Norman's Rockwell

Last night's performance at Skinny's was a barnburner, if one is still allowed to burn the barn. International Pop Overthrow came to North Hollywood, literally blocks from my place. I got to walk to the gig; shades of Liverpool. The communal aura of IPO is one of my favorite parts of the festival. I was thrilled by Math & Science , the first band of the night. They were a lot of fun and I hope to check them out again soon. There are a few more must sees this week at IPO. But onto my recap... There was an enthusiastic, large crowd packed into Skinny's living room setting. The vibe of the place is very cool. Feels like you're playing at home. The stage lights are bright and until I sauntered into the crowd during the vamp of our last number, I had no idea just how many people were in the audience. I could hear them singing along, especially on the ballads, however. It was a treat to see Ruth and Peter from Spygenius (who were here all the way from the UK). The In...

Alright friends, the moment has come. The official music video for my single Huckleberry Finn is up for viewing on YouTube! Check it out. Summertime has a new groove and it's called Huckleberry Finn. Yup, I even posted it to Mark Twain's facebook page. He was a major inspiration and his work ranks among my favorites. I might even dress in all white like Twain for tonight's show at Skinny's. You'll have to be there to know first. In the meantime, dig the video. Please share it. I love it. You will, too!

Yesterday was a musical one. First, I had a productive rehearsal with the Initmitables in Venice Beach. It was nice to get out the Valley and into the cool air of the shore. We ran through the songs for tomorrow night's show at Skinny's and had a lot of fun doing it. We are missing our maestro, Adam Marsland, who is on tour; so the tunes took on a bluesier and more guitar driven sound. Kevin Jarvis and Teresa Cowles (Happy Birthday, T) are a rock solid rhythm section that will keep you dancing. I am playing rhythm guitar in a band setting for the first time in perhaps 25 years. I would have to ask the archivists in Jacksonville. It is a gas playing along Evie Sands, anchoring the lead guitar, who is simply marvelous at all she does. It's a festival set, meaning we have about 30 minutes to play. So we will be hitting the highlights from On The Rebound, including my latest single "Huckleberry Finn." Don't miss this show, as I have nothing else scheduled fo...

We had a full day of taping Huckleberry Finn around the Valley. Burbank, Tujunga Village and North Hollywood. Never far from home, but apparently much closer to the surface of the sun than the day before. We started on the abandoned railroad tracks in Burbank that become the Chandler bike path, where Sunday's shoot took place. Much more of the day's work involved me singing along with the track. My video collaborator Andy Shuford gave me a specific task for the timing of the vocal. I won't spoil the surprise here. It was challenging to remember the words I wrote and sang myself with the slight alteration; but the end result is going to be fun to see. Art pushes back on artist. My cast was gracious again, with a special nod and bow to Gina Quintana. She played an expanded role in the video as my ethereal stylist. Gina performed all of her appointed actions with a dancer's elegance; it was choreography after all. We had fun with all of the wardrobe and props that wer...

Today was the first day of a two day shoot for my new music video for Huckleberry Finn. Our location was a tranquil spot in North Hollywood. This is my first time co-directing and it was a tightrope act with plenty of thrills. Fortunately, I am collaborating with a very talented director/DP, Andrew Shuford . He and I have combined on some neat ideas. Although there is nothing new under the sun, its our new and its our sun, and mercifully, it stayed under triple digits today. The cast for today included some of my favorite local performers and personalities: Rob Z , Teresa Cowles, Camille Santochi, Parnell Marcano, Tara Varilek, Chervet McCain, Micah McCain (no relation), Gerry Katzman , and the mysterious William Draven . Behind the scenes: Kristine Castano  was invaluable, as were Patty Tokahuta-Kelsey and Kristee Laiva. We got some great footage with all of the actors who were given a specific bit of business to perform with me. I can't wait for you all to see the results....