Selling "Out"

Advertising is getting really gay.
Should we feel eploited by companies trying to tap into that expendable homo income or thrilled that they're including us? I find myself torn on the issue, especially when you look at campaigns like S.C.U.M.






HRC recently released their Corporate equality index for 2008.
Take a look to see which companies done right and which ones done wrong. :)
Linkity Link Link

The call of the Pigeon Captain

I was torn between calling this post what I called it and the alternative
"I really need a digital camera!"

I have to give a shout out to someone you would only find
brightening up the streets of New York.

Let's call him the pigeon captain.
He wears a big peacock feather in his pimpin hat with lots of jewelry and
he screems out bird calls through his ?gold? capped teeth.
Brilliant. Ugh. I need a picture. I passed him on the street today and I instantly became his number one fan.
Maybe I can get him to do a cameo on my third album. ooh, or better yet, he should be in my next music video!

Every Vote Counts

As previously announced, the music video is playing on MTV's Logo on their New Now Next program.

Logo also has a video countdown called the Click List and the video has just become eligible for voting.

Please take the time to Vote for Open Wide and help to get it on the click list.
You can vote as many times as you want, no limit.

Vote Now!

:)

Lotsa Love

Robert

Rest in Peace, Ashes and Dust

Early this morning very quietly and I hope peacefully,
my grandmother took her final breath and slipped away from this world.

Leona Messer raised 7 children, one of whom is my mother.
I know that her life was hard at times. I know that she wasn't always
able to deal with the hardship. I understand.

My fondest memories of my grandmother are the car rides to the orthodontist
when I was only 14. I was allowed to drive because Kansas laws are strange, but
I had to have an adult in the car with me, so grandma would come along.
She would let me get fast food from McDonald's before they tightened my braces and the pain was so intense that I couldn't eat solid food for days. At the time, this felt like a naughty treat.
Grandma btw was a terrible driver. My sister once returned from a trip with her
saying that grandma had cut off a man, forcing him to take an exit to Amarillo, TX.
Apparently the man wasn't planning on going to Amarillo.

Over the last couple years my grandmother's health rapidly declined and dementia began
to take away her memories and eventually even her will to eat. She no longer recognized her own family members. The last time I visited her, she did not know who I was. After I left she kept asking where that boy had gone, wandering around looking for me.

In the last few months
her quality of life reached a place that was heartbreaking.
She no longer found anything in life that she enjoyed.

I am glad that she is no longer suffering and I hope that she is at peace in a better place.

The final song on my album is titled ashes and dust. I have never posted the lyrics. K and Laura both have requested this song played at their funerals. Today I post them in honor of my grandmother, a strong woman who lived a full life.

Ashes and Dust

In the beginning there was dust
the sun, the water
then there was us
but all the bridges began to rust
we must all return to dust when we are done

In the beginning there were ashes
there were no wars or social classes
now the buildings burn to ashes
we must all return to ashes when we're done.

In the end I wish you virtue
to hold the hand of the ones that hurt you
to heal the pain that is inside you
to hear your heartbeat and let it guide you
to have a smile for the ones that greet you
to find the time for the ones that need you
to let the love pour out like water from your soul.

Don't hold it in.
Just let it go.

Finished!

I write to you from my Brooklyn apartment on a cold December Saturday.
The sounds of sunrise at the speakeasy fill the apartment as I play the finished
tracks in their final order. It is a strange feeling that comes over me when I finish something. Yes, there are still photographs to be taken and art work to be designed, but the recordings are done. The process of recording my first album was at times painful and frustrating, not only because of the content of the songs but also due to my virginity to the world of production. I tried things. I failed at times and rerecorded them, but kept pushing forward. This album came so much easier. I knew what I wanted. I took what I had learned on Sirens and expanded it. I feel proud of this album. I think it is timely and important. The songs are new and fresh. I can't wait to share it with everyone. The release date is going to happen next summer, June or July. I am excited.

Now a question has been looming in my head. I have all of these songs that were written during the Sirens of Brooklyn and Sunrise at the Speakeasy sessions. I find myself unable to stop working on the next project. I don't know what that is right now. I don't want these songs, now b-sides to be left behind. Many of them are my favorite songs in certain ways but just didn't feel right for the album at the time.
These are a few that sort of stick with me, in the back of my head, wanting to be heard...

God in the Telephone Book
Cherry Falls
The Ocean and the Easel
Single File
Duct Tape and Superglue
600 Miles (Thank You)
Down So Low
Pretty Decent Guy
Lullabye
The Siren
Wash Away
Afraid of The Dark
Big From Down Here

Perhaps, the next thing is an album of b-sides. We shall see. For now, I am going to enjoy the holiday with some time in Kansas starting next Friday. Perhaps some new songs will try to push their way out. Perhaps some old ones will beg me for a pair of dancing shoes. Only a little time will tell.

Music Video Magic!

I stayed up late last night with Mr. Carpentier and K to watch the Premiere of Open Wide on Logo.
I stated in a previous blog that I don't usually get too excited about accomplishments. It helps me to avoid
a crash and burn following the sugar rush.

Well, Last night, sipping on champagne and watching the video air on national TV, broke through my calm unaffected status and turned me into a squeeling kid, running around with my hands above my head.

If you missed the video last night, I recommend you check it out at the most random location one could imagine my video being posted....
CMT's Website. Your eyes are not deceiving you. That does indeed stand for Country Music Television.

If CMT is not quite your taste,
VH1's website is always a viable option.

The world is full of magical possibilities and choices! Oooh, so the 2nd album is almost done. I go back into the studio on Tuesday for my last session before the studio closes its doors.