OCTOBER 2026

HAPPY FAKE BIRTHDAY

I’m writing this on what I call my “fake birthday.” Some of you know the story, but for those that don’t, my birth certificate is wrong. It says I was born on October 6th, when I was actually, allegedly, born on October 15th. You would think that this would not be too problematic…just get my birth certificate fixed. Right? Unfortunately, the small town hospital I was born in back in Okmulgee, Oklahoma burned to the ground a few years after I was born. All of their records up in smoke. Which means that, by the time we figured out my birth certificate was wrong, there was no way to check the records at the hospital to see what day my mom was there. So, everything I have that’s legal—my driver’s license, social security, medical records, and even the date that I use to sign up for Netflix, has to say October 6th so that it all matches.

I actually just wrote a song about this whole scenario for my band, The Grey Owls. The lyrics address the oddity of the wrong date being nine days off. It’s not a week on the calendar. Not an obvious number mixup. It’s just a random nine days off. The last line of the song says: “Am I sixty-five, ten months, and fourteen days old? Or am I another nine days?”

Speaking of The Grey Owls, we just recently played our biggest show yet, the Adams Avenue Street Fair in San Diego. The event is the largest two-day free music festival in California, and features 75 of the best bands in Southern California. We felt honored to be accepted to this year’s event, and we actually kicked off the festival by playing the first slot on the Roots Rock Stage on Saturday, Sept. 19th. There are plenty of photos and video on our Instagram (@thegreyowls) and our website (www.thegreyowls.com), so go check them out. We are currently booking new shows for the Fall/Winter and will keep you posted on anything upcoming.

One more quick music note. I will be playing a solo acoustic gig at this year’s Wyland Foundation fundraising event in San Clemente, CA. You might know the artist Wyland as the guy who paints the massive whale murals around the world. His foundation raises money every year to fund clean water initiatives and keep our oceans healthy. If you’d like to attend this year’s gala on November 7th at the Gray Matter Museum in San Clemente, go here for more information. Lots of amazing auction items, dinner and much more.

But hey, what about all the graphic design stuff? I hear you. One of my favorite things I get to work on every year is Tony Hawk’s Vert Alert skateboard contest in Salt Lake City, UT. It’s a big arena event and features some of the top vert skateboarders in the world, pushing the boundaries of where skateboarding is heading. This year’s event was no different. The level of skating is insane.

I get to design the website for the event, design all the graphics at the contest around the arena, on the video boards, at all the entrances, on social media, and much more. And I get to design all the merchandise sold at the event. If you want to watch some of the videos from the event, just go to THVERTALERT.com. Here are some images of the design work for the event.

In addition to all the fun stuff I get to work on with Tony Hawk, I’ve filled the summer with a bunch of other new clients, ongoing clients, small businesses, big corporations and everything in between. A lot of the work I’ve been doing lately isn’t out yet, so unfortunately, I can’t show you yet. Logo designs for a new guitar effect pedal company coming in 2027, event designs and website work for the Meadow Gold District in Tulsa, new websites for the Elfin Forest Community in San Diego County, new menus and signage for Baloney Maroney’s vintage food trailer on Route 66, Iris Guitars, a potential new music festival in San Diego, the Owl Court Book Club, a new restaurant coming soon in Guilford, Connecticut, an exciting new spice package with Spice + Leaf, float designs for the Tulsa Christmas Parade, and, of course, all the crazy fun stuff I get to do with Mary Beth Babcock’s roadside attractions on Route 66 in Tulsa.

I can’t wait to show you all the new stuff in the next newsletter.

Until then, if you need any design work… logos, websites, fliers, presentations, merchandise, and everything in between… I’m here. Hit me up. I’ve got time for you before the holidays hit!

Thank you!

Thanks to each and every one of you for following along.