…the 5^th of November.  Or the 4^th, really…BUT, the 5^th is the first day that the US woke to the reality of Barack Obama as its next president.  AND, I happen to be in New Zealand for one more week, so for me, the election took place on Wednesday the 5^th (my NZ bias creeping in).

Regardless of a person’s individual politics – liberal or conservative leaning – I think this is a powerful moment.  And not just because of the racial significance.  But because it represents a moment of true choice.  At a time of great uncertainty for our world, the most powerful and influential nation has chosen a new direction.  It’s all too easy, in times of crisis, to succumb to the grip of fear and to simply react to the situation, rather than respond to it.  The U.S. has responded.  It didn’t react by being ruled by its fears, holding onto the familiar and choosing to stay the same course for fear of the unknown.  It responded by being willing to change.  And that’s a lesson for all of us, I think.

I guess we’ll see how much change is possible as the next four years progress.  But for now, I’m remembering this election as an overwhelmingly encouraging reminder, and a celebration, that our willingness and power to choose is still alive and kicking!!! 

As I said, this all took place in New Zealand on November 5^th which, incidentally (coincidentally?), is the day we usually commemorate the attempted destruction of the British houses of parliament, by Guy Fawkes, in 1605.  We do so by letting off fireworks.

So, I did see some fire in the sky.  However, I had a band rehearsal that night with my New Zealand rockers – we’re preparing for an appearance on Studio 2 next week (check my homepage for details) and for an appearance at Bob Geldof’s (Live AID, Band AID, ‘Do they know it’s Christmas’) New Zealand event on Friday the 14^th.  We’ll be performing before he takes the stage for his keynote speech.  Very excited.  More info: www.galadinner.co.nz

And, lastly, I shot the Hiding So Long music video last week.  Very cool concept by the director, Luke Sharpe – I can’t wait to see the finished result (end of this month)!

Below are photos from recent shows in Allston, MA and New York.  Thanks for coming along!

Allston Village Street Fair, Massachusetts

Rockwood Music Hall, New York

Rockwood Music Hall, New York

With Round 1 of the New Zealand ALL or NOTHING phase complete, I’m back in New York and rocking out with the band.  It was a great trip back home: as well as the obvious catching-up with family and friends, the album release in NZ was a wonderful way to kick off the official ALL or NOTHING phase, and I also began to put together a band for New Zealand shows.  The music took me on a fun journey around different parts of NZ for TV and radio, from my base in Auckland to Wellington and then Christchurch, during which I met a number of very cool people.  I also devised a couple of little adventures on my own when the wintry weather permitted…a sampler follows.  Off now to Rockwood Music Hall on the Lower East Side to play a show. 

Above: with Dayna and the team from Studio 2 (Studio 2 rocks!).

Above: at the Good Morning Show.

Above: Please, take that TV away!

Above: 1:45pm at the Wellington Botanical Gardens.

Above: Wellington Harbour

Above: Gannet Colonies at Muriwai Beach.

Above: Piha Beach.

Album release.

I’m fond of lame puns, so here is one for the occasion…an acoustic recording of Sweet Release.  Yes, I hope it is a sweet release of the album indeed.  My friend and keyboardist, Neil Shah, got together not long before I departed NYC for NZ to see what happened if we played my songs with only guitar and piano.  Such fun!  Here is the link to one of the recordings we made during that rehearsal. 

The song felt a lot different in this arrangement, and somewhat changed the meaning of it for me, too.  I’m back to NYC in September, and if you’re in New York or Boston, we’ll be rocking out with the full band.

The other news is, the Inside Out music video is airing on MTV and C4  in New Zealand!  Click on the links to request the song (you’ll be asked to join with a name and email address before requesting).

New Zealand photos to come in the next blog post.  See you soon!

So here I am, for longer than usual, in Auckland preparing for the New Zealand release of ALL or NOTHING. It’s an exciting stage of the album’s life, being released on a Sony/BMG label named Rajon Music: last week we were meeting with the music TV channels to show them the Inside Out video clip, which was only just now completed – catch it before it hits the airwaves (I hope!!!)! See below. More news to come.

Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=srGI79dCnMc

Video:

But before the photos from the show, I have recently posted a music video of Hiding So Long on YouTube. We shot this some time ago, at the very beginning of the recording of ALL or NOTHING, when a photographer/videographer friend was in town (Sedona, AZ).

By the way, the Inside Out music video (the behind-the-scenes clip is on an earlier post) is still on the way, but should be ready very soon!!!

The band, from left to right: Neil Shah (keyboards, harmonies); Massimo Maiorana (drums); me; Tom Welsch (bass); Oscar Bautista (guitar). 

ALL or NOTHING refers to the resolve that is required in order to know life’s true potential. ALL or NOTHING is about complete commitment to one’s truest voice, regardless of the risks or the consequences. It means to be willing to face whatever appears without any hope of avoiding it; it means to turn toward whatever is uncomfortable, rather than away from it; it means to let go of whatever is being held onto, and to leap into the unknown.

Conventional wisdom is defensive; it advocates never placing all our eggs in one basket, and this may be a useful strategy for practical matters. But true wisdom knows no strategy. True wisdom moves us to place all of our eggs in one basket in a heartbeat. It knows only what it is called to do, regardless of what may be ‘right’, ‘good’ or ‘sensible’.

What keeps us from accessing this wisdom is our strategies of running from or reacting to what appears. The primary choice we are faced with at any moment is between, on the one hand, avoiding whatever is unknown by following what is instead perceived as safe, comfortable, and defined; and, on the other hand, giving up our usual avoidance, and saying Yes to the unknown. The most critical turning points occur when this choice is taken to the extreme: when being true to ourselves requires us to put it all on the line, and the choice is one of ALL or NOTHING.

This creates an opportunity to allow life to become an exploration; an unfolding; a process of discovery. Instead of living defensively, there can be an openness to what life presents. We can allow ourselves to be touched by it, rather than insisting on protecting ourselves from it. Then, its true potential begins to become evident.

ALL or NOTHING might ring true about something particular happening in our lives – it may mean a determination to see an undertaking through until its conclusion, no matter what the obstacles, simply because you know you must. It may mean telling the truth to a person or a group of people under the most uncomfortable circumstances, regardless of the expected messy consequences, simply because, for you, it is the truth. It may mean being willing to expose yourself, without putting an ounce of energy into the strategies of hiding or protection, and to show yourself as who you are right now, without apology.  All of it involves a willingness to meet the challenges of one’s own internal space of emotions and identity, and to look directly at whatever is revealed in this ongoing exploration.

No one can say what will be revealed, or where this embrace of the unknown will lead – only that where it leads will no longer be the result of a life driven by fear and a sense of lack or incompleteness. When this commitment to the core of who we are brings us face to face with all that we would rather avoid, it’s ALL or NOTHING. It’s an opportunity to commit so fully to what moves one most strongly, that in that commitment all that has been held onto – all our need to control, our need to know the outcome, our clinging to our identities – is dropped. In these situations, anything less than an absolute Yes, is simply a No. We can justify a decision to say No, to turn away and never know what lies on the other side. Or we can say Yes to what is moving us, and without any hope of escape, without any safety line, without looking back over our shoulders, walk right into the unknown. The choice is ours.

Ultimately, one’s entire life can become a total commitment to what is moving a person; an extended, resounding, ‘Yes’ to life and to all its challenges and discoveries. In letting go of our requirements for what we think we need to be free; in loosening our grip on the conditions that we think will finally give us happiness; we can give our ALL to life, right now, without further procrastination, and know that this freedom of saying Yes to life is a choice that is available at any moment.

Well, the heartbreak I experienced last Wednesday night puts “Lost In You” to shame. May 7, 2008 will be forever etched in my memory. If I hadn’t just arrived in this city but six months ago, I would certainly be planning to relocate again…to run, run, run for the rest of my life, in avoidance of the pain that now consumes me. (Well, actually, meeting the pain of a broken heart is, I think, one of the greatest opportunities for freedom…but I can’t miss this opportunity to wallow in the drama of it all.)

The night began without any hint of the horror that awaited. Dinner at home, including some appropriately boring (that’s how I roll) steamed vegetables – pretty standard, really – before I rushed out to take the F train down to the Lower East Side. Rockwood Music Hall: that’s the place to be. Especially on the first Wednesday of the month for the Rebel Spirit Music event. Great artists. Saw two of them – Rosi Golan and Brent Shuttleworth – before receiving the tip that sent my heart soaring and which would, in turn, see it plummet with equal force. While chatting with my bass player, Tom, and another artist in the audience, it was revealed that Neil Diamond was playing a secret show that night at The Bitter End! (Incidentally, I am ALSO playing a show at the Bitter End on June 5^th – check my home page for details). Neil is one of my all-time heroes. Next to Joseph Campbell. And myself. (I was joking about that last bit.) (Maybe.)

The urgency of the moment leaving no time for courtesy, I shot out of Rockwood, hailed the nearest taxi and shouted “Bleecker St!”. The car moved, yet only hesitantly while the driver sought clarification: “Bleecker and what?”. “Hell, I don’t know,” I said. “The Bitter End!” Well, the cross street turned out to be Thompson, but it made no difference. I was too late. I arrived to find the remnants of a euphoric musical event: scattered Neil Diamond fans still littering the streets, unwilling to admit that their encounter with the man himself had come to an end. And then there was me, finding it difficult to accept that I had so carelessly allowed this opportunity for a sighting of Neil to slip through my fingers. I grasped at memories of a happier time – the 2005 Neil Diamond concert at the L.A. Staples Center – but it only made it hurt more. It was no use. I had dared to love; and paid the price. I’ll be what I am – a Solitary Man.

Epilogue:

I found solace in the new revelation, today, courtesy of my pal West (when it comes to easing heartache, West is best) that the Bitter End was apparently Neil Diamond’s first performance venue. And I’m playing there in 3 weeks. That’s gotta count for something. In truth, it wasn’t the first close call with Neil…and it certainly won’t be the last!

And now, it’s photo time. From the April 30th Voice of America radio show in Washington, D.C. Larry London interviewed me on the Border Crossings show, which included performances of Hiding So Long and Alive in a stripped-down acoustic setup: Oscar Bautista and Massimo Majorana accompanied me on guitar and percussion, respectively.

Sound -check.

Damn I hate tall people! (tall = anyone less short than me) The gang with Larry London (great guy)

Really, though, I couldn’t have hoped for a more exciting initiation into the world of Superbowl earlier this year: my first Superbowl experience, and my new city’s team, cast as the underdogs against the undefeated Patriots, ride to victory in the final dramatic minutes of the game. The room erupts, we storm the Manhattan streets to drunken chants of – well, I couldn’t quite work out what they were saying – and, in a flash of realization, I understand what football’s all about. I’m sold.

Incidentally, the members of my new band happened to be at the event that night. After auditioning players during the previous week, with the help of a great guy here in the city who knows about such things, I now have a new band which is right about now getting ready to rock. These guys are a dream to play music with and, although we encountered a couple of hurdles earlier in our rehearsal scheduling, we’re getting all geared up for upcoming shows, including an out-of-state adventure…more to be revealed regarding dates soon.

Until then, I’m returning to New Zealand for part of April for the launch of ALL or NOTHING there (so excited to get to release my CD in good-old NZ!); I’ve had some magazine interviews, which has been a very interesting and cool experience; and you may have noticed that I have a new blog page. Take a look around:

-feel free to leave comments; sign up to the RSS feed (the orange icon in the top right-hand area of the page) to be notified of any new posts here on my blog; AND, vote for your favorite song from my album in the right-hand column of this page. It allows only one vote per person, so choose wisely… and be sure that your candidate isn’t hiding any sexual skeletons in the closet that could ultimately spell its demise.

It’s photo time:

Downtown on a snowy Sunday with friends.
Look - I finally learned how to tie a scarf! (Thanks for the tip, Linda.)

Feb 20th lunar eclipse begins, with Empire State Building in view.
Yeah, I know it’s not really visible. I guess you had to be there.

My last blog was written on the way to New York City, which is now the city I call home. While there with Lenedra, I met with Ron Shapiro, Linda Ferrando, and Patti Conte – a wonderful team of people with years of experience in the music industry, based here in the city.

A couple of decisions with far-reaching consequences were made during the week: for me to move from LA to New York, and to release my CD, All or Nothing, late 2007/early 2008. And here I am – almost four months later – newly moved into an apartment here in Manhattan, and beginning the mixing on the album.

It’s funny: one would probably expect mixing the album to be the more difficult of those two tasks. In this case, it would appear otherwise. To cut a long story short, I was scheduled to move into my apartment on September 22^nd. On September 21^st, it all fell apart, and it took this long – and a huge amount of effort and humbling favors from a handful of saintly people to whom I am forever indebted - to put it all back together again…hence my moving-in on November 1^st.

The mixing on the other hand – oh yeah, it’s rockin! You may or may not know that I had already posted versions of the songs from this album a few months ago on MySpace and even printed some CDs with an older graphic. Well, now is the time for the REAL album to be unleashed…almost. I was in the San Juan Islands in August for a little more recording, and after exploring the options for having the album mixed, I am over the moon to have Mike Barbiero (Maroon 5, Guns N Roses, Counting Crows, Soundgarden, Madonna and others) beginning work on the CD this week!

I’m very excited about how the album is going to turn out. Maybe I’ll post a song or two as they come out of Mike’s studio…but, then again, I might wait until they’re mastered. Either way, I’ll have the songs up before the hard copies are pressed, so stay tuned for updates on music and life for kiwis in New York (I am even less prepared than Bret and Jemaine of “Flight of the Conchords”: trying to work out how to wrap my scarf around my neck yesterday was a challenge. Come on, it’s not that simple).

Above: San Juan Islands

Above: Manhattan