Latest Posts

1. Cranked

   July 5, 2004 8:18 am Leave a Comment

   Just finished the final touches of the websites supporting the release “unamerican” on July 4. I had the song available for download at about 11:30pm, so it wasn’t much of a window for people to get to (not that there’s anyone there, there, anyway, but i really felt strongly about releasing this song on July 4. So much of the inspiration for this song came from conversations and thoughts about the Founding Fathers, the sacrifices they endured, the risks they took, and the brilliance in creating a system of democracy. a few years ago, I overheard a couple of leftist, pot-smoking, tree-huggers (as Rush likes to say) talking about John Adams and Thomas Jefferson in very revered and passionate terms. I was surprised by the apparent dichotomy of progressives talking about patriotism and the essence of american values. It got me thinking – a lot. One day I was driving along the California coast thinking about a conversation I had with my friend Leslie about how great it is to live in america. I wouldn’t call Leslie a conservative in any way, so that conversation caught me a little by surprise, too. Anyway, I started thinking about how fortunate I feel to be living in America, and how outraged I get when people suggest that protesting the war or being concerned about the environment is “unamerican”. actually, i don’t really get outraged. I’m just really confused (given the core American values of freedom of speech and assembly) as to how exercising one’s freedoms is unamerican. So this song is dedicated to Karl Rove, GeeDub, and the whole GeeDub crew. Blessings on you, and i wish you well in whatever you find yourself doing in November 2004.

2. And they’re off…

   July 2, 2004 6:22 pm Leave a Comment

   Going into the studio tonight to record “unamerican”. I’m totally psyched, as this will be the first time in the studio recording a song with lyrics for me. I did some semi-improvisational piano as an audition to music school in 1990, and haven’t recorded since. I’m going to Little Buddha studios, which seems like a good place to start things off.

3. Activation

   June 21, 2004 1:57 am Leave a Comment

   Had my first truly public performance last night at Activ8, a political activation event. I was part of the ceremony and played my song “unamerican”. Someone came up to me afterwards asking for a copy of the song so he could learn guitar and play it for his kids. I was pretty blown away. i told him I was planning to record it, but that I had a dinky home-made mp3 I’d send him. Anyway, it was cool to get that kind of feedback. Turns out, he was an advisor to the Kucinich campaign. It’s a shame that campaign didn’t last longer. Even though I had questions about his viability as an electable candidate, I still think he had some very compelling things to say, and a fresh perspective that I really appreciated. So it was nice to get some positive feedback from a member of that campaign.

4. So We Begin…

   February 7, 2004 8:23 pm Leave a Comment

   I’ve been playing music since I was 8. I can sit down at a piano and extemporaneously express emotion on the keyboard almost as easily as I can talk. Certainly, that’s the role music has played in my life to date. On January 1, I decided to dedicate time and energy to not just making music, but writing songs and performing them as well. This decision came after a year or so of soul-searching, looking for direction and purpose in my life. the events of 9/11 made it clear that continuing to live life “as normal” no longer fit for me. The idea of working more 80 hour weeks to sell high-speed routers and devise “integrated marketing” campaigns for Fortune 1000 clients felt not only empty, but a gross misuse of my time and passion for contributing to the world. So I chose to make music. My goals for the year are first public performance on July 17, 40 songs written by September 1, and an album complete and ready to send to friends and family by December 1.