This Must Be The Place

This past Saturday, I was part of a wonderful celebration at Alexandra and Jeremy Ouellette's wedding (‪#‎neverouelletteyougo‬) in Seattle. My family all came together for the event and I'm blessed for their love and the experience of being with Alexandra (my step-daughter) on this day. There is no better feeling in life than to be a couple in love and know you are with the one. There have been a million songs written about this feeling we call love and for me, The Talking Heads, This Must Be The Place (Naive Melody) simply says it so well.

So, we are at the reception, no scratch that, I mean the party, specifically the dance party that followed the wedding ceremony and we are all dancing and drinking a bit too. Hey after all, the fun couple is getting married here at a whiskey distillery. Anyway, about half way through, the DJ plays, This Must Be The Place (Naive Melody) and much to my delight, everyone is singing along and singing the entire song. Well, at that moment, I get the goose bumps moment when music and life are one, and I'm feeling, well love. 

Here are David Byrne's lyrics and then two versions of the song, the first is the original that is a must for any dance party.  The second, by Shawn Colvin is one of my favorite covers of all-time, and one that is kind of meant to listen to by yourself as it always brings a happy tear to my eye.

with love -

This Must Be The Place (Naive Melody)

Home is where I want to be
Pick me up and turn me round
I feel numb - born with a weak heart
I guess I must be having fun
The less we say about it the better
Make it up as we go along
Feet on the ground
Head in the sky
It's ok I know nothing's wrong... nothing

Hi yo I got plenty of time
Hi yo you got light in your eyes
And you're standing here beside me
I love the passing of time
Never for money
Always for love
Cover up and say goodnight... say good night

Home - is where I want to be
But I guess I'm already there
I come home - she lifted up her wings
I guess that this must be the place
I can't tell one from another
Did I find you, or you find me?
There was a time
Before we were born
If someone asks, this where I'll be... where I'll be

Hi yo
We drift in and out
Hi yo
Sing into my mouth
Out of all those kinds of people
You got a face with a view
I'm just an animal looking for a home and,
Share the same space for a minute or two
And you love me till my heart stops
Love me till I'm dead
Eyes that light up, eyes look through you
Cover up the blank spots
Hit me on the head
Ah ooh

The difference of 10 years and heroes

I'm currently in downtown Seattle with my oldest and dear friend Bill DeVoe in his law office thinking of inspiration for a quick Monday Monday Music blog. I've got on my John Prine concert t-shirt from last October, so maybe that's my sign and should just go with it.

John Prine played in San Diego with his hero, Kris Kristofferson at the Civic Theater and it was great to see the two play together. Prine was so happy that his mentor and friend were together on the same stage as he shared his admiration towards Kristofferson and the influence he's had in his life.

I got to thinking of heroes and the difference of age between the hero and the one looking up to them. With Kristofferson (80) and Prine (69) it is just a bit more than 10 years. This got me thinking about all my musical heroes from the 1960's and 70's. Bill and I were born in 1955 at the tail end of the baby boom that started after World War II in 1945. It's amazing to see how many rock 'n' roll greats were born in the 1940's and became stars to us all born in the 1950's. If you look at this current picture of Prine and Kristofferson, and didn't know them, you would think that they were closer in age.  I think about being 15 and the long list of rock heroes that were in their early, mid and late twenties and the difference of age and stature was just so enormous at the time. I really don't have much of point here, other than the importance of having mentors and heroes with that 10+ year gap to look up to, learn from and dream of your possibilities for the future.

I'll leave you with this one from October, 31, 2015.

What is Vevo on YouTube?

Vevo  is a multinational video hosting service  founded as a joint venture between the world's two biggest music production companies, Sony Music Entertainment and Universal Music Group. Its shareholders now consist of these two companies as well as Abu Dhabi Media and Google/Alphabet Inc. after it took a 7% share in 2013. Launched on December 8, 2009, Vevo hosts videos syndicated across the web, with Google and Vevo sharing the advertising and similar benefits. from Wikipedia

Most people like myself see the vevo logo (now with a small v) on a growing number of YouTube videos and think, cool a HD quality video. The key word here is ADVERTISING as the big music corporations are looking for corporate streams of revenue as most music is now streamed FREE to the masses. In doing a little research for this blog, I was amused by several youthful males bemoaning vevo as pure evil and warning people to stay away by not watching any vevo music videos. I guess coming from the generation that PAID for music records, then tapes, then CD's and now MP3 downloads and streaming music, this is not so much a big deal for me. 

Vevo is like network television in real time, it's funded through advertising. Nobody likes advertising getting in the way of their network TV shows, but you tolerate the advertising as you watch the Olympics on NBC this week for free (not counting your cable bill). Vevo also has those pesky ads, some you can skip and some you can't. Hey, I love skipping a 30 second ad just as much as anyone born in the 1990's. I even taught my 2 year old granddaughter to say, "go way" when watching children music videos together and an ad pops up. At four, she now knows to easily hit the Skip button.

For my Monday Monday Music blog, I love vevo as I get to present high quality video music to my faithful readers who enjoy my YouTube playlist from my weekly topic. I sometimes spend several hours finding YouTube videos to match the songs I need for a playlist. And, there is only so much poor concert YouTube videos one can stomach from uploaded mobile phone video cameras. For me, finding a quality YouTube video of a favorite song is a fun hunt to share through a playlist. So for this week, here is an eclectic vevo sampler of HD music videos that are typical of what you would see and hear in a Monday Monday Music blog. Enjoy!

Wedding Days

Evening on Puget Sound 

by Edward S. Curtis, 1913

This month my step-daughter Vinny (Alexandra) is getting married to her fiance, Jeremy Ouellette. Mary Kit and I will be making the trip in a couple of weeks to Seattle and look forward to the wedding and festivities with family and friends. We both wish them happiness and peace as they share life's journey together. Also, our dear friends Paul and Jane Hobbs son, Duskin is getting married this month too and we would like to wish Duskin and Ally all our best.

The song, For My Wedding written by Larry John McNall and sung by Don Henley is a favorite wedding song of mine. I once read in a interview with Don Henley that this is one song that he wished he had written himself. So here is to all the wedding couples, may these words, help them on their way.

For my wedding, I will dress in black

And never again will I look back

Ah, my dark angels we must part

For I've made a sanctuary of my heart

To want what I have 

To take what I'm given with grace

For this I pray

On my wedding day

For my wedding, I don't want violins

Or sentimental songs about thick and thin

I want a moment of silence and a moment of prayer

For the love we'll need to make it in the world out there

To want what I have

To take what I'm given with grace

For this I pray

On my wedding day

On my wedding day

I dream, and my dreams are all glory and light

That's what I've wanted for my life

And if it hasn't always been that way

Well, I can dream and I can pray

On my wedding day

So what makes us any different from all the others

Who have tried and failed before us

Maybe nothing, maybe nothing at all

But I pray we're the lucky ones; I pray we never fall

To want what we have

To take what we're given with grace

For these things I pray

On my wedding day

On my wedding day

Transcendental Good Morning

On my trail run, songs inevitably start playing in my head that often begin the spark of a blog idea as I jog in the dirt alongside the brush and Eucalyptus trees. From suburban sidewalks and street traffic, I arrive at a greenbelt trail head that starts my hour routine of movement and solitary thought. I've come to cherish this time and call it, my moving meditation.

I almost always run in the morning with a Good Day Sunshine start to my day. On some days, if I get an early start, I will see no one on the trail. On other days, I will encounter my regular group of strangers that have a similar walking, running or biking route to me and I see all the time.  This is a public access community trail and I also see a lot of new strangers as well. What I find fascinating (enough to write a blog about), is the spectrum of social skills when I encounter people especially in the close proximity of this winding trail. In fact, I believe there is a Murphy's Law of trail running, as it seems you're most likely to encounter an oncoming person (usually with their dog) at the narrowest parts of the path.

So, using my greeting skills, I initiate a hardy, "Good morning", "Hello", "Hi" (at least 90% of the time). To my regular trail pedestrians, I sometimes throw in a "Howdy" or something like, "Hey, isn't this just a great day!" I would say that people respond back, roughly 80% of the time. So one day, I decided to add a couple of visual prompts to my greeting by also waving "hi" coupled with a big smile. Over time, this has raised the percentage of non responses to now most people giving a verbal response or at least, a parroting hand wave back.

This past week was typical. I said to a couple of regulars I see every week on their daily walk, "Stay cool" (as temperatures are getting in the 90's here), this was followed by.....crickets. Then, about a mile up the trail, a woman initiates, "Good Morning" with a wave and big smile. I happily respond back, but the smile stays on my face for several more seconds as we pass. She has that morning sunshine beaming in her and she beamed it right at me, simply wonderful.

 You see, we're having fun being on this trail, enjoying life with some of the best weather on earth (in San Diego). But often and I mean often, I encounter disengaged, grumpy, too busy to look away from their phone people, or the classic straight ahead stare of avoidance with the oncoming me in their path.

Now I'm not going to ever be remembered as starting world peace here, but I think it's important to express a positive attitude when encountering strangers, even if the result is- it makes only me feel positive in that moment. But just maybe in my dirt travels, I snapped a few people out of their funk. Maybe someone is taking a walk to get out of a funk and suddenly a welcoming Mr. Sun just runs by. I know, no big deal. But in our current times where intolerance is making an overt cultural comeback, we need to employ the power of kindness and respect to one another. The power of "Good morning" is the power of the sun as the two dance together in a simple exchange to connect with people on the human highway.

On three occasions on the trail, I've stopped one of my regular strangers and introduced myself. When we now see each other, we stop and talk for a couple minutes just to ask each other, "How ya been?" I now have three people who have moved up from the regular stranger category to the, "Good Morning Tony", "Good Morning Martin" and "Good Morning John" acquaintance status.

The first video below is a Ted Talk by Ali Ghambara. I meet Ali through my buddy Bill DeVoe on Cherry St. (outside of Ali's coffeehouse) in downtown Seattle on one fine morning this past spring. He greeted us with an enthusiastic, "Good morning" and we all had a brief street conversation together. I still remember his body language and hand shake expressing that it was good to meet and connect, he meant it.

Hope you can take the time to listen to Ali's talk and then listen to my Transcendental Good Morning Playlist, it is guaranteed to start your Monday off on a positive note.

side note - Sun King translation

The Rides and Stephen Stills being one of the best band mates ever!

The Rides are a kicking Blues band with Stephen Stills, Kenny Wayne Shepard and Barry Goldberg (on keyboards). Stills from Florida and Louisiana and Shepard from Louisiana bring a tradition of Delta Blues along with a complementary sharing of lead and rhythm guitar duties. The two are a powerful combination as they both play off each with mutual respect.

You have to hand it to Stephen for being the elder star here as he equally shares the stage with grace and style in a trio totally in sync with one another.

Can't Get Enough - Amazon

Pierced Arrow - Amazon

MK and I saw The Rides on June 1st of this year at the Balboa Theatre. This is a great old palace in downtown San Diego that was built in 1924. We had also seen David Crosby earlier this year at the Balboa and love the acoustics as David's voice was built for the place. Anyway, I love The Rides first two albums and what a pure delight to see them live at this venue and, see Stephen having such a great time!

Growing up, Stephen Stills was always one of my favorite musicians with a spectacular career in two of the most iconic bands in rock 'n roll history. Buffalo Springfield is one of the first bands that really grabbed my attention to "stop, children what's that sound" and listen to a unique band that just ended much too soon. Their second album, Buffalo Springfield Again is the first album I ever bought myself (with my paper route money, along with Jimi Hendrix's Are You Experienced). Then, the long ride with CSN and CSNY. His solo career with Stephen Stills, Stephen Stills 2 and Manassas are just great memories of music in high school.

Like many musicians whom became famous in the 1960's and 70's, it is nice to see artists like Stephen Stills still creating new music. You also come to recognize from the greats is their ability to be a collaborator, as their art and participation contributes to making a successful whole band album. Stills embodies this collaborative spirit and thus is one of the greatest band mates of all-time. This is also an inspiration for me personally, in that we all can keep on creating new things with new people and have fun at the same time. Look at Stephen's smile here in the studio with Barry and Kenny Wayne, that says it all.

Enjoy my playlist, The Rides.

Cirque du Soleil’s The Beatles Love 2.0

In 2006, Cirque du Soleil under the direction of Dominic Champagne opened Love at the Mirage in Las Vegas. The show was written and directed by Champagne with musical direction by Sir George Martin and son, Giles Martin. Many of my close friends and family including Mary Kit and I, have created our own little mecca, in that we have made the pilgrimage to the Mirage many times to experience the show.

It has been ten years since the opening and Giles Martin and Dominic Champagne have a nice surprise for all the faithful as they have been working on a refresh of the original production for sometime now. Read this article by Robin Leach as Major changes at Cirque’s ‘The Beatles Love’ are two years in the making.

With the passing of George Martin in March of this year, "the 5th Beatle" who produced, composed, conducted and collaborated with The Beatles on all their original works, Giles continues his father's legacy as he carries the torch and keeps the lads fresh and in our hearts.

This Thursday, July 14th, Ringo, Paul with Olivia Harrison and Yoko Ono Lennon return to the Mirage to celebrate the 10th Anniversary of the show and experience the latest version. If you have tickets to that show you are one lucky (or connected) individual! Mary Kit and I already have our tickets for an October pilgrimage where we will also see the Rolling Stones at the new T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, not to mention Ron White also at the Mirage. Ron White actually has a really funny bit that he does in his Netflix special about seeing Love (being a Mirage VIP and all).

7/15/16 update - Here is a review after the 7/14 show by Rolling Stone magazine,
Beatles' 'Love' at 10: Paul, Ringo and Friends Celebrate Revamped Show

Here is a short playlist to wet your whistle for the new show and a trailer for the new Ron Howard documentary in September, Eight Days A Week - The Touring Years (LA Times), that chronicles the boys touring days from 1962-66.

Mudcrutch, Tom Petty's Back to the Future Band

"Mudcrutch was formed in 1970 by Tom Petty and Tom Leadon, who had been playing together in a band called the Epics. Mudcrutch's lineup consisted of Tom Petty (bass and vocals), Tom Leadon (guitar and vocals), Jim Lenehan (lead vocals), Randy Marsh (drums) and Mike Campbell (guitar). Leadon and Lenehan left the band in 1972 and were replaced by bassist/guitarist/vocalist Danny Roberts. Keyboardist Benmont Tench also joined the band. Ricky Rucker was a part of the band for a short time. Mudcrutch served as the house band at Dub's Lounge in its hometown of Gainesville, Florida.

Depot Street vinyl, signed by Mike Campbell

In 1974, Mudcrutch signed with Shelter Records and re-located to Los Angeles, California. The band released one single, "Depot Street" in 1975, which failed to chart. After Danny Roberts left the group, Petty invited Charlie Souza to take over on bass guitar and the band continued recording in Leon Russell's Tulsa Studio, and later at Leon's Encino California home. The band's record company broke them up in late 1975. Petty, Campbell and Tench went on to form The Heartbreakers in 1976 with fellow Gainesville natives Stan Lynch and Ron Blair.^[1]"  From Wikipedia



Now jump to the summer of 2016 as Mudcrutch just played and closed their tour here in San Diego, last Thursday (6/30/16) at Humphreys by the Bay. I missed the show but it looked and sounded great from the YouTube videos (with much thanks to s2seltaeb and BlissTanger YouTube Channels).

Album at Amazon

Mudcrutch isn't a household name like Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers and a lot of people don't know anything about this old/new band. I think they've keep this laid back approach intentional with little network television promotion pumping them up. They aren't doing this reunion and tour for the money and fame. This is about the music and it being played live in smaller venues
to a core group of dedicated fans.

Album at Amazon

I just got the Mudcrutch 2 album last week and love it. I also love this album cover and had to order a t-shirt replica online. The band and the album give you that early 70's mix of rock 'n roll, country and blues like so many bands were doing at the time that I just ate up as a teenager. I don't know if they recorded this album using older analog audio equipment like some bands are doing again, but it has that sound that says, 1971 is calling and wants you to listen to this.

So take a look and listen to my Mudcrutch Playlist below as I've collected music videos from the first 2008 album plus #2 and a few bonus concert covers too. Enjoy my friends.

James Taylor, You and I Again, San Diego, 6/18/16

Hi everyone, I'm back with hopefully a new blog every Monday! I've been having a great time going to lots of concerts, buying new music and I just got the itch to start sharing my passion for music with you again!

A couple of weeks ago, I had the chance to see one of my heroes, James Taylor at the old Sports Arena in San Diego. They now call it Valley View Casino Arena but as they say, "you can put lipstick on a pig, but it's still a pig." 

James and the band were fantastic and his voice just shined through. I took a video of the last sang, You and I again, from his latest album that I featured last year in my blog, James Taylor, for the long run, about his new album, Before This World. So here is my updated James Taylor playlist with apologies to my shaky hand and distance to the Walking Man on this first video. 

And, a Happy Birthday today to my ol' buddy Bill DeVoe who shares the same birth year of 1955 with me. Bill this story and song is a bit like our lifetime friendship.
Love ya!