On this show: A live singer/songwriter night at The White Crow in Saginaw, Michigan featuring Bob Marshall, Venitia Sekema and Zig Zeitler. You can find the show at theopenmikecafe.com

Sorry about the sporadic shows lately, folks. I've been pretty consistent for the last two years in getting a new one up every week. But for the past month or so I've been dealing with a lot of things - my dog's cancer, mainly. All my time, money and energy has been going into treating that, which means I've had to work night and day to keep up with the medical payments. But I'm happy to say that after three surgeries, she's finally ready for the finally step: radiation.

And of course I am flat broke. But what can a fella do?

If you'd like to help out, please visit my online book store at mmreadingroom.com and purchase something. With the exception of a few concerts here and there, this is my only source of income.

Also, I'm flying out west in a month to meet my daughter Britta for the first time. As you may recall, I've searched for her since she was 8 months old (she's now 24) and finally found her on MySpace on New Year's Eve. We've talked on the phone several times - a great kid (although who knows how she would have been had I raised her - she'd probably be queen of the lady hobos right now). And now I finally get to see her in person.

Anyway, enough about me. How are you?

I'll be working on a nice long studio show very soon, playing a lot of new artists. I thank you all for your patience.

Have a great week, folks.

Mike Stephens