=Jlzl5oz8RvulN-ocxrGqyg
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