Now is now only now and the next minute is a whole new now! I guess I would have to polish it up a bit if I wanted to make a T-shirt or have it as a quote in a book, but for now it works. I realize sometimes I don't do a posting because I feel if I am going to write something that you are going to take the time to read - well it should be something a bit more noteworthy than "I had a great inspiration for a new song while I was in the shower this morning" - which I didn't by the way. I did continue to work on a song while I was riding across the desert in Death Valley this last weekend, but I will come back to that.

The whole "Now" thing came from something a friend said about Buster as I sent him for the umptenth time from trying to play on the couch. She noted that each time he turned away from us and walked back that the entire experience was new and therefore having forgotten my previous admonishments continued to do the same thing I told him not to do just a few moments before. Now I don't think this is totally true as Buster is an extremely bright dog, but there may be some truth to it and it got me thinking about how to adopt a bit of that philosophy. Just think about having a moment when something goes wrong or someone does something that is annoying or hurt you or whatever the situation was - what would it be like if the instant it was over the next instant was completely new. The next instant is actually completely new though we don't often process it in that way and have a tendency, because we are human to carry over that moment into the next. Say for example someone close to you says something that hurt your feelings, the most common thing to do is to pack that moment into a nice carrying case and carry it with us, sometimes into a long sleepless night, or just long enough that the moments that follow have been in some way lost. But what if we could totally let go, forget the hurt feeling in the next moment? It wouldn't keep coming back to annoy you through the day, you could play or work without it as a distraction, and you could address the issue, if it needed to be addressed without having built a larger fire by dwelling on it. Just a thought. I have been trying out this approach and it takes some work, but when it works - it's very light.

So getting back to that other stuff, the writing music, singing for my supper (only partially) and stripping myself emotional bare with every new lyric. I have been working on a few new songs the last few weeks, one I did finish called "Alright, Alright, Alright!" which may be performed at a show or may just stay private, haven't decided yet, but it is a catchy tune I think and there is a song that keeps getting rewritten over the years. Actually that's not true, what I keep doing is writing new lyrics to a riff and chord progression I have had over the years. This one I am excited to get ready and out onto the stage at my next show, which if all things workout will be a full band performance, which is perfect for this song. The lyrical content falls into the "Sex no chaser" category, kind of like "Blue Horn" from the "Open Letter" CD, or "Paradise" from my upcoming EP. Both are pretty suggestive, but this one is pretty in your face and a lot of fun. The working title is "Close To Your Skin". More to come.

Well it is getting late, the rain has stopped for the time being but there is the threat that it will be with us here in LA for most of the week. Buster has started snoring on the couch behind me and since I have a very early morning tomorrow I should be going straight to bed, but that's unlikely. :-) But I will say good night and I will travel light into the next moment. Now!

Cheers,
Michael