Think Of Me, Think Of Me Fondly!

I think I have spent a lot of time in the past writing about the impact of music in terms of our emotions and how a song can bring about one set of fellings, very powerful and moving, for one person and yet mean absolutely nothing to another person. Its funny how the sound in connection to the words can make us think and or feel something that triggers an emotional response and yet if you play that very same song for another person they might not feel anything whatsoever. This whole topic fascinates me. Let me tell you why.

When I was deaf, my ability to respond to stimuli were really restricted to those things which I could smell, taste, touch, or see. Sound had no relevance to me, it did not make me feel anything. It has been said that smell is the most powerful sense of them all in terms of its ability to evoke an emotional response. Indeed, the smell of my mom's chocolate chip cookies makes me feel warm inside. The smell of a squash being cooked makes me think of the Fall and the feeling of the Harvest. Funnier still is when I walk into a bakery and smell chocolate chip cookies I immediately think of my mom in her kitchen and HER cookies...and all the happy memories that come with that smell. Likewise, the smell of Caleb's brutal football equipment, or more specifically the damn socks makes me think of things that are not quite so pleasant...its not that the kid has a bad foot odour thing going on as much as it is that leaving that smelly bag of his on the bedroom floor instead of shoving it in the basement near the washing machine is making me crazy...thus I think I will forever link the smell of sweaty gym socks to Caleb and Football LOL

Anyway, sound or more specifically music, has had a profound effect on me. As you can probably tell by my post and fascination with the Phantom, music has had a massive impact on me. Sound has had a huge impact on me. Suddenly descriptive terms like, "there was a knock on the door", "The bang of the gun could be heard for miles", "The roar of an engine or a crackling fire" all make sense to me now. I understand how to connect those sounds with images and more importantly, they trigger an emotional response. That response could be fear, fascination, peace, love, it could be anything. As I get to better understand and experience the things related to the sound, I will begin to make those connections that make us have a response.

So how does that relate to music? Well I talked to Caleb and asked him if he had a song to which he had a particular emotional attachment and he said that for him it was was Greenwheel's, "Breathe". I listened to the story in the song and began to understand why it had such importance to him. It was the music of his life...his heart...and his soul.

I spent the weekend trying to pick just one song that I would want the world at large to connect to me. A song that for those who heard it and knew me, would forever link me to them and the song itself. After much contemplation I chose the only song that could ever make sense for me. My old friend Phantom came through for me and it was ridiculous to try and avoid it.

The music of MY LIFE, MY soul, and MY heart is and always will be, "Think Of Me". I have chosen to include David Archuletta's version of this song because it was originally written for a woman but David delivers it with a sincere honesty that I feel very much speaks to me.

I hope you enjoy it and whenever you hear it, I hope you "Think Of Me"

LiveSTRONG!

In My Heart You Remain

Hi Karen

Words can not describe the tremendous sense of loss I feel knowing that you have left this earthly abode for heaven above. In a time of great pain and despair you were a ray of light and a sense of hope and courage. I will never forget my chemo treatments and the day you showed up beside me, and with just a few words, you gave me courage and strength. It was your gentle manner, the way you held my hand and told me that the best was still yet to come even though you knew that there was no chance you were going to get better. It was the way you showed me how to LiveSTRONG even when I did not have the strength to live. It was the words of peace that you and I shared as we talked about what life would be like if either one of us made our way to heaven should he call for us. Undoubtedly it was your grace in the face of odds that you were handed that made you someone that was so very different from anyone else. You faced your fight with Cancer with the type of grace, dignity and hope in which I could only dream of. You held my hand and reminded me that life is for living, even when there is not much time in which to live. If nothing else, it was the poem you shared with me when I was unsure about why this was happening to us...Eclesiastes 3:2 will always sitck in my mind. Today Karen, I give you Eclesiastes 3:2 as my parting gift to you as you ascend to heaven and take your place among the angels and I pray you watch over me and my friends, and my family with the same grace, kindness, and love in which you graced this place. I will miss you and treasure you always!

For Karen:

There is an appointed time for everything. And there is a time for every event under heaven

A time to give birth and a time to die;

A time to plant and a time to uproot what is planted.

A time to kill and a time to heal;

A time to tear down and a time to build up.

A time to weep and a time to laugh;

A time to mourn and a time to dance.

A time to throw stones and a time to gather stones;

A time to embrace and a time to shun embracing.

A time to search and a time to give up as lost;

A time to keep and a time to throw away.

A time to tear apart and a time to sew together;

A time to be silent and a time to speak.

A time to love and a time to hate;

A time for war and a time for peace. (Ecclesiastes 3:1-8).

May God shine his countenance upon you always sweetie!

LiveSTRONG!

A Song For Momma

My mom has to be one of the most amazing people I know. I know that most guys who are around my age don't really like to be around their mom's or their mom's do silly things to embarass them in front of their friends but mine is totally different. I actually like spending time with her and talking to her. When you think about it, she has had to deal with a lot when it comes to me. You try working with a child who is/was deaf and struggle to learn sign language so you can communicate with your son. Then you find out much later that he can have an implant done to let him hear and you move through that emotional roller coaster. From there you think its smooth sailing till your son is diagnosed with Cancer and you are told that he may not live more than two years. Then you sit through nerve racking rounds of Chemo and finally a hair raising surgical procedure to excise a tumor from his brain. In the middle of all of this your son tells you he enjoys being with guys and then introduces you to his new boyfriend but only after he disappears for a week and lives in a homeless shelter. Through all of that you accept your son and his boyfriend and offer to let him move in and become part of your family. Once he moves in you offer to be a part of the process of getting his life back on track and you live with the knowledge that your son is regularly having sex with his boyfriend in your own house even though you dont admit you know out loud.

If you could live with all of the above than you would be my mother! Incredible and I love her for it. That does not mean though that I have not had times where I have been mad at her...I am after all, her son. Those times when she got mad at me, washed my mouth out with soap, gave me an all expense paid trip over her knee, preached to me about good and bad, and made me do the things I really did not want to do were all excellent examples of the times when I was probably most mad at her and yet when I look at it now, I know she was only doing her job as a parent and secretly, though I would never admit it to her, I am glad she did what she did when she did it.

My mom is an incredible woman, an incredible cook, an incredible hostage negotiator...okay maybe just negotiator, an incredible doctor to the family, just an incredible person period.

I thought it was time I took time in an entry to tell you how great she was and when I googled for songs about mothers who are amazing I came across a song by a group called, "Boyz to Men" and their song, "A Song For Momma" and I listened to it and it choked me up and made me reflect even harder on how great my mom really is.

This ones for you Mom!

LiveSTRONG!

Spotlight: Zach's Rap Writing Part 1

I have been lucky to have been able to be a part of some very good rap writing from a great friend. Those of you who dont know my buddy Zach will soon know that he has a real talent for writing Rap. Over the course of a couple on months Zach wrote and emailed out to me a whole albums worth of original work and although it is not my downright favourite genre of music, I give credit to the guy who did the writing. If you have ever listened to or tried to write Rap you will understand that it is not the easiest thing to do.

With that being said, this will be the first of several entries that I will be doing over the course of this month. My hope is that someone out there knows someone in the music industry who can offer some advice, ideas, tips, connection, whatever to help this very talented guy along. Although I am convinced that he will probably pursue other things for a career, it would feel like a total loss to me if somehow this work was not recognized for the quality it is.

Let me turn the floor over to Zach and the first of these entries....

Ladies and Gentlemen...."Spread Yo Shit"

Verse 1:
I done did my share of dirt, flipped my share at work
I'm the nigga that lived and slid through terror turf
Did it big with clever workers who hid the crack
In the back bottled up in that Gerber glass
For what it's worth, I ain't told the half
I'm nearly rambling, y'all dick handling
Telling my past and you don't know me, Jack
Derry the name's Zach and I'm bout to expose these motherfuckas

Chorus (singing):
When I was down you had a lot to say
You should mind your business and walk away
Talk about them trying to find a way
To spread yo shit 'round town
I ain't really got time for you
With all that ignorant shit you do
Niggas need money and I do too
That's why I ain't fucking with you

Verse 2:
I wonder would he pass for passer
If a massive ass kick's inflicted
It can happen that quick, when spitting shit
Rapidly laying down your fag ass click
From running your lips like a bitch
All I know is something it gotta give
Niggas I gotta live, it's not a prerogative
Don't speak on the kid
Lid your speech or rid ya in the streets
It's so optional, but I will be logical
Cause when I lodge at you, it's not a hospital
Operating poppin' them hot slugs out your abdominal
Now your momma got a funeral attendin
Just for mentioning Warrior the henchmen
All I wanna do is make music and bench man
Get my weight up the same shit that Jay said
If you hate up, the AK's is sprayin
Motherfuckers ain't playin!

Chorus

Verse 3:
That's why I don't fuck with you cats
Cause this not rap with y'all
But this is not an act at all
Run ya trap, get clapped and fall
Spread rumors recieve malignant tumors
Don't confuse music with us choosin
Adhesive patches won't cover the bruise
Channel 2 anchors won't cover the news
They never give a fuck when it's beef between crews
All I know is that Z paid his dues
Made his moves and bitches really hate the truth
They rather see me laid in that body booth
Deep six, rotten so the rats can chew
That's why I don't fuck with y'all
You're runnin' ya jaw, and that really sucks for y'all
Talk behind backs but never to him dawg
Wouldn't that irritate your boss?!

Chorus-repeat 2x

Fly Like The Eagles

One of the things I think I enjoy most in life is listening to music. I don't mean flipping on the radio and tuning out, I mean really listening. On that note, no pun intended, I want to take a moment to share my thoughts around a band that has been around a very very long time and yet their music is so good I think that any generation of listener could appreciate it. For me, what sets this band apart from many of the others is their signature five part harmony. Have you guessed who I am talking about yet? No? hmmm, well there are 5 of them thus the five part harmony. many of the members have had solo careers at one point or another. Do you know who I am talking about yet? Still no? well the lead singer for most of the songs is the drummer. You MUST know who I am talking about now. If you still don't know, I am talking about the Eagles.

I discovered their music on the radio. The first song I ever heard was, "I Can't Tell You Why" and I was hooked. For me, it was the combination of the use of simple instruments (keyboard, drums, and guitars) that were used sparingly so that the most important instruments of all could be used...their voices. If you have never sat down and closed your eyes and listened to the sound of all 5 voices blending perfectly in that signature 5 part harmony that the Eagles seem to do flawlessly then you are really missing out.

Once I heard that first song I had to hear more and I was stunned to see the catalogue of music they have. Some of my favourite songs include, "I Can't Tell You Why", "Love Will Keep Us Alive", "Desperado", and of course, "Hotel California". Their sound is eclectic and seems to transcend generations of listeners. My parents love the Eagles, and funny, so do I. Their brand of music is timeless in my opinion. The meanings and messages of the songs still speak volumes in todays society and the quality of their music is simply amazing. One thing is for sure, they are their own brand of music and I absolutely love it.

I am sure anyone reading this has heard them before and this will be old news to you but if you have not sat down and actually LISTENED to each of the 5 parts of the harmony then you are missing out on the true hidden gift of this bands music.

Enough for now, time to go and listen to some more Eagles. In this blog you will find some youtube vids of some of my favourites. I hope you enjoy them!

LiveSTRONG!

I Can't Tell You Why



Love Will Keep Us Alive



Desperado



Take It To The Limit