The Measure of a man is one who lends a hand that’s what my father said….

Vince gill & Sheryl crow - what you give away
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If you’ve been a reader of this blog over the years you will know that this Vince Gill song is one of my favourites from 2007 and at this time of year it’s become my holiday post. While I don’t consider myself a country music fan every once in awhile a tune will grab my attention. This song has done more than that – it’s stayed with me since I first heard it on the CMA’s. The message of this song is clear and obvious. It’s not about what you earn it is indeed what you give away.

A few months ago I was looking at a friend’s myspace page. In her ‘heroes’ category the first person she listed was her Mom who “raised me single and poor but I never knew it”. Something about that has stayed with me. Knowing what I know of this family it’s very clear - it’s about Love (‘Love Actually is all around us’ according to Writer/Director Richard Curtis). All this got me thinking – the song – her words – my favourite movie….what if, during this time of financial struggle for so many, we think about not just giving some cash here and there to our favourite charity or local Salvation Army, but we think about Love and how we can give it away.

As you well know this has been a HUGE year for me – LOTS of changes. A big move. Travel. Lots of time zones. I’ve logged over 11,000 miles on the roads of the US and Europe, flown over 15,000 miles, packed up and unpacked more times than I care to remember. All of it has been worth it and none of it could have been done without the support of those I love. I wonder – did I get all this Love because I gave/give Love away?

The other day a friend informed me that her best friends 35 year old brother decided to stop 3 years of dialysis. I don’t know him other than knowing that he’s a very talented musician but I’m touched by his decision. I wonder – aside from the obvious reasons - did he make it because he felt that he’d given and gotten enough Love?

My father this holiday season informed me that he would be short on presents for us kids because he was sponsoring a ‘needy’ family and wanted to give them a better Christmas (and it’s not like I need anything). He barely knows them – but he wanted to help. While he was telling me this I got the sense that he wanted to do more for them. Meanwhile I feel like I got an amazing gift knowing he is giving his Love and support to these strangers.

I wonder - do we ever feel that we’ve gotten or given enough Love? That’s a very hard question to answer. When I look back on this year I can say I gave of myself to those I love and maybe barely know – but was it enough? How do we quantify Love? I think when we give – we actually get. Sometimes it doesn’t take much. Maybe a smile to a stranger or kind words to a friend who needs to talk. Hell, sometimes all I want is for someone to be there. It’s very simple. I can only hope with all my heart that the people I know feel as though I gave enough Love. I sure as hell got it.

So no matter how much you made this year or how little – know that even the littlest gesture can mean so much. Some measure of Love is all it takes to make someone’s day. Irrespective of how you define Love – just give it away. Open your heart and do it. As the song says “no matter what you make, all that you can take, it’s what you give away, What You Give Away…”.

Thanks for tuning in…HAPPY HOLIDAYS!! Until next year…CHEERS!!!

I dont think I'm gonna go to LA anymore, Get lost on the boulevard at night, Without your voice to tell me I love you, take a right...

I don't think I'm gonna go to LA anymore
I don't think I'm gonna go to LA anymore
I don't know what it's like to land and not race to your door
But I don't think I'm gonna go to LA anymore

I don't think I'm gonna go to LA anymore
I'm not sure that I really ever could
Hold on to a hotel key
in your bedroom neighborhood
With me sleep walking in Hollywood

I'm gonna steer clear
Burn up in your atmosphere
I'm gonna steer clear
Cause I'd die if I saw you
I'd die if I didn't see you there
So I don't think I'm gonna go to LA anymore

I dont think I'm gonna go to LA anymore
Get lost on the boulevard at night
Without your voice to tell me
I love you, take a right
The ten and the two is a lonely sight

I'm gonna steer clear
Burn up in your atmosphere
I'm gonna steer clear
Cause I'd die if I saw you
I'd die if I didn't see you

I'm gonna steer clear
Burn up in your atmosphere
I'm gonna steer clear
Cause I'd die if I saw you
I'd die if I didn't see you there, see you there

I think I'm gonna stay gonna stay, gonna stay in the grey, think i'm gonna stay
All the street lights say nevermind nevermind
All the canyon lines say nevermind
Sunset says we see this all the time, nevermind never you mind

Post Bridge:
Where ever I go
What ever I do
I wonder where I am in my relationship to you

Where ever you go
Where ever you are
I watch your life play out in pictures from afar

Where ever I go
what ever I do
I wonder where I am in my relationship to you

Where ever you go
Where ever you are
i watch your life play out in pictures from afar
[ John Mayer Lyrics are found on www.dapslyrics.com ]


Thanks for tuning in....Until next time....Happy Turkey Day and CHEERS!!!!

If everything we are is true, Our memories are attics in those houses on the hill, Our love is there above us holding everything so still....

This song, “Follow The Lights”, by Ryan Adams has been on my brain a lot the last few days. To be honest, it’s one of only a few songs I want to hear right now (the other being Shawn Colvin’s version of “This Must Be The Place” – another song about home….). When I first started listening to it (I discovered it whilst watching the TV show “October Road”) I was living in Los Angeles – it was just before the holidays in 2007 and I was feeling homesick. It made perfect sense to fall in love with the tune – it said everything I was feeling at the time and the visual that went along with it was truly magical to me. While living somewhere that was warm year round the idea of snow and houses and tree lined streets hit me in the heart. It was instantaneous and I immediately went out and bought the CD – Follow The Lights.

Now here it is nearly two years later and my life is VASTLY different than it was even five months ago. A lot has changed in my life – well frankly everything has changed. I’m living in the country with family surrounded by trees and the weather is changing for the colder. Snow is on the way and my life remains unsettled. It’s the chance you take when you jump off the bridge and finally do it. You don’t where or when you will land you just know that limbo is the place to be.

Home is, once again, the East Coast - this is where I grew up and when asked I say without hesitation Connecticut and North Carolina. So when I got the call to go down to Winston-Salem, NC for a job interview it seemed the perfect opportunity to take a drive, see a new place and then head to the beach where I grew up (not far from where Ryan Adams grew up coincidentally). The last time I set foot in that state was a horrible horrible time. It was September 2001 – my birthday - and on that day my grandmother was diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor. The time before that was for my mother’s funeral – so you can imagine my trepidation at the thought of heading back there to face all that sadness. For eight years I had put off going – understandable and undeniable as to why. Despite a lifetime of happy memories having to do with the beach the last two visits kept me away. Time to face up and deal.

I hopped in my car and headed south. A friend I met on a shoot in New York City lives in Winston-Salem so it was perfect. She had a little bit of time and futon for me to crash on. While we’d made a strong connection the day we met I was a little nervous about spending time with someone I didn’t really know and clearly with much going on in my head I was even a little more scared than usual. My friend is a student so she lives with her mother. In addition to hanging with her I was also meeting an important family member. Lots to face – I was feeling overwhelmed with emotion and yet excited to be setting foot again in my other beloved state. I had no idea what to expect from my head or from them.

From the moment I walked up to the house and got a hug from my friend I felt at home. I was truly taken aback. This is not what I thought was going to happen. These people are strangers to me. I thought: this is not my life. After twelve years in a city that I never understood surrounded by people I could not make sense of – this is not what I’m used to. This can’t be real. But it was.

After a quick meal - meeting her awesome mom and filling up on gyros and fries she asked me if I wanted to meet these very important friends of hers who are like family to her. After a day or two of traveling on my own I think I was ready for human contact again so….sure! Why not? Bring it on!! Lets go hang with your peeps! If you love them I’ll love them. Again – I didn’t know what to expect – everything, everyone, was new to me. So we drive out to the country, and I mean country, and meet her friends – a husband, a wife, three kids and assorted animals. Yep. Foreign to me! Now I’m surrounded by more people and a place I don’t know. Yet – you guessed it – I felt at home. And damn quickly I might add. These new people were amazing – warm – intelligent – and very welcoming. Did I mention the baby kitten they had? She and I had a moment and I realized I was ready for a new little guy to enter my life – Cali changed my mind that sweet thing!!

Looking back on my trip as I’ve been doing these last few days it’s no wonder this song has been heavily on my brain. My first twenty –four hours back in North Carolina far exceeded anything I had imagined. I wasn’t sure I’d ever feel right about that place again. Don’t get me wrong – it was hard approaching the bridge to the island that first time after so many years and so much sadness – and as I did I put on my mother’s favourite song that we played every time we went down there – but admittedly having my night in Winston-Salem surrounded by these four incredible people gave me a lot of courage to face a very difficult situation. Feeling at home – feeling welcomed – feeling cared for – made a huge difference in how I felt about facing my demons. These ‘strangers’ gave more than they will ever know and were a huge part in making North Carolina a happy place again. For that I will always feel blessed and feel lucky. One day on a music video, one person and her people - changed my life for the better.

After twelve years in Los Angeles one of the things I carry with me is a not-so – healthy dose of doubt that goes along with all new people in my life. I heard a lot of nice things, promises and happy ideas over the years that led to well – nothing. I’m not proud that I feel so distrusting of kind words and actions as I do right now – but I do know that I will eventually get over that and find a healthier balance. But for now I can’t help but feel a little damaged and so when I say I don’t know that I’ll ever see these people again or even hear from them it comes from that place. I don’t know that they even know this blog exists so there’s no way for them to truly know how appreciative I am for those twenty-four hours. But I am forever changed for the better and am so grateful for all they brought to my world that day and night. They gave me a home where I least expected and shone new light on an old one. I do hope I see them again because if I do – no doubt it will feel like……home.

Thanks for tuning in…Until next time….CHEERS!!!!

I want to know about you I want to live around you But it's easy to worry here Oh I hope I don't disappear...

To say I'm mildly obsessed with Pete Yorn's release Back & Fourth is an understatement. I can't stop listening to it - seriously - it's like 5 times a day - on my run - when I put my computer on to stroll the internet - when I work - the only safe place is my car - so far. There is something about this CD that is really getting to me. Every song has a great melody and every song has lines in it I can relate to. That's a rare thing for me. I'm not the sort to buy a song here and there from an artist I like - I buy the whole thing and hope to enjoy the whole thing - which usually I do - but this CD has taken that to a whole other level.

I can't find anything about it I don't like. Seriously. I will say that he sure seems like a tough guy to be in a relationship with - not sure I'd want to go there despite how cute and sexy he is - if his songs are any indication of who is in a relationship well then I'll pass. Not like I have the opportunity anyway - but you know what I mean. I'm sure there are people who feel that way about my music - hell - there are people who feel that way about me to say nothing of the songs I write. But I digress and this is a blog about other people's music not my own.

His songs on this CD are absolutely some of the best he's written. I have everything of his except the stuff he did with Scarlett Johansson - so I think it's safe to say he's really tapped in well to some emotionally heavy topics here - not just love. There's a song about an old flame who has died - "Social Development Dance" - a song about leaving someone "Shotgun" and "Rooftop" my favourite from this one - about well - ok - I take it back - basically this CD is about love and breaking up in it's various forms - but it's not a Debbie Downer compilation it's merely a conglomeration of the varying stages of break up we all go through; denial, love, "come back to me", "you drug addict, you" etc etc. Clearly he had a rough time of it whilst writing this one - and that's cool - his melodies bely the pain he's expressing in his lyrics so you have to really listen (and read his lyrics) to totally get that - but that's what makes this CD so well done. If you don't pay attention you can just hum your way into happy denial. It's like Suzanne Vega's "Luka" and that 10,000 Maniacs song "What's The Matter Here?" - both have very catchy melodies but are about a very serious topic.

Here are some of my favourite lines:

"Comin over the rooftop Would you save me? Cos I'm not okay And seasons change for everyone I've seen it all
And if the rain comes down Let the rain come down..." Rooftop

"And when we kissed it was electric A chemist made us for each other But I was far from being your only one My roommate said he'd seen you before...There's something missing in us We try to make it whole Though it never feels like it, I know you have it all..." Social Development Dance

"I know men aren't supposed to act this way, but things they got too real; I couldn't stay....Turn the lights down low and close the door, and try to feel the way I felt before. Hell, cry in the middle of the day, It better make me feel a better way, if it could take my pain away..." Don't Wanna Cry

"I needed some time To figure out my shit Still walking Through the mines Explosions never far I want to know about you
I want to live around you But it's easy to worry here Oh I hope I don't disappear..." Shotgun

So yeah - you get it......check this one out!!!! www.peteyorn.com or find him on itunes!!!!

WOW....so what can I say? Some of you may have noticed that I've been AWOL these last few months. There's an excellent reason for that. You see, I left Los Angeles - hence all the changes to this blog (new place, new beginning) - and have moved to Connecticut for the time being. I'm currently staying with my sister and my niece, who at 6 can't really say my name (or won't, lol), thusly calling me "LA LA" which explains why the name of this blog didn't change much. This all happened for various reasons and quite suddenly (no I wasn't running from the law or some po'd producer) but it happened and once the decision was made (that had been discussed for several years) why not just DO IT!! So we did it - sold nearly everything that wouldn't fit in a cabrio and a Cherokee and mailed some things....gassed up and left LA on 27 May. Everything happened with one month's notice so as not to pay more rent to my useless landlord than necessary and we didn't tell too many people. Why? Well - the few people that gave a sh** knew and the rest we figured would figure it out. The reason I didn't come out and say I was leaving on this blog (I hinted at it in the last posing) was because we were surprising someone and keeping the secret off of here and facebook was more fun than any 2 people moving across country should have.

Yep. FUN. Well, no, not really. It sucked eggs. My AC was out, it was 100 degrees some days and by golly it's a brutal trip even under the easiest of circumstances. Never mind that I had four chairs strapped to my roof, and the back was loaded up to the ceiling inhibiting my awesome speakers from shining. Oh well. What can you do? Sometimes you gotta get off the pot. Sometimes being near family and those we love is more important than a silly, overcrowded, flakey city. No - I'm not bitter - I'm very glad for my time there. I learned a lot, I met a ton of interesting people and made some friends who will be around until the end of time - and I wrote some good songs about the place. In fact there is much about LA that I miss but there is so much here in New England I'm getting to know again. I never fit in in LA - it was never my scene - but I fit in here. I belong. I revel in seasons and rainy weather. I love snow. I love lobster. I love New England and am so glad I grew up here. I'm even more glad to be back even though I have no idea where I will end up settling down (that will depend on a job) and no clue as to when that will happen, for now I'm with my family - for better or worse - I'm here and, as my song, "Now", goes...."I still don't have the answers, I still don't know our chances, all I know is I'm alive...."

Thanks for tuning in...until next time.....CHEERS!!!

We lost our way, in California down in LA they never warn ya....

We Started Walkin'
and then we learned to run
I still don't know what
We're Runnin' From
You said you loved me
but you couldn't stay

Oh We lost our way
in California
down in LA
They Never warn ya

it just all goes wrong,
it all turned bad
you said that love
was a funny thing
and you'd move faster
without a ring

Oh we lost our way
In California
down in LA
Nobody warns ya
it just all goes wrong,
it all turns bad

we searched for something
we could not find
and somehow somewhere
love got left behind

yeah we lost our way
in California
down in La
they barely warn ya
it all goes wrong
oh it all turns bad

I don't look back
cause it hurts too much
to see everything that
we just gave up

oh we lost our way
in California
down in LA
nobody warns ya
Oh We Lost Our Way
In California

and it all went wrong
it all turned bad
it all went wrong
it all turned bad

(metrolyrics.com)

WOW....I can not say enough about Chris Isaak's CD, Mr. Lucky.....so I won't. Suffice it to say I am deeply in love with his latest and long over due release. Check it out. www.chrisisaak.com

Thanks for tuning in...Until next time...Cheers!!!

I've been haunted by this old ghost before, I want to hear your voice you know it's been so long.....

I've been haunted by this old ghost before
I want to hear your voice you know it's been so long
Like a dancing wave you balance on the shore
It would feel so good to see your face again

I still sleep with the lights on
I still stay up late alone
I still love another one
I still sleep with the lights on

We both understand we've got no way back
Our love was strange in a strange land
We got broken wings we were bound to fall
Until the sun comes up you can hold my hand

I still sleep with the lights on
I still stay up late alone
I still love another one
I still sleep with the lights on

Take it easy, take it slow
Let's just watch the tides they grow
The wind is coming from the side
We are sleeping in the light

Feel like waking up in your house some day
Or eating of your hand like a bird astray
But nothing's gonna change, we'll still be the same
We've said what's to say, nothing's buried nowhere

I still sleep with the lights on
I still stay up late alone
I still love another one
I still sleep with the lights on
[ Sleeping With The Lights On Lyrics on http://www.lyricsmania.com/ ]

It was Easter weekend and we were driving down the 101 on our way back from a camping trip in Bug Sur. Just outside of Buellton, CA – the pea soup capitol of the world (it’s worth the stop) – Teitur’s song “Sleeping With The Lights On” (from Poetry & Airplanes, 2003) came on a mixed CD. I had never heard the song before that I could remember. Something about it struck me and I couldn’t help but break our ‘only rewind 3 times rule’. For about 20 minutes or so it was the only noise I wanted to hear. I wanted to understand every word, every nuance and I wanted to be inside this guys haunting voice.

Rarely has a song struck me this way – inspired me even – it was truly a very cool moment. I think some if it has to do with the fact that I feel a little numb (no, not a shameful plug for my last CD though I wouldn’t mind if you had a listen on itunes…so maybe it has become a shameful plug, lol) living here in Los Angeles. After nearly twelve years on the same block it would seem that inspiration – in my listening to music, my writing of it, or even my enjoyment of this city - has severely waned. Perhaps that is why I haven’t updated this blog since before Christmas. I was working a job that sucked over 50 hours a week out of me and left my soul an empty jar. It seems no matter how much you love a job or learn from your experiences there in the end the stress can really sap so much out of you that you are left numb and uninspired. That has been me the last few months and I’m grateful to this song for reawakening a spark inside of me – planting a seed, if you will and opening my ears again.

Anyway….enough said. Have a listen for yourself! Unfortunately the 'embed' ability on the official video youtube link has been disabled - so try this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LCigJ1G3TPw or listen to a live version below....

Thanks for tuning in and until next time (yes – there will be one)….CHEERS!!