Dispatches from the silver key Arcane Arts This past weekend I channeled my inner Will Ferrell and partied at UMass-Amherst’s Parents Weekend. I’m Old School but can still hang with the college kids… at least until 7:30 p.m. (that’s what happens when you crack your first tailgate beer at 10:30 in the morning). Come to think of it I’ve been rocking non-stop this year. I’m starting to feel like Iron Maiden on their endless World Slavery Tour circa 1984-85. It was a blast. My daughters are...
13 days ago • 5 min read
Dispatches from the silver key Arcane Arts This week’s issue is a grab-bag of oddness. Hopefully you find something interesting in it. Which reminds me, I should probably say something about the purpose and direction of this newsletter (if it has one). I’d probably be better off sticking to one thing. Cultivating an audience and giving them lots what they want. I’m sure I dragged my Flame and Crimson audience over and they landed here expecting more of the same. I offer some...
20 days ago • 6 min read
Dispatches from the silver key Arcane Arts September 19, 2026 was the best Metal Party yet. And in all likelihood, the last. Like all previous parties—especially ones involving a live band, of which this was the third—hosting this event is a LOT of work. Securing a busy touring band. Pre-party hype. Buying food and drinks. 80s metal outfit selection. Moving furniture downstairs to clear the way for equipment. Parking cars on the street. Alerting the neighbors. Prepping a speech, on and on....
27 days ago • 4 min read
Dispatches from the silver key Arcane Arts Growing Up Metal is published and needs readers and reviewers. And I’ve got an offer, fellow metalheads and fellow readers (and fellow metalhead readers): A free signed copy to anyone who promises to leave a review on a personal website, blog, active social media page, or Amazon/Goodreads. If you’ve already bought a copy of Growing Up Metal and want to write a review I’d be happy to offer something else for your time. A signed copy of Flame and...
about 1 month ago • 4 min read
Dispatches from the silver key Arcane Arts This weekend I played with madness. I drove 5 hours to see Iron Maiden, with opening acts Anthrax and Megadeth, at a sold-out Sports Illustrated Stadium in Harrison, New Jersey. Bruce! Taken at the show, not by me. Two-word review: Fucking awesome. Longer review (with setlist spoilers). Maiden played exclusively classic material, the newest “Fear of the Dark” which is 34 years old at this point. They opened up with FOUR songs off their first two...
about 1 month ago • 5 min read
Dispatches from the silver key Arcane Arts Print pending …Ebook published. That’s where I stand with Growing Up Metal. Right on the edge of done. A pair of proof copies arrived in my mailbox yesterday, a day early; I turned them over in my hands, incredulous. Reviewed and approved them. Took a deep breath, and pressed publish. Unboxing... I wait for Amazon approval and then all will be finished. I am finished. Right now you can buy the e-book (wow). I’m not an e-reader myself but if you are...
about 2 months ago • 4 min read
Dispatches from the silver key Arcane Arts As noted in last week’s issue of Arcane Arts I had some difficult decisions to make regarding the cover of Growing Up Metal. I engaged a cover designer and he sent me four treatments, three of which I liked but had to dismiss. Spinal Tap volume dial: A bit too plain and a bit too clever. Guitar: Clean look, great font, but implies I play the instrument. Average dude with silhouette of guitar hero—near perfect, nearly the cover. But I could only pick...
about 2 months ago • 4 min read
Dispatches from the silver key Arcane Arts My jam is reading and writing, analyzing art, and sharing cool things. But today I'm not doing these things. Instead I’m neck-deep in production, the mechanics of creating and publishing a book. On Sunday I spent +/- 6 hours importing and formatting text. And then another couple hours Monday. Not fun, but necessary. And rewarding in its own way. Growing Up Metal has migrated from .docx files on my One Drive to formatted chapters in the Reedy...
2 months ago • 4 min read
Dispatches from the silver key Arcane Arts It’s time. This week I begin formatting the manuscript of Growing Up Metal, the next step on the path to publication on Amazon. Having never done this I’m feeling the usual trepidation of the unknown. But I’m committed. Write, publish, and market is the reality of authorship in the 21st century. I knew pretty early on I was going to go the self-publishing route. Last year I sent a half-dozen formal inquires (proposals, synopsis, sample chapter, etc.)...
2 months ago • 4 min read