Norman's Rockwell

Hey Soul Mates, thanks to everyone who came out to our slamming show last night. (Special props to Chervet, who gave up an evening with Sugar Ray Leonard for Rush Hour Soul; and for the electric blue tie that I wore). We had so much fun and it was apparent that you did, too. The whole set was filled with surprises. We included a cover of an old song by Bat Country called Supermodels With Gatling Guns that had the audience moving. Of course, all the ladies sang along with Everything My Heart Desires and Done Lost My Mind . The highlight was probably the roses I gave out (thanks to inspiration from Al Green) and the calypso/ska ending of Done Lost My Mind that resulted. Being our first show of 2006 and the first in our run-up to Britain, we were very pleased with our performances and the turn-out. Brennan's was packed. That's a cool stage. Helps that they had a big mirror to Bryan's right, so I could make sure my hair stayed right. Ha Ha. Last night's set list: Fall Ou

Hey Soul Mates, you never realize how talented your friends are until you rehearse with them. Yeah, you like what they do on stage, but when you see how sharp they are when they practice... Mm-Mm! Tonight, (Friday) I sat in on rehearsal with Adam Marsland's Chaos Band. They are the act that will follow us at tonight's (Saturday) show. Adam and co. invited me to sing along with them. 70% of their setlist is old 70's soul covers learned especially for this show. Appropriately enough, I'm singing a track from Curtis Mayfield's stellar Superfly soundtrack. I'm not telling you which song, though. You'll have to come to the show to find out. Suffice it to say, I learned the first verse of this one as a playground rhyme years ago. Hard to believe, thinking about the subject matter of the song. What fun, though to run through the number a few times. All the players in Adam's group are excellent, but extra kudos to guitarist Evie Sands . She's just a joy to

Hey Soul Mates, the band has been busy. Preparations for our transatlantic tour are underway. In the run-up to our departure, we've been meeting a lot of really cool people on-line from the U.K. We can't wait to meet all of you when we travel in May. Also, we've even been in touch with our British cousins, Rush Hour Soul UK. I'm hoping that we'll get to share a bill with them in whatever incarnation Nigel puts together for a show. We are interested in trading shows with other UK based groups who want to play here in Los Angeles. If that's you, drop me a line. Well, on behalf of the group, welcome to the realm of the Soul Mates, new friends. Several of our new mates have even suggested venues for us to book. Better, some of you have told us that you are looking forward to our arrival and seeing us perform live! Very exciting times for RHS. American audiences will have plenty of chances to see us in the coming months as we hone our show for the International Set.

Hey Soul Mates, more intense than the Boogie Fever I had as a kid, I've got Olympic Fever once again. 4 years ago, I discovered Apolo Anton Ohno and Short-track. What a rush, watching the speedskaters in such close quarters. But this year, there's a new kid on the block and it's badder than Ohno and the Short Track: Snowboard Cross ( SBX ). A brand-new medalling event, SBX is part motorcross, part Nascar, all snow. It's full tilt, body-banging action at high speed on a downhill snowboard run. Wipe-outs, pile ups and intrigue highlighted each heat. Jumps, spills and contact combined with the downward velocity really amps this baby up. It's like a James Bond set-piece, minus the weaponry, but with all the excitement. Seth Wescott, the American who won the sport's debut gold, fended off stiff competition to win in a photo finish. That's Wescott airborne in white and silver medalist Radolsav Zidek (Slovakia) on his left. Tonight, the ladies go at it with equal

Hey Soul Mates, he's done it again. Prince has released something revolutionary. It's the newest track from his upcoming LP "3121." The fellas were over this weekend and we were blown away by his use of space and silences. It's a funk masterpiece of robotic pulses and hollerin'. And it's called Black Sweat . It's Prince's best distillation of the James Brown canon in years. Dancefloors will be packed by this jam. I haven't been this excited about anyone's new single in a long time. Probably since Gett Off. Check it on out now, courtesy of youtube.com. Just press play and dance! Love, Power, Peace

Hey Soul Mates, Here's some cool news. Our song A Talent For Loving got a play on another podcast: Up The Tree . Check it out. The podcast is pretty irreverent. Parental discretion is advised. We are in good musical company: Wilco's Jeff Tweedy and Neko Case are also featured. As usual, we're glad to be there. Our episode is TUTT: The Break Up, Pt. 1 . Even though ours isn't a breakup song, we like the irony of the theme near Valentine's Day. You can even leave Funtime Ben and Josiah a message about the show, or yours truly, Rush Hour Soul. My very lengthy blog about the Grammy Show will be posted very soon. Sorry for the delay. It's been a busy weekend, what with the VP shooting a man and all. One of the highlights of my week was hiking. Yes, hiking to the top of Mt. Lee above the Hollywood sign early Thursday a.m. The walk is kinda steep going up, but coming back down the hill was cake. From the top of the crest you can see the Pacific Ocean and the San Fer

Hey Soul Mates, I'm super-excited because tonight is Grammy night and the evening should be historic. I may breakdown if Sly Stone actually shows up to perform during a tribute to his musical genius. The man has not performed for a public audience that I know of in over 20 years. Sly is the greatest enigma pop music has known . I would consider him to be one of its 10 greatest writers. Everyday People, Stand, Everybody Is A Star, Thank You (Fallentime Be Mice Elf, Again), Hot Fun In The Summertime and Family Affair are all pop masterpieces. And I didn't even mention I Want To Take You Higher and Dance To The Music . His appearance should be the highlight of the night. But wait there's more. I wrote about Gorillaz a blog or two back. McCartney and U2 are also performing. Finally, the Grammy's might live up to the hype. The only glaring performance omission for me is the White Stripes, who for my money made the year's most daring album. Of course, Mariah, ahhhhhh

Hey Soul Mates, Happy Birthday to us! My Mother says "Happy Birthday to me." And of course, I got a B-Day call from Dad in Atlanta. My brother Nate is working the Coretta Scott King funeral. And thanks to Doug for checking in (really early, ha ha). It's been a really pleasant day so far. Coffee on the house at Marie et Cie. (merci, Charles) this a.m. And normally, I do not advertise my birthday at all. But today is an exception, because (drum roll)... Our big news? Here it is. We are taking our act overseas for a tour. Rush Hour Soul is going across the pond to the United Kingdom! First, we've been invited to perform at the International Pop Overthrow Music Festival in Liverpool in May. There will be two performances in Liverpool. One of our dates will be at the world famous Cavern Club (of Beatles fame). Second, we will follow that up by booking independent shows in other cities. Times and dates to be confirmed. Special thanks to IPO 2006 and founder David Bash. If

Hey Soul Mates, it's Super Bowl Sunday. XL. Detroit City. And I was at the last Super Bowl in Motown. And it was freezing. The game was great though. That was Joe Montana's super-debut. Today, I'm going to be rooting for the Bus and the Steelers. But I was told to give up any kind of monetary gambling by the fortune teller last week, so none of you can have my money on this one. "One For The Thumb" since '81 for Pittsburgh. Now, I've always like Seattle's uniforms and the Seahawk logo, but I've gotta go with the Steelers. Grammy awards on Wednesday. I'm pretty excited. McCartney's performing. Gorillaz, too - though it's sad that they are performing with Madonna. Maybe she'll prove me wrong, but she's played out for me. I've got "Demon Days" playing right now and it's a tremendously adventurous LP. The title track is on. Demon Days is at the end of the record, but what a great album closer with a choral vocal

Hey Soul Mates, I don't always finish books I buy. And I have a nasty habit of buying lots of books and not completing them in one go. There's usually a stack of books on my stand that are in various stages of being read. But, lately I've gotten better about it. I completed Gideon Defoe's nifty "The Pirates! In An Adventure With Scientists." It's a completely anachronistic short novel about... well, pirates in an adventure with scientists. Not howlingly funny, but rather consistently, subtly amusing from page one. Each chapter title has a thrilling piratical theme, but the episode will not include a single word about said treasure, sea monsters or Skull Island. The pirates in question have no names, rather descriptions: the scarf wearing pirate, the pirate with the accordion, the pirate in green and the hero of the story the Pirate Captain. And they all love ham. The Pirate Captain is famous for his feats on the high seas and his luxuriant beard. The stuf