a rock and a hard place
Mar 2, 2010 faith
via chromasia.com
Been feeling like I’m caught between the proverbial rock and hard place for a few days now… time for a new perspective!
The Award Goes to — The Cloers
Feb 27, 2010 sojourn
via examiner.com
Charlotte Music Awards – 2010 Singer-Songwriter Showcase winner is – The Cloers
Can’t say how proud I am to know John and Cate, they exemplify what it takes to get it done as an artist. Not only creative and talented, but humble and intuitive. I know some of the other nominees, all winners in their own right, so congrats to each and every one them!
Leadership Lessons from Dancing Guy
Feb 12, 2010 sojourn
Nominated: The Cloers
Feb 11, 2010 songwriting
I tend to get excited when the right folks get noticed. I’ve known John and Cate (The Cloers) for a couple of years now, and have just been amazed to watch them keep at their craft and learn the business, all while being so real, and warm. I so appreciate them for always encouraging me when I’m in the pits, the same place we all get to when stuff just isn’t working out. It’s great to see THEM being recognized for their songs and sound, and I couldn’t be happier… way to go John and Cate!!!
Here’s the note I got from them:
We’ve got some good news that we wanted to share with you guys, as well as send you all an invite. John and I have been nominated for a 2010 Charlotte Music Award, and we will be playing in the showcase at Elwood’s Music Hall to compete for the 2010 CMA Singer/Songwriter of the Year. Also, 2 of our dear friends have also been nominated, so that’s going to make for an very interesting night. We are proud to be in such great company as our friends, Paul Atkinson and Jeff Luckadoo. Congrats to you guys as well! I’m not familiar with the other 3 artists who were selected, but I’m sure they are terrific as well.
We would love for anyone who would like to, to come out and cheer on some of your local NSAI songwriters, and we’ll see how it all turns out. It will be a night filled with BBQ, burgers, and live music. And, if you can’t make it, we’ll hope that you are cheering on the NSAI writers from afar!! We’ll see some of y’all there!!
Event Information:
2010 Charlotte Music Awards Singer/Songwriter Showcase
Elwood’s Music Hall on Thursday, 2/25/10 @ 8:00pm
10403-J Park Rd.
Charlotte, NC 28210
Tickets:$8.00 online or at the door
2010 Vancouver Olympics MindMap
Feb 10, 2010 sojourn
via blog.mindjet.com
Pretty nice download. If you don’t own MindManager, grab the reader off the Mindjet site and check it out.
ESPERANZA SPALDING – “Overjoyed”
Feb 8, 2010 sojourn
via youtube.com
What a great song choice and incredible talent! Nuff said.
Mike Shirkey for Michigan State Representative 65th District
Feb 6, 2010 sojourn
via mikeshirkey.com
I met Mike Shirkey on Hilton Head Island (HHI) some 9-10 years ago, a chance meeting that became a lasting friendship. We’ve missed our annual rendezvous on HHI for 2-3 years now, but do stay in touch… the news of his decision to run for state office comes as no surprise.
Mike is a man of integrity, one of those rare breeds, a blend of intellect and wisdom, generosity and compassion, and at the end of the day one heck of a nice guy (pretty darn good golfer, too). I’m so proud to say that I know Mike and his beautiful, sweet family, and hope his run is successful and fulfilling, not jus for him, but for the state of Michigan, which he dearly loves.
Momentary Lapse
Feb 4, 2010 sojourn
Today I spent time kicking gravel on a trail just south of Grandfather Mountain. Instead of following the cut path toward the sound of running water, I try to stay in the sun as much as possible (it is winter) until reaching the stream at the bottom of the foothill. About to dip my hand in expectantly frigid water, I hear the meeting facilitator say, “OK, break, let’s be back in 15 minutes.”
I [think I] was only day dreaming for a few minutes, but it made for a great afternoon.
Manifold Rumination
Jan 31, 2010 faith
One down, 119 to go… seems almost unimaginable that we’re done with the first month of the new decade.
It feels like I need more computing power in my head just to keep up with all I want to do and know. I’m feeling scattered, smothered and covered (not unlike Waffle House hash browns, yum!), I want answers, resolution, progress and joy. I’m reading books on who I am and how to yank it out of me, and just finished “Have a Little Faith” by Mitch Albom. I’m deep diving some thought provoking blogs, and delving into new territories of research at work. No new [finished] songs yet for the year, but there’s lots cooking.
To say I’m living in a whirlwind is an understatement, not just my own life, but the world seems one imbalance away from us having to navigate our existence as never before. From the disaster in Haiti to the often unheeded warning signs about to cause unprecedented fiscal and moral catastrophe within our once beloved borders, our once respected America. It’s almost like “we the people” have been hypnotized or we’re hibernating, will we awaken, snap out of it?
The political blame games, the Fed, the lack of reverence for human life, the expulsion of God from society, the ACLU, ACORN, the demise of capitalism, on and on… yet, special interest agendas and rights for individuals (not the people) constantly appear to be trumping common sense and civility. I cringe when I hear the folks crying out for unity and harmony, then see our “leadership” Mirandizing terrorists who want to inflict carnage on our own soil, what? To those who complain about having to take their shoes off at airport security because they see the shoe bomber’s attempt as a one-off mistake, are you for real?
Many ask, why can’t we all just get along? I guess I’d answer with another question: who is the “we”?
In my circle of friends, at home, at work, for the most part, we all get along. But there are certain neighborhoods near the very house in which I live, not so much. Forget about taking a late night stroll through once prospering neighborhoods in high profile cities like Atlanta, LA or Dallas, not wise, not safe. No need to go into what other countries do to people who inadvertently cross a border or disagree with a fundamental nationally imposed belief.
Conflict breeds innovation and war: yin and yang. The heart of man is a vile, corrupt. We tolerate and accept ideas and doctrines either because we’re forced to or because we’re too lazy to confront, perhaps driven by apathy. Some write endlessly about how one president or another is goat or hero, while the Fed, an unregulated entity, continues printing treasury bills, egregiously adding to the debt our children’s grandchildren will be accountable to cover in decades to come (FYI: the national debt is a a stack of $1000 bills that’s eight (8) miles high).
The shell game goes on, the media tells us what they want us to hear, the suspicious dig for truth. There is a body of folks that just wants to live equitably and nobly being worn down by big government, and social agendas that don’t even begin to solve real problems. Like the campaign promise rehash we got this week (aka State of the Union), and the finger wagging, see things my way or else, it’s a broken record — one that’s played over and over, the needle is dull and the static growing louder.
It’s January 31, 2010, only one month into the new decade, so much has transpired. In the news, in my own head, in my very life. Funneling it all into manageable chunks I can process and filter to keep my being moving forward without being overwhelmed is not easy, not at all. I can chose to put my hope in man-centered efforts and ideologies or have faith in the unseen.
I choose the latter. Not to impose, not to shut out those who don’t believe or agree, but hopefully to be a better me, as part of a better place, for the sake of better times.
Change in Plans
Plans for today were altered late yesterday afternoon. I’m learning to step back and respond vs. react. Yes, I’m disappointed in the fact my plans changed because of mis-communication on the part of someone else. Hey, stuff happens, and for today, I’m very grateful it does.
Just before heading out, I was catching up on email and read a great message from Skip Ewing. Then I watched and listened to “Juliana’s Smile,” totally moved by the compassion of message and the stunning composition by Skip. Sure hope you take time to do so as well.
After a bit of shopping, I came back home for lunch and finished rearranging the A/V components in the living room, a work in progress over the couple of days. To test the sound I popped a CD in, one I’ve not listened to in years. I was also in the process of zapping a cup of coffee with the intent of turning the system off and spending a little time in my home studio, if nothing else, to at least mess around with some rhythm tracks and learn more about Logic. But I got caught up in the beauty of Yo Yo Ma’s exquisite performance with the New York Philharmonic. Could it be this is why my plans changed? The house is quiet, I’ve got a mug of hot coffee in hand and Lord knows I could use some quality quiet time.
The journey through two concertos, one by Antonin Dvorak the other Victor Herbert, was exhilarating, yet relaxing. And, as I read the liner notes on the backstory of the relationship between these composers, and how/when these compositions came to be, I was reminded of how fleeting this type of dedication is in today’s world of music composition.
Once the concertos were over, I end up in my studio, thinking about the tie between Skip’s work and that of two master composers. Though Skip’s piece and video are just over 4 minutes, there is nothing less moving about his work. I needed to spend time today as I did, to be reminded of my own need to dig deeper and be more purposeful with the art I create, and to enjoy the art of the masters much more often.