Sustainable City

Amid all the booking in previous months, Jean Mazzei and I came up with a handful of East Coast dates and the Great Idea Tour would go to Phoenixville, PA before Brooklyn. The town, we found out, was indeed named for the mythical bird, having risen from many steel-factory related fires. Hence the name of the venue as well, Steel City Coffeehouse. Phoenixville was exceedingly friendly and welcoming as has been Pennsylvania in general. Having never been there before, I decided to stay on in Philadelphia for a few days before heading to NYC & I've been totally taken in by a progressive, hip, accessible and environmentally savvy city. Most restaurants and cafes cater to vegans (the joke being that some places label things 'non-vegan' rather than the other way around), the subway/trolley system is easy to learn and the mayor, Michale Nutter is evidently dedicated to making Philly the most sustainable city in America and it shows. Composting, car-sharing, wide bike lines and bike-share program are in full evidence. I'm visiting during Earth Week so there seems to be Green celebrations on every corner... as well as flags, former home as it is to Ben Franklin, Betsy Ross & the rest of revolutionaries. Thus far, I've balanced out my viewing of of the Liberty Bell & Independence Hall with one of Philadelphia's Magic Garden, a crazy quilt block of mosaics by Isaiah Zagar. Likewise, the musical landscape is just as diverse: indie bands at Mill Creek Tavern, a smoking Latin Jazz jam at Cafe Clave & an impromptu house mini-concert at my host's place scratching some of its surface....

Great Idea Tour in Texas: SXSW, Dallas, Denton

The Great Idea Tour is spending 5+ days in Texas: Pie delivered and served, songs sung and refined, heroes heard, more miles logged, tires patched, new friends made, inspiration and snow in Dallas.

Great Ideas, PowerPies & GoGirls @ SXSW

I'm appearing several times during SXSW, including a Great Idea Tour stop at lululemon Austin on W. 6th St. (3/18, 1-3pm) , a panel at the SXSW Convention (3/19 @ 12:30pm) and the GoGirls Invasion of SXSW @Austin Java Parkway (3/19@4:30). Say hey if you're @sxsw!

Whose Opinion Matters

idea Pronunciation: \ī-ˈdē-ə, -ˈdēə also ˈī-(ˌ)dē-ə or ˈī-dē\

Function: noun Etymology: Middle English, from Latin, from Greek, from idein to see — more at wit

Date: 14th century

1 a : a transcendent entity that is a real pattern of which existing things are imperfect representations b : a standard of perfection : ideal c : a plan for action : design

I'm at the SF MusicTech Summit, a convergence of musicians, music technology companies and pundits that Brian Zisk as been producing for a few years. There are a lot of great folks who've assembled which can quickly get overwhelming —influence, buzz, whose making money, whose not, why, does music matter, where's the music?, etc, etc. I walked in as Jay Frank was mid-sentence saying ''...and make it about the music" and immediately, and happily, saw the faces of local musician friends Todd Tate and Valerie Orth and David Wilcock. Kicking off the event at the Meet the Press panel listening to Jon Healey (LA Times) ask the assembled folks who they thought of as influencers, and I thought, no matter what site I go to or what designated authority says, it generally comes down to these faces—the local (and on their way to regional, national...) musicians I know who have hung in and keep striving, growing and listening to one another as much as anyone else.
Which is part of what led me and Jean Mazzei to initiate our Great Idea Tour, a musical and mindful swing through the Southwest in March, that will find us playing music, practicing yoga and challenging local communities to think up 'great ideas' to better their local, grassroots communities in some way.
What's your great idea? We'll be taking suggestions very soon....