Orientation Complete

Today was the final day of Katie's orientation at USC. She has also registered for classes for her first semester, and we basically have all of our ducks in a row. It has been an extremely busy couple of days, with a tight schedule, and not much wiggle room at all. The time has gone by very quickly. I was hoping to get together with some old friends, but as it turns out, we simply didn't have the time. We will be back on a regular basis though, and I am sure we can do that next time around.

We have a very early flight tomorrow, which means we will be at LAX by 6AM or earlier. Ugh.

The USC thing being done is a major load off my mind. I'm sure Katie is relieved to be done with all the rigamarole as well.

If any of my buddies are reading this, sorry I didn't get a chance to see you, but I'll be back soon and will try again then!

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RIP George Carlin

Greetings from L.A.

We have arrived in L.A. This is a pic from Jim's house Sunday afternoon. We are here for Katie's USC orientation this Tuesday and Wednesday. We are all pretty wiped from the trip, but I believe as the evening comes on we are starting to rally. It's hot here, but not the humid hot in Myrtle Beach. It is supposed to cool down by about twelve degrees, and then down seventeen degrees by the day after tomorrow, which is my kind of weather. I love this town!

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Pics From Last Night's Show @ Fresh Brewed

Rog and I had a blast playing at Fresh Brewed last night. Thanks to all the great people who came to the show, old friends and new.

Here are some pics...

Me, Orson Welles, Roger

Father's Day

Happy Father's Day!

I lost my dad on my twenty first birthday. That would be July 8th, 1984. It seems like another time and another life, yet in other ways, it seems like just yesterday. It has now been almost twenty four years since then. That means that I have been alive longer without my dad than I was alive with him. I miss him every day.

People, enjoy your dad while he is here to enjoy. Because all that can change in the blink of an eye.

Vote Republican. Get What you deserve.

Test

This is a test for ScribeFire, the Forefox add on. It allows you to post from your blog directly from Firefox. At least it's supposed to. So here we go.....Testing, one, two, three. Check two, two.

SXSE SHOW

I played the SXSE Music Feast at the historic Train Depot in downtown Myrtle Beach last night. I opened for Dangermuffin, a band out of Charleston, who rocked, and were awesome dudes to boot!

My brother Roger was kind enough to back me up on keyboards, despite the fact that he had a gig later last night at Wild Wing Cafe with his band Sick Stooges. After my show, we went to see them, and a good time was had by all.

Rog and I played about an hour's worth of my songs, and we also played "Hurt", the Trent Reznor song that my hero Johnny Cash made famous, as our final song.

Seth Funderburk from Sea Note Recording did a bang up job making us sound presentable!

Thanks Jeff Roberts, and all the fine folks who made this wonderful event happen, and continue to keep the series going, and all the great work this organization does for Horry County Schools.

The first four pictures are from the SXSE gig. The last picture is taken of Sick Stooges at Wild Wing Cafe later in the evening. My brother rocks!

Decline Of Empires: The Signs Of Decay

I found this highly provocative and compelling. Sobering. Infuriating when I think about the sad state of affairs we are in, and the lies that are shoved down our throats by our supposed government and the big business that owns it.

This is long, but worth a look.

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY

Happy Mother's Day, you brave and beautiful mothers! I hope your day is blessed and happy.

Fight On!

It's official. Katie has chosen The University of Southern California for her College career. As soon as we walked in to the campus I could tell it was special.The school spirit was off the charts, and I know Katie likes that a lot. We toured the entire place. The student who was walking us through was really nice and helpful, which was cool. We sat in on a sample lecture on neuroscience, which was fascinating. The professor who was doing the lecture was extremely gifted, and he knew how to keep us interested. I was also happy to know that the classes are not super large. That was one of my concerns, but that is not the case. I am not a huge sports fan, but their little football team is supposed to be pretty good as well! It should prove to be a wonderful life experience for Katie. It's ironic that she is going to L.A., as it is where I grew up. Another benefit of Katie going there is that I get to visit quite a bit. Next up is the orientation sometime this summer. Away we go in to a new phase of life. I am happy for Katie, as well as a bit nervous about this big change. L.A. is a long way away, but she seems excited about going, and I am happy for her and excited for her as well.

The only problem is, being here in South Carolina, I have to be constantly telling people that the USC I am referring to is the other one. The real one (I kid, Gamecock fans). That should be fun.

Boston

A few more pics.

Boston

Here are a few images from our recent Boston trip. We went up to take a second look at Boston College now that Katie has been accepted and was offered a generous financial aid package and scholarships. It is coming down to crunch time for her, as she needs to make a choice here by May 1st. Katie, her friend Juliana Carter, Betsy and I had a great time on this whirlwind trip.

Live Now - Forget the Future.

I want to expand my horizons without any mind to the outcomes. I leave the outcome to God, as I consciously live in the present moment. I give up the illusion of the future as salvation; as a diversion from living fully today. I give up the false security of the future. I always put things off for some imaginary time when I have it all together. I now realize that that time will never come. The time is now. Get up and live. Rise up in the swelling tide of possibility. Flow with the creative spirit. Don't put off embracing life now. Enjoy what life has to offer; participate now in the Divine nature. Be the solution. Be. Abide in Christ, and don't hide your light under a bushel. You are the loving manifestation of a holy God that is love itself. You were brought forth in love. Everything else is false. Everything else is ego-based. Live in the light of Now. God wants to use you in your life where you are right now. You are a part of God. Yesterday is gone, and tomorrow will take care of itself. Seek first the kingdom of God and its righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. You need not be concerned about the outcomes anymore. You do not need to put your hopes in a future you cannot control. Let go. Die to self, to ego. It is when you truly die to self that you finally really come alive. You will see with new eyes; everything will be shining and radiant. You will see the spark of life in all things. Everything will be washed and you will be able to finally see things as they really are, free from the filters of ego, artifice, self-seeking, and ambition.

CREATE SOUTH WAS A BLAST!

The CREATE SOUTH conference was a blast.
Here's a shot of Roger Yale and Paul Reynolds having some geeky fun!

Market Common Corporate Nightmare

Betsy and I went down to the new Market Common yesterday afternoon. It's a new corporate nightmare in town, with shopping, dining and living all pre manufactured and artificially created down at the old airbase. We had a look around and quickly left. There is no reason whatsoever to return. I have seen enough. It's the same kind of bullshit that most cities have. Like the Grove in Hollywood, or the Santa Monica Promenade. Or the Faneuil Hall marketplace in Boston. That kind of phony corporate shopping environment that turns my stomach. Inorganic. Forced. A tourist trap. A marginal Yuppie paradise. Like a commercial biosphere of materialistic poison. I shall not return. I just saw Into The Wild last night. I have had many moments of questioning just like Chris did in that movie. He was more messed up than I am, and I used to eat acid like candy!

I guess I'm just in search of the real thing. Where is authenticity?

Dr. King - We Will Always Remember You.

Anniversary #21

Today Betsy and I celebrate our twenty first anniversary. I find it hard to believe that we are already at this milestone. That means that Betsy had been married to me almost longer than she hasn't been married to me. That's strange to think about. The really weird thing is that Katie is almost as old as Betsy was when I met her. Whoah!

We have had our ups and downs to be sure, but our love remains strong, and our dedication to each other is still solid. Thank God. I am not always an easy person to be around, although I'm good for a laugh occasionally. Slapstick is my specialty, acerbic wit not withstanding.

I have been truly blessed.

Post 400. All is Vanity.

I seem to be at an odd place in my life. Lately I have had a serious issue with depression and anxiety, to the extent that I have been immobilized. Lately it is hard for me to do anything. I have been pretty much stuck, although I have been playing a hell of a lot of guitar, which has moved me to other levels on the instrument, both acoustic and electric. I need to get away and clear my head. Lots of things have been going on. Katie is getting ready to make a decision for college and we are going to be doing a few quick trips this coming month to check a few things out. It's also picking up at the store, and to be quite honest I don't know how much more I can handle in the capacity of retail. I left once a few years ago. It felt good to get away. I need to do it again. I need to take a leave of absence. I have to figure out what to do now that Katie is leaving the nest. This is a crossroads to be sure. Once Katie is situated in the university of her choice, I can't really see a reason to hang around Myrtle Beach. This place has never felt like home to me. It still doesn't. It has been a great place for Katie to grow up. For that I am grateful, but there was never anything holding this place dear to me. I work for my Father-in-law. He was kind enough to give me a job when I got laid off from Capitol Records and we decided to move here to raise Katie away from L.A. I am having an extremely hard time getting excited about waiting on people in the store. It's just about too much for me. I have completely lost interest in cigars and tobacco. That's not a good thing to happen if you work in a world-class cigar shop. I have been in a few bands down here but nothing ever really amounted to much. As a matter of fact I was pretty disillusioned with the state of the music scene (or lack of it) just about as soon as I got involved with it when I moved here from Los Angeles in 1992. That in itself is daunting to me. The fact that we have been here about sixteen years makes me shake my head in disbelief. Where the time went is anyone's guess. I don't know where I am going with this but I needed to clear the air. I am truly grateful for my family and all the great friends I have made here, but I am rethinking the whole thing. Maybe I just need to hit the road for a while and come back refreshed. Lot's of maybes from me right now. I own the responsibility for my actions and my choices. I alone am to blame for my enervation. Right now I am praying for guidance. I am learning to trust the song of the spirit again. I am learning to resonate in harmony with my nature and to listen for the answer in the stillness. It's been a long time since I listened. I am listening now.