Back where it all started years ago.  Looking forward to rehearsal later tonight (in about an hour to be exact).  Shows on Friday, Tuesday and Saturday.  Ready to rock.  Hopeful that everyone is prepared and ready to go.

Weather is great.  Can’t be the Florida winters with a bat.

Anyway, photos and such to come.

Stay tuned…

I don’t get nostalgic about New Year’s or anything. It’s mainly an end to a fiscal year. And not to get ethereal, but what is a year? What is time? Blah. So…

Last night at BAMcafe’ was great. It was a lot of fun. I enjoyed the venue and the staff was great. I felt like we put on a great show. I couldn’t hear my guitar much in the monitor or on stage. But outside of the two songs I played on the set was great. We were really vibing well and were able to do some really cool things with the music.

I get asked a lot if I get nervous before shows and I really don’t so much. I rehearse and if rehearsals are going well then there’s isn’t much to worry about. I felt like the band was tight leading up to the show so I was good. What happens for me is that I start to visualize the performance and see it play out in my mind. It went as planned.

The early sound check and time to chill with the band was great. It was nice to get in a few hours early to really get the sound dialed in. That makes it so much easier. And as opposed to the Bitter End I wasn’t late getting there so I wasn’t rushed to set up. Keep calm. I got this.

So that’s that. No resolutions. Just continue making music.

I had an interesting conversation with Bob Davis today. We had been talking online about the direction of music and artistry and talking to him on the phone today just reaffirmed some of the things I had been thinking. There is no rocket science to this. We will not be millionaires. Some will be fortunate to get fame or riches. And some will do it because they love what they do regardless of fame or fortune. I am one of those. I possess no control over how people receive what I do. But what I do control is my own growth and creativity. I embrace that. I welcome the challenge to be the BEST artist that I can. It’s truly liberating.

Going to start working on Carol’s record again. Going to finish up the work on my new record. There’s some talk about getting The Square Egg going again. I am expecting to be done with this record by the spring or summer. I just want to keep writing, recording and becoming a better musician. Simple.

Next up, Miami.

Stay tuned…

As we get closer to the end of a new calendar year I am reflecting on my life. I’m not generally melancholy, but in this regard there is so much going on in the world to reflect on. I can only do my part and live my life as the best example possible.

I’m really looking forward to the show at BAMcafe’. I’ll be playing guitar and piano again. Closing out 2012 with some music and a good show. I’m excited about the new album and the songs I’ve penned. The show should be really good, as this is a great set of players. We rehearse later today at noon.

I’ll be down in Miami in February for some shows. My goal is to be in warmer climates during the winter. So Miami seemed a good place to go since I’m familiar with the city. I don’t much miss it though. Only a handful of my friends are worth seeing – and my family. The sun should be a nice reprieve. I don’t miss it much because from a distance I can see how much I’ve outgrown a lot of the small-minded people that I used to know. When you are in it you don’t realize it. But I’ve cut off a lot of people there. I feel purged.

The older I get, the more I learn and the better person I try to become I find that I am creating a smaller circle of true friends. And that is good. Closing ranks. I really only want to be around sincere and genuine and loving people – in both my music and personal life. There’s really nothing else. If you don’t have that your life isn’t worth much else. It’s lived in vain.

Oh yeah, I’m having the site updated and redesigned. My friend Pedro Rios is working on it as we speak.

Stay tuned…

Been really working a lot on this new album and I’m proud of my growth as a songwriter and musician in the process. Carol came by today to demo some of the vocals for me and I’m really looking forward to recording them.

We worked today with Mike on Carol’s album and I can’t say enough about how much I thoroughly enjoy working on her stuff. She is a super talented singer/ songwriter with a prolific ability to create great songs. She is passionate about what she does and near perfect when performing. It’s really inspiring to watch her work.

Mike is a great songwriter and musician and they make a great writing team when I watch them work. There is an ease at which it all gets done and that’s very inspiring and gives me faith in music and arts. It should just be about creating something special and beautiful. They encompass that in their work.

Lately I’ve been rehearsing alone a lot to get ready for the shows coming up this fall. Looking forward to really getting out and playing again. I get this way when the juices are flowing. And right now they are going pretty well. Writing, recording, producing and such.

I’ve been going out and catching live shows so as to get myself back out there and familiar with it all. Performing is a totally different beast than writing and recording so it’s a mindset that I have to be in. The two almost can’t overlap in order for me to really dig it. But at any rate I enjoy where I’m at right now.

So far I’ve got a few songs in particular that I’m really digging.

Enjoy Yourself
Emily
Reason To Rise
American Tail
Crazy Love

And there’s a new one that I started messing around with called The Fool that I’m anxious to get to work on. The main thing is that I’m taking my time to make sure that I get them just right. I’ll be performing them to see how they come off live. But as far as completion of production, I am taking my time to really sit with them and go at my own pace. The process is fun. Work, but don’t get too relaxed and too stressed. A perfect balance.

Stay tuned…

So yeah, the joy of this blog is knowing that no one reads it and I can write whatever I want.  I mean, it’s out in the ethos, but I can just purge myself of my thoughts.

I went out to see Bilal and Camp Lo tonight which was really cool, as I enjoy both artists.  I had never seen Camp Lo in all these years so to get a chance to see them live and doing their thing.

Not much going on really.  Just doing what it is that I enjoy doing.  Writing and recording for a new record is always a lot of fun.  Tentatively the record will be called The Reprieve.  It’s symbolic of the content as well as the break that I’ve taken over the last few years in between Naked and the forthcoming album.  The direction is still being shaped, as I’m under no pressure or stress to follow any guideline or have any sort of deadline to release it.  I’ve been working on some of the songs since as soon as we finished Naked.  So I’m mainly trying to craft something that I will enjoy and feel good about once it’s done.

I’m looking forward to doing some shows this coming Fall/ Winter.  We were able to book the Bitter End which is always a fun place to play as well as BAMcafe’.  We haven’t played there in some time so it will be good to get back and drop a dose of the new music.

I’ve been playing my guitar a bit more so I’m anxious to turn up the amplifier and get that going.  I just enjoy making music.

There are 3 reasons that anyone does anything in my opinion:

1. Fame

2. A particular skill that they naturally have or have honed.

3. Passion.

When it comes to the arts those are the main reasons that I feel people engage.  Any variation of the three can exist.  Commerce and money aren’t a part of the equation, as ultimately we all want to be able to sustain ourselves in whatever the pursuit.  Even if it’s as a passion we would like to be paid in order that we can continue to pursue our passion.  So the same goes for having a skill.  We would like to be paid for the skill we posses and have the ability to continue to improve on it or practice it.  And certainly with fame it is married to money.  We find our niche and in truth we are the only ones that truly know what possesses us to continue in our pursuit whatever it may be.

I’m up late and about to head to bed.  A long day ahead with some more rehearsing and songwriting.  I’m in a pretty good space right now, as I usually am when I’m creating.  And so it continues.

Stay tuned…

Lately I’ve been doing what exactly?  Hmm.  Well, today I am home in bed, as I messed up my leg somehow playing basketball.  I either tore or bruised my calf muscle.  So I’m home with a ton of free time on my hands until I heal.  Which leads me to…

I don’t know if I posted anything after Barack Obama got elected to the presidency.  I’d have to check back.  I don’t know.  I’m really kind of just rambling now to vent a lot of frustration that I have.  I’ve been working with Carol and Mike on her record.  I am hopeful that we can get it done soon.  That’s been in the works.

I finally have an idea of how I want to proceed with the new songs I’ve been working on.  I’m thinking that I will put out an EP.  The tunes that I have will be a part of that which I’ve decided to title The Reprieve.  I’m taking a bit of a break from “saving the world” to just breathe and live for a minute.  After that I will put out another full length.  The delay has been in trying to articulate a lot of the frustrations that I feel lately with the state of the world.

There’s been a lot on my mind regarding society and the government and I haven’t quite figured out how I want to process that information.  But I’ve finally come to an understanding of how I want to approach it.

I’m really struggling with how evil and apathetic the world is.  There seems to be very few people in this world that are dialed in to what is just and moral.  That is weighing heavily on my brain lately and making its way into the creative process for me.  I want to voice a remedy or some solution to the ills of the world in a way that is my true voice.  We may be living in the last days of our civil liberties and freedom.  And with that I should act fast so as to let my voice be heard above the deafening silence of apathy.

The Reprieve and…

Wow.  It was brought to my attention that I haven’t posted in a long time.  I hadn’t thought about it.  I’ve been busy on a lot of fronts.  Personally as well as musically.

With regard to music I’ve been helping Carol with her album.  We’ve been getting together and writing and helping her pull together the pieces of her dream.  It’s allowed me to work closely with Mike again since he’s doing the bulk of the composing.

I’ve also been working on a new solo record for myself.  I have about 8 tunes done.  Well, the music is composed and recorded.  There are a few of those 8 that still need the lyrics to come together.  That is the challenge because I had set out to not make a record with any social or political implications, but that just doesn’t look like it’s going to be the case.  Which leads me to this…

I’ve been following the Occupy Movement here in the US a lot as well as keeping a close eye on the situation in Iran and how the US government is positioning themselves in that regard.  It feels like 2003 for me all over again.  A lot of the same rhetoric and same talking heads as war hawks.  It’s quite disturbing to consider that we’ve not learned anything about war as human beings.

I’ve also been following the situations in Israel, Libya, Syria, Iraq, Pakistan, etc.  There have been various rebellions and uprisings throughout the Middle East and the world.  It’s a interesting time in society.  So it would be hard to ignore and disallow its existence in any new project that I worked on.  My challenge is to capture my feelings on these issues.  It’s really about conveying my thoughts and articulating them well in musical form.  I’ve always been cautious about the marriage between my social/ political ideas and music.  In short I aim to be very clear.

On a lesser, but still connected note there has been the NBA season and the lockout that occurred.  There has also been the dissolution of friendships that I’ve had over the years.  All of these things are still related to the current social climate in the world.  It’s an interesting time for humanity indeed.  And for me I have to make this a creative time.

Stay tuned…

I had a lot that I wanted to say about friendship and sincerity, but I’ve decided to simply say that I am happy in life with who I am and what it is that I do.  Nothing that anyone EVER does can take away who I am.  And that’s about that.

I’ve had a chance to listen to some really great music over the last few weeks, as I’ve been speaking to a lot of folks that have music up for consideration for this year’s Grammys.  I wish them all the best and I am happy that there is good music in the world.

We’ve been moving forward with Carol’s album and I’m happy, blessed and fortunate to be a part of the process.  I respect her as a talent and love her as a sister and anything that I can do to help her with her record I am happy to do because I respect her as a friend, person and musician.  It’s exciting to see where this album goes for her.  And that’s what’s important to me right now.

Anyway, it’s been a long day so I am off to bed.

Stay tuned…

So tonight we are at the Thalia Cafe’ uptown in Manhattan.  Going to play a shit ton of tunes.  But I’m mostly doing it all laid back.  No worries. 

I think I want to concentrate on this new record/ idea that I have and really dial it in as to how I want to present it when it’s time.  The Reprieve is what I’m thinking it will be called.  It’s a different direction than I’ve taken in the past, but it’s going to be fun. 

Anyway, that’s about it.  I’m about to head into the city now and get to Thalia early. 

Stay tuned…

I rather enjoy playing the Bitter End.  The folks there are always pretty cool with us.  The crowd is really good to us as well and it’s just a comfortable environment.

The band was dope.  I’m listening back to the audio now and getting an idea of how well it went.  Maybe after a few drinks it sounds cooler than it really was.  I don’t know.  I’ll see in a bit.  But it felt good.  A lot of friends came out so that was cool.  Always a pleasure to see some familiar and new faces.

Anyway a few of us hung afterwards and had a great time.  Some team building exercises I guess.  But I enjoy my fam.  And so now I plan on doing some writing today.  Also maybe recording some guitar.  I have to keep myself excited and working on stuff.

Oh, and I’m thinking about starting a new band/ project called “Frank Fleet and His Electronic Sex Machine”.

Stay tuned…