The Secret...no, the real one.

For the last few weeks, all I've heard from virtually everywhere is about the new book "The Secret." It has been a part of our daily vocabulary for weeks now.
Seemingly this buzz started when Oprah Winfrey commented about the book twice on her show, and of course when she talks it up, it becomes a great success.
Now don't get me wrong, I'm very proud of my sister Oprah, but really, haven't we gone just a little over the edge with the need to feel fulfilled, especially when we're told to dream it and we'll attrack it. I do believe that things come our way when we envision them, but I don't need to spend my hard earned cash for that to come about.
Everyone who really knows me (and that's a whole lotta folks...) knows that the only true dream that I've ever had is to play music for a living. Tell me, where did I go wrong. I'm not necessarily any closer to that goal than I've ever been. I'm not complaining though, because I know the real secret.
What is it you ask ? Well, first of all I'm gonna tell you that when I tell you what this secret is you'll kick yourself for not realizing this sooner (although, I think you know already), and I won't be asking for a fee for this disclosure, it comes free of charge solely because I like you.
OK enough BS, the secret, here is the simple formula: P + O = L.
That formula is preparation and opportunity equal luck
How is this the secret? Well if you think about it our whole life is the search for the perfect opportunity to make things better for ourselves. There are some things that inherently come our way when we set our belief toward it.
In truth I am pretty close to getting what I want out of life, but it didn't come because I attracked it, it's coming because I've worked my butt off toward it. I have spent countless hours in pursuit of it. I've met endless people who have helped me even a little bit, and I've never discounted their help. I saw the little amount or great amount as the same...helpful. It made me walk toward it or shy away from it. So the choice has been mine all along.
So the secret, no, the real one, don't stop believing in yourself, use any and all opportunities to further your goals. Don't spend your hard earned money on a book that tells you what you already know. Go to your local library, the place where real dreams are made, the one true place where a poor person and a rich person are on equal footing. Listen to the music , and relax. Not giving into stress will take it away long enough for you to think clearly and realistically about changing your circumstance.
Another way to see this: if you have to rob a bank in order to attend the seminars of the authors of the secret, then the secret is that they won't get you out of jail, nor go your bond, Then the secret would be that you're a fool, and we just can't have that now, can we?

Support live music today tomorrow and always...oh wait! here's another secret, music really does help us and heal us. Listen to it earnestly, and openly, and it will unlock your deepest secret...passion.

My Beloved Bronx

YAAAAAAYYYY !!!! I'm finally getting to go home to my beloved Bronx...
I haven't been home in 7 years, and it is all I can think about. This is such an irony for me, because for so long I felt so out of place in New York. In a city that never sleeps, I felt restless and very useless.
I'm sure to a large degree this was of my own doing, because I didn't always try to find the joy in my being there. Sure I was striving like everyone else, but to me it was a big deal trying to make it in music. With all of the people I know, I never really found my place. I did make lots of friends though, but more often than not those friendships turned out to be more superfical than anything else. My closest friends though did everything to push me forward, and put me into peoples' conciousness. My 3 best friends Abdul Rashid, Charisse Campbell, and Angela Sabarese all gave me the best advice, and a shoulder to cry on whenever I needed it (and they did so without conditions).
Each of them played very different roles from each other in trying to see me through.
Abdul Rashid taught me about sprituality, and the true meaning of letting go and letting God. Charisse taught me the real meaning of friendship, and the purpose of seeing women as women and not little girls.
Angela, was just my musical muse, the female version of me. she taught me about being Bronx tough, and seeing that connection in my music, and using it to set myself above the pack.
Most of the people that I now deal with here in West Virginia see my energy and my drive, and constantly spur me on in the public eye. The Carpenter Ants, Amy Bowe, and Yvonne Brown all have played the exact same role here, as my friends in New York did.
If you're striving in anything, any area of life, music or otherwise, surround yourself with the kind of people that will give you love or swift kick in the pants when you need it.
The lesson that I learned is,that you can not run away from your past, but you need to embrace it as an experience that will help you in your life. It will as they say, make you or break you.
I now see the good fortune in being from the Bronx, and I don't cower away from it anymore. I don't think that I'm better than anyone else, but being from my beloved Bronx has placed me a cut above the rest when it comes to my goals. Hopefully for you, you'll embrace your home, and realize that it's more than just a comfort zone...it's a place to give shape to your dreams.
Badda bing, badda boom, from the Bronx baby to you.

Support Live music today tomorrow and always.

Happy Birthday

I think that it's a blessing when you're young and beautiful and smart. It's sort of like the triple whammy of good fortune. When you're a pre teenager, and you have all of those characteristics, it shows that your parents have done a great job in raising you.
My next door neighbors the Lloyds are just that type of family. Charles and Tammy are two of the most down to Earth people I think that I have ever met; and they have the triple whammy of having three of the greatest children that Allah (God) could have ever blessed anyone with.
Today is their eldest child Kelci's birhtday, and I wanted to take a minute to acknowledge a sweet young lady who is just great soul.
It seems that in life these days it's hard to find well meaning and respectful kids, but Miss Kelci is just a different breed, she is sweet, loving and kind.
Kelci is the kind of girl that will always do her parents proud, because she genuinely loves them. Don't get me wrong she's also the typical young lady who loves the Mall, and loves her girlfriends, but family is always first for her, and that's what makes her so special.
We could never have asked for a greater gift of friendship than having the Lloyds live next door to us, and Vickie and I both want to say, Miss Kelci have the happiest of birthdays...stay as sweet as you are.

Support Live music today tomorrow and always...and take a minute of everyday to hug a great child, and tell them how precious they are. It will put music in your heart.

Don't Quit

Normally I start off my postings with some semi anecdotal standpoint, but this time I'm going to start where I normally end, by telling you to support live music today tomorrow and always.
I know that its been a few weeks since I posted last, but the truth is I have been just a little busy, on a couple of fronts, and I had to take some time off to get it done. Also, we haven't been doing too much band work, nor have I done much solo work, so as the saying goes...no news is good news.

Anyway, I've been thinking alot lately about what it would be like for me if I gave up playing music, or just retired from it (...this is not to say that it's going to happen). I wondered if I could be happy, and fulfilled, could I go and just be a casual listener.
I also wondered what that reality is like for people who retire after working hard for years and years, why so many of them seem to pass away after just finally getting to do what the want with the rest of their lives, and why so many folks simply work 'til they drop.
Where is the balance in all of this ? Are we afraid to prepare for the end ? Is the end of work, the end of life ?
When I was young(er), I used to look at the world with such fascination, and tried to see my place in it, as a working professional musician. I used ot watch my Godfather practice his saxophone for hours, but never saw him go to a gig. One day I simply asked him why does he do that, spend so much time practicing to go nowhere ? His response was "because I can't quit it." When pressed for the meaning of that statement, he said that the music was in him so deeply that he could not give it up, so even though he was not involved in the business of music any longer, he still felt compelled to make his horn sing, if for no one else but his own pleasure.
The fact that he stayed so diligent about it lead him to be my first formal teacher, and he instilled a love so deeply in me for music that I know that I won't quit it...and believe me I've tried.
There's a poem that I'm certain most of you have heard, but it truly fits here, and you can substitute whatever you're passionate about here...

When things go wrong, as they sometimes will, when the road you're trudging seems all up hill, when the funds are low and the debts are high, and you want to smile, but you have to sigh, when care is pressing you down a bit, rest if you must, but don't you quit.
Life is queer with its twists and turns, as everyone of us sometimes learns, and many a failure turns about when he might have won had he stuck it out; don't give up, though the pace seems slow, you might succeed with another blow.
Often the goal is nearer than it seems to a faint and faltering man, often the struggler has given up when he might have captured the victor's cup. And he learned too late, when the night slipped down, how close he was to the golden crown.
Success is failure turned inside out, the silver tint of the clouds of doubt, and you never can tell how close you are, it may be near when it seems afar;
So stick to the fight when you're hardest hit, it's when things seem worst that you mustn't quit.

Indeed, these are words to live by...
I truly admire people who "keep on trying 'til they reach their higher ground (thanks to Stevie Wonder for that line...).
So why then did I begin this post with my tag line ? Because as much as we need air to breathe, we need music to be a source to soothe our savage souls...so, remember that life may throw you into fits, but music can move and shake you , so don't quit.

Support Live music today tomorrow and always.