Sonic Experimentation

Though it is not a new concept, I have been playing around with recording guitar by playing it through an amplifier and then recording the output from the amp. I'm really liking this sound on the Glitters and Sparkles Demo. I'm not yet finished with the song, but it is moving along. I'm enjoying playing around with this track in my bedroom. I hope to take it in to the studio in the next couple of weeks, assuming it magically finishes writing itself in my sleep. :)

There are some new sounds to this album.
I am being pulled towards rock on a couple of tracks and to some sort of southern dixieland jazz on others.
There is a sort of gospel undertone on a few tracks.
There are lots of body sounds....hand claps, snaps, slapping my stomach as a drum, grunting. Just for you, I am going to the sweatlodge and really working it all out. haha

Some of the tracks I'm focusing on the most right now..

1. Glitters and Sparkles
2. 600 Miles
3. Duct Tape and Superglue
4. Mamma Don't Like No Chocolate
5. Life Was Simple
6. Pretty Decent Guy

There is also "Cherry Falls" which I think I may not put on the album, though I really do want to release it in some form in the next year.

A little bit about Mr. Carpentier

Yesterday, I posted the lyrics to Mr. Carpentier.
Mr. Carpentier is a new song to be released on the unplug single in the fall.


When I released Sirens of Brooklyn, I felt extraordinarily empty. Instead of feeling this great sense of accomplishment or empowerment, I felt defeated and drained. I had been functioning for a year with very little sleep, which continued for a year after that. It is only recently that I have slowed down a little to regain my grounding.

During this period, just after the release of my album, there is one person who was a huge support for me. He is my best friend in this world and an incredible individual full of compassion, love and respect for humanity, art and nature on a level that I have never encountered.

Marc Carpentier has been one of the most selfless people in my life. He has unconditionally loved and supported me. For a while I lived on his sofa. He didn't ask me for anything. He didn't pressure me to leave. He opened his home to me with no conditions, allowing me to pursue my art.

I am not sure that I would be here today, if it were not for this incredible man, and I can't wait to share this song with you all.

Mr. Carpentier-Lyrics

Mr. Carpentier, guru extraordinaire
open your heart to the masses.
You have lived 20 lives.
I could be satisfied
watching the world through your glasses.
Mr. Carpentier, I have so much to learn.
why don't you come here and teach me.
needless to say, I've been slipping away
to a place where nobody can reach me.

Cuz I don't know if I was made for this world.
They point and they stare.
Am I dressed like a 12 year old girl?
You smile like a child and I'm just squirming in my own skin.
You take me through the soccerfield to the swingsets once again.

We go through the motions like fish in the oceans
and paint the town red with the blood of the dead
We're all pretending the world isn't ending
and everything's fine as we shop and we dine
but we're fat and we're free
and we're taking up space
drive our SUV's while we're stuffing our faces.
Our children are spoiled and addicted to oil
and they buy lots of plastic
and they throw it away.

I don't know if I can make it through this day.
The ocean's too high
and the sky is too gray.
It's the weight of the world
and gravity's finally sinking in.
Take me through the soccerfield to the swing-set's once again.

Well, I drink like a fish and I hit like a girl
and I'm scared of myself and I hide from the world
but your heart's like a whale
and you're built like a tank
and you keep me alive
and I'd like to thank you cuz

There were times I couldn't make it through my day
when I lost my shit and they shoulda carted me away
but you're always there
you care
and you believe in what I do

take me through the soccerfield to the swingsets
just me and you

Let's swing high
Let's swing high
so high we touch the sky

(available fall 2007- Unplug(single))

8 1/2 months after the fun

Very soon, my nephew will enter the world. I'm training him to be my very own miniature village person, having purchased an NYPD onesie for the little bundle of joy. I still need to find a baby construction worker outfit, a baby Native American costume and of course a baby cowboy get-up.

Crossing Lines

You have crossed lines that you shouldn't.
How dare you wave and smile,
all the while you lied and cheated me.

I did everything in my power to sheild you,
to give you the chance to make things right,
but you have spat on my good intentions.
You have burned my money
as though it is funny that I don't attack,
but I am not out for anyone's blood and yours is tainted.

I wave goodbye to you.
I have things to do.

I have wiped your bootprints off my face.

Stardust and the Silver Screen

On Saturday K and I caught a matinee of Stardust.
It met and exceeded all my expectations.
Run don't walk to the theater and see this movie.
It is a magical dark fairytale for adults.
I almost cried three times and Robert Deniro doing the Can Can in drag on a pirate ship in the sky is absolutely priceless...oop, I gave a tiny piece away. Hurry and see it before I divulge more secrets.

Sunday I did a show at Pianos with the lovely Maddy Wyatt.
I am still getting to know George he surprised me at a few points in the night.
Thing came out of him that I have never gotten to come out of a guitar on stage.
Other things that I'm used to, were different.
We are in an adjustment phase, getting to know each other's quirks, but I am starting to fall i love with George as I unravel his mysteries.

Tonight is my silver screen debut, well sort of.
It is a screening of the Casey Stratton Documentary at
The Anthology Film Archives.
There is a trailor showing before the film, with me blabbing about being sent to Exodus by my parents with the hopes of turning me straight. Ugh. Am I ready to see myself twelve feet tall? I'm not sure. I guess I'd better get ready, seeing as the music video will be premiering soon.

It is time to stand up, literally

Oh lord, I hope I don't get carted away by the gestapo for this one.


It is time for us to stop complaining. It is time for us to stand up. Mark your calendar and take this day off from work. Men and women fought for our freedom,which has been steadily taken away. Our rights are under the thumb of George Bush.

Stand up for the men and women detained in Cuba without the right to legal council or to a trial. Stand up for the blood that has been shed for an elite few to rape and pillage for their own self interest. If we do not act, then we will lose more than we have lost thus far. Let's pull the wool off our eyes and stand up.

How is it that Bill Clinton was almost thrown out of the oval office over an affair with an intern and George Bush is still leading this country after lying about weapons of mass destruction, sending young men and women into battle as human sacrifices to the gods of greed and oil?

There's also the shameful job he did leading this country
during the tragedy brought by Hurricane Katrina
My personal favorite is the illegal(Unconstitutional) wiretapping of american citizens and the refusal to turn over documents to congress.

ugh...I have a headache. I'm going to drink a glass of water and wait for the Guantanamo Bay welcome wagon to come pick me up.
Click here

"it just all slips away so slowly.
you don't even notice till you've lost a lot.
been like one of those zombies in vegas
pouring quarters into a slot.

and now i'm tired and i am broke
and i feel stupid and i feel used
and i'm at the end of my little rope
and i am swinging back and forth about you "

-Ani DiFranco Done Wrong

We're not in Kansas anymore or are we?

So it's official,
A tornado hit Brooklyn.

I thought I had escaped my roots as a Kansas farmboy
and left the twisters and trailerparks behind.
Apparently I was mistaken.

You must watch this.
Yes, this is Brooklyn.

This Sunday at Pianos

Me=LIVE!

This Sunday, I'm performing live(not dead)
Here in New York City.

followed by the delicious Maddy Wyatt at 8pm.

Aug. 12th 7pm

Pianos
158 Ludlow Street at Stanton (Upstairs)

And now a message from the MTA

Photo by Carrie Thomas

"There is no subway line right now that is running its full normal route. If you are at home -- and you haven't left -- don't. If people in any way shape or form can stay home, they should. I know it's kind of an odd message to give people . . . but today we had a real problem with water."

-Paul Fleuranges, A spokesman for the MTA New York City Transit system (earlier today)

If the subway system comes to a grinding hault because of one rainstorn, I really hate to imagine how fragile this system really is. The tracks are rusted. The reliability of service is shaky at best, yet the fares are always increasing.

Why can't they invest some money in making the subway system more reliable and able to withstand a fricking rain storm. Is this too much to ask?

With the help of the Greek

With the help of the Greek,
I salvaged a solid wood side table from the
garbage heaps of the gentrified holy lands of Park Slope.

We made a pilgrimage to the hardware store asking for guidance. The table's only problem was a bit of sharpie on the tabletop and two loose legs. I tightened the legs and we sanded off the sharpie exposing the beautiful light wood.

We sanded the legs and the underside. The Greek handled sanding the legs. I focused on sanding the top. We stained the table a beautiful dark Walnut. The richness of the grain astounds me. One person's garbage is now a beautiful table with a grain like the sand by the ocean. I can almost see the ripples, the tide, the motion in it. It is so awe inspiring. I am amazed.

Reduce, Re-use, Recyle....oh I've become a collector of plastic. I cant bare to throw it away. I re-use it until I can't anymore. I've begun to contemplate making my own furniture from salvaged pieces. I'm thinking of making my old cutting board into a centerpiece. I looked at antiques in the street over the weekend. I went into two antique stores and I bought a baby gift, well two...oh they are so very cute.

I'm going to be an uncle very soon. It's so crazy.

"Did I show you this picture of my sweetheart, taken of us before the war, of the Greek and his Italian girl one Sunday at the shore? We tied our ribbons to the fire escape. They were taken by the birds, who flew home to the country as the bombs rained on the world. 5am, here i am, walking the block to table talk. You could cry or die or just make pies all day. I'm making pies"

-(The amazing) Patty Griffin

Listen to Making Pies

Glitters and Sparkles

There is a new song called Glitters and Sparkles. It is not quite done, but I have been playing with these little demos in my room, making beats, recording guitar and Singing. I am getting used to George. We have only scratched the surface of our conversation. He has things to say, in ways that I hadn't listened.

There is this song called 600 Miles. I'm not sure where it will go, but it wants to take me somewhere. I can tell you that I met two people out on the road who touched my heart and my soul. One is of course the namesake for my guitar, Mister George Lee. He is a savior in times of great loss. There is also Ricky in Minneapolis who has been so kind and gracious. Thank you for the card.

There is of course always Sanford and Son who got me through the Jitters and brought me into the world of being my own Roadie. Oh, You don't know glamour until You've been your own roadie, people. Mmm, my arms sure looked good, but boy wass my spine another story. When you recognize employees of the greyhound terminal at the Port Authority, You know that your star is blazing bright across the sky, ready to light a thousand chinese peace lanterns.

Boy will they glitter and sparkle.

Anne Bancroft was divine

After finishing up in the studio on Sunday, David showed me this clip of 1970's Anne Bancroft. She was so brilliant.

You may have seen a modern adaptation on this sketch.
I have the feeling most of the people mentioned are dead, sadly, so is Anne Bancroft.

August Featured Artist

I absolutely love the boys over at Homopod Radio. If you haven't checked out their podcasts and video mixes, I highly recommend you do. One of the most enjoyable interviews I've ever done just happens to have been with them.

With that being said, I am pleased to announce that I am the featured artist of the month on Homopod Radio. Not only will they be playing tracks from Sirens of Brooklyn, but I have also given them some treats, which I know for a fact you haven't heard.

Hint:They sort of give it away on the most recent podcast, so i guess you'll have to listen to find out. :)

Minneapolis, you are in my thoughts

(AP Photo/The Star Tribune, Heather Munro)

Having lived in a very rural town in South Dakota for two years, I used to escape almost every weekend to Minneapolis to catch concerts, visit friends and take in some culture. Minneapolis has a special place in my heart. My thoughts and my love go out to those affected by this tragedy.

Though the bridge was supposedly in good structural condition when last inspected, I can't help but think back to my previous post, written two weeks after performing a show in Minneapolis.

Thought for the day

The United States of America is just one giant Indian Burial Ground.

This thought inspired or possibly stolen from K to the M.

and inspired by Krusty the Clown.

Gravel Road

Some people are rocks.
You can depend on them through thick and thin.
Others are sand and blow away with the first strong wind.
I am gravel
I may leave a few dents in your car or a crack in your windshield, but I will
take the weight of your body and shift to the shape of your wheels.
I'm a bit shaky and not much for show
but I will go where you take me and I will take you where you need to go.

HOSED...deception and destruction

When I was 14 years old, I stopped drinking sweetened carbonated beverages and switched to drinking only water and juice. I remember pulling into a convenience store with my family on a road trip and buying a bottle of water. At that time, the bottled water craze had not exploded into the plastic peddling monster that it is today.

My father made fun of me, saying that it was a rip off to buy bottled water.

"You know there's just some guy in the back with a hose filling up those bottles with water."

I rolled my eyes and unscrewed the cap to my bottle of Evian, which comes from a pristine French spring, thank you very much.

It is funny to read a headline years later about Coca-Cola selling tap water under the name Dasani and while Pepsi is selling tapwater under the name Aquafina.

An estimated 25% of bottled water is nothing more than tap water, sometimes filtered, sometimes not.

The environmental impact of the bottled water craze is a whole other can of worms. Once you get me started on this, I could keep going for days. I will share a few obvious points and direct you to an article for some more information, but I recommend you educate yourself and try to phase out your bottled water consumption as part of an environmentally concious lifestyle.

--Most bottled water is not recycled. It piles up in landfill
--Plastic production is dependent on oil, a non-renewable resource. Dependency on oil is not only disasterous to the environmet but is half the reason we are blowing up innocent women and children in Iraq.

Think of the children...the children.

hang on, maybe I have a picture
of a very sad feed the children style child I can use for this part.

phrase of the week

Photo by the luscious Carrie Thomas

Our phrase of the week here at the rant is...

"Stick a bow on it, and call it Sally."

Translation: It is done...finished...complete

Sunday

Sunday,
I rollerbladed over to the recording studio and did the final mix for the single version of Unplug + a bonus extended (Reach Out Mix).
I think You're all gonna love it. It's a little different than the stuff on Sirens of Brooklyn.

After the studio, I rollerbladed over to Mister Carpentier's to play the single for him, then hopped back onto my blades and traversed the Brooklyn Bridge, making my way to Union Square. Then I hopped on a train to Queens.

I spent the evening in Astoria working with the other Rob working on the music video, which btw is so close to being done that I can almost hear the cork popping on the bottle of champagne.

I can't wait to relese both of these little babies into the world.