Norman's Rockwell

This was 12 months of trials and tribulations. Although for the first 10 months it was heavy on the trial. Nevertheless, I had some great vacation time; reached milestones; recorded an album and made some major personal breakthroughs. Some highlights... Voting for and attending the Grammy Awards. Having my Dad visit from ATL . Recording my debut LP, A Talent For Loving . Vacationing in Spain. Taking in a concert at the Palau de la Musica , Barcelona; Dali's Teatro - Museo; quiet nights in Girona; and sangria in Seville. My high school reunion in Jacksonville. My Grandmother's birthday party/family gathering in Vero Beach in Oct. Visiting friends in Charlotte, NC. Christmas and singing in the chancel choir. Getting my CDs pressed. I believe that 2008 will be filled with more joy and wondrous times for us all. Celebrate and revel in the day. Peace & Disco Beats

Hey All, check out my first review for my debut. I can't wait for the rest of you to hear the LP. It will be available via CD Baby by week's end. In unrelated news, I won my fantasy football league championship. My team, The Lake Effect, overtook the La Costa Longhorns 121-95 by virtue of Larry Fitzgerald's amazing 171 yard receiving day and San Diego's shut down of the Raiders. Yahoo. I finished the season 12-3. My first win in any fantasy league. And the Browns won. Now, I'm waiting for the Colts to "help" the Brownies make the playoffs. Have a great New Year's Eve!

Saw my first new movie of the Christmas season. And it was a doozy . Denzel Washington's The Great Debaters , a fictionalized account of the historic Miley College debate team of 1935. The story is entirely inspiring. Mr. Washington shines on-screen as the coach and behind the camera in his directorial debut. Nice to see him pull off a great role without a gun in his hands; although, he is impressive in American Gangster . The supporting cast (including Forest Whitaker) were stellar, especially Denzel Whitaker's (not related to Forest) performance as the "Dougie Howser " of the team. It brought back memories of debating in the high school and perhaps that helped me appreciate the competition sequences. I'd have to say though that anyone should be able to get behind a movie that is the Hoosiers of Forensics, with depression-era civil rights and workers' rights subplots thrown in for good measure. Here's hoping that a film like this finds a large audienc...

I hope that the day was restful, joyful and filled with love. Peace On Earth & Disco Beats To All People

I'm waiting, waiting, waiting for the big brown delivery truck to drop of1035 copies of A Talent For Loving . Ha ha. Fortunately, I wasn't needed at the studio today. So, I've been getting chores done around the house, preparing initial packages to go out, listening to Christmas music. Right now, I've got the utterly sublime John Rutter Christmas Album playing. But here's something cool: Disc Makers, my manufacturer offers digital downloads through their website DigStation. So, if you just have to have my new album for your computer or MP3 player NOW! you can get it. Just click the link below! This icon will take you instantly to my page on DigStation.com. Back to waiting. And the vacuum. Ah, the life of a pop star. Peace & Disco Beats, Good Will To All

Here it is. My year-end round up of the best long-playing platters of 2007. 10. White Stripes - Icky Thump 9. Duran Duran - Duran Duran's Red Carpet Massacre 8. M.I.A. - Kala 7. Kanye West - Graduation 6. Orson - Culture Vultures 5. Fall Out Boy - Infinity On High 4. Mike Farris - Salvation In Lights 3. Paul McCartney - Memory Almost Full 2. Amy Winehouse - Back To Black 1. Arctic Monkeys - Favourite Worst Nightmare Although it was nearly a coin toss between the Monkeys and Wino for the top spot. McCartney's LP was his strongest set in 20 years. Mike Farris' disc is a Stax -flavored gospel tour- de -force. The rest were nearly interchangeable. Although the most surprising enrty is Fall Out Boy. I didn't think I would like them in a million years. Biggest disappointments, well... the Duran disc suffers on the Timberland/ Timberlake tracks and Prince's Planet Earth doesn't even make my top 10. And here's a bonus. My favorite single tracks of 2007! 10. Ju...

Last night, we hosted. Tonight, we are destined for Chaz Dean's Christmas Spectacular at his studio down in Hollywood. I was there yesterday getting my hair cut. Ah, for the first time in nearly a year, I had my hair styled by Monica, my girl. No more barbers for me for a while. Ha ha. Anyway, I'm all dandied up, just drying off a bit more before leaving the house. It's freezing outside. I'm very excited because the Grammy Ballot arrived today. People, I'm part of that vanguard trying to inject some modern taste into the votes. I must admit though, Paul McCartney will be getting the nod in a few categories. But this year, it's all about Amy Winehouse . No, no, no. She is the artist to be reckoned with this year. Forget her current death wish , check out her album Back To Black . Nominated in all 4 of the marquee categories, 10 th F eb could be the night of her life if she lives to see it. For a bonus, check out her guest vocal Valerie on Mark Ronson's ...

Hey Soul Mates, I heard on the radio yesterday that Ike Turner had passed away. I had just gotten my ticketing info for the Grammy Awards, where I met Mr. Turner last year. All decked out in a rhinestone studded suit. Always a showman. Seeing him in person was a trip. So it was an odd coincidence for me. Ike won a Grammy in the best Trad Blues category and he made a charged acceptance speech as I recall. Ike became an infamous villain in the very powerful Tina Turner story (she is amazing; whom he did discover), but his contribution to the start of Rock & Roll shouldn't be understated. Along with the likes of Big Mama Thornton, Chuck Berry, the Ink Spots and Louis Jordan, he was a musical pioneer. His playing is immortalized on the side Rocket 88 that many consider the first true Rock & Roll record. Deservedly so, Ike & Tina are in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Very much a case of judge the music, not the man. Because, in the end who can do the latter. The music ...

Welllllll , feeling filled with the Christmas spirit, I decided to make my first attempt at a holiday recording. Done simply here on the hard drive , like an old 4 track, I put down a verse & chorus of the traditional carol, Last Month of the Year . I've been listening to the rerelease of the Staple Singers' CD of the same title and was inspired to do it (oh, those harmonies!!), just to put my voice on wax! I also added a bunch of 1960 reverb to it. And a little Christmas message to all of you. To hear it go to my myspace page and enjoy! Oh, what musicians can do with an hour's spare time. Peace& Disco Beats

So, I'd been getting further in the mood for the holidays by listening to all of the Beatles' Christmas records done for their fan club. They were annual giveaways that the Fab Four recorded from '63-'69. Lots of fun. Anyway, today, we went to a wedding down in the OC at the Crystal Cathedral (Congrats to Sheryl and Patrick Kershaw , two of my oldest fans & friends). I'd only seen the place on TV as part of the "Hour Of Power." The place is a riot. It was a beautiful ceremony on a proscenium decked out for the church's Christmas show; a huge 3D Bethlehem complete with night sky, rock formations and fortifications. Righteous choice of venue, Patrick! On a whim, after the ceremony, I decided to check on ticket availability for the extravaganza billed as the Glory Of Christmas . It did not disappoint. Simply put, it was the Biggest Budgeted, Best Christmas Pageant Ever. Wild stuff. Not only was it an action packed nativity story, there were a cast of...

As promised here are a few choice holiday snaps from our visit to Disneyland this week. Me and Frozone, two cool cats. Separated at birth? The formatting for my blog has gone goofy! No pun intended. Anyway. It was a fun day. I love the action shot of Donald Duck. I like Donald, because when he gets bent out of shape about the little stuff, it reminds me not to do the same. The Exit Stage Left is from Roger Rabbit. And I had to get a photo in front of the Candy Cane "N" at California Adventure. Happy Holidays! Peace On Earth

Hey All. Hope that you truly enjoyed your Thanksgiving. I know I did. Spent it with family and the dogs. Sublime. As I get older, I realize I like Christmas season more and more. And I don't care how early it comes. It's true that the spirit should be with us all year. Even if the carols aren't. Actually the carols are one of my favorite aspects of celebrating, even in November. It's the novelty songs that grind a little. Sunday, we'll be going to get our tree. At least we waited til December for that, you say. I had a great time at Disneyland this week with my dears Patty and Chervet . The place was decked to the halls. And it was actually revitalizing. I'll get a pic or two up in a longer edit of this blog soon. I've been pressing forward with booking my tour of the UK. So far several shows have been slated including stops in London, of course, Barnsley and Manchester. With more to come. I'll announce venues and more details when the time is right. Th...

It's Thanksgiving Eve! I'm so thankful for having all of you who pay attention to what I do. Y'all bless me by listening to my music and supporting my art. It's been a big week. The CD went to Discmakers a week ago. Production has begun, as mentioned in my previous blog. The street date for the CD is December 18. Just one week before Christmas. I'm in the process of booking my new tour of the UK as well. I'm excited to bring my music to new cities (Nottingham, Stockport , Leeds) and venues along with the markets that embraced me back in 2006 (like Barnsley , Huddersfield, London and Sheffield)! The dates will all be in March now, due to the lateness of the CDs arrival. I really need three months' lead time to seriously promote the shows and the album from 5000 miles away. But this tour's gonna be way bigger than the previous. It must do. There's more on the line and more entertaining to be done! I'm also hoping to hook up for some of these dates...

Hey Y'all, The new LP artwork is done. And "A Talent For Loving" is on it's way. Finally. I'm over the hump. The disc went to the manufacturer today and I have a tentative street date of Dec. 18. That's right. Santa be bringing the Sunshine Funk from LA via the North Pole to You!! Check out the album cover. Photo by BREADANDSHUTTER . You like it? You love it? It's kind of an homage to Soul Brother #1. A classic performance shot. Ow! Feeling me? I feel good! This project began in earnest on January 1 of this year when I had a sit down with producer Adam Marsland . And now the album has gone to press. I'm thrilled that phase one is done. Now all that's left is to boogie across the pond and bring y'all the music... L.I.V.E! Internet download services will make the album available in the early part of 2008. But the CD will be up on DigStation before the Holidays hit. The disc will be $9.99 or 99 cents per track. So it you like to buy downloads, th...

I'm just back from North Carolina. Great weekend getaway trip. It was a brilliant Charlotte weekend. Cool, crisp air. Leaves doing their autumnal thing. I was there to hang with friends and specifically to see my friend Soontaree (yes, the cancer survivor) perform. She is a member of the TopCats , the Carolina Panthers cheerleading squad. And she rocks. She was this week's spotlight cheerleader on the Panthers website and in the souvenir program. I've always enjoyed watching friends do their thing, but this was particularly sweet. It's amazing and inspiring to see Soontaree getting the maximum out of life! Go on, girl! The game was a wash, although our endzone seats meant we saw all of scoring (Thanks, Soontaree). And we got to see Soontaree cheer and dance her butt off! But the Panthers, led by Vinny Testaverde, were beaten at home by the lowlier Atlanta Falcons, 13-20. It was cool to see the ancient Morten Anderson kick for the Falcons. Saw him as a tot back at Michig...

Spent part of the afternoon down at Amoeba records. Picked up a sublime disc simply called John Coltrane and Johnny Hartman . The DJs on 88.1 KJAZZ had been talking about it all week long and I had downloaded a Trane podcast that had glowing things to say about the album. My Dad (a true Jazz aficianado) says, Hartman had the best male voice of all the jazz singers, surpassing even Billy Eckstine. It's a mellow album. Coltrane is blowing smooth and pianist McCoy Tyner is on point in accompanying Hartman's baritone vocals. Their version of "Lush Life" is in the Grammy Hall Of Fame. Highest recommendation. I told my Dad, since I'm not versed in standards, it was fun to hear the lyrics to these numbers. Just the age we live in. These songs are ancient by pop standards, but timeless in their presentation. A great disc to unwind with. I'm still waiting for 90 minutes to watch the remastered DVD of HELP! All of the Beatles' movies are favorites of mine. And thi...

That's what's playing right now as I work on the art for the CD. The photo art from the UK arrived yesterday, courtesy of BREADANDSHUTTER.COM . Thanks, Barry. You rock and so does the picture. So I'm diligently pressing forward through fatigue and getting the graphics sorted. I'm listening to Off The Wall , one of the creamiest albums of all time because I'm going to a Grammy Event tonight. Quincy Jones is the guest of honor at a signing for the release of David Wild's new coffee table book "And The GRAMMY Goes To..." I've never met Mr. Jones before and the prospect is pretty exciting. He's produced so many tremendous and influential artists. Mike being number 1. Back to work! Peace & Disco Beats

Whew, like John Lennon said: I'm so tired. But I've never been better! It's been a Hard Day's Week. The return however is worth it. Lots of OT at the studio. Walked past Jack Black on lunch. Hardly recognized him with blond hair. Some of you may know via myspace that my producer Adam Marsland has been nominated in half a dozen categories for Grammy nominations. It's the step before the actually announced Nominations. I'm really happy for him. His LP, Long Promised Road: Songs of Carl & Dennis Wilson Live is impressive. It's actually credited to Adam Marsland's Chaos Band, so if you are a NARAS voter, consider them (and Dennis Wilson) in all applicable categories. Sleep (or nap) beckons. Peace & Disco Beats

Wait til next year! For my tour. And the Tribe. Oh well. I've been working overtime and lots of it getting the CD ready for pressing. I'm almost satisfied with the artwork. Simplify has become my mantra. The mailman brought my Grammy nomination ballot. There are a gazillion nominees to choose from in each category. I've narrowed my choices for album of the year and record of the year. I've been gushing to anyone who'll listen about my favorite discs for the past 10 months. It's been a great year for music. This is still the nominating phase. Pick 5 to move on in the category. Once again though, I'm having trouble with song of the year and the whole R&B field. I'm proud to be a voting member, don't get me wrong. I take it quite seriously. Maybe too much, my friend Dr Rahuna would say. OK here's today's laugh till your sides hurt then laugh some more link, courtesy of Dr Rahuna . It's got to do with Halloween and those nutty Germans. R...

Oh, Holy Night! Zingy! Zingy! Ova- dey ! Cleveland is on the verge of playing for it's second pro title of the year. The Cavs were just too young and overwhelmed. They gave it their best. In no small part due to LeBron . But I must say, Bron, you should have bought an Indians cap. Because, the Plum City's Champs are going to be your next door neighbors from the Jake! I am Chief Wahoo ! Note the resemblance between yours truly and the Indians' mascot. I always have. It's the nose... and the hair... and the big teeth. Anyone who is offended by that logo has to go through me. I bought this new cap today. My Joe Charboneau vintage hat from 1981 is about to bite the dust and I no longer want to wear it in public. I wore it last Sunday, then retired it. Maybe I should send it to Bron. Ha ha. The Cleveland Indians are the shiz ! And behind big old C.C. tomorrow they advance to the World Series. The Indians haven't won a Series since the Truman administration. That's...

Hey All, I'm back from Florida. The sunshine state was great for the weekend. Lots of sun and good times with all my cousins and grandmother. Only got into the ocean once, the sea was kind of rough. Of course, it was a good weekend for Cleveland. Being in Fla, I got to watch the Browns beat the Dolphins on TV . Oceanside, no less. It's the American way, I told my cousin Pete, watching sports while on vacation at the beach. Ha ha. At least we were grilling by the late afternoon. While I was in Melbourne, I dropped by WMEL for a guest spot on Pop Garden Radio, Saturday. The entire Pop Garden Radio podcast is up and available at http://popgardenradio.podbean.com/ . There are three segments to listen to. Originally, I was going to go in for the first hour of the show, but wound up previewing the entire LP and chatting at length with Adam Waltemire . I hope you all enjoy it. It was fun being in the studio. We discussed the process of making "A Talent For Loving," working ...

Hey All, Exciting news. I am scheduled to appear on-air with host Adam Waltemire on Pop Garden Radio ( WMEL ) this Saturday night, Oct. 13 . The show originates from Florida and begins at 10 pm EST. I will be on in the first hour. Adam and I will be discussing music and giving world radio premieres to tracks from A Talent For Loving . This will be my second time on the show and I'm even more excited this go round. For those of you who don't stay up late, Pop Garden Radio is available as a podcast . I hope you will all tune in for the program in real time or in pod time. Peace & Disco Beats

Well, the Browns weren't embarrassed too badly today. Almost beat the spread against the Pats. Just waiting for the Tribe game to begin. And napping. Been pulling lots of OT to get the record finished and pressed. But it's worth it. Forgot to write about this earlier in the week, but on Tuesday night I went to the Groundlings in Hollywood for comedy. It was a showcase for the characters of Jeremy Rowley called Inland Empire . He's a very funny dude and his best personae are just twisted. Being a Groundlings show he was aided and abetted by two of my favorite cast members: Jordan Black and Tim Brennen . The show was brief, about 40 minutes, but perfect in that hit & run sketch style. Love that improv, too. The ghetto PBS spoof "Git Lernt" was riotous; I'm always pleased when my suggestions are pulled for a routine. Mr. Rowley and Mr. Black ran with "The Private Life of William Howard Taft." My favorite improved line about the obese president: ...

Be a believer. Fellow Clevelanders, check out this trip down memory lane, circa 1980. Indian Fever (right click to save, link courtesy Minn Star Trib). Download and enjoy as the Indians dismantle the damn Yankees! Go Tribe! Peace & Disco Beats

Hey Soul Mates, it's official. I am going solo with the new LP and I want to take a moment to thank my brothers-in-arms. Bryan and Doug, you will always be my brothers and I will always cherish the music we made together. I wish you both the best in life, always. OK, time to ramp this all up! Not wrap it up. The CD is on the way. The backing band is being formulated. The whole enchilada is gonna make you groove. Got lots to do! New changes have been made to the myspace page with more to come. I hope that you will all continue to support what I do and enjoy the entertainment I desire to bring to you. xx Peace and Disco Beats!

Thanks for stopping by my blog. Been a while, but blogger has been a little shaky lately. I've been extraordinarily busy the past two weeks. It's been very eventful and fraught with trials and tribulations. And that's just the Browns. Been hanging out on Sundays with hometown peeps watching the Brownies do their thing. Mainly, I've been keeping my creativity flowing by listening to a lot, a lot of jazz. I discovered a new, old LP, that I'm really digging. It's In Orbit , by the Clark Terry Quartet with Thelonious Monk. Sublime flugelhorn blowing by Mr. Terry and one of the rare occasions that Monk was a sideman. Philly Joe Jones and Sam Jones are the rhythm gang on this 1958 set. Most of the discs I've immersed myself in are from 1957-60. That period after Rock and Roll had flamed out half a century ago there was some amazing jazz being put on wax. Miles Davis' Kind of Blue is always close at hand on the iPod . My buddy Crinz says that Davis should...

Hey Soul Mates, surprise! I decided this morning to goose the universe by posting Everything My Heart Desires to our myspace page . This full-length slow jam is available only for streaming via the site. We hope that you'll enjoy it! We've gotten our first drafts of logo ideas from Alphabet Arm and have traded notes on modifications, alterations. A fascinating process. Once we get our arty visuals done, we'll get the CD's pressed. We are also working on the date for the CD release show. Most of the venue choices here in L.A. are slim, but we'll do it for the fans! Re: my last blog. Yes, Xto, Paula Abdul immediately came to mind, but this was way worse. Vibeology was a jam. The heat has returned to Los Angeles. Ugh. Nap time . Love, Power, Peace

Hey Soul Mates, true to everything you've heard about last night's MTV awards in Las Vegas, Britney Spears' return was a train wreck for the ages. She looks great for a 25 year old mom of two. But that's about it. She can no longer dance or lip-sync. And she definitely shouldn't have been wearing a sequined bikini. Pretty embarrassing. Half-way through the number she clearly gave up. I couldn't tell if the audience was more flummoxed by Spears or the skewering she received right after from the insanely funny Sarah Silverman who cracked-wise. Silverman was so on point that the celebs at the Palms got really quite so as not to draw attention to themselves and be called out. Choice line: "There's (rapper) 50 Cent. It's sooo cute that you're still alive." Contrary to other reports, the rest of the show was equally bad. Haphazard, with poorly shot performances. And the format stunk. There's nothing worse, or excluding, than watching peop...

Hey Soul Mates, damn. It's been hot on this part of planet Earth. I've been digesting lots of musical information. Finished reading the first two 33 1/3 books I bought then went back to the Skylight yesterday for two more: Beastie Boys' Paul's Boutique and Sly & The Family Stone's There's A Riot Goin ' On . It's got me thinking I should write one of these myself. In a related development, yesterday's New York Times Sunday had a great interview with Rick Rubin ( uber -producer/co-president of Columbia Records). It was entirely enlightening on many levels. There's a brief history of DefJam along with Rubin's take on the world of recorded music. Check it out, if you are even remotely interested in the hurdles facing our band and the industry at large. My favorite line in the article: " MySpace is over." There were things we certainly knew, things that are writing on the wall; but Rubin expresses a nice level of optimism,too. K...

Hey Soul Mates, at 12:49 pst, I called my brother. I said, "I'm looking at Indiana Jones." Have a great 3 day weekend! Love, Power, Peace

Hey Soul Mates, I've just come in from the rain. It's been muggy and humid all day and finally, the rain has arrived. Hopefully not too much, because a bunch of us are going over to the Huntington this evening for their final Summer 'do. I spent the afternoon browsing the shops along Vermont in Los Feliz . It's a pretty cool neighborhood. It's the home to my favorite Indian restaurant, Electric Lotus. I've done the Dresden, with it's 50's kitsch and nightly entertainment from Marty and Elayne. Haven't really walked around the area in the day time before. Mainly, I was there to visit the Skylight bookstore. It's a funky independent shop. Lots of off-kilter greeting cards (Sept. birthdays watch out). And a cool selection of books. I bought a handful of titles that I'm going to start reading the second I'm done typing. There is a series of paperbacks called 33 1/3 that place famous or notorious albums in their historical, cultural and arti...

Hey Soul Mates, midweek check-in. It's been busy times in the City of Light. Last night, I made my first visit to the Grammy offices on Pico . I attended a panel discussion called Unsigned and Making It. As soon as I got the invitation to the event and saw the title, I knew attendance was compulsory. The evening focused on how unsigned artists can benefit from licensing songs, even without a record deal. Recent Island Def Jam signees the 88 (whos songs have been featured in the O.C ., Grey's , TV commercials, etc) were on the panel along with several prominent music supervisors. The sups had lots of good info about what they are looking for and what goes on in clearing licenses for film, TV and video games. The video game info blew my mind, in terms of demographics, sales and music opportunities. Got to do the 15 second pitch and hand off CDs to the sups (Bryan and I have also been sending out CDs to the music sups we know). Here's to hearing Rush Hour Soul in the next b...

Hey Soul Mates, as you know, I have to "watch" the Cleveland Browns' games via ticker. And let me tell you, Brady Quinn just marched down the field, firing 6 of 7 for 63 yards, and threw for a TD on his first pro drive. Spectacular. Yeah, it's preseason against 3rd stringers from Detroit, but I'll take it! His first throw was for 30 yards. Go Dawgs , Go! Never mind the score, this is what us Browns' fans have been waiting for since Bernie and Brian. The "B" theme is not coincidental. In band news, we're in the process of having our logo done. It's going to be sweet y'all. The fellas at Alphabet Arm are cooking up something wonderful, for sure. Had a great discussion with Aaron about the image and direction of the group. We also had A Talent For Loving remastered, the first version wasn't up to standards, but now it's so fresh and so clean, clean. We also reordered the track listing, so Talent jump starts to album. Bryan and I ...

Hey Soul Mates, Hollywood, late night entertainment. Stopped in the 3 Clubs last night to see my friend Scott Halper in one of his many bands, The Digs. Nice, late 60's country-rock. Think Byrds , Badfinger . Scott (one of the baddest bass players in L.A.) is also in Monogroove , who have shared the bill with us before. Anyway, it was the first time I'd seen a live act in that bar since seeing Orson there in 2005. There is actually a stage now and the sound was quite good. The 3 Clubs simply has vibe pouring from it. Very nifty. Before the set, Scott and I had nice discussion. We traded notes on where we've played and would like to play. I always enjoy talking to other American musicians who've played overseas. Everyone seems to have the same impression that live music is vital everywhere on planet Earth except here at home. Well, I've got to put in a call to Alphabet Arm for our logo/graphic design. Exciting! Have a cool Thursday, all. Love, Power, Peace

Hey Soul Mates, only in Los Angeles. I went to the market up the street yesterday afternoon, just after blogging and ran into George Wendt . Hardly said "hello," but it was fun seeing him. I nearly ran back to him to thank him for making "Norm" relatively cool. My parents saddled me with a crappy name that had no positive connections in pop culture at the time and hasn't exactly gained cache since. Kind of like "A Boy Named Sue." I hope. Thanks to Cheers , at least " Noooooorm !" replaced references to Norman Bates in Psycho and worse. Plus the writers always gave Mr. Wendt clever things to say on the show, like the classic "It's a dog eat dog world, and I'm wearing Milkbone underwear." And the immortal: "Women. You can't live with 'em. Pass the beernuts ." Anyway, I left Mr. Wendt alone and continued my quest to alter the connotations of my own name. Later in the evening, we found ourselves in San Mari...

FOOTBAWL ! Hey Soul Mates, just checking in on a beautiful, sunny Sunday. North Hollywood is actually restful today. In case you hadn't heard football season is almost upon us. American football that is. The Browns won a close preseason game last night in Cleveland. I'm wringing the Internet for analysis on the game. Certainly wasn't on TV. And as I told my Dad yesterday, I don't expect to see the Browns on TV at all this season (Sporting News' predicted finish 3-13. Ouch). Doesn't mean I won't be rooting for them and wearing the Orange and Brown. I usually spend Sunday mornings "watching" the play-by-play on the computer. Kind of like Football-by-Telegraph. That's the 21st Century! In band news, we have begun our quest for a logo. Something nice and sharp that will represent RHS . I've tried my hand at graphic design and only got so far. Time for professionals! We've been in contact with the good folks at Alphabet Arm . Check out thei...

Hey Soul Mates, here are the first pictures of the band out of it's cocoon. The chrysalis called the Rush Hour Soul by the cognoscenti. We start with the beginning and the end of our show Saturday at the Alterknit Lounge. If you've been to our myspace page, you've seen the new head shot . We had a photo shoot in the beautiful NoHo subway. Ah, home turf. Official photos by Patty Tokahuta as usual. My Mom caught the candid shot of Bryan and me laughing about Aqua Teen Hunger Force. The ladies were trying to decide if I was in purple or aubergine. Ha ha. And yes, the clothes were cleaned between the show and the shoot. Above and beyond, I want to give a special shoutout and thanks to our Super dog , Doug. Thanks for being brilliant on and lovely throughout. All credit where it's due. Those beats, those beats! We will miss you, but you'll always be in our hearts. True believers, the globe is about to know about Rush Hour Soul. As the Jacksons once posed that musica...

Hey Soul Mates, thanks to the legion of ladies who danced and sang to the Rush Hour Soul at the Alterknit Lounge for International Pop Overthrow Saturday night. Oh, what a night. That's a hot little room. Thanks for adding to the heat! It was nice to have MC David Bash declare us one of the best dressed acts in music. We are just a reflection of our fans! Set list: Fall Out/Planet Rock Everyone's Ingenue I Can't Cry For You Everything My Heart Desires U Had The $ A Talent For Loving Encore: Done Lost My Mind As you may have noticed, our website and myspace are getting makeovers. We're finally going to get professional help... ha ha, for homepages. Be sure to refresh your pages, sometimes those cookies get stale. That way you have the most up-to-date versions of our websites on your screen. If you have RHS banners on myspace , be sure to update your profiles, the code is just slightly different. Have a great week everyone. Love, Power, Peace

Hey Soul Mates, nah, it's not He-Man, I'm just listening to our just delivered Masterdisc of RUSH HOUR SOUL , our self-titled album. Wow. It's huge. I forsee a number One, a handful of Grammy's, a world tour and meeting all of you smiling people in 2007/8. Thanks to everyone of our MySpace friends who clocked in with their votes for the Free download we will unleash this afternoon. Fall Out was the winner and the track will be made available this afternoon thru MySpace. Back to work! Love, Power, Peace

Hey Soul Mates, last night, I went to the opening of this year's IPO LA. Saw an old friend, Steve Bertrand (formerly of the Tories) who did some fantastic new tunes from his recently released solo disc. Following him was a raucous L.A. band called the Procession , who were wild to behold. After them, came Carnie Wilson (yep, that Carnie Wilson from Wilson Phillips). She has a heavenly voice, must be the genes! She did God Only Knows and Sail On, Sailor (two of my favorite Beach Boys songs) in her set. Simpsons' mania is gripping the nation, so I thought I'd get gripped. Here's yours truly, Simpsonized. Go Brownies! That's my own personal touch, since training camp started yesterday. Gotta run. Have a great weekend, all. Love, Power, Peace

Hey Soul Mates, wow, what a week. Our album is near completion. The mastering is almost finished. What I can announce is the release of our RINGTONE! That's right, you can have A Talent For Loving blast from your mobile every time destiny calls... or anyone else for that matter. Just click the icon above! This will definitely work for US carriers, international fans check the small print. The ringtone is only $1.99, standard text messaging rates apply and all that fun stuff. Details can be found on the MyxerTone site. My suggestion, get the tone then have the friend standing next to you call you and dance to the music. Answering the phone is optional. Looks like Fall Out will be our free single on MySpace next week, unless there is a major turn of events. Reminder: we are 8 days away from our return to the live stage. However, there was a brief appearance by RHS down at the Shore, Hermosa Beach on Tuesday. We played with the house band and performed Everyone's Ingenue and ou...

Bon jour, Soul Mates, hope it's been a great week for all of you. Here's the latest going on with Rush Hour Soul. In the past week, we've made over a hundred new friends in the UK on MySpace . We couldn't be more pleased. We hope to be at 3000 dedicated friends by the release of our free download. A lot of you have been enjoying our latest video addition to YouTube . It's us performing Bad Penny Blues at the now defunct Bar120 in Huddersfield. Many of our fans from Hudds can be seen dancing to the sunshine funk. Several of you have mentioned the ringtones to me. Well, A Talent For Loving is being remixed in York, as I type. Once we get the new mix, we will launch our ringtones . The work should be done by Monday as that is the day we are expected to deliver our masters to the mastering house! Tomorrow, we begin rehearsals for our show on August 4. We will start the day with our first official photo shoot in a year. So it will be a busy day for your RHS . In per...

Hey Soul Mates, so much to report on a Friday. Usually a slow news day. Here's the scoop. RHS is currently appearing in the OurStage music contest. We go head-to-head with other songs in a contest featuring cash prizes. Yow! Just one more way to get our music heard and build the bank for our return to the UK. OK, you may have read it on our myspace and it sounds too good to be true? NO! RHS RINGTONES are coming to your phone this month. YES! Once we get the mastering finished for the LP (next week), we will begin unleashing supersoul ringtones for your cellphone. So get it charged up! Only in America? We hope it's global. Finally, we are close to announcing a release date and show to coincide with the release of our debut CD. Don't forget that tickets are still available on TicketWeb for our show on August 4. Have a great weekend. Love, Power, Peace

To be delivered today to our mailing list... Hey Soul Mates, Happy 4 th of July Week. Hope you are getting your independence on. Just in time for the fireworks, we've got some big news. It's been half a year since last we took the stage. In one month, we'll be back to entertain you in person. International Pop Overthrow Los Angeles is presenting us at the Knitting Factory's AlterKnit Lounge. This is an all ages show on Saturday August 4. We take the stage at 9 PM. But here's the rub. This is going to be a massive show and the capacity for the Lounge is only 100. We highly recommend getting tickets in advance! And get there early to get close to the stage. For ticket info visit TicketWeb . Once more: RUSH HOUR SOUL 9 PM, SAT. AUG. 4 at the Knitting Factory's AlterKnit Lounge 7021 Hollywood Boulevard Los Angeles , CA 90028 323-463-0204 ALL AGES Tickets are $10 Parking available underground Visit the venue website for directions to the Knitting Factory . The ...

Hey Soul Mates, it's done and it's on. Since it's already Tuesday in Great Britain, we have to get this party started. For those of you who are also friends on MySpace , run don't walk your mouse to our page. We've posted song samples for three of our new tracks: Fall Out, U Had The $ and Everything My Heart Desires . Visit the page and listen. Then, leave a comment to vote for your favorite. The song with the most comments by July 31 will be made available as a free download on August 1. Just in time for our next show on August 4. We especially want to hear from our fans in the UK. We miss you and we know you've been clamoring for the music. Did any of you watch the Concert For Diana? Pretty great stuff. Who knew P. Diddy would give one of the most tasteful performances of the night? He represented America quite well. His Q&A was spot on, too. We were also thrilled that our peers Orson made it on the bill. Bravo, fellas. And it's always fun to see Dura...

Hey Soul Mates, as many of you may know from visiting our Myspace page, the band has something up their sleeves to announce on Tuesday. I'll give you the scoop here: it involves our new self-titled album. We are going to let you, our fans, vote for a track that we will then give away on Myspace. There will be three song samples to choose from and voting will last for 3 weeks; so get ready. This is very exciting for us as we haven't had new studio music available in almost a year. And we certainly hope that you are excited about it too. You'll be able to download the track and play it to your heart's content on your computer, iPod, whateva. In other music news, A Talent For Loving will be remixed for the album. And we thought the original version was great. But co-producer Jim Rix told us he wanted to squeeze some more sound out of it. Rock on, Sunny Jim! Don't forget, we are only a month away now from the re-emergence of RHS on the live scene. We'll be playing...

Hey Soul Mates, I've spent the past week deconstructing and reconstructing my office space. It's actually an office and there's actually space. Amazing. I'm becoming addicted to a place called the Container Store. Thanks to the help of Star Hansen (see Simplified Spaces ), I'm getting hecka organized. Years of paperwork and lyrics filed into archives. The music collection actually looks like one, rather than a bunch of moving boxes filled with CDs . My basses are going to have a real home. It's like clearing clutter from your brain. You don't realize how much junk you own until a third party says, "Hey, what are you keeping that for?" I'm quite excited about it, because I'll be able to get back to writing music after this project is done. While doing all of this cleaning however, I've been listening to two more very good new LPs that are out. The White Stripes doing more of their dirty blues on Icky Thump and Paul McCartney giving th...

Well, you might ask. Hey Soul Mates, I took a week off. Went to see friends from high school in Jacksonville last weekend. Which was great. Hung out with the best of the lot. Fantastic to see all of you. Especially my old band mates from my first group (well, I see Mike and Mark all the time, but drummer Sherman - not so much). Fellow Duranie , Deb, an avid reader of this blog (HI, DEB!) with whom I discussed the few half-decent concerts that rolled through town back in the day. Not like L.A., if a decent act came within the county everyone went. But hey, I saw Duran Duran (!), The Jacksons, Teena Marie and Tom Petty back when. She also reminded me of our first dance in Middle School. Ha ha. Love ya, Deb. My buddy Jeff, whose wife brought a recipe for hoecakes. Yes, hoecakes. It's a long story and it involves a bus ride to Tallahassee. ' Nuff said. Jeff now designs golfcourses, and you thought I was living the dream! And of course, this is the crew at the microbrew . Including...

Hey Soul Mates, the session wrapped around 3 a.m. Rub and Reveal, Steve! Haven't been to bed. One track is a redo already, but c'est la vie. The LP is right! TGIF! Love, Power, Peace

Hey Soul Mates, we are one song away ("Down By Love") from finishing our debut album. This is quite exciting. The mixing process has been a long, but rewarding journey. Last night, the midnight lamp nearly ran outta oil as the session wrapped around 3 a.m. again. Four songs were completed and in a few short days, I'll post the CD's track listing in its running order. Hard to fathom, but one year ago today, RHS was at the Bedford in London shooting our first video for "A Talent For Loving." I'm celebrating the anniversary by watching the clip again. As we have another session for mixing and the Cavaliers are playing their first ever NBA Finals game, I won't have time to post any new pics or our superboot today. But I will have plenty of new photos next week. It's also Prince's birthday and as he is one of my MAJOR influences: Happy Birthday, Prince!! Love, Power, Peace