My Motto

Hey Soul Mates,
yesterday was the 105th Birthday of the great American poet Langston Hughes. I thought I would pause and celebrate him. Now, just last month, my buddy Robert asked me if I had a favorite poem. Apparently, I had walked in on a conversation about some lame verse and more than a little nonsense. Without hesitating, I said:
Motto by Langston Hughes (copyright 1957).

I play it cool
And dig all jive.
That's the reason
I stay alive.

My Motto,
As I live and learn,
is:
Dig And Be Dug
In Return.

It's the only poem I've ever bothered to memorize. I first came across it about 10 years ago. It is the UrbanAmerican version of the Golden Rule, but it's got a little more verve, huh? I love the way it rolls; it is eternally hip and true.

My Dad knows quite a few of Hughes' poems by heart, too. We were flying to New York together in 2002 and we traded recitations. Although, it was a little one-sided as you can imagine. I've got time to catch up, though!

So, in honor of Black History Minute, go check out some more of Mr. Hughes' jazz influenced and R&B influencing works. I'll be reading from his Selected Poems today. Allow me to leave you with one more from Montage of a Dream Deferred, which certainly applies to Rush Hour Soul.

Be-Bop Boys by Langston Hughes (copyright 1957).

Imploring Mecca
to acheive
six discs
With Decca.

That one just makes me laugh and smile. Not a musician alive that can't grasp that one!
Love, Power, Peace

Tennessee Tuxedo

Hey Soul Mates,
today was a very busy day. My last day to prep for the Grammy Awards. I had my fitting for the big show. It is a black tie affair, after all. Went for basic black, three buttons. Watch out! Gonna sport the bow tie that one ties oneself. No clip on or pre-tied here, y'all. Also, dropped off the shoes for spiffing up. Finally stopped by the barber shop to get the hairs back in order. Not that I'd been going wild, but it's the Grammy's. Gotta be so fresh and so clean, clean.

This morning had a much less auspicious start. You know that's true when you do 8 loads of laundry to start the day. Yikes, it's a wonder I had anything to wear the last month.

We've been putting a lot of thought into our upcoming recording sessions. Our co-producer Adam Marsland sent us copious notes for pre-production. So, I've been listening to the songs we want to record over and over, while checking out a few "others" we may pay homage. We aim to make a Grammy-winning LP ourselves!

I'm still jet-lagged, so it's time for sleep. Either that or American Idol wore me out.
Love, Power, Peace

The Boy Is Back In Town

Hey Soul Mates,
I hope that your week was good. Miss me?

Florida was fine. On the coolish side, with a little rain one day I was in Vero. Got to hang out with family and friends. Spent quite a bit of time with my pal Mike, who is about to publish his first novel, Jacob Have I Loved. He also runs and edits the very popular DVD Movie Central. I'm very proud of him for getting his book finished and I can't wait to read it. It's been a nice cycle of inspiration as I've been thinking about putting together a book of musings and lyrics.

I didn't get a lot of reading in (just the first chapter of Gandhi) or listening (did have Remain In Light and A Hard Day's Night playing); mainly cleaning out closets and the garage of decades of ephemera. Drop by the house, I might have a prize for you.

The trip started with a visit to FCCJ where Tibetan monks were crafting a medicine Buddha mandala. We saw the closing ceremony in which they destroyed this beautiful and intricate work of art to symbolize the impermance of everything physical. Wild to see that. It was accompanied by lots of chanting, hornblowing and bell ringing. Then they passed out small packets of the colored sand from the mandala, I got one, to the onlookers. I also bought a wooden bead rosary which I had blessed by one of the monks.

We did get to one movie: Pan's Labyrinth, which was a mind-blowing fairy tale set during the Spanish Civil War. Not for the faint of heart, but certainly fanciful and original. I was glad to see it get a half-dozen Oscar nominations.

There was a lot of dining out involved on this trip. Gmom is always ready to go out for eats (esp. good eggs benedict). It was lots of fun spending time with her. I got to show off all of our pictures from the UK and some video from Huddersfield, which she was excited to see.

For the third year in a row, we made it down to Boomtown last Thurdsay night. Boomtown is a subterranean restaurant/experimental space in Jax's Hemming Plaza. Highly recommended. A wonderful place to hang out with a plate of sweet, curried Boom Booms, a glass of wine and watch local artists do their thing. Thursdays are "Pulp Fiction Theatre" nights at Boomtown. So we were treated to some original theatre featuring some wonderfully energetic young talent. Plus, Stephen Dare's food can't be beaten.

We also went to the Cummer museum's exhibit "Egypt: Temples and Tombs." Amazing to see history and artifacts from 4000 years ago. Dang, those ancient Egyptians were amazing. It has reinforced my desire to visit Egypt. I'd also like to see Morocco, while I'm at it.

While at the museum, I also got a neat picture book about artist Romare Bearden. One of his works, "Jamming At The Savoy," hangs above the piano here. I actually got to meet the artist when I was a youth in Cleveland. Inspiring. I may put together our CD cover using his style of collage.

So that's the brief on my trip to Florida. Hope I hit all of the juicy stuff.

Back to LA...
I'm very excited because according to Billboard, the Police are reuniting to open Grammy Awards. A three piece with a lead singer on bass, what's not to like? I Can't Stand Losing You and Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic are my favorites of theirs. I still have to get a tux for the show. Yikes.

I've discovered a fun hip-hop artist outta LA, Pigeon John. Heard him on Nic Harcourt's show two weeks ago and bought a few tracks from Pigeon John and the Summertime Pool Party from the iTunes. Relatively clean, but with some really choice raps, references and samples. John's been a part of the LA scene for some time, but I missed out, til now. PJ will be in Jax on April 1, for any who care.

Time to bust a move and get the day going. Sorry to everyone who's been writing on MySpace, etc. I haven't had a chance to catch up yet, but I will. Promise.
Love, Power, Peace