My Grammy Speech

Last night as most of you know was the 49th annual Grammy Awards, which honor best and brightest of the music industry.
In a rare evening at home I got to watch and enjoy the entire festivity.
First of all let me say Mary J.Blige was the absolute best, as well as Christina Aguilera, and so were many of the other performers.
As I watched, I thought about the fact that I've always wished to be there as a nominee, or a performer, and I thought about my acceptance speech had I won a statue...
It would go along these lines:

I want to thank Allah (God) for the many gifts that He has bestowed on me, but mainly I want to thank him for creating my Mother and Father, and my Sisters because without them there would be no me.
I want to secondly thank my wife Vickie, and our family for all that they have had to contend with in the chasing of my dreams...in the words of the great Paul Simon, "God bless the absentee." I love you with all my heart honey.
The list of people that I've had in my life who have inspired, and believed in me is far too great to name in this short period.
I want to say that dreams can and do come true, but you must first and foremost believe that you are greater than your circumstances and work hard everyday to see those dreams bear fruit. Thank you so much, good night and good luck.

Yeah, I fantasize alot about things like that, but I don't obsess about it; mainly because in truth I am a working musician, and I am happy building the small roads that I build to people like me.
I am comfortable in my skin (warts and all...), I feel gratified that many people have heard me do what I do and are pleased with it.
To me, it's the people of middle America, the ones that go to work every day, and get nothing for their troubles that I most want to thank, because with little or no money they come out to hear us, and support our dreams, and make us feel like we're worth the same effort that the big stars get. They dance to our music, and dream right along with us, and that is something that no night on the red carpet could ever compete with, and I sincerely hope and pray that I'll never forget that my dreams came true because of people like you.
Thanks so much. I love you dearly...everyone.

Support Live music today tomorrow and always

By Any Means Necessary

When Malcolm X was alive, he was very fond of saying that we need to achieve equality by any means necessary, over the years though , those necessities have cost us some valuable things, including lives. So I decided that for myself I would choose another path.
The path that I've chosen is music...
Don't get me wrong, even music has cost some their lives (think John Lennon, etc...), but I still feel as though I can help people positively in my musical guise.
None the less I still am as careful as possible when trying to edify people...after all it's only my opinion, and everyone is not entitled to it, meaning that just because I have an opinion doesn't make me right about how I feel on certain subjects, so I have to choose my opinion forums carefully.
Musicians are social critics, good bad or indifferent. We live in this world and like you we too must exist in it.
In a perfect world we would have music, but it would be someone's own definition of what that music would be...for all of us. So imagine my happiness to know that I have a choice as to what moves me, and that I'm not limited to the choices of the powers that be. Being here in America means that as an African American I can listen to and enjoy Country music, as a male I can curl up with a great song sung by a female and have myself a good cry (and believe me, I often do...)
I'm saying all of this to say that I'm glad that there is music in my life. All kinds of music. I'm lucky to be able to play it as well as hear it, and proport it as I feel it.
Although I enjoy sports (mainly baseball), it was never an aspiration that I had. Over the years, I've heard all kind of analogies trying to explain why we have such reverence for sports figures, but think about it for just a moment, even those sports figures need and listen to music. Who fares better ?
I think that right now while the world is in such a chaotic state, we would all do well to just sit back grab some sounds, relax and let the music take us.
We should take any song that moves us, and make it our mantra, our catalysts, and our beacons to leading the world toward being positive. Be a Redneck with roses, or a gangsta of love, but use your music to fuel the fire of brotherhood and sisterhood. Use any and all kinds of music to help liberate, educate, and accentuate by any means necessary.


Support Live music today tomorrow and always.