Lay Down

lay down

your misconceptions

your pre-conceived notions

your attitudes

your moods

rest here a while

savor

the flavor

of now

Off To Charlotte

Betsy and I are off to Charlotte to see my mom. She turned 81 on the 20th of July. She is currently visiting my niece Cathy, who hit the big 4o yesterday! Wow. The persistence of time.....

Ron Jon's/Birthday People

The gig tonight was a great one. Rex Alan Polk, my old pal and bandmate in a few bands is in town and sat in on djembe tonight. Djembe is a hand drum with many sonic textures. Rex laid it down for us and we rocked as a trio. It was cool being onstage with my dear friend again. Rex brought Chris with him, whom we call Elvis, because he knows everything there is to know about the King. Chris also does a mean Ed Sullivan impersonation and has introduced our bands countless times in the past. It's too bad that not everyone knows who Sullivan was anymore, but I suppose that just shows my age! It was also Wayne's birthday who is a friend of ours and happened to be partying at Ron Jon's. After a while there were three birthday people sitting with Wayne and Andi, his lovely bride. This just happens to be my Mom's 81st birthday as well!


It was a great night.

Yale Brothers Show #1

The first Yale Brothers podcast is up. Click the link above to go to the show page, or go here for a direct link to the show mp3.

I hope you guys enjoy.

Podcast #3

Podcast #3

A rainy and hot evening in Myrtle Beach.

Direct link by the show here.

Tonight's Gig

The gig tonight was cool. The first set had a couple of low points, the second set was good, but the third set really rocked! The crowd was great. We tried out a few new covers tonight. Mr. Jones by Counting Crowes went well. So did Take It On The Run by REO Speedwagon. I like that one. Creep by Radiohead went over well. Of course the original music is what I'm about, but playing some fun covers is, well, fun. Rog says I should enjoy them more. Me, I dig the original shit, with respect to the other shit.

BTW, I've been delving deep into Dylan. As always.

Currently listening: Infidels By Bob Dylan Release date: By 01 June, 2004

Drink Deeply

Drink deeply from the well of life
Be rude
Be gluttonous
Gorge yourself with its sweet nectar
for it will not last
it dribbles down the side of the face
so fast

Tubing Accident

Katie had a tubing accident down in Charleston yesterday afternoon. She and her friend Grace were thrown into an oyster bed and cut themselves up pretty badly. We went down and got Katie out of the hospital ER in Mount Pleasant. Katie has a couple of big lacerations and is not allowed to go into the sun for six months, so her scarring will be diminished. Oyster cuts are bad cuts. They are jagged. Her outdoor summer activities are pretty much shot as far as beach or swimming or tanning are concerned. The girls had to have a resident plastic surgeon come in to fix them up. Katie’s friend Grace has the worst injuries. She has some pretty bad tendon damage in her shoulder and had to stay in the hospital for surgery. It turned out worse than they thought for her as when she went in to surgery, the doctor found shell fragments and tendon damage and had to do a lot of work on her. She is a dancer and as it turns out she will not be able to do any dancing all season so she will be able to heal.

Both of these two wonderful young ladies are beautiful. It could have been a whole lot worse. They could have had their faces severely damaged or shredded. The Lord spared them, if you ask me. Don't get me wrong. It was a horrible thing for them. They had just gotten down there that day and had lots of cool activities planned with Grace's aunt and uncle. It was to ba a five day affair. That was not to be.

43

Roger, my twin brother, and I, turn forty-three today. Wow. Weren't we fifteen a blink of an eye ago? Unbelieveable.

Gig

Great night at Ron Jon's last night. We had fun trying out a few new old songs (covers) , and got through 'em pretty well. I got to play a few more of my tunes as well, which were well received.

See you next week at Ron Jon's.

Podcast #2

I have posted up a new podcast. Check it out here.

Unholy Sadness

Holy sadness could be considered a lament; unholy sadness a self-righteous chasm of dread. Not a great place to be mired. The quicksand of despair always looks like an easy highway until you are too far into it to turn back. See it for what it is and don't go there. That asphalt is soft and it will hold you fast. If you struggle, you will be pulled in deeper; the weight of your remorse will be your undoing. Enervation is not a vacation. Don't pitch your tent there.

Yale Brothers on MySpace

Check out the MySpace page I made for Rog and I.

Maryannaville

Maryannaville

Check this out. Especially the post entitled Narcissism, Corruption, & Politics

Whoa!

GO

Here's a song. It sums up my mood. I wrote this a few years ago. It's called Go.

Desert Wanderings

I feel like it's my time for another lap around the desert. Parched and thirsty for truth. Hungry for sustenance beyond the mundane. Tired of this emptiness that has been plaguing me of late. Bearings lost. Is the compass faulty, or is it just that I have lost the ability to read it? The jackyl of doubt is gnawing at my bones. I am itchy under my skin, and restless-legged and restless-hearted. I am in need of refreshment of mind, body, and spirit. I am in search of that which would restore me, yet I question my motives. I question everything about myself in the state I am in. I am ill-at-ease and burned out. I need a change, but the changes I am seeking money cannot buy. Does God really engineer circumstances? If so, then I'd better make the best of it. If not, I have wasted a whole lot of time. I have not lived lately; I have been lived. I am aware of the passage of time, and it is starting to make me think. Then again, I think too much.

The Mayor Of The Sunset Strip

I just got through watching The Mayor of Sunset Strip. The film is about Rodney Bingenheimer, one of the most importand DJ's on the planet. He has been influential in the careers of many of rock's most famous people. He has hung with everyone, and has seen it all. Yet he is a quiet, private person. Very humble. The epitome of cool. When I was growing up in Hollywood, the man was everywhere. Whenever I was at a concert or any cool happening in town I almost invariably ran into him. There was a local Denny's that has since been demolished in the heart of Hollywood (Sunset and Fuller) which was nicknamed Rock and Roll Denny's because it was the late-night hang of choice for creative types, rockers, wierdos, and various Hollywood miscreants when the clubs and bars shut down. There was nothing like it. It was the scene for me of many wonderful, crazy times. You could run into anyone there.

I must say I am missing my old stomping grounds very much. Despite the weirdness of it all it was home. In my heart it always will be.

Where To?

Where to from here?
Not so sure
Questioning motives
are they pure?
Man in motion
God knows where
A broken soul
in disrepair

Gig

The Ron Jon's gig went well last night. Rog and I will be bringin' in a new batch of tunes next week. We're gonna keep it fresh. Hope to see you there.

Billy Preston

I just found out that Billy Preston has died. He was a wonderful musician and a very nice guy. I had the pleasure of working in the studio with him once. I was doing some drumming on some demo tracks and A guy walks in with a keyboard under his arm. It was Billy. I was watching this from the tracking room through the glass. I saw him set up in the control room as I was finishing up my tracking. I hung around for a while to meet him and to hear him play a bit. The man was absolutely incredible, and so unassuming and cool.

God bless you Billy Preston.