Norman's Rockwell

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

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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