Happy Birthday to my road brother, artistic kindred spirit and dear friend Steve Watkins, aka Steveland Swatkins, aka Swatkins!

For the past half decade in the Allen Stone Electric Ensemble, Stevie and I have shared smiles on stage left, smelled each other’s farts in bunk alley, and exchanged forlorn glances from countless middle seats bound for god knows where. It’s been a joy experiencing my friend blossoming into the artist he is today. His band, the Positive Agenda, is one of the best kept secrets in funk, and maybe if we all hound him via social media he’ll expedite the release of his first single (I’ve heard it, and it’s amazing).

The musician life isn’t always cheerful or well-defined. Public setbacks, wrestling inner demons, industry pressures and a myriad other factors add up to our questioning why we bother in the first place. Chasing all things enigmatic, it’s easy forgetting the important shit: at the end of the day, we choose the companions in our lives, and they’re the ones worth sticking around for.

Thanks for being my pal, Stevie. Here’s to many more trips around the sun and unflattering photos.