Nov 4---The World Is Watching Us

Friends are good, right? Not tag-a-long friends or users, but real friends. Our current president, by all accounts a social frat-like guy, has shown surprising indifference to our nation's friends and allies. And that has cost us.

November 4 is a day the world will remember for a long time. We will send a message to the world with our ballots. That message will be one of two things: either we care about our international friends and want to resume our rightful place as a beacon of hope for the free world, or that we really are indifferent to our relationships with our so-called allies.

There is, of course, so much more one could talk about. The wars, the economy, the environment, the transference of wealth and power from the public to the corporate arena, the shrinkage of the middle class, the stacking of the Supreme Court, etc.

When I attend memorial services, something which tends to happen more frequently as we get older, this is when folks talk openly about things that matter most. To most people, nothing matters more than friends, family, the bonds of love between them and how we choose to spend our precious time on earth.

It is the same with nations which are, after all, just large groups of people with whom we have more in common than we generally care to acknowledge. So as the world watches us today, let us not disappoint. Seldom does an election offer such a stark contrast between competing world views.

As a lifetime student of politics, a political science major, a brother of a well-known political writer who immersed us both in the world of politics since childhood, I am struck by how important this election has become. To me, it is by far the most important election of my lifetime. This will either be the saddest or the happiest election day of my life. Soon we will know.

Not All Effigies Are Created Equally

Did you hear about the Hollywood Halloween prankster with the Sarah Palin effigy? This seems to strike most folks in a comedic way. Seeing Sarah with her Neiman Marcus designer suit, expensive hair and make-up, all $200,000 worth, dangling alongside other mock-scary Halloween monsters---this is a hard to mistake as anything other than a joke from America's capital of irreverence.

Sure, Sarah's supporters won't see it that way but they aren't known for abundant senses of humor. In fact, they are generally challenged with all things involving sense, so we can depend on them to take umbrage. "Oh, the horror!"

Effigies of Barack Obama---are they the same or different? To some, I suppose an effigy is an effigy. But this is wrong because it ignores our national history. Given our shameful behavior patterns of bigotry and violence toward African-Americans, KKK lynchings and burning crosses, a Barack effigy connotes something far more sinister and despicable than dangling Sarah.

Imagine having a conversation about this with Rush Limbaugh or Bill O'Reilly. I can see them bursting a vein at the very suggestion that there's a difference. But as with most things, knowledgeable people know better.

The campaign is quickly coming to a close. And closure is good. Especially if the outcome is the one you want. This time, the world is paying closer attention than usual. I pray that we do not disappoint.

Songwriting 101: Finding Inspiration

Writer's block isn't just for novelists. It afflicts songwriters too. At least that has been my experience. How to solve the problem? Here's an easy answer: lower your standards. Oh wait, I already wrote that song. Seriously, it's on my first cd.

If there's a trick to songwriting, it probably lies in ones ability to find inspiration. Imagine a songwriter sitting at the table, day after day, trying his best to crank out new tunes. Without inspiration, chances are quality will suffer. We've all heard enough crappy songs to know that songwriting isn't easy.

But inspiration can be divine. Consider your favorite songs and try to imagine what is was that led the writers of these masterpieces to write them in the first place. Songs are not generally not like science projects, things you can start on from scratch and build on over long periods of time until you've finally achieved a complete result.

Most of the time, the inspiration for a song does not spring from nothing. I've tried to just sit down and write songs---for me, anyway, the process of devoting time to creating new songs rarely yields satisfactory results. More often, I get hit with an idea. It can emerge from personal experience or it can just pop into my head. When it comes, the first thing one must do is to recognize that you're on to something. That's harder then it sounds, because inspiration lies before us constantly and we generally fail to see it.

Sometimes in the early morning hours, like when I get out of bed because I need to pee, I have trouble getting back to sleep. Sound familiar? You start thinking about things, and before long your inner monologue becomes a noisy chat room and your chancing of getting reunited with sleep in the next hour look increasingly dim. Sometimes, in such moments, song ideas occur to me. But there's a dilemma: do you get of bed to start working on the song or take a chance that you'll remember your great idea when morning comes?

I actually have gotten out of bed a few times to write down my ideas. More often, I don't and the song idea has vanished by morning, just like most of my whacky dreams. Such a shame, such a waste. But damn, if you get out of bed and start writing, what are the chances you'll rediscover slumber anytime soon?

A couple nights ago, I managed to break this dreadful pattern. Yup, I thought of a song idea in the middle of the night and somehow managed to remember it the following morning. The song is called "My Restless Brain", and it's about how the A-side of the brain keeps me awake while the B side wants me to have a nice dreamy sleep. It's a funny little song. The last verse goes like this:

The A side needs the B side,Knows the B side is his soul, And the only way to get there, Is through his tight A-hole.

Last night I got to see Dar Williams and Sean Mullins, two very accomplished songwriters. They played at The Shedd in Eugene where I'll be performing on January 31. Great show. Now there was some inspiration, so if you'll excuse me, I've got to start writing down my new ideas before they evaporate.

The Elusive Sedona Vortex

Lots of folks swear by it. Some claim it changed their lives. For the better of course. Others leave unhealed and disappointed. I'm talking about the vortex in Sedona, Arizona.

I had never been to Sedona but the photos I'd seen looked spectacular. More massive red rocks than you can believe, all right outside your window. Then there's the buzz about the vortex. So when I arrived in Sedona last week, I was determined to learn all I could about the vortex.

First things first. Just what is the vortex? After asking a few people, it seems to be this: Some believe that the Sedona area possesses a unique healing power and that this has been recognized for centuries, first by the Native Americans. According to their oral history, Native Americans did not live in the red rock area surrounding Sedona because the spiritual forces were TOO powerful. Instead, they would come to this area for spiritual cleansing and growth. No doubt the combination of red rock and peyote generated bucketfuls of enlightenment.

Ever the skeptic, for me, talk of the vortex all sounded a bit like so much New Age hocum. The notion that by standing in particular places, I could experience some sort of healing strays so far from my personal experience that for me, this was a tough sell. Many Sedonaites and New Age devotees see things very differently though. In fact, the leaders of the New Age movement believe that Sedona is one of the world's best sites for achieving a state of spiritual and even physical healing.

I felt the legend of the Sedona vortex eminently worthy of further investigation. So I talked with quite a few folks, especially bartenders, about the vortex. From the bartenders, I learned that lots and lots of people move to Sedona to get healed. They just keep on coming. Drives real estate prices through the roof. Optimism runs high. Apparently results are mixed. Many leave unhealed. But that doesn't stop others from coming.

I wasn't expecting to get "healed". I had a big problem---I wasn't sure what condition I had that needed healing. But I did love the place for its natural beauty. The air quality is high, and not just in some pristine scientific way. OK, here I know I'm sounding a bit New Age-ish but I'm telling you, Sedona is a place where the inclination to indulge your creative muse runs strong. I felt like writing a bunch of new songs. But our time was quite limited, so we did plenty of hiking instead while thoughts of new songs danced around my strangely active brain.

I had the opportunity to perform and meet some wonderful new folks. Then we headed north to the Grand Canyon, but that's a story for another time. So here's my ultimate recommendation: go to Sedona. Don't expect to get healed. You're better off to keep your expectations low---that way you may be in for a very pleasant surprise.

TAKE THE MONEY AND RUN

All the big boys are taking a hit. Some will not survive. Merrill Lynch, Shearson Lehman, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley---the REALLY big boys. The same ones that have created more millionaires and billionaires, especially for the investment bankers who run these places, than history has ever seen.

Even the rank and file at these companies were paid six and seven figure Christmas bonuses. Hey, who couldn't use a little extra cash at Christmas? Now they're in free fall, and some are down for the count. But wait. Who's coming in to help? The federal government, of course. In other words, you and me.

I have no problem with the government bailing out AIG---if the nation's biggest financial insurer went belly up, millions of ordinary folks and small businesses would be in a world of hurt. It's not the same, though, with the investment banking sector. So why the bail out?

At times like this, my cynical side wins out. Probably because it's dead right, again. Remember when W stepped in to bail out the subprime lenders and his answer to the real victims, the people whose houses were being foreclosed, was to give them a "stimulus package" of something like $600. Nice package, huh?

That was just one year ago. But it turns out that the nasty subprime mess has not run its course, and the very institutions that profited so handsomely when the going was good now get bailed out by the government when the going sucks. Sweet deal.

On an individual level, so many of those employed in investment banking are set for life, and for generations to come, and I mean really set, there's no reason to feel sympathy for them. They're the ones who took the money and now get to run. No consequences for them. A gentle landing into a sublime world of temporary unemployment perhaps, a perfect time to count the money. Maybe invest some of those earnings while things are tanking, watch the bailout lead to a speedy recovery in the market, and before you know it, they've pocketed another fortune.

Steve Miller's classic tune "Take the money and run" says it pretty well. But not as well as Dylan's great line "steal a little and they'll throw you in jail, steal a lot, they'll make you king".

Return Engagement

Two words of which I am especially fond: Return Engagement. Creates the impression that the first show was so well-received that the audience DEMANDED another. What am I talking about? I have been asked to perform at The Shedd. For a second time. Sweeeeeet!

In April of 2007, I was honored to be asked to perform at The Shedd for the first time. This coincided with the release of my last cd, "Party of One", and it was one of the most memorable performances of my life. Why? First, it's a top notch venue. It's sort of like a Eugene version of Austin City Limits. The performing arts hall in The Shedd seats 800 and many world-class artists have performed there.

Second, I was one of the first local artists to be invited to perform at The Shedd. And the show couldn't have gone any better. My old friend and record producer Gary White agreed to join me for the show, coming to Eugene from LA. Many close friends and family members attended, including my parents.

If you've ever checked out the video of me performing on this blog, that footage is taken from my show at The Shedd. Well, my Return Engagement (pardon the capital letters, like I said, I really like those two words) is scheduled for Saturday, January 31, just before I plan on leaving for Australia and a few shows Down Under. More about that later. More about all of this return to music later.

Here in the Pacific Northwest, it's mid-September, the sun is bright, the scenery is spectacular this time of year and I'm feeling happy as can be. Oh yes, this is enough of a diversion to temporarily keep my mind off those dark Sarah thoughts.

Sarah Inspires Me To Song

Inspiration can be hard to find. Songwriters agree on this. So it's important to start writing when inspiration strikes. Lose the moment and you've lost the song. Did you know that some of the greatest songs ever written came in a flash? Such inspiration truly is divine.

The inverse side of the songwriting conundrum is that often, great songwriters work for years on a song and never find satisfaction. Once Brian Wilson trashed an entire album many described as a masterpiece. Thirty years later, "Smile" was finally released.

Right now I'm grateful as hell to Sarah Palin. She has inspired me to write a song. A song about her. I haven't written it yet. I'm still gathering material. Seems like every day there's a new revelation.

Sometimes when I'm writing a song, I jot down a list of all the thoughts I have on a topic. Throw in a couplet or two, a few key rhyming words and before long, you're a chorus away from a good song. Other times, you have a strong idea for a chorus, build a few verses, maybe toss in a bridge and kazaam! You've got a song.

For my Sarah song, there's such an abundance of material, it's like shooting moose, I mean fish, in a barrel. She's got the AK-47, the husband who wants Alaska to secede, the 17 year-old pregnant daughter who was raised in a household preaching abstinence and family values. You've got Sarah so proud of her daughter's choice, a choice Sarah wants to deny to every pregnant woman, rape victims included. Because abortion is murder. Nothing wrong with gunning down a pregnant moose though. It's all in good sport.

Such a plethora of material for one song idea is truly rare. This song practically writes itself. In fact, I think I could write an entire Sarah album of songs. Sergeant Sarah's Lonely Heart's Club Band. Or something like that.

Sarah is asserting herself. She's plucky and pissed. She doesn't like being compared to people like Hillary. Thinks she's so much better than that and certainly more on the right track than misguided souls like Barack Obama and any Democrat who ever lived. Thinks they're all going to hell. I'm afraid that if she's elected vice-president, we all might be.