August 27, 2010

BELIEVE

'Most Haunted' is my favorite show and I fantasize of leaving my life to join their team. I've seen every episode available and have visited several locations. I plan to take a trip to Europe to hit every spot.

August 25, 2010

GET LOST






Yesterday was an emotionally unique day, the kind where you can feel that you need to pay attention to...something. It was two-fold and began with 'Eat Pray Love'. We've all seen the movie (the cool kids have read the book)...and we know how deeply awakening Liz Gilbert's story is. We want to 'find ourselves' asap, and dream of what it will feel like when we do. That's why her experience is so dear.

I really loved the film, my sister Grace and I had a smile on our faces the entire time-except when we were crying into our movie butter-soaked napkins. My favorite part was when she replayed her wedding dance in her mind, connecting with her husband's spirit to ease his pain. That concept of revisiting a painful moment (maybe even years later) and working it out soul-to-soul is at the core of spiritual study...and I was thrilled to see it on the screen.

Last weekend, my cousin Shanna was in a horrible motorcycle accident that left her in a coma...un-responsive and not breathing on her own. Her sister Talor, a full-time mother and career woman, put everything on pause to stay by Shanna every moment. It has been a scary week, not knowing if she would live.

Well towards the end of 'Eat Pray Love' my mom texted us to say Shanna came out of her coma!! The first thing she asked for was her sister. As if I weren't already a glorious tearful mess from the beautiful movie, now I really lost it and wept uncontrollably. As the movie ended, we had to stay in the theatre to get our blubbering out in the dark. I grabbed my sister and couldn't let go. I whispered 'If I woke up from a coma, you're the first person I'd ask for.' That's when she tore away and ran to the bathroom.

It was a powerful day in my life.

SO, on the way home, my sister had a peculiar but understandable reaction to the movie...she was bummed. Bummed that she is stuck in the working world...bummed that she can't take off for a year of global soul searching. It got me thinking about something said towards the end of the movie...our soul discovery may be external or INTERNAL. To feel connected to the Light, you do not need to drop your life and travel. You can open your mind anytime you want and create beauty out of the smallest ideas. A flower in your car, a foot bath at the end of the day, a cup of tea before bed.

To take this one step further, I do believe we are most happy when we are doing good deeds for others. We want to inspire ourselves simply to reach an open state of servitude. With that in mind, here are some more ideas that can benefit others, at the same time as yourself: (I mean, a foot bath is glorious, but completely self serving : ))

*Ask to paint someone's walls or a piece of their furniture when they need it
*Scrub the floors of your neighborhood Temple or Church
*Bake/cook for a someone as a surprise
*Write someone a random appreciation letter

All these ways of connecting and more are right under your nose for the doing. So go get lost in your own journey and never feel far from your Soul.

August 24, 2010

FAME vs. ARTISTRY-Bob Lefsetz

I subscribe to Bob Lefsetz blogs on the entertainment industry, and love 
reading his take. He is just the right balance of cynicism and genius. 
It will take 5 minutes out of your already full day, but read the amazing 
blog below titled 'Fame Vs. Artistry' and subscribe if you like. 
(this is all showingup on my page with seperated words, but read through anyway)
_________________________________________________________

http://www.lefsetz.com/lists/?p=subscribe&id=1
http://www.twitter.com/lefsetz

Used to be they went hand in hand. That's no longer the case. Used to be it 
was very hard to be famous. But now Perez Hilton has risen from nothing to 
tell us...What, he's another bitchy man who wants to play on the A team?

And what is the A team? A bunch of no-talents drinking and drugging in the 
clubs? Everybody wants in. Yup, as if you get a badge and the club is 
endless fun. But it's not. And you only get staying power if you've got 
money. Fame doesn't last. Just ask Kara DioGuardi. 

Now what? A bunch more shitty top forty songs for girls who haven't yet
reached puberty? In the nineties, you could only be famous by being on MTV.
You had to be  pretty, and be willing to do everything your handlers told 
you to do. But then we got "Survivor" and the plethora of reality TV. And 
everyone got broadband and there was Facebook and Twitter and everybody
was suddenly fighting for attention. How many MySpace friends do you have?  
How many followers on  Twitter? 

People want to win rankings, when artists win hearts. That's much more 
ethereal, much more difficult. In other words, it's easy to buy fashionable
clothing, but much more difficult to get someone to fall in love with you. 

The major labels are in the fame game, not the artistry game. And, if you've
got a smidgen of artistry/talent, that takes a back seat as they try to
push you in front of everybody and make you famous so they can make money. 
And since newspapers and gossip sites need something to print, they focus
on this information, when it's here today and gone tomorrow and has no 
nutritional value. You know how someone's a loser?  When they complain they 
just haven't gotten  attention. 

Making it in music, for the long haul, is so complicated. You've got to 
have the chops, you've got to be in play, you've got to get lucky. Eliminate
the dues, eliminate the luck, and you've got the major label top forty 
wonders of today. Isn't it funny that the fame of the Silicon Valley wonders
comes AFTER the success of their product. No one hypes us telling us who 
Mark Zuckerberg is, we get hooked by Facebook and then want to know who the 
mastermind behind the site is. Whereas Snooki says LOOK AT ME! And after we
do, we wonder what's inside...nothing. 
 
So the whole music world has bifurcated. Between those who've got fame and
those who are artists. Sure, some of those doing well on the road have 
both, but these are the classics, the Eagles, the Eltons, the McCartneys. 
But the new famous acts sell tickets fora short period of time, and then we
forget them.  Just like we've forgotten Paris Hilton, famous for 
nothing, no longer hot. Now  we've got Kim Kardashian in her place, a pale 
imitation...but the paradigm still works, to a degree anyway. 

So who are you? Someone seeking fame or an artist? 

If you want fame, start making friends on Facebook, try out for 
"American Idol",  be grist for the mill. And if we pay attention at all, it's
for the train-wreck.  Which is why we watch the "Idol" auditions... To see
bad performers who believe  they're good.  How could they be so delusional? 

But a great artist? He speaks through his instrument. He doesn't
have to dance, he just starts  picking his guitar or starts singing
and your jaw drops. And a great artist is on a journey.  What happens today 
couldn't happen without what came before, and tomorrow will be completely 
different. Which is why we no longer care about the new work of the classic 
rock artists, they're playing it safe, it's just a repeat of what's come before. 

So focus on your artistry. And know that's what really sells tickets. 
The key is to be so good that people bond to you. But that's much more 
difficult than getting plastic surgery and saying LOOK AT  ME! So difficult,
that the machine wants no part of it, the odds of success are too low. 

Now it's about investing a lot to create a sure-fire product that will
rain down revenue. In the seventies, you made your album and delivered 
it to the label sight unseen. The A&R guy had no impact, you often 
recorded by your lonesome. And the label put the album out, because 
they trusted the artist...to know more than they did. Now, the label 
wants you to co-write, work with producers and won't put out the  
album until they've got guaranteed hit singles. 

Huh? Who's the artist here? The player or the businessman? 

I know, it's lonely in the wilderness. But that's your choice. Either 
you're a lifer, practicing, waiting for your lucky moment, or you're 
a fame whore, trying to rig the game so you can make some money. Too 
many of the old players are interested first and foremost in the money. 
They don't want to be involved in productions they can't control. But 
the  public is fickle. You can hype them once, but usually not again. 

This is the turning point in music. This is the crossroads.  This is
where the two roads appear. There will always be a market for 
train-wreck, but the real money is in artistry. It pays
dividends again and again, year after year.  

August 13, 2010

DINNER DATE WITH MYSELF @ THE STANLEY HOTEL

By now you know that if i have a day off when touring, i will explore the area i'm in. When we landed in Boulder, CO yesterday, I learned that the famous 'Stanley Hotel' was 40 miles from our hotel! Being a life-long fan of 'The Shining', I had to see it for myself. So, I spent the next 4 hours tracking down a rental car and I set out through the Colorado Mountains to the town of Estes Park. I arrived at the hotel around 7 pm and spent the evening walking and relaxing in the gorgeous building and grounds. You know, it is a common misconception that this hotel was used for the exterior shots of The Shining. It is not in the movie at all, it is in fact where Stephen King worked on his idea...in room 217. The filming took place at The Timberline Lodge in Oregon...and Stanley Kubrick built the interior set of the hotel in England! Teddy Roosevelt and 'The Unsinkable' Molly Brown have also stayed in room 217. The hotel is said to be haunted, especially the Concert Hall...which is haunted by a Lucy...great. For $50 they lock you in the Concert Hall for 5 hours and let the ghosts have their way with you. All sorts of phenomenon have been reported and captured in this building, as well as the main hotel.

I tried the restaurant, ordering Bufffalo Carpacio-i'd never had buffalo and I really liked it. Then I just sat in the lobby, reading about the Stanley's history and lost in my thoughts. To think of all the amazing people who have found inspiration/had unique experiences at this place is-my favorite sort of adventure. I'm already formulating musical ideas from my evening there...go if you can! But take a navigation of some sort, getting lost on the pitch dark curvy mountain roads was not a relaxing way to get home.




August 12, 2010

MAROON 5/RY CUMING TOUR VIDEO #5-by Lucy Walsh

We have covered such diverse venues during this tour...it was really fun to hit a casino!! This video makes me laugh, the whole day was really funny. I lost $100 playing blackJack. I'll lick 'em next time.

August 7, 2010

'ALWAYS REMEMBER ME'

Moments of this song keep making my video blogs, but here it is complete. Congrats to Ry on its growing success, and having Sarah Barielles sing it on his debut album!