Photo Time: God Is Watching You

From his 3rd story apartment in Brooklyn!

Peek-a-Boo!

Inspiration Comes in Short, yet Ginormous Doses

It’s a shame that I get frustrated a little too easily. It’s also a shame that my own frustrations tend to take over my life at the wrong moments. But, then again, such is the life of a songwriter, right?

As the title of this post suggest, inspiration to write that next big song has been a topsy-turvy ride in the last… um… the last few months or so. After my band’s recent show in Texas for FameCast, finding any kind of lyrical inspiration has been as difficult as trying to get the cookie jar off the top of the refrigerator at 4 years old. I’ve been trying to figure out why this musical rut has been set into motion, and I’m not finding a lot of answers.

[ Wow… I’m looking back at that paragraph… and boy, do I know how to ramble, or what? ]

My guess would be the lack of “useful” songwriting time. Sure, it sounds easy when someone says, “Why don’t you just sit down for an hour or so and write a song? You’re a musician. You have a great ear, and you write great lyrics. It’s easy!”. Really? It’s easy, huh? Tell me this, then… does playing Wii Sports get easier after you’ve been playing for 2 straight hours without stopping? Wouldn’t your body start to hurt just a little bit? (If you play like you should, of course). Sure, the two have nothing in common, but they’re both NOT easy! When I say “useful” time, I mean it in a way to say that it’s time spent writing music and lyrics when I have nothing else going on that could possible stress me out or distract me. Funny enough, when I was living in Queens and being stressed out to the max, pretty much 24/7, I could write music without any problems. But why? Well, in an environment that promotes nothing but stress, I learned to block it out and just write.

Fast Forward to August of 2007, Present Day. I’ve moved to Brooklyn with my girlfriend (who is amazing), I have a sweet job, and my band is starting to make a bit of noise in the online world. One would think that all of those good things would bring on a stress-free environment that would make it easy for someone to sit down and just write. Whoever thinks that’s the case, apparently, is wrong. Maybe I’m not explaining my frustrations correctly. I guess this post is just one big rant, and not really supposed to make any sense.Maybe I should just get on with the Zen like do at the end of every post. Yeah, that’s it… maybe a nice healthy dose of Zen will make it all better. Zen, do your thing…

Ah, so that’s the intro they didn’t air…

Hershey said to Brooklyn that Austin said…

What a weekend! What a week! I’ve been away since Friday, so I’m definitely due for a meaningful post. In the spirit of “meaningful posts”, here is a recap of my past weekend, and a preview of my current day and the week to come, including an always hilarious ‘Moment of Zen’ to finish it off!

July 21st – Hershey, PA

Maya and I went to Hershey, PA for the concert I’ve been waiting for all summer! John Mayer was playing Hershey Park Stadium with Ben Folds and James Morrison! I had never heard Morrison’s music before the show, but I’m slowly becoming a fan. He reminds me of a young Mayer… catchy hooks and some cool lyrics. But when he left the stage, the real fun was about to begin.

Ben Folds took the stage, and I was left speechless. Aside from singing along with him, I didn’t say another word while I watched his incredible piano skills. At one point, he was playing with his knees! And at the end of his set, he threw his stool at the piano, which incredibly hit the keys at enough of a perfect angle to play a perfect final chord!

John Mayer finally took the stage, and… well… wow! Although I thought his production was a little ‘much’, to say the least, he blew me away once again! Of course, he started out with his more ‘lady-friendly’ tunes like ‘Why Georgia’ and ‘Neon’, but once he got through the Pop phase of the show, the real show began! He broke out into an incredible performance of ‘Slow Dancing in a Burning Room’ that went all the way to the end of his set with ‘Gravity’. I had never seen him solo the way I saw at this show. when he came out for his encore, he played an acoustic version of ‘Your Body is a Wonderland’, and finished off the entire show with ‘I Don’t Need No Doctor”. All in all, the entire show was incredible!

July 23rd – Brooklyn, NY

Today’s the day we sign our lease for our new apartment! w00t!

July 31st – Austin, TX

Does that say Austin, TX? That’s right, it does! Why? Because I won a trip to Austin, TX with my bandmate and amazing friend Matt Aronson to perform live on FameCast.com! It’s going to be such a hectic and awesome day! I’ll be flying down from New York at 8:00am and arriving in Austin around 1:20pm, performing that night with the show starting at 9:00pm eastern, and flying back the very next day! If you’re interested in helping us win the competition, check out my dedicated FameCast page to check out our progress.

Well, doesn’t that sound like an awesome past weekend and an awesome week to come? No? Wait… I know what’s missing! Care for some Zen?

Isn’t Texas great?

My Past Week, Family Feud Style!

Survey says: I’m going to Austin, TX! Don’t believe me? Click Here! See ‘Soundscape Soul’? See the cool dude singing? That’s Me! Our fans have voted us as one of the Top 5 Singer/Songwriters on FameCast, which earns us a trip to Austin, TX to perform in a Finals show to be webcasted live on the website! The show is on July 31st and starts at 9:00pm. If you live near Austin, you can get tickets to the show by Clicking Here and reserving VIP tickets!

Watch, Vote, Promote!

Survey says: I’m waiting to hear back about the status of my application… for… an… Apartment in Brooklyn!!! That’s right! My own apartment! Well, an apartment with my girlfriend! Who’s psyched? I’m psyched! I just hope we get it. Cross your fingers!

We might be movin’ on up!

Survey says: The Global New York Mets Facebook Day at Shea Stadium was a massive success! 50 of us from that Facebook group got all met up at Shea for a game between the Mets and Reds. We tailgated before the game in the Gate A Parking Lot, and watched the Mets sneak out a big win against Cincinnati! Way to go Global! The game rocked!

Who’s that cool cat in a Cyclones jersey?

Survey Says: It’s time for for a Double-Dose of Zen… Family Feud and Chuck Norris Style!

You have 3 seconds…

That’s right… another fist…

Thirsty?

This past Saturday, I went to see the Brooklyn Cyclones take on the Jamestown Jammers, an affiliate of the Florida Marlins. The Cyclones won 8-6, thanks to a big rally in the 5th inning! Our seats were in the last section down the 3rd base line, right next to the Cyclones bullpen. When I looked up, I found this:

Now that’s I call a BIG beer! Speaking of beer, are you thirsty? For beer? Good, because today’s “Zen” is full of beer. Take it away Pawtucket Pat!

Feel that pure inebriation…

I’m a Little Faklempt

Talk amongst yourselves…
I’ll give you a topic…

Discuss!

[ Note: I found that scribbled onto a Lamp Post on my lunch break in Brooklyn today ]

Okay, I’m still a little faklempt, so continue to talk amongst yourselves…
I’ll give you another topic…

Discuss!