Norman's Rockwell

Hey Soul Mates, it's the end of 2006. Time to review my favorite records of the year. As usual, my choices are not meant to be a compendium of the "best" releases, but the ones that resonated most with me. Anyone who knows me will not be surprised by many of the selections. One is flat out biased. I'll freely admit it. A couple may astonish. Several were discovered as a direct result of our trip to the UK (one has seen no U.S. release at all). Anyway, I heartily recommend all of these listening experiences as they all enriched my life this year. May the music reach your ears and satisfy your soul. This year, due to the lack of outstanding LPs, I mixed it up with singles and entire CDs. In descending order. #10. Jay-Z - "Kingdom Come." This chopped up single featuring a wicked Rick James sample is the cream of Hova's otherwise o.k. comeback album. #9. The Lightyears - Mission Creep and the cyber single "Miles Away." These genial guys played at...

Merry Christmas, Soul Mates. Wow. We here at Rush Hour Soul are severely saddened by the passing of one of the greatest entertainers in Earth's history. This is a rough way to start a day of celebration. It simply means I'll have to put on JB all day long. Starting with his Holiday sides. It's bad enough being sick on Christmas. I'm beyond sad right now. James is one of the Titans of rock and roll. I'm blessed to have seen him perform once. Thanks for all of the music and the positivity, Mr. Brown. You are well-loved by this group. JAM! Love, Power, Peace (which came from the title of a live lp by James Brown)

Hey Soul Mates, I hope that you are all doing well this holiday weekend. I spent my Saturday doing a lot of business and errands around North Hollywood. It gave me time to listen to the two LPs I've boiled it down to in the Album of the Year category. Being a Grammy voter is serious stuff, as I mentioned previously. Both records have their merits and their missteps. Listening to them in the car though really brings out the best in a disc. No decision yet. There are plenty of categories where I'm already certain, but AotY still has me listening keenly. I might tell you in person what they are, but don't ask me to print them. Other than Grammy nominees, Dylan Thomas' reading of his seasonal opus "A Child's Christmas In Wales," has been in heavy rotation on the iPod. It's a fantastic piece of work. Sometime in the future I'm going to commit A Child's Christmas to memory. So much of the imagery reminds me of Winters on the North Coast. Without the...

Hey Soul Mates, I've finished posting the pictures from our Wednesday/Holiday show at the Gig. Our photographer Patty got some spectacular shots. You'll really see the smoke and sweat, you'll also dig the vibrant colors of our outfits and rich textures of the stage. We looked sharp, I tell you. But don't take my word for it. See for yourself. Don't forget to watch the webcast of the set while you can! Plug: This afternoon, I helped on a "dog-walk" with the folks ( Friends For Pets ) from whom I got my pooch. She was a great Wiemaraner named Cheyenne . It was almost a North Coast afternoon: rolling hills, leaves changing colors, rain clouds and a beautiful dog. Cheyenne was a little skittish, but enjoyed our time outdoors and was good at staying by my side on the walk. If you are looking for a new best friend, this no-kill rescue organization is tops at placing love canines with good humans. Happy Holidays. Love, Power, Peace

Hey Soul Mates, I got something very exciting in the mail yesterday: my first Grammy Ballot . That's correct, yours truly is voting! But with this power comes great responsibility. Having watched the Grammy telecast for years and knowing "what I like," I figured it would be easy to vote for what I thought was the best of the best. But having read the criteria and the cover letter that came with the ballot, I feel I need to seek out and at least listen to, once, each of the nominated songs (whole albums, not so much) to make an informed choice. NARAS takes all of this very seriously and as someone who's single vote might now determine the fate of an artist, I shall too. As a result, I've discovered some great songs nominated in individual fields that didn't get a lot of radio play or otherwise. I've also heard some things that are lackluster and surprise me that they were tabbed for the shortlist. There is no "write-in" choice on the ballot, so t...

Hey Soul Mates, yes, it was a fantastic show. We played our hearts out and wowed the crowd with two new songs. That we only rehearsed in full last night. The band looked really sharp, too. I had on my layers of berry and my vintage vest from the Netherlands. Doug rocked the purple and black. Bryan sporting shades had on his trademark Cavern black, including skinny tie. We're very excited because not only will you get to see the whole concert on the Gig's website, but we had the show shot by a pro videographer in HD (Christo, you're going to love it). Action! Here's the set from tonight's show: U Had The $ Everyone's Ingenue Sucka I Can't Cry For You Everything My Heart Desires Down By Love Roosevelt's Revue (debut) Fall Out Raspberry Beret (cover) A Talent For Loving That being said. It was also a dismal failure tonight. We would like to thank everyone who came out to our show... Jen T. Kristee L. Patty T. Gabe G. Blake Mc. Garner K. Oh, and Mari B. Jana...

Hey Soul Mates, I've been narrowing down my selections for my favorite albums of the year. I will post them this coming week, just in time for the holidays. I'm very excited because we have our last show of the year tonight. Rehearsal (our first in a month) last night went into the wee hours and the new material sounds interesting to say the least. Our new original Roosevelt's Revue is gelling. It's a brisk number less than 3 minutes, just the way I like them. As usual, here are the lyrics (reprinted with my permission and subject to change, ha ha.) Roosevelt's Revue I know exactly what you’re thinking. The Revue’s a legend, only myth. But I promise you my friends That the party never ends And I’m giving all of you a lift. My cousin called me from the dance floor Said the Revue was blowing up the chart Got to get your groove along Cause they’ll play your favorite song If the music is in your heart Everybody’s dancing Everybody’s dancing Up at Roosevelt’s Revue Ever...

Hey Soul Mates, December 8 is always a day of thoughtfulness for me. A day of remembrance, melancholy and celebration all in one. It's the day the world lost John Winston Ono Lennon. I have a vivid memory of waking up to Strawberry Fields Forever on the radio the following morning in 1980. After being in Liverpool this year and seeing where John spent his youth and young manhood, my connection to his spirit and music is tighter than ever. Playing at the Cavern and strolling the streets he would have was an inspiring and awesome time for me. It was an honor to be in his city and perform The Word . The day we went to his Woolton home in Menlove Ave. I stood on his driveway, Imagining and crying. It's no surprise that I'm going to name the Beatles' Love one of my top 5 discs of the year. No matter how you slice it, genius is genius and that would be the Beatles. Love, Power, Peace . Really.

Hey Soul Mates, Check out the trailer to a new film called Before The Music Dies . Now, I've only seen the preview, but it's a subject close to our hearts. The general public needs to see that American Music needs to be saved (and not just archived). This film delves into why or at least sheds some light on what's wrong with the state of popular musical arts in the good old U.S. and A. And why it's so hard for acts to attain that any stature, let alone critical mass. And why others are mind-bogglingly successful. Holler. Love, Power, Peace

Hey Soul Mates, we had a really productive rehearsal last night. Bryan and I fleshed out the new cover tune that will be the show's finale. It's a real sing-a-long. So wear a scarf to keep those vocal chords warm. Baby, it's cold outside. No, were not doing a holiday song. That was our original intent, but we couldn't pick one to do justice, that would also fit in with our set. But I'm certain that everyone will enjoy what we've selected. Following that, we caressed and finessed our hottest, newest into shape. I've mentioned it numerous times in passing in the blog. It's called Roosevelt's Revue . Roosevelt's Revue is about a place in time; a moment in your heart and mind when everything is joyful. It's an transistor radio childhood reverie brought to the 5.1 surround sound era. The lyric doesn't come close to expressing everything I wanted to say, but it's pretty jubilant nonetheless. The music is a triptych of my favorite noises, a...

Hey Soul Mates, on this day, every year, I give thanks for the birth of Rock and Roll and specifically to the Originator, the Emancipator, the Architect, the Georgia Peach: Little Richard . Mr. Penniman is 71 or 74 today. Either way, it's been nearly 50 years since he made his initial global impact. So Happy Whoooooooooooooo! Birthday, Little Richard!! In your honor, I'm going to blast some Tutti Frutti and Long Tall Sally riiiight now. Richard is still at the top of my "I want to meet" list. Wherever he's celebrating, I'm sure it's a party and a half. Maybe next year, I'll get an invite. Want to read last year's tribute to Little Richard? Check out The Originator at 73 . OK, gotta hunker down and practice. Yes. Practice. Our show is in a week and we definitely have at least one addition to the set list. Love, Power, Peace

Hey Soul Mates, How's the weekend treating you? Yesterday was Christmas tree day. Got a beautiful 6 foot noble pine. I think. Lots of the houses in the neighborhood have their halls decked ! It was also a fitting day for my newly altered suit. My tailor, Armen, who also did my shirts for our tour of the UK is reconstructing my suits so they actually fit. Let me tell you, it makes a huge difference. You can't walk around this town in a big gray box. Lookin' like a wall of fabric. David Byrne in his big suit, you know? It's a Ted Baker, though (and I dig Ted's stuff), so it didn't need too much work. Anyway, the sleeves need a gentle touch and then it's off to the races. To go with the suit, I acquired a new gray snap brim hat. Who's bringing sexy back? Don't care, I'm bringing sharp back. Been bringing it! I'll post pictures next weekend. Which reminds me, we are going to be working on two new songs at our next few rehearsals. One is an orig...

Hey Soul Mates, I hope that everyone had a nice extended Thanksgiving weekend. Ours was good. Bryan and I actually spent much of Thursday working on new material. Sitting outside playing guitars. Going through demos. Adding tracks to the harddrive. It was good to be productive. Our goal is to play at least one new song at our year-ending show on Dec. 13. Friday, we went down to the Gig to check out the hip-hop/funk act, Ghost. We are aiming to play with them at the Gig in February. They do a really nice set that keeps the crowd dancing. And on a Friday night, that's cool by us. Their audience was a nice mix of folks all of whom were into what the band was laying down. Yesterday, I finally got fed up with my hair. My regular stylist wasn't available, so I decided to go into the place across the way. It was closing time, but I rapped on the door and the barber, Alex, let me in. Called the Modern Barber Shop, it was anything but "modern." Alex, himself in his 50s, told m...

Hey Soul Mates, There is so much to be thankful for this year. First off, let me give thanks for you gentle readers who care to scan my ramblings here. It's gratifying to get feedback from you. Or to simply know that you are keeping up with RHS and myself. I'm extraordinarily thankful for my family. Couldn't do all this stuff without your support and love! I'll try to talk to as many of you as possible tomorrow. Friends, you too are vital to what we are doing. Some friends are older than others, or ha ha, have been around us longer, but we love you equally. I'm thankful for my influences. Especially, those I've gotten to see perform in person this year. Including ABC, Bob Dylan and just tonight the Rolling Stones. The Stones' midset performance piece Midnight Rambler was particularly inspiring. Finally, I'm thankful for my bandmates. We've made this a banner year in our musical career. Here's believing that the best is yet to come. It's been...

Hey Soul mates, it's the info that you've been waiting for a raft of shows from your friends at Rush Hour Soul. We're booked into the New Year and '07 is going to be even bigger than '06. And this year has been pretty dang huge for us. Mark your calendars, Party People, here are the dates. Wednesday, Dec. 13 at the Gig Hollywood. 7302 Melrose Ave. L.A. RHS hit the Gig for the final show of the year. Start your holiday season right. Get on down with RHS and a night of sweet soul music. Our set starts at 8:30 PM sharp! 21 and up. Cover is $7, but if you write to us (first and last name) we'll put you on the discount list for $5 cover. There will be an evite for Soul Mates to RSVP on, as well as discount flyers. Friday, Jan. 12 at the Good Hurt. 12249 Venice Blvd. Venice. Aw, yeah! Friday night at the Good Hurt, with the naughty nurses and Rush Hour Soul. The perfect combination to ring in the year properly. 9 pm showtime. 21 and up. Cover tba. Friday, Feb 23 at ...

***No spoilers really, but if you want to be truly surprised, wait 'til you've seen the movie to read this. Ladies and Gentlemen, the real James Bond stood up tonight. Wow. Rock'em, Sock 'em. And he can actually act. Daniel Craig comes out guns a-blazing and doesn't look back. Neither does the Bond franchise. In my opinion, Casino Royale ranks with Goldfinger , From Russia With Love and On Her Majesty's Secret Service as one of the best Bond's ever. It is that good. From the monochromatic opening to the hyper-technicolor title sequence to the 10 minute "free-running" chase through Madagascar. Much of it has to be seen to be believed. It's got all of the exotic locales you expect; Italy's Lake Como especially looks like an Elysian dream. There are the dynamic fights, life-saving gadgets and a few good quips (though they went very easy on the one-liners). All the proper ingredients for a James Bond movie. The real revelation is Craig, who ...

Hey Soul Mates, there's a new voice that I encourage you to check out. She's from Australia, so there are some obvious comparisons to previous pop idols from down under. But Tania Moran is the real deal. Her new CD, Sanctity, drops this month. It's already up on iTunes Australia. Some of our friends and fans already know her. If not: Listen up. Tania's voice is simply stunning. This is a major star in the making. She's the new Olivia Newton-John for the 21st Century. But even that's putting it too simply. Tania is not just another angel faced pop star (although, she meets that criteria), she writes her own material and plays keys on her recordings. You can hear ON-J and Kylie Minogue in her vocals, but you'll also recognize the atmosphere of Seal and Sade in the production, which helps give it her own flavor. I've listened to her tracks on the web many times, I particularly dig "Changes," and I can't wait to hear the whole CD. Expect to h...

I am aware that typically only hardcore Soul Mates and family (I know you love us and what we do) read my blogs. Tonight I have one for the ages. After speaking with Doug and Bryan by phone, I can simply tell you that I am fed up. The band is. Apparently, we are too polished and professional for our own good. This is the truth about Rush Hour Soul. We have never been signed to a record label. We've never even been approached by one. If you own any of our CDs you might have noticed something called Mighty Ohio Music. That is the name of my (d/b/a) publishing company. That is our own imprint. No backing or money behind it. No clout. No distribution other than the grace of CDBaby. We have never gotten a legit review. Not one single notice about a live show, the EP, our music video. Nada. Zip. No ink. No love, no hate. No recognition. We have never had a manager. One sniffed close enough to know we are stars, but couldn't hack it. No representation of any sort has ever been a pa...

Hey Soul Mates, only 2 days left to vote (voting ends on Nov. 17, 2006) for your Rush Hour Soul in YouTube's Underground Music Video contest. We have three videos up in three different categories. Here are the links to each of our nominated videos: A Talent For Loving (Over 2100 views, wawawowee!) From L.A. With Love (Our EPK/tour doc, with over 1100 views) Fall Out (Live at the Cavern, with almost 1000 views) You can only vote for each video once, but please be sure to do at least that. Thanks for your support! RHS is going Mega in '07 and it starts with you, here. Love, Power, Peace

Jagshemash, Soul Mates! Last night, we had an L.A. adventure. Spent the evening in a part of town that is not usually on my radar. Los Feliz! First, it was moviefilm times at the Vista on Sunset. Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Kazakhstan was the feature. It was preceded by a Pink Panther short, "Pinto Pink." I can't remember the last time I saw a cartoon in front of an R rated movie, if ever. Haven't seen the Pink Panther in years, period. The Vista is a beautiful, small (one-screen) theater, done up in a faux Egyptian motif. Lots of leg room in all of the aisles. Plus, a curtain that covers the screen until showtime. Borat was simply hysterical. I will tell you nothing about the film except to say: wrestling. Oh, but it made me miss Tom Green . Where's your movie at, Tom? One of the nicest things about the Vista was it's inexpensive ticket price: $8 American for an adult at night. Wow, that's the cost of an adult ticket f...

VOTE!

Yesterday, I met the Greatest of All-Time in his profession. It's not everyday that you see one, let alone get to interact. Of course, the encounter is nerve-wracking for the fan and probably tedious for the G.O.A.T. Thanks to my friend Steve, we got to visit the field prior my hometown Cleveland Browns ' matchup against the Chargers in San Diego. I had hope to see some of the old new Browns and get some pictures. I also had a small bag with a couple of mini helmets inside it and figured, these guys wouldn't mind that someone actually cared for their autographs. As we walked around the sideline, I sized up my options. Not a lot of players on the field yet. And it was hot. Probably around 95 and I had on a jacket to cover up my vintage Brian Sipe jersey. Lo and behold, who do I see holding court at the far end but the Greatest football player... Ever: Jim Brown . A true legend. The man whole holds a record book full of milestones. Star of the silverscreen. Community activist...

Hey Soul Mates, thanks to everyone who made it out to our show last night. It was blazing. Literarily. The stage was so hot, we each lost 15 pounds performing. The Gig was packed with the hottest clientele in Los Angeles. Our set was preceded by a screening of our video, A Talent For Loving . As the curtain rose we launched into a blistering version of Fall Out . Bryan and I rocking the S-curls, Doug twirling his sticks. Yow! But no jumping tonight. Oh, that hip. Mostly a fast-paced set, we slowed only once to perform our ballad Done Lost My Mind , which was dedicated to the lovely Mrs. Soontaree Simms. A truly joyful moment. The highlight for many was the unexpected cover song we performed at the end of the set. I won't tell you what we did, although there is a clue in this blog title, you'll just have to watch the free webcast from the Gig up now! You will see how hot it was on stage. Set list: Fall Out U Had The $ Done Lost My Mind (for Soontaree) Down By Love I Can't...

Hey Soul Mates, we ask you to visit our YouTube page and vote for us in their Underground Video contest. Due to snafu's turns out we're actually in it. And in it to win it! So pass this message along to your friends. There are three RHS videos you can vote for (but only once per video) "A Talent For Loving," "From L.A. With Love," & "Fall Out (Live)." Visit each video and look for the Underground icon to the right of the screen. Then vote for Rush Hour Soul See you tomorrow night at the Gig for some funtastic musical happenings. Love, Power, Peace

Hey Soul Mates, Happy Halloween . And special Halloween birthday shout-outs to King AdRock (Adam Horovitz) and Larry Mullen, Jr. Hard to believe the AdRock is 40. Yikes. Time flies when your fighting for your right to party. The nominations for the Rock Hall Class of '07 have been announced. And the nominees are: R.E.M., Patti Smith, Chic, the Dave Clark Five, Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, The Ronettes, the Stooges, Joe Tex and Van Halen. Included in the announcement was this: "In January, five of the nine nominees will be selected and will participate in the induction ceremony on March 12th at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York City." I take that to mean that the Hall intends to enshrine a minimum of 5 of these acts. This could be good and bad. If you think up to 5 of these groups are worthy or if you've been disappointed in their choices before this is good news. If you think that less than 5 of the acts should get in, you may find yourself asking ...

Hey Soul Mates, I hope your Sunday was as wonder-filled as mine. I spent the day at Wat Thai , the local Buddhist temple, volunteering for a bone marrow match drive for my dear friend Soontaree. Soontaree is duking it out with Leukemia. She was diagnosed while we were in England. In fact, the band found out right before we performed in Huddersfield. Soontaree is Thai ('tho born in the USA) and needs a bone marrow match for a transplant. This was the third drive I've done with Asians for Miracle Marrow Matches (A3M). It's pretty amazing to hear how the odds are stacked against people needing marrow transplants due to the lack of potential donors and the finiteness of the categorical matches. Anyway, with a group of mutual friends, family and full-timers from A3M, we've gone to events and locations searching for Soontaree's match and getting the word out about the need in general. Of course, I signed up and did my buccal swab first time out; so pain-free. I certainly...

Hey Soul Mates, as many of you know, we submitted our video A Talent For Loving and other clips into YouTube's first "Underground" music video contest. For some reason, they have declared all 3 of our pieces ineligible. What? Well, cousin, it must be that our videos are too damn good, is what! The contest starts tomorrow, so we'll never know how we might have fared. Be sure to check in on our YouTube page on Wednesday Oct. 25. You never know. I've seen some of the other clips and they are definitely amateurish, so maybe that's what they wanted. We too slick, y'all. But that's how we roll. We appreciate all of the kind things our fans and peers are saying about our work. It was a joy to make and more fun to present to you. We are up to 1600 plays of "Talent." And close to 4000 views over all. Thanks! Also in the news, we are hoping to present a fantastic double bill in December with the Adam Marsland Chaos Band . You know them. We played wit...

Hey Soul Mates, dig that crazy rhythm? It's the Bob Dylan Show . Tonight's tour stop at Long Beach was hellacious! We had a fantastic time in the standing room/general admission floor area. I knew the last time I saw Dylan that it would actually be fun to dance at his show. There wasn't always room for cutting a rug, but there was plenty to shuffle and vigorously clap hands. The Arena in Long Beach reminds me of the old Jacksonville VMC where I used to go to concerts in highschool. Capacity around 5000 on a good night. On top of an ice rink (though we didn't have that in Jax). Real Mom 'n Pop. Just a more relaxed ambiance than usual at an L.A. show. When tickets went on sale, I snatched some up. How often does any major act play a small venue with GA standing for the floor? Let alone THE major act of our lifetimes. Dylan smiled throughout; playing organ and blues harp. It was a different experience this time, being less than 30 feet from him. Seeing him really move...

That's right, Cousin. Rush Hour Soul is back and badder than a heart attack. Get ready to feel it. Love, Power, Peace

Hey Soul Mates, took a break for a week to get some important things done and get mentally prepared for the coming month. We are looking to do some great shows in the Los Angeles area here at the end of the year. I've been in contact with folks at some of our favorite venues, so details will be coming this week. Our return to the UK has been scrubbed till next spring. Lots of reasons why. But one big one that was an utter disappointment for all of us in Rush Hour Soul. We know a lot of you were hoping to see us back in England. Trust us, we wanted to be there. We were lead to believe that we would be entertaining you right about now. In fact, this was what we'd been told for months, so your dismay is ours. We are truly thankful that our fans in the UK are eager to see us. International Pop Overthrow Festival has already extended us an invitation to play in Liverpool again in 2007. That is wonderful. Moving on. We need to brush the dirt off our shoulders and show our home digs ...

Hey Soul Mates, I'm going to take a week off so there will most likely be no posts on my blog. But I do want to pass this magical phrase on to you: PIE 'N BURGER! If you are in the Pasadena area, heck, if you live in the Northern Hemisphere, you need to have pie and burger from Pie 'n Burger. At the same location since 1963 with the milkshake machine to back it up. They make the Coke's by hand y'all. The burgers are beef. The pie is luscious. Got mine "to go." It's an especially good stop if you've been walking around the Huntington Garden for 90 minutes. Love, Power, Peace

Hey Soul Mates, hope you had as productive a weekend as we did. Although most of mine was spent at home working on the computer. Self-sufficiency is the new name of our game. We've gotten DVDs of our music video and tour doc together. I'm proud of my handiwork creating motion menus for the discs. Next step is to get them to some helpful people. Saturday, we were gifted with tickets for the preview of a new comedy show, Groundlings For $1000, Alex . The Groundlings (alums include Paul Reubens, Phil Hartman, Will Ferrell & Pat Morita) do a combination of sketch comedy and improv. This particular show was tear-inducingly funny. I cried during the finale, a Nickelodeon kids' game show spoof called "Mathblasters." What a talented group of actors. The whole ensemble was entertaining. Certainly better than anything that showed up on SNL later than night. The house band also did an incredible Led Zeppelin medley. Not easy with one guitar, keys and drums. Kudos. Anyway...

Hey Soul Mates, long week. Thanks to everyone who sent along their best wishes for my recovery from food poisoning. I'm still creaky, but there has been a lot going on. The world keeps on spinning. Well, I finally got our ntsc (North American video) master of " A Talent For Loving " made. The original was in the pal format, so it had to be converted before it could be distributed here. As a result of several snafu's, I've upgraded my dvd drive. And thanks to KS1 Security's continuing sponsorship of the band, we have a new color photo printer! That means we can make super-pretty press kits to send out to the record labels and industry players. It's taken a long summer to get to this point. We've had several people of decent magnitude utterly flake out on us. I ain't gonna name names, but you know who you are. As a result, the band is forging ahead on its own (manufacturing our own dvd's is just the tip of the iceberg). We aim to get our music h...

Hey Soul Mates, sorry for the slowdown in the flow of info from RHS Central. I've been poisoned. The guilty party is a quartet of evil little fellows. Their conspiracy to bring me down hasn't succeeded fully. But it's been enough to make life miserable. It's the second time in 3 years that this insidious party has tried to lay me low. The culprits? Undercooked shrimp. Nasty. Now, the news. Our return to the UK has been postponed due to family illness (not mine, however). We know that our fans understand. We are taking all steps necessary to make sure there is a full and swift recovery. Thanks to everyone for their support. We hope to see you as soon as possible. On the lighter side. I warned you that Bryan and I were shunning haircuts until someone in position to put Rush Hour Soul on top o' the world steps up. Well, here we are, in all our hirsute glory down in ThaiTown last night for the lovely Patty T's birthday. Awright. My headache is blistering. Time to tu...

Hey Soul Mates, Today, I'm celebrating the birthday of one of America's greatest story tellers. He's an actor, playwright, musician. And he happens to be my Dad. My father has always been the best teller-of-tales I've known. No one can bring a story to life like him. Funny thing is, his genre is non-fiction. Oh, all griots embellish. Why not? Who's to argue or counter a plot point or a bit of detail? Especially when it's said with spirit and gusto. But he really doesn't need to because the stories are so vivid already. I hope that Dad will soon put his stories to tape. But like a jazz artist, recordings still wouldn't capture all the aspects of the performance. Each telling has it's own breath and cadence. It's own weight, but also it's own ease. It isn't surprising that he wrote a play called "Street Rhthym." Maybe that's why, with no effort at all, Dad held court last night at the Georgia Tech game. Half-time. Chit chat. S...

Hey Soul Mates, for me it's a day to raise a glass to toast Chic founder member, Nile Rodgers on his 54th birthday. You know what a big fan of his I am. After all, I just framed Chic's album C'est Chic for my new art project (see previous blog). Nile's work with Chic is part of the foundation of the Rush Hour Soul-thing. Le Freak is still in my top 5 of the most exciting songs of all time. And without Good Times, there would be no hip-hop for better or worse, depending on who you ask). But it's important for me to celebrate Chic, and especially Nile. He is the last surviving member of the fraternity that made up the group's core. Sadly, both drummer Tony Thompson and bassist Bernard Edwards are gone. Nile also produced a number of artists' biggest hits, including: Madonna, Duran Duran & David Bowie. That ain't shabby. Of course, he is on the shortlist of dream producers for us to work with. I had an opportunity to meet Nile at a seminar and he was ...

Hey Soul Mates, just wrapping up a good weekend here in SoCal. The Browns lost today. Oh well. But RHS has more than 900 plays of " A Talent For Loving " on YouTube since it debuted. Thanks again to all you viewers out there. We've gotten some really nice e-mails from fans and peers commending us. But we're not being complacent. What's next for Rush Hour Soul, you ask? As you know we are aiming to go back to the UK very soon. Our return is still very much in the working stages, so nothing we can officially report yet. What I can tell you is that I had a long conversation with animation director Andrew St. Marie and he is going to helm our next music video! He mentioned his desire to work with us and I said, "It's on!" Andrew and I chatted at the studio commissary Friday and gave the greenlight to the project. We are anticipating a November release date. We're going to be a cartoon! How supercool. Andrew is currently wrapping up work on his 2006 S...

Hey Soul Mates, wow! What a great response we've been getting to our new music video "A Talent For Loving" (dir. by William Archer ). YouTube has been swarmed by the Soul Mates and their friends. In its first day up, the video had over 300 plays. As of this writing, we are at 677: past the "Say Hey" Kid and closing in on Hammerin' Hank! By the end of Sunday, we hope to have had 2000 views. It's entirely possible. Please keep watching and referring your friends to Rush Hour Soul TV ! Here are some of the YouTube daily honors we've achieved so far: On Thursday Sept. 14 (our first day "on air"), "A Talent For Loving" was 10th Most Watched music video 45th Most Discussed music video 88th Top Favorited music video Rush Hour Soul TV was 24th Most Viewed music channel On Friday, Sept. 15, "A Talent For Loving" was 33rd Most Discussed music video 79th Top Rated music video RHS TV was 15th Most Viewed music channel 32rd Most Sub...

Hey Soul Mates, turn on the YouTube ! Rush Hour Soul is on and they're playing "A Talent For Loving!" Yes, our music video is up and running. Be sure to go watch it. Please leave comments and ratings for the video on YouTube. We need a huge push to get over and you can help. Be sure to tell 10 friends to tell 10 friends to watch "A Talent For Loving." And enjoy. We know a lot of you have been waiting a long time to see the video. Especially our supporters in Great Britain. We miss you, we truly do. So go watch the video, then come back and finish reading my blog. I can wait... We had a small gathering of friends and fans this evening and screened "A Talent For Loving" in surround sound (5.1 rocking the hizzy). Of course, on YouTube quality is sacrificed for convenience, but you'll get the gist of the video, no doubt. Everyone in attendance had a good time and they clamored to watch the short twice more. Hope the neighbors didn't mind. Cheers t...

Hey Soul Mates, we're still here. The world didn't end. Sure felt like it might. The axis shifted a bit and we have these fading visions of September 10th. But, I'm very thankful for my family and friends. I love each and everyone of you. Love, Power, Peace

I'm so tired of standing, I can't stand no more. Said, I'm so tired of this standing, just can't stand no more. Seem like I'm doing the job of gravity, holding down the floor. Hey Soul Mates, It's been a long week. Victories, setbacks, holding patterns. We've had all three. Victories: The band is feeling good about our presence on YouTube . The response to our tour footage and support of our fans has given us a needed boost. At the end of the day, yesterday, we ranked #28 on YouTube's most viewed music channels. That means a lot of you were watching, hopefully more than once. Be sure to join YouTube, so you can leave comments and rate our videos. That helps raise our profile there. Thanks to all of our fans on MySpace who have left some nice words of encouragement. Setbacks: Hmm. X-ray says my left hip is going. No surgery now, but further down the road. Just like Prince and Eddie Van Halen. Too much monkey business on stage. Tho' the Doc says I...