Norman's Rockwell

Hey Soul Mates, I have a new favorite TV show: The Office. And it is hysterical. I'm sure the British production has an even drier sense of humor, but the American version is done well. There's no laugh track, no music. Just one camera. The dialogue is delivered well, specifically the malapropisms of the office boss, Michael (played by the relentlessly tactless Steve Carell). But the silences and takes are devastating. Tonight's episode focused on diversity in the workplace. The lone Asian-Indian employee had virtually no lines, but she stole the show with her reactions to her co-workers' and boss' off-the-wall comments. Priceless. Bryan and I talked about how painful those silent spots were. But they are funny as anything. I'm still a bit under the weather, so I'm writing earlier in the evening than usual. Bryan actually came over to watch a little of the concert footage from our last show (and get a copy of the new demos). Thanks to Patrick & Rob for f...

Hey Soul Mates, just a note of condolence to the family of drummer Paul Hester from Crowded House. Paul was an amazing drummer for a brilliant pop group. I saw Crowded House once at the WOMAD festival in '93. They were amazing and had a really vivacious stage presence. During the act, they even built a human pyramid. "Don't Dream It's Over" ranks as one of the great singles of all time. His talent will be missed. Love, Power, Peace

Hey Soul Mates, just checking in with you on a busy Easter Sunday. I'm back from rehearsal. Thanks for driving, Bry. We had a productive couple of hours packed in today. First we gathered here at my place for a session of playing through brand new material. We've got around 8 or 9 new songs; we managed to get through 3. Here's a scoop! 2 of them have titles: Next July & Everything My Heart Desires. Basically, Bryan and myself play guitars and Doug taps along. We demoed these songs to minidisc (sorry, no bootlegs, yet). They are still in rough stages. The arrangements and melodies are almost 100% now. Time to flesh out or flush out the words. I've mentioned this before, but I work towards a break-through. At that point lyrics come gushing out, til then, there are a lot of scratch vocals sung over the songs. Then we drove over to the studio to rehearse with our full electric gear. That's always fun and challenging. Even though we play at the same place every week,...

Hey Soul Mates and Sports Fans, Non-musical note (ha). I, for one, will not be disappointed if Barry Bonds doesn't break Babe Ruth's homerun mark, let alone Hank Aaron's record. I've seen Barry play a dozen times. Watched him crush a few homers at Chavez Ravine against my beloved Dodgers . Not sour grapes in terms of the rivalry. Just that Hammerin' Hank really had to maintain and focus to break Ruth's record; amidst death threats, no less. Bonds just hasn't earned the level of respect that Henry Aaron commands to this day. Poor Barry's caught up in his own legend, the steroid scandal and the shadow of his godfather, Willie Mays. But that's not sympathy from me you hear. Any one who knows me, knows I love witnessing history in person or on TV. This is one time, I'm rooting for the record to remain unbroken. I'm a pitching purist anyway. I would rather see one last 30 win season from a pitcher. Love, Power, Peace, Play Ball!

Hey Soul Mates, Finally. After years of listening to the CDs, seeing the parodies and hearing the tales, I got to witness the Bob Dylan Show. It was rock and roll as imagined by David Lynch: all twilight, strange moods and deep primary colors. The curtain rose to reveal Dylan & Co. in matching western outfits, complete with cowboy hats. The band in rebel gray, Bob in black. Evocative of the Byrds and the Grand Ole Opry in one pass. Patchouli wafted out over the audience, an incongruous smell with the Western theme of the tour. The gig was at the Pantages, easily the most beautiful interior of all LA's old landmarks. Behind the band was a heavy red curtain, which slowly opened to reveal a starlit backdrop. It was a masterclass of music appreciation. Of course, Dylan huffed and whined his way through the lyrics. Never again will I feel bad about mumbling or missing a line or making it up on the spot. America's greatest poet has been reduced, reduced himself, to a hustler of w...

Hey Soul Mates, how are you? Happy St. Patrick's Day . I've been busy here on the internet. I've been putting together the promotional materials for our upcoming show at the Gig on April 7. Updating our myspace group. Doing some publishing work with BMI online. It's been productive. I'm still waiting for a break through on some of my new songs. The music is completed. Melodies are in place. Just checking all the frequencies for themes, thoughts and words. Those will come soon enough. Usually in a flood. OK, so why the March Madness? It's March Madness Bay-Beeeee as Dickie V. would say. Who's Dickie V? Why Dick Vitale, the college basketball guru. The first day of the Men's NCAA basketball tourney began today. I managed to watch a tip off before running to work; a half of a game at lunch; and the various feeds after work. My brackets haven't been busted yet. All of my Sweet 16 teams are still in the running. We'll see how long that lasts. I actual...

Hey Soul Mates, how could I forget? Last night we had a meeting with graphic designer & artist Dwayne Jones. He's working with us on a brand new logo and graphic representation for the group. We are looking forward to seeing what he comes up with. Bryan and I discussed with him the goals of the band; the image; the direction we want to take the group in artistically. Dwayne is full of ideas and has seen the RHS several times, so he knows what we are about. Our discussion covered business trends, existing band logos and the effects of branding. We brainstormed on motifs and styles. Some of the ideas we've had have been via your input as to what you feel the band presents and represents. Of course, the logo will wind up on all of our souvenirs, so it's important that we have an icon that you will enjoy as much as we do. Love, Power, Peace

Hey Soul Mates, This is a long distance dedication to Spencer, SD. We'd like to welcome our newest member of the fan club: Jordon Franklin. It's a strange world, JF, best of luck. Bryan and I went out tonight to collect the tickets for our next show. So if you see anyone in the band and you want Free tickets, ask us! Many thanks to the Gig for having us again. We are looking forward to the show. Love, Power, Peace.

Hey Soul Mates, ok, Brown isn't necessarily for springtime, but I thought it was time to switch up the look. Stylishly. The content is still the same. And check the titles of the posts for any links. The links are still active, as is the archive. Sweet dreams in cocoa... Love, Power, Peace

Hey Soul Mates, what a busy little weekend I had. I just got finished demoing 3 new songs to minidisc for the rest of the band to hear. 2 ballads and one midtempo, urban number. Bryan and I had a productive rehearsal. We put together the set list for our next show on April 7 @ the Gig. Doug was absent because he injured one of his feet. Send healing energy his way. We missed him today. This weekend, I did a lot of cleaning. It's amazing what a spring cleaning reveals. Mainly stuff that you put away in October. LOL. I also had a rare chance to hang with my old college roommate, Rick. He was in town for a college-related event down in Carson. It was great to see him if only for an hour or so. Much love to Monchichi and the rest of my GU Posse. 2 days off weren't enough. But that's cool. Got a lot in, and barely left the house. Now, I'm going to relax with my glass of Airborne (it does work) and leave y'all be. I hope you all had a good weekend. Love, Power, Peace

Hey Soul Mates, what a long week. Phwew. Thank goodness for the weekend. Here's what I've been up to: lots of writing. Writing songs and my first published review (see previous blog). I am attempting to create some wallpapers and a screensaver of sorts for those of you who want to decorate your computer with RHS 4evah. The band has a busy weekend ahead. Rehearsal; some decisions on recordings have to be made; and (drum roll) writing! But that's a good thing. We do have a show coming up. And once again, we have free tickets for those who want to attend. Just hit us back and we'll get them to you. More soon, Love, Power, Peace

Hey Soul Mates, I had a fun opportunity to contribute a review to DVD Movie Central for Hoosiers. One of my favorites, certainly. Thanks to my dear friend Mike J for the chance. Writing reviews is no simple task. I have a new appreciation for people who do it for a living. Be sure to browse around DVD Movie Central and check out the other reviews, info and links. Bookmark it for handy reference. Love, Power, Peace

Hey Soul Mates, first off thanks to everyone who slogged through the heavy mist to come see us Wednesday. And thanks to everyone from around the globe who wished us luck. I tell you if we lived 2 hours North that would have been snow falling. The set was a lot of fun. Of course, the Gig has the curtain so we can do a fairly dramatic entrance. We kicked off the night with Sucka; which we haven't done in some time. The show also featured our newest song A Talent For Loving. I finished writing it a day before the show and was still backstage memorizing the phrasing as the curtain was about to go up. There were 6 different lyrics for the song, but I went with the most lively set since the song has such a groove. We had Patrick and Rob videoing with 2 cameras, so it will be interesting to see how we look to you all. Multiple angles and all. Patrick has become our semi-official videographer. Eventually we'll have more video on line for you to watch. The crowd was great. You all were...

Hey Soul Mates, this is kinda cool. My good friend Mike who runs DVD Movie Central asked if he could post my Michael Jackson blog on his website. And there it is. Just click the link above. Of course, if you visit my blog with any regularity, you've read it. But if you are into movie + DVD releases his website is a must. I'll write about last night's show shortly. Love, Power, Peace

Hey Soul Mates, No time to write but the show was great. Check the website for a few pix. Love, Power, Peace