YES!

Well, it looks like I found that reggae band I was looking for...!

It was a hell of a drive; commute hours out to Daly City.  I grabbed my guitar and walked into a building with small studios everywhere, hearing all kinds of music from all directions.  I found the room I was looking for and walked in.  The band was smoking spliffs and listening to reggae.  I introduced myself briefly and before I knew it, we were playing a song and I was learning the changes on the fly.  They weren't much for introductions.  I was nervous but tried to remain calm.

Three of them are black (drums, singer, guitar) which makes for an unstoppable groove.  The bass player is a white dude from Canada.  They sound freakin' awesome! I had to stop playing and just smile and listen... The singer had a great reggae voice and persona.  He was confident and mysterious, sparking a new spliff to smoke for every song we did.  I thought he was from Jamaica. I asked after he left and they looked at each other and said "...Kentucky." Haha

After a couple songs, they all seemed pretty impressed by me, which blew my mind. The other guitarist said I play from the gut, which is something I strive for.  It's hard to think of two guitar parts sometimes and even harder for reggae so this will require my best efforts.  But the fact that they want me back next week is indeed an honor.

The drummer and guitarist invited me to the ladder's house for beer and herb and I figured this was a good opportunity to get to know them.  It was a bit odd, being that I was younger than their oldest children,  but music is such a strong common bond.  I soon learned that these guys were really no joke.  Playing in bands since they were children of all different types, they were seasoned vets.  They were really nice and switched from role of peer to mentor. depending on the tide of conversation.  We listened to some old funk and some of the guitarists other projects before I took off.

There's nothing better than taking a chance on something new and having it work out ideally. 

Timothy White on Bob Marley:

For a man like Bob Marley, life and Jah were one and the same.  Marley saw Jah as being the gift of existence; that is, he believed that he, Bob Marley, was in some way eternal, and that he would never be duplicated.  He believed that the singularity of every man and woman is Jah's gift.  What we struggle to make of it is our sole gift to Jah.  He believed the process of that struggle becomes, in time, the truth.

Historically certain figures sometimes emerge from stagnant, despairing and/or disintegrating cultures to reinterpret old symbols and beliefs and invest them with new meaning.  An individual's decision to play such a role may be purely unconscious, but it can sometimes evolve into an acute awareness that he may indeed have the gift/burden of prophecy.  This realization may be followed by the public declaration on the part of such a person that he is merely an instrument of a new source of knowledge, a new direction and a new order.

For Jamaicans, and ultimately for much of the Third World, Bob Marley was such a messianic figure.  He maintained that spectral emissaries invaded his sleep to enlist him as a seer.  He was frightened by the responsibility, he said, but he had decided to assume it.   "By and by," he explained, "Jah show every mon him hand, and Jah has shown I mine."

A man who looked like a skinny lion, moved like a spider and lived like a ghost, Bob Marley died trying to control the duppies [ghosts] within himself.

Action Praise

Although hard to find at times in replies

Try an keep the love in my eyes, highest of highs

Even though some don't catch my ways

Try an bring my heart and it's strengthening praise

Made communion with the spirit that birthed me

Because I know that spirit personally, yes, I'm certain it's me

I know what feels wrong, I feel what knows right

I grow a new song, Ideal that glows bright

If a heart sings along, great deal of delight

For both our freedoms, walk through the night

Inauguration

Regardless of the policy changes to come, the energy that Obama is bringing us is refreshing, empowering and loving.  It's an energy that will cause us to believe more in ourselves, each other and our country.  The bush administration, all policy mistakes aside, bread a horrible feeling that can't be described, but slowly seeped into us over the many years.  

It is a privilege to get laid off yesterday, and have this new start this morning, along with my country.  Into a time where, hopefully, we can regain a sense of community, personal strength and responsibility. 

May we all seize this opportunity for a better world. 

Got laid off today

which forced me to cancel my blind date with that cute girl from the iphone application to the nice Vietnamese restaurant.

Double bummer.

But, it's probably worth it for whatever experience lies ahead of me now.

Looking for reggae drummer, bassist, vocalist, horns, etc.

I have fun in my cover band now but I feel I should be doing what I really want to do and that's play reggae/roots/dub etc. I've been posting ads everywhere I can think of and here is no different. So please, if you know anyone who may fit the description please let me know so I can begin to spread the love of the music.

"Hi"

I fell in love, right then and there
With her earth-urban style and Lauryn Hill hair
I put my best foot forward and I said "hello"
I got one back, with a voice sweet and low
Overwhelmed with pleasure, no words to say
I had a choice but I let her walk away
So I'll keep my back straight and stay on guard
Because dealing with such beauty is honestly quite hard

Jesus Christ it's a beautiful day

And I have insight enough to enjoy the hell out of it for all it is.
A simple blessing, it is.
Think I'm gonna go walk around Lake Merritt with some good friends.
Hope you folks reading this are well.
And for those looking for strength today,
slow down your breathing and look at the sky.
It's ok.

"I got nothing to do today but smile."

BART shooting

I'm writing about this because it's still heavy on my mind after seeing it days ago.  The actual footage was very disturbing, but thank god for it.  Let the people see.  Here are some things you might not know about the incident: 1.The fellow murdered was known by a friend of mine.  She said he was super nice and a family man.  2.Racial slurs were used by officers against the people they were subduing.  I did a lot of searching on this case, to try to see why the accused hasn't yet been prosecuted, and I saw this racism fact on but one report, as a brief mentioning.  I think that these officers using racial slurs in the bay area deserves it's own new coverage.  Abuse of power makes me sick.  Whether it's a spiritual leader, an officer, a politician, etc.  But that is just a childish and cheap example of it. 

There is no way that the bastard thought it was a stun gun.  With a close eye on the footage, you can see the coward remove the safety.  Heartless, boy scout, toy soldier, devil, prick.  Anyways, die, pig, die and all....

On a much lighter note:  Derek Trucks is probably the best guitarist of our generation.  You just have to see him.  Check youtube for some slide guitar footage!!

Positive Vibrations

One lesson that will do me much good to remember is this: Energy is traveling through everything we do to interact...our movements, facial expressions, tones of voice, etc. Society does not teach us that this is important, but I believe it is the most important thing of all. Although, of course, the actual physical acts we engange in are necessary, they are nothing without the energy that put it there.

Or to sum it up in a simpler fashion: "It's not what you do, but how you do it. It's not what you say, but how you say it." -Black Uhuru

Example: Sex is the act that put us here, but that wouldn't have ever come to be without the energy your mother and father put into each other's relationship.

Find some of that positive energy, and pick it up and run with it. Spread it like a whirlwind around you, whenever you can. It is peaceful, strong and happy. And it's contagious...