New moon... new paint

This is one of those small things that makes me big happy. Many years ago my rock-star (no she didn't play music but she knew what life was about) of a great aunt gave me a water color set that's been all over the world, with her and me. It must be 50+ years old (she gave it to me when she was in her 90s, she lived to be 100, and she passed more than a decade ago) and I've taken it to India and Europe and backpacking in the Sierra and used it in many a sketch book and card for a friend. The brush is sable but the pan is horrible by now, and all my colors have been bleeding into one another before they're meant to. So anyway, after playing at Macworld (which was very fun), I went into FLAX Art Store, and walked out with a new watercolor set. Windsor and Newton. Not particularly fancy, very affordable (I opted for affordable synthetic, rather than sable brush) but hey, all the colors are in their own little clip on pans and yay. ...and yes, the subtext of this is that I need a cover for my new CD and the artist whose work I LOVED said he doesn't do album covers anymore...so I'm taking matters into my own hands. Ole!

it's all turning.....

When I picked up the master disc to my EP "Turn It All Red" yesterday, that I finally dropped off for duplication today, after many detours, engineer Michael Romanowski was in the middle of shipping out the latest release of his Tape Project, Dave Alvin's "Blackjack David." The Tape Project is an audiophile's dream come true. Sound discernment pros Romanowksi and Paul Stubblebine started The Tape Project out of love and respect for the increasingly rarefied world of analog recording and to give great music proper treatment. The result is a catalog of jazz, blues, classical and roots music, all on tape ("recorded as 15 inches per second two-track"). Subscribers don't get a little disc (like my ep) in a mailer but (typically) two reels per album of stellar music packaged in a handsome box. Ms. Jacqui Naylor's "The number white" was the first release and they've got a slew of other cool artists on the roster. Check it out, why don't ya.

urbanity

So much about city living is elevation-I live on the third floor, I work on the fifth floor and most of my views these days are of skylines and roof tops...this is a view from a month or so ago....

the day of the dead

I didn't react well to the Day of the Dead procession this year. Getting there was a chore on the crowded, cross-town bus that moved slowly due to road closures and I was startled by the crowd size. I got off early and walked several block through a jostling mob to meet up with Marina, recently back from a year teaching in Japan, at the Bryant and 24th St. intersection where a crowd seethed with drummers, skeleton face paint, white candles, bicycles and spinning pinwheels. The event had grown larger than ever and, despite it's Latin roots and Mission District location, was very much a Caucasian affair. The Burning Man community was out in force and the crowd movement as we began the parade through the Mission, was characterized by bumps, elbows and flat tires as well as stilt walkers, streamer-waving dancers and small hand-towed floats laden with gongs. Mural painted Balmy Alley, scene of many memorable Dias de Los Muertes past was closed off. The smell of beer, incense and pot filled the air. I'd brought a hand shaker, joining into different drum patterns as we went, while catching up a bit with Marina. I even ran into a few other people I knew amid the throng. Nonetheless, I failed to fall into an easy step with the stop and go pace of the procession, perhaps due to the long day of early morning yoga, work, meetings, appointments and public transportation traveling. It wasn't until we reached Garfield Park where altars, ribbon festooned trees, stone spirals and offerings were laid out in memory of lost loved ones, and the crowd quieted a bit, that I felt the intent of the day....
So my readers like the artwork, which makes me laugh because my mom, an avid reader who sang off key and probably would have written if she were alive today, always said "I wish you'd just be a visual artist." It felt a bit like a back-handed compliment when she said it, but I am at my calmest when drawing--writing helps me figure stuff out, singing is emotive, while the drawing tends to be celebratory and reserved for those I know and love. A couple of months a go I painted a slew of dahlias for birthday cards. This is one of the remainders:

national do something month

November has always been my favorite month, even before it became National Write a Novel in a Month Day (NaNoWriMo) National Write a Blog Post a Day a Month (NaBloPoMo), and National Write a Solo Album (NaSoAlMo) month. (FYI It's also National Diabetes Month, National Epilepsy Awareness Month and National Peanut Butter Lovers Month). Something about the harvest I think, the change of the season, and the powerful forces that make today Day of the Dead, have seemed to make me realize each November that, hey I 'm alive, I better get cracking. So...
Last year I did the NaNoWriMo (starting late and writing 30,000 words, that continue to be edited as time allows) and wrote a song every day as well (two of which survived into performance worthy). This year, I'm already writing a blog post a day, but the priority is on taking action. Chiefly, finishing projects as much as starting new ones (getting songs mastered, figuring out artwork-the picture is from last month's sketchbook). And what could I do every day that might be helpful beyond adding more of my words to the canon and give me a sense of accomplishment. A bit more service may be in order.... Yesterday, amid the other routines, I helped the Bike Coalition with the bike light project and picked up friends from the airport. Today, I'll start by pointing you toward a compilation CD that includes a track by a great San Francisco based songwriter Sean Hayes (along with Norah Jones and the Shins.), Big Change: Songs for Finca. (Hayes is an example of a local boy making it big. And deservedly. His music is great). I'll also direct you to the Green Party voting guide. I came home to a hard copy on my doorstep yesterday. Here's the info online.