Norman's Rockwell

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