Baaaaeutiful day!

Just thought I would give a quick update regarding the Heifer International Benefit we had.  What a great day…clear skies, good people and a wonderful opportunity to learn more about Heifer and hear about some of the lives they are changing.  We were able to purchase 3 flocks of ducks , a bee hive, a plantation of tree seedlings , and with all the sales from the hot dogs and other donations we were able to buy a sheep! Just imagine a family who have previously been unable to earn enough money to make a living may now have the opportunity to become self reliant through these generous gifts. What an awesome blessing!

Thank you too all the people who came out, the musicians who played and to Heifer International for providing all that they did to make this day a success!

Prime examples

 To me, nothing beats a perfectly timed lyric, where the syrconicity of the artist and your personal experience collide, and you find solice, revenge, helplessness or hope in their words.

Some of the lyrics that have done that for me are..

“I don’t understand about the weather outside -0r the harmony in a tune                    or why somebody lies. 

There’s solace a bit for submitting to the fitfully cryptically true 
What’s happened has happened -What’s coming is already on its way 
With a role for me to play I don’t understand -I’ll never understand 
But I’ll try to understand -There’s nothing else I can do.”

Fiona Apple

Red Red Red from Extrodrdinary Machine

http://www.fiona-apple.com

” I ain’t no perfect man – I try to do the best that I can- with what it is I have. My Umi says shine your light on the world. Shine your light for the world to see.My Umi says shine your light on the world. Shine your light for the world to see”

Mos Def

Umi Says from Black on Both Sides

http://www.myspace.com/mosdef

“You wanna be the one made over – be your own before and after-  and the super market beauty in the bottle queen who’ll one day grace the check out counter magazine front cover- though the fine print reads: the picture makes a promise the flesh lets it be broken.”

Tracy Chapman

Broken from Let it Rain

http://www.tracychapman.com/

Heart of a Song

My friend just sent me a pleasent email where he quoted a few artists. He said he was drawn to them by their lyrics. Surprised as I was, that someone had really paid attention to the lyrics of a song, I was also touched by his sentiment. Aren’t we all just looking for that type of connection in our music?  

 I know that life has kicked into high speed nowadays, and everything is going at such a fast rate, often we don’t take the time to sit down and really listen to what a song is saying. What about subtext, what was going on in that person’s head at the time?  We might think that we don’t have the time, or are being interupted by one of the many stimulus of the day, yet isn’t the message the very core of songwriting?Isn’t that a big part of what makes a song special for us? 

 At the end of the day , there is a need that needs to be met in the process- a need to communicate, to express, to get off one’s back.  It’s always been that way for me-otherwise it wouldn’t mean so much.

Kodak Moments!

Just thought it would be fun to share a few pictures from our recording session.  This is Jon – the mad man on drums and of course, little ol me doing my thing.  I happy so happy to say that everyone seems to be stoked on how the whole thing went down.  It was not only a smooth experience , but a lot of fun as well!