Norman's Rockwell

Hey Soul Mates, what a couple of days it's been. First off, I'm pleased to say that I'll be visiting my friend Susan (from the previous blog) in about 10 days time. That's right: I'll be swinging into town like Jake Speed ! I've never been to Seattle and there's no time like the present . And that's the word for it, because I feel it's a gift to have the chance to see Susan. Thanks to all of our high school classmates who have sent me notes and words to take to her when I go. Keep the e-mails coming. Second, you've heard me talk about my friend, Soontaree Simms , who is still looking for a bone marrow match ( donor match info ). In her efforts to remain healthy and upbeat, Soontaree has landed on the roster of cheerleaders for the Carolina Panthers ! She will be one of the TopCats for the 2007 football season. How amazing is that?! I'm proud of her and excited that she is in a place to have accomplished this. Bravo, Soontaree ! Thankfully,...

This one is for my dear friend, Susan Carpenter . I had a frustrating weekend in the studio. Quite a bit of trouble finding my voice for the recording sessions. We made the decision to postpone Sunday's work. Didn't get a lot of sleep and my vocal chords hadn't gotten back up to go. So, I spent most of Sunday sleeping, watching my Hoyas advance to the Sweet 16. All of that doesn't amount to much. A hill of beans. Because that's some stupid shit to get worked up about. I'd like to take a moment to give a shout out to my soul sista, Susan, one of my best friends from Terry Parker High School. Susan, you were my right hand woman on the Student Council, a voice of reason with Catskills timing. There are pictures to prove it. (That's her highlighted in red, one of our school colors, no less!). Yes, embarrassing for all of us, but I'll cop to it. It was perfect, because you and Robert Lewis (to my left) were both a foot shorter than me. That's the hallmark...

Hey Soul Mates, perhaps we'll go back tomorrow and try it again. Go Hoyas. Love, Power, Peace

Hoya Hoya Saxa for the dear old Blue and Gray! Hey Soul Mates, I had to keep from shouting too much as I watched Jeff Green hit that 2 pointer with 2.5 seconds remaining to seal Georgetown's Sweet 16 win over Vanderbilt. My Hoyas are going wild! I managed to avoid hearing any scores or anything about the game, since I recorded it. Thanks to Christo and Rick for taking my psychic energy to New Jersey. Great talking to you both after the game. At least I jumped up and down as Green's shot went in. It's hard scheduling vocal sessions during the NCAA hoops tournament. March is Madness. Now silence is golden. That being said. It's time for some warm tea and honey and then sleep. Lots of it. Have a great weekend. I'll check in after tomorrow's sessions. We'll be going from noon on. I will not be answering or using my phone as that really strains my voice, but leave messages if you like. Love, Power, Peace

Hey Soul Mates, we are down to the vocals on our album. Well and a few keyboard parts. Bryan did a herculean job of putting down the guitars on Monday night. His work on Sucka and U Had The $, particularly. Lots of funky textures and brilliant solos across the board. I know Bry was relieved to get his parts finished. We were at the studio until 1:30 a.m. Long night. Now onto the voices in my head and getting them out. Ha ha. Tonight, I will be collecting the instrumentals to work with for the next few days. Adam (Marsland, our producer) and I have been discussing arrangements and are very excited about this phase of the project. We've both been listening to and talking about the Bee Gees... a lot. Believe it or not. Not that we are going for that sound, but for that kind of approach. Pursuing some harmonies that you might not hear us perform on stage because we are a limited company. Plus, you know me, it's all about those falsetto parts. Curtis Mayfield, Barry Gibb. It's ...

This one goes out to the one I love, You're all that I could want in this world. You're everything my heart desires. You're all that I could ask in a girl, You're everything my heart desires. Hope all of you out there have yours, too. Or that you'll get it soon. Love, Power, Peace

Hey Soul Mates, Bryan just dropped me off from our recording session at the Lincoln Lounge. It went very well. We started by polishing off the bass parts. Mainly, I had to do a complete take of Everything My Heart Desires, which is a bassline I really enjoy playing . Then we cleaned up a few mistakes on other tracks and my work for the night was done. Then it was Bryan's turn to put down lots and lots of guitar parts. He was sizzling by the time we wrapped up. The solo section on Fall Out is superb. Frankly, the whole project is coming together nicely. There are a multitude of hits on it, waiting to move you. We have sessions lined up for tomorrow night, as well as next weekend. Tomorrow we'll complete the guitars. The weekend is reserved for the vocals. Perhaps after we get our next batch of instrumental mixes, we'll post snippets on myspace. I am thrilled that My Hoyas are going back to the Sweet 16. But the game against former Big East rivals, Boston College was more ...

Hey Soul Mates, Saturday night, I managed to have a full audience with the Monarch of Rock and Roll. The Architect. The Originator. That's right, we went to see Little Richard at the House of Blues in Anaheim. It was the perfect venue for him. Large stage. SRO crowd. Richard doesn't do a lot of shows and with the recent passings of Ray Charles, Johnny Cash and James Brown, the audience was ready to show their appreciation for this true survivor. At show time, the curtains parted to reveal a 9 piece band (4 horns, guitarist, bassist, keyboards, and 2 drummers), who did a particularly mean opening blast of classic R&B and funk riffing. Little Richard emerged from the wings in a gold suit dripping with sequins. Even his golden Cuban heeled boots were dazzling. The venue roared its welcome and applauded for several minutes solid before anything else could happen, Little Richard balanced on the lip of the stage flashing his 36 million record selling smile. He came out on crutch...

Hey Soul Mates, just wrapped up reading Michael Jacobson's debut novel Jacob Have I Loved . I'm very proud of Mikey for writing a page-turner about two fictitious, semi-famous siblings. He studies the ill-will and gauzy reminiscences generated by the death of the more popular of two brothers; the surviving one charged with eulogizing by writing the "celebrity biography." In this age of minutia filled tell- alls , hyper-instant Hollywood news and the mind-blowing societal focus on casualties like Anna Nicole Smith, Jacob Have I Loved couldn't be more timely. Ultimately, the story is less about the "Star" than those left to sort through the pieces, question their own motivations and figure out what on earth fanatics see in their idols. Finally got to see a bit of Locksley on the Jimmy Kimmel show. I'll have to go get their new album tomorrow. They have a couple of fun videos posted on their myspace page. I'm digging the stop motion on Why Can...

Hey Soul Mates, it's Friday. Been a long, cold week in the Valley. Last night, I heard a new instrumental mix of U Had The $ and it rocks the house. Lots of fun hearing our new tracks come together. I also set the WayBack Machine to 2000 A.D. and listened to some of my older material. One of my eight year old compositions was requested for submission for placement in a TV show. So I figured I had better check it out again before sending it. It was interesting hearing parts and performances that I hadn't thought about for nearly a decade. I honestly don't listen to any self-penned material that the band doesn't currently perform or isn't working on. I find it's only healthy in the smallest of doses to revisit my musical history. In a blast from our recent past, Locksley a band out of NYC (via Madison, WI) that played with us in Sheffield & Liverpool last year is going to be on the Jimmy Kimmel Show tonight. That's very cool. I'm pleased for them....