The Letter

Today I woke up in my own bed. I was able to sleep uninterrupted through the night. My pillow missed my head and my drool. I wake up with Joe Cocker spinning in my head.

Smash The Emptiness

Today I had a moment to sit in front of my computer and listen to what my friends are creating.

I decided to visit the myspace page of Girls Doing Embroidery. I listened to the songs on the page and fell in love once again with Olga's simple beauty. It is honest songwriting at its best. The one song that floats in my head today is "Smash The Emptiness". It mirrored some of my inner struggles and moved me in harmony towards a happier light. The gentleness of this song is masterful. Constructed with fine yarns and finished with gold autumn leaves; Olga's gift fills me with rivers of joy and embroiders my hearts wounds shut. Go to Girls Doing Embroidery's myspace page and listen for your own healing.

Fast as Lightning

fast as lightning

we travel through this world

sometimes we dont see ourselves

sometimes we fall and break our bones

fast as lightning we hate

fast as lightning we love

but when the ice cream truck comes

we slow down

hey listen to the song

it can almost send you to sleep

or even awaken

that hidden need to feed the hungry

or to even wash someones feet

fast as lightning we all die

and fast as lightning we are all born

water is slow and lightning is fast

the hills grow wider

and the trees grow taller

fast as lighting

ONLY YOU

For some reason this video really made my moody blues go down the drain.

There is some magic there. The song and video both are very lighthearted and truly capture Ringo's warm and friendly personality.

Thank you Ringo!
JD
CLICK HERE

The Gift

A couple of weeks ago a friend filled my heart with joy with a beautiful gift, an immortalized portrait of yours truly. It was such an honor to receive this painting in the mail. The feeling is inexplicably grand.

Bekka Bluebird is the artist. Bekka a warm hearted jack of all trades hails from the hills and hollers of the great dutch state of Pennsylvania. Flanked by her children whom she adores and her infrangible husband, Bekka changes this world with nothing else but love. The simplicity of her art and her love for all that is good in this world make her a light: a very bright light that for some undeserving reason, has shined on me.

Dollar Store Dream

I was at a dollar store buying some things.

As I turn around from grabbing something from a rack on the wall, a lady with long gray hair shoves an ice pop in my mouth. I move to another aisle, she follows me and proceeds to rub up against me as she walks down the aisle. I then walk over to my wife and head to the check out and leave the store. It is dark and cold outside.

I go to visit my friend who is Billy Crudup. He needs a heroin fix, so I proceed to help him by tying a tourniquet on his bicep. I also inject him with the drug. The lady with with the long gray hair is hanging around the house.

All of a sudden the cops show up and we run away. We end up catching our breath in the middle of a forest. We are getting really hungry. Billy says that he hears the worms underneath the trees trying to get out of the ground. We then start to rip out the roots of a huge tree and once all the roots are exhumed we tip over the tree. We can see the worms peeking out of the ground. I plucked them, and one by one they popped out. The worms were about 2 feet long.

We begin to eat the worms; we are satisfied.

Together

Together

One step at a time

It makes the world turn round and round

Sometimes it seems like its too late

and then its all right and all bright again

The streets of the busy city are ours again

"Buy me a rubber band shooter!" she says

"If you do, Ill love you forever and ever"

Tom Eaton Hears Voices

Earlier this year I had the pleasure and honor of recording my voice for one of Tom Eaton's animations titled "The MP3 Mobile". It was a great experience in which I was able to collaborate with someone very talented and experience something totally new.
Tom Eaton's sense of humor is very classic in many ways and that is why I enjoy his work. His animations have a way of making your day brighter in a manner of 2 or 3 minutes. To me, it is pure magic. See for yourself.

Link

The Invincible Lego Man

together they make him
an invincible Lego man
trained to never be destroyed
and to always stand his ground
firmly against the tempestuous winds

she sees him with eyes of gold
"oh my invincible Lego man!" she exclaims
and then with a long ferocious yawn
she sleeps with the lions and the reds, greens and blues

Haruko-Wild Geese

Soft, gentle beauty casting its shadow on my face before dawn. A burst of autumn air that revives my lungs to breath again. I begin walking, following the voice of a holy messenger.
A Joan of Ark that tears down the dense forest in front of me. Hear her voice soft like silent thunder; hear her message bringing me back home. Haruko is home.
http://www.myspace.com/harukomyspace

Morning Dreams by Haruko
Powered by Podbean.com

Today I Shall Walk With You

today i shall walk with you
we will talk amongst the trees
i will whisper in your ear
i will spit on your shoes

today i shall walk with you
we will look out at the horizon
the trees will scrape your Cinderella skin
the roses will turn to stone

today i shall walk with you
we will dance with our broken knees
you will fall down and hurt yourself
i will be there to pick you up

tomorrow...shall you walk with me?

Fried Egg in The Bath Tub

fried egg in the bath tub
sitting so patiently
waiting for the lady to scrub his back
waiting for the moment in which he should speak

"not tonight!" said the voice that came out of the loud speaker
"today you shall recite the pledge of allegiance until your fingers and toes look like prunes"

fried egg in the bath tub
sat and cried
"waiting is a game for fools" he says
"tonight I'll let them see what I'm made of"

"behold!!!" he shouts back at the loud speakers orders
"I am your king and you are my peasant and there is nothing left for you to say tonight"
"I will no longer submit myself to your demands!"

fried egg in the bath tub
bathed in glory
"waiting is a game for fools" he says
"I am not a fried egg in the bath tub anymore"

DAKOTA SAVES MR. CRICKET

A cricket made its way into our apartment the other day and serenaded us as we slept. The following evening I returned home from work and spotted the cricket hanging around on our curtain. Dakota is amazed by the creature who has decided to make our apartment his new home but she then decides to save him and bring him back to his natural habitat.
Here's the video of our excursion to save Mr. Cricket.

The Dreadful Day That Came and Went

Here's a short animation I worked on during an insomnia episode the other night. Hope you like the spooky backwards track.
yours,
JD

My Fortune

Went to a Buddhist temple the other day to read my fortune. This is what Buddha had to say.

MATS GRÖNMARK

A man with a face of steel and a heart of cotton candy. A voice from outer space and wild gray curls flying above. A prophet for those who will listen. A wall of sound that will come crashing down with vengeful force upon all those who bring deceit. A gold mine hidden deep inside the mud.
Once again I have struck gold.

MATS GRÖNMARK CLAM WITHOUT A SHELL

Breathe

Many people breathe
but few are the ones who truly breathe
They come and go
and sway about
They laugh at jokes but nearly drown
An old man is dead
he breathes just to breathe
he opens his eyes to see me
Who am I?
Who am I to live without breathing?
Who am I to laugh without laughing?
Who am I to love without loving?
I am and I will always be a breath
One splendid breath
Breathe

I Get Free Stuff

Poem for Dinner

I fell down
about a year ago
I flushed the toilet
I cried in fear
It wasn't me
Its not me
I never wanted it
It just sneaked up on me

Blue nights
Chain smoking in the sun
and then the winter came
to freeze the pond
You know
that beautiful pond
The one in greenwood
No more picnics

They all lied
I wished to make them disappear
but they didn't
They said I was a monster
a big scary monster
They even laughed
but I'm a swan
You know the swan
The pond is frozen

Tomorrow night
I'm gonna have you for dinner
Ive been so hungry
I deserve to eat and rest
sleep without the heavy ghost
I deserve to see my friends again
but I wont

I fell down
about a year ago
I know I'll never fall again

My Good Friend Philipp

Myspace has been good to me. I never imagined a place on the net where musicians and artists could promote their art with very little effort and at no cost.
Myspace has also been a place to make great friends. I have connected with many great musicians all over the world and have made some heart to heart connections. One of those special connections is my very good friend Philipp Sohlmann. Philipp resides in Germany and is a super talented musician and song writer. Philipp's voice is a concoction of milk and honey. His smooth comforting voice takes you floating on a dream cloud through the hills and valleys of the north country. The songs are carefully constructed and have a many treats hidden inside of them for you to find. Philipp will be releasing a full length very soon. Itll be a gem of an album that should not be missed.
For my birthday Philipp sent me a gift unlike any other gift Ive ever received. A carefree song about life's crazy dance that surprisingly enough mentions yours truly. I am honored to have made history through someone else's art and even more just so overwhelmed with joy that he would place me in one of his gems. It truly makes my heart skip a beat. Here's the song titled " Hey " for your enjoyment.
yours,
JD

HEY by Philipp Sohlmann

Powered by Podbean.com

ART!

Hey Folks!
Been working on some art for the CD Release Party on May 31st. I made this rubber cut on the train the other day and I think it came out rather cool. I think I will include an original print in each goodie bag as a gift to all the supporters. Hope you like it.
JD

Boredom strikes again.......

On this rainy day, I had to keep Dakota busy somehow.
JD

CALAVERA

The skeleton speaks to me during my cigarette break. He tells me "quit smoking or you'll end up like me" and then to my surprise he orders me to end my cigarette break and go make him a ham sandwich.

Bird Builds Nest

Every day when I head out of my house, I hear a bird making the most beautiful sounds I could ever hear. Today I looked up and waited patiently to spot him, and I did. I believe its building a nest. I hear its little baby birdies chirping away. Its the most beautiful thing, especially living in a city of pollution and noise. I happened to have my camera with me so I took a video of the bird. You can hear its singing fighting with the atrocious sounds of trucks and cars. I wish I could get up on the roof and film the babies. I also wish I could sing like a bird. I think I'll try ( both wishes ). To be continued....

Its 12: 44 am and...

Dakota is still not asleep. I'm not sure whats going on with her. She seems to get more and more energy by the minute. My eyes hurt.
Someone in France wrote about my music on some music blog. How strange huh ?. I'm not sure how this happens but I'm just baffled at how someone so far away found my tunes and actually enjoyed them.
What a day! I must be dreaming. Maybe Dakota is really fast asleep.
Not sure though.

yours,
jd

Dakota In Concert Take 2

Do you guys remember last month when I tried filming one of Dakotas performances and her guitar strings popped? Well, her grandma got her a fancy cherry red sunburst acoustic guitar for Christmas so she has been playing that a lot around the house quite a bit. I made a little guitar strap for her so she could carry it around easily. Shes been having some fun playing her songs. Hope you enjoy the videos.
yours,
jd

Elisa Flynn " Songs About Birds and Ghosts"

Songs About Birds and Ghosts has been in the works for a long long time. I was very excited upon receiving it in the mail last week.
Elisa Flynn is a good friend of mine that Ive had the pleasure of recording and performing with for some time now. Elisa is one of those people who emanates music. She has been in the music scene for a very long time with many respectable projects under her belt. Her determination to make music and make an impact in this boring, saturated music scene is just simply impressive. I can honestly say that I wish I had her balls.
The album is very nicely arranged. I love the progression of the songs and the overall mood.
The songs are very much to the point and don't really dance around too much leaving you bored out of your noggin. One thing Ive always admired about Elisa is her courage to do what she wants to do and nothing else. This can clearly be heard throughout the album. Her lyrics are very dreamy and bring to mind Sylvia Plath's dark, moody compositions. Me being a guitar player, I always look forward to hearing some tasteful guitar sounds. I'm not really ever looking for extensive guitar riffs and coma inducing pedal effects. Songs About Birds and Ghosts has the right amount of "guitar shine" as I would say. Also, her chord arrangements are very down to earth and minimalistic, which really bring out her lyrics and leave your ears satisfied.
I usually hate comparisons but I think this comparison that I'm about to make is merely a reflection of what my ears find beautiful. Listening to the album I could hear that Elisa is not only influenced by those classic pop, punk rock icons that many of us adore but also more contemporary artists that have emerged recently. The spirit of Neko Case seeps through Elisa's heart and drip drops around in some of the more delicate songs on the album, while still holding true to Elisa's trademark folk/punk sound.
"Egon" and " My Mistake" are really my favorite tracks. I listen to them over and over. "Egon's" waltzy/polka/punk jangle makes me want to learn how to play the drums. I just friggin love that song. " My Mistake" has Elisa written all over it. If you don't know Elisa and want to know her this is the song to listen to. Its strong and confident just like EF.
I had the honor of recording banjo on "Big Sky", which Ive uploaded for you to hear.
This is truly a very well executed album. I am sure we will see Elisa shinning in the Big Sky very soon; she has been for a long time now, its just time we all noticed. Enjoy the tracks below.
yours,
JD



Big Sky

Powered by Podbean.com

Egon

Powered by Podbean.com

My Philosophy on Donating Clothing

Every time my wife and I get into a cleaning frenzy we usually fill 2 or more bags of clothing for the needy. Not that we are not needy but there are others who could surely use what we no longer need or want.
So, we call up a church that very kindly picks up our unwanted clothing and makes sure the needy gets it. Its usually a very simple process of just calling the church and giving them your address and time of pick up. They usually have a window from 8am to 3pm to pick up your donations. The norm is to leave your clothing in bags outside your door. Very simple right? Well, not that simple.
The problem is that in Brooklyn NY people have the notion that whatever is on your door step or stoop, is up for grabs. So with that said it could really "open up a can of worms" ( I love that figure of speech ) Sometimes people will go through your donations and grab what they want and then leave a mess on your door step for you to clean up in the morning and for your neighbors to gossip about how there must have been some heated domestic dispute at your house last night. We all know the usual suspects hanging their heads out their windows, checking to see when you come in and out and how many cigarettes you smoke on your stoop or why you ride your bike everywhere.
In order to avoid such catastrophes in our lives, we have taken a step further to ensure the protection of our donations. We have made signs that we taped onto our bags. Not just any signs but signs that are made to play with the intruders self worth. Hopefully this will deter all those crazy used clothing fiends that creep about at night looking for their next victim.
Hope this works and I hope you also enjoy the video.
yours,
JD Theft Free Donation Activist BKLYN NY