Bruce and Bob

Lately, Brandon and I have been splendidly fortunate to spend time in the presence of true musical greatness, wrapped up in the talents of two ordinary yet extraordinary guys named Bruce and Bob.

1. Bruce
www.brucekatzband.com

Maestro Bruce Katz, a virtuoso keyboard genius in the organ vein of Jimmy Smith and Des Moines' own Sam Salamone, gave us a night to remember at www.bluesongrand.com last week. It was one of those midweek sparsely attended shows, yet how very lucky were we to be witnesses to such awesome talent at such close range. Brandon has been privileged to interview and review Bruce and his band before, see www.midnightwine.blogspot.com and www.DesMoinesMC.com. So when we arrived, Bruce greeted us by name and with hugs at the door, as did his stellar bandmates, drummer Ralph Rosen, bassist Rod Carey, and an enormously inspiring guitarist named Chris Vitarello, www.chrisvitarello.com.

Simply put, it was like going to school and to church at the same time, in all the best of ways. Bruce and his posse showed us "the meaning of musical grace" as they served us up a gourmet banquet of musical "v" words: vitality, vigor, vivaciousness, and again, virtuosity. Before the first set was complete, they explored country, blues, rock, soul, jazz, and again, this was all in just the first set. It was the kind of "kaleidoscopic" musical approach that I dream of daily, vividly painted right before my grateful eyes, and ears! I came away with the reaction I've had at only a few magical musical moments in my life, including nights with Wynton Marsalis, Gov't Mule, and 2 of our 3 Stevie's--Wonder and Nicks. That reaction is this: I wish every musician and music-lover I know could have been here.

Bruce told us that he's working on an offshoot project featuring jazzy/bluesy interpretations of Aretha Franklin songs, to be coming this fall. Meanwhile, here is your several-month notice to make plans now when this group comes back to town in 2010. (By the way, I got so excited about their music as I write this, that I totally spaced the fact that little old me got to get up and do a tune with them--he mouthed at me from the stage asking me to come up--I still haven't quite recovered from the glee of this--and we did a slow 12-bar blues in D that the late great Irene Myles herself gave me on the back of a "Mel's" menu, called "Mean and Evil".)

2. Bob

Bob's Soundclick website here

There's a bar in our neighborhood called Smokey's Saloon, a pool table haunt with a nice-sized stage and dance floor, which is sometimes our last stop on the way home after a night on the town. This particular Saturday night, we were excited to learn that the entertainment was none other than Bob and company. The trio usually performed country blues stuff, but someone was present who had a serious birthday hankering for some Hendrix. So Bob gave the enthusiastic group of fans a moment to remember. He came off the platform, pulled up a chair right next to his lively listeners, and kicked into some serious birthday Hendrix (thanks to his wireless guitar hookup--he was mobile). After we were all enthralled to the point of overwhelming, Bob sauntered on over to one delighted Mr. Findlay, took off his guitar as the band continued, and handed it right then and there to him, as if to say, your turn now--show us what you've got! And boy, did he ever! Mr. Findlay went on to play while seated, with fiery passion and "Hendrix-ness" right under the nose of his hero and mentor.

So after those hoots and hollers subsided, Bob took his guitar back, segued into "Red House", and edged back over to none other than Mrs. Findlay, gave me that look, and I launched into some shouting blues with him, right from my chair, totally unamplified, totally lacking agenda or baggage, just for the pure joy of the music and the moment.

Of course the Bob I'm referring to is the one and only Bob Pace, who I'll be sharing the stage with a few more times this year, after many years of admiring his talents from afar. And to share it all with my husband makes it even sweeter. Bob could play rings around guitarists way more famous than himself, yet has remained "under the radar" to be completely approachable and accessible in intimate, unpretentious settings, like Smokey's Saloon, or Blues On Grand most Tuesday nights, or other neighborhood holes-in-the-wall.

Luckily, you don't have to wait until 2010 to enjoy and be inspired by this musicianship. You can connect with Bob all over our city, a wonderful example of how much more rewarding it can be to support the musical greatness of someone local that you can actually converse with, and find out firsthand about their creative inspirations. (Another place to connect with Bob is www.myspace.com/bobpaceandguitartown.)

In Transition--the personal angle

"Knowing that you don't know is the first and most essential part of knowing, you know?" --from the movie 'Synecdoche, New York', written and directed by Charlie Kaufman

It's May Day 2009 and I am once again in transition. Actually, when are we ever not in transition? However, that sense of "moving on up" into a higher, deeper place is even more palpable than usual. Some things in life are grrrrrreat, some things greatly suck. Same with the world at large (see previous sentence for my assessment of Obama's first 100 days). I've aged, and so has the world.

Have you ever seen those "life coaching" exercises where you break your life up into slices of a pie, and take the proverbial "good, long look" at them all, the "searching and fearless moral inventory" of twelve-steppers fame? They say that the unexamined life is not worth living, and a few also add that the unlived life is not worth examining. Well, this life has so far been anything but both unlived and unexamined. And that's just this past year; and that's really just this past week.

No big earth-shaking developments, just a gently growing internal virus of...dare I call it wisdom? Another good word would be surrender. Battling the good in life, keeping it out with addictiveness, doubt, fear, and other varying degrees of utter behaviorial madness -- it's time to surrender and say, once and for all, I was not born for unhappiness. My best days are ahead of me, and come what may, I'm going to live in freedom, because somebody somewhere said "freedom is a beautiful thang..."

It's been a serenity prayer year, filled with all kinds of personal upheaval, plans made and unmade, people passing through as their reasons and seasons of presence in my life come to a screeching halt. God has been his usual perfect, awesome, patient, and grace-extending. My husband Brandon continues to be "the brightest spot" in it all, even as he perseveres through his own changes.

Without going into any specifics at all, I'll just say that lots and lots of smoke is finally starting to clear, revealing an increasingly focused picture of my destiny and dreams. Less outcome-based, more organic and principle-based. Less controlled and controlling, more openness. Less tolerating, more celebrating. Less knowing, more not knowing as a kind of knowledge of its own. Less lost in the land of the found, more found in the land of the lost.

In light of the upcoming launch for our new band, this space and time probably should have been devoted to rhapsodizing about bella soul. All in good time, not everything has to be about that. Snoop us out, keep tabs, follow the creatiVEntures here (still under construction):

www.bellasoulmusic.com
www.myspace.com/bellasoulmusic
www.twitter.com/bellasoulmusic

I will only be posting here on a monthly basis, unless I get real ambitious and literary lightning bolts strike. I'll be posting more often at www.bellasoulmusic.com.

"Life is good, life is grand, when I'm holding the hand,
Of my strong pure-hearted man, who always loves me for exactly who I am"
--from 'Life Is Good' by me

I'm in transition. So are you though you may not acknowledge it. In times like this, we find out what the water is, and what the rocks are, in our lives. I'm learning that the so-called rocks tend to flow through, and that after all this time, it's the water that is the constant.

PS--Listen to these if the mood hits ya; I speak better about life, and my own life, through song.
www.twiturm.com/phbi
www.twiturm.com/38rc

Stimulus shmimulus--a wise word

One of my "authors of the year" is Brian McLaren, who recently posted this powerful response to the "stim" situation. His words are always right-on-point, and this piece is no exception. Be blessed by the wisdom you find here:

Brian McLaren/economic recovery (there are several entries with this theme throughout February--read 'em all!)

Down with addiction, both personally and nationally!

Spaghetti For Breakfast Indeed

Did you know that you really are allowed to consume spaghetti for breakfast? And did you know that there are numerous principles in life generally accepted as "the way you're supposed to do things" that in fact, are just crying out for reinvention, renovation, reinvigoration? That's what the "spaghetti for breakfast" principle means to me, knowing that life is a journey from A to B, and absolutely everything in-between is negotiable. Every single day is a condensed version of the same thing, A to B, sun-up to sundown, and all that lies therein is a clean slate ready for a new daily masterpiece of life design.

I think because I am of mixed racial origin, this is something that comes easier to me, because in a way it is inherent in my code. I've always been a bit more able to embrace paradox and strange combinations because I myself am just that, a strange combination. We all are, but very quickly get assimilated in life to "the way you're supposed to do things" and even more so, "the way you're supposed to BE things". Today it's a miracle that something which has caused me so many growing pains in the past, my "mutt" heritage, has been the source of my greatest blessings of insight, openness, and adaptability.

It's amazing to note that I now share this precious principle with someone very special, the new leader of the free world, President Barack Obama. Much has been made (and rightfully so) of having an African-American President leading us. But in reality, he is also of "mutt" heritage, recently grieving the loss of his Caucasian grandmother (which I am also doing--mine passed away this past month, too, though instead of Hawaii, we grieved in the little Alaska known as Fenton, Iowa). Though I don't agree with him on everything, I am proud to have had the chance to cast my vote for someone who has obvious eaten a little spaghetti for breakfast in his life. Since that amazing moment at the Kerry convention when his star was born, and then throughout his campaign until now, he has consistently shown me that he gets it--he comprehends the whole spaghetti for breakfast thing. Rick Warren and Dianne Feinstein onstage at the inaugural together--beautiful. That's only the first of many more examples to come where I believe we will see the power of strange combinations come to life for us in our government and in our culture.

So on that note, I pray that we will all see that same power unleashed in our lives a little closer to home. Amen--not bad for my first time back in blogland. Enjoy your spaghetti for breakfast, and pancakes with scrambled eggs for supper, too! Comments welcomed...

Glimpse of my Green workshop

The other day, I had a lovely time with a group of 3 to 12 year olds, at the West Des Moines Library, where incidentally, I've been doing a lot of my recent blogging. On this day, it was time to represent Metro Arts as a children's seminar leader for their Green initiative. So I did my part to use music to declare the glory of "taking care of our planet, because if you do this, the planet will take care of you."

Imagine your inner child is hanging out with us for this whimsical hour. You would be the enthusiastic singer of the following to the tune of "Row Row Row Your Boat"--which is one of my favorite songs, by the way:

Save, save, save the earth, save the earth with song
Paper--Please recycle every day, paper waste is wrong
Spray--Please cut down your chemicals, too much spray is wrong
Water--Please run water carefully, overuse is wrong

And then, to the tune of "Jingle Bells", and complete with creative movements:

Let us all, let us all, let us all Go Green (Motown "shovel" steps left and right)
We can make the world go round (Sunburst hands and arms)
With our new routine--Hey! (Roll-up arms from hips to sky, with raise-the-roof at the top)

I think everyone should have the privilege of just spending an hour with a group of adorable kids like this, let alone being the one up front to teach them a little while. For me, they are always the ones who do the most teaching, if only I stay open to receive it from them. In the coming year, I'm going to be traveling more with the band and other musical endeavors, but I hope to be able to find some way to keep my learning connection alive with the next generation.

Keep Peace Alive In You

For the boys in my APF Action Packed Fun group, whose "Men of Peace" stage presentation project (through my work with www.partnersunlimited.org) is coming to a bittersweet, celebratory end:

Keep Peace Alive In You
by me

Verse:
What doesn't kill you makes you strong
And sometimes it becomes a song
There is a right so far beyond the wrong
And down the road I hope you find
Adventure plays to please your mind
And show you how your soul has been designed

Bridge:
Don't let anyone shake your state
Don't let anyone crash your gate
Don't let anyone break your faith

Chorus:
Wherever you go, whatever you do
Remember the journey that we walked through
And keep peace alive in you
Whatever you do, wherever you go
Remind yourself what you already know
And keep peace alive in you

Now, use your imagination for the tune, and tell us how you keep peace alive in you...

Mother's Day 2008--awesome gifts from my awesome guy

On the night before Mother's Day, while lounging at Karen's on pet-sitting duty watching all 4 hours of Elizabeth Taylor in Cleopatra, my husband showed up around 9 pm with 2 sacks; one from Taco John's and the other from our beloved 1/2 Price Bookstore in Clive. Here are the contents of the book sack, lovingly chosen as strategic investments for my life right at this very moment--this guy definitely knows what condition my condition is in...

1. Spirituality: The Four Loves by C.S. Lewis
2. Creativity: The 12 Secrets of Highly Creative Women by various creative women
3. Business: Ballsy by Karen Salmansohn

Check these out as follows, and enjoy the greatness you discover therein; then share your new nuggets of wisdom by responding (comments link below)...

1. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Four_Loves
2. www.creativesuccess.com/products/twelvesecrets.html
3. www.notsalmon.com

Goodbye, Michelle, my little one...

"We had joy, we had fun, we had seasons in the sun, but the hills that we climbed were just seasons out of time..." -- from the song Seasons In The Sun by Terry Jacks, written after he lost a loved one named Michelle, which also contains the lyric of this blog title

It's amazing that I could even remember this lyric, in light of this week's tragic personal loss. Our friend, KCCI Channel 8 reporter Michelle Parker, died of massive heart failure on Sunday, May 4; and all I can say is, our hearts are broken, yet struggling to celebrate the privilege we had to share some life with this lovely lady of the airwaves. The remarkable outpouring of loving reaction and tribute is here.

My connection with Michelle began when I was a teenager at home in Algona, IA. A regular viewer of people that eventually became colleagues and acquaintances once I came to Des Moines and progressed in my public musical career, such as Dolph Pulliam, Mollie King before she married Kevin Cooney, and the incomparable Mary Brubaker; I specifically remember getting excited seeing Michelle when she first started doing the "Community Calendar" segment around noon each day. As a mixed-race child raised by my black grandparents, who were the only black family in an all-white town, I was so excited to see a black lady on their station--you didn't say African-American back then. And I was equally excited to see someone who was a little more like me, less apt to be a cover girl, more apt to be among those who wished they could be someday, but would never quite fit "the type".

It's strangely appropriate that I can't recall the moment that I first met Michelle, because it really has seemed like we've always known each other; drifting in and out of each other's worlds of music (she routinely gave outstanding narrations in my productions, and her appearance as a fan at one of our recent Lady Blue gigs at Shooter's Hideaway had to have been one of her last of such outings) and faith (I served as her worship leader & Bible study companion while on staff at First Federated, and have remained one of her e-mail prayer chain contacts to this day).

My greatest memory of Michelle by far is that she was a Scripture reader in our wedding on 1-1-05. From that time forward, we got in the habit of giving a little "clap and cheer" whenever we saw her on the tube, enthusiastically lauding the big emotional stories, and occasionally grumbling a little during the, shall we say, less high profile pieces (what on earth is she doing all cooped up in that parka out in the bushes drenched by this monsoon, etc.).

As a singer and vocal coach, I am into "the power of the voice." I tell my students that we sing/speak who we are. In light of this, I invite you to return to the tribute clips of Michelle, and listen again, because it's all there in that voice: the kindness, strength of character, razor-sharp intelligence, authenticity, seriousness of intent; and above all, the undeniable power of a person who really knew the source of her own power, harnessed it with humility, and cast it forth in a perpetual state of seemingly effortless mastery.

So as much as I grieve the loss of this great professional broadcasting presence, I just miss my pal, my "homegirl." And I hope we all can honor her and keep her spirit alive, by conducting our own communication as "the reporters of our own lives" with hefty doses of "the Michelle Parker standards" of faith, hope, and love which, as easily evidenced in her life both on and off-camera, is the greatest journalistic trait of all.

Cumpleanos feliz...

...correctly pronounced "coom-play-AHN-yose fay-LEESE." That's how you say "Happy Birthday" in Spanish. And that's what I celebrated this past Saturday the 19th of April, my 43rd year of existence. I'm probably closer to the end now than the beginning; and for all the fear this provokes, it also inspires passion, urgency, wonderment, thrill, as well as the "less-sexy" qualities of gratitude and maturity.

First, Lady Blue played at an Earth Day event called "Blues For Greens" downtown, then I was treated to a romantic breakfast of French toast and thick juicy sausage, with popcorn and Sterzing's--the best potato chips in the world--as we watched "Before Sunrise" and "Before Sunset," two lovely movies featuring--brace yourself for the lack of frills--two people walking and talking. That's it, well not really, but that is the core of the premise. Two people sharing a soulful connection in a soulful location. Can't tell you anymore without ruining it, but I highly highly highly recommend these films, and I loved loved loved "sharing their sharing" with my partner-in-rhyme, breakfast chef extraordinaire. Then we had the KADOBRA moment--Karen, Dove, and Brandon, all together with me at Karen's, over superb enchiladas, Dirty Dancing, and Citizen Kane. This, my friends, was a red-letter day, and I am wondrously blessed beyond belief.

So go have yourself some Sterzing's and soulfulness, and have fun charting the course for the rest of your days on this planet. Raging Aging can be Really Awesome, so I invite you to Respond Accordingly, both here and in life!

influencer

this is a very very interesting book; check it out and be influenced by it...
www.influencerbook.com
it's from the same people who did the "crucial conversations" books.

yoo-hoo, be an influencer right now, and please report to me on your findings...

Antidote to the world's woes--the Bee Gees?

Anyone savvy about blogging will tell you that it's supposed to be used at times as a commentary on things like culture, recent headlines and trends, politics, government, economics, celebrity tabloid stuff, etc.. When I combine the heavy issues of the world at large with the heavy issues of my own world, sometimes honestly all I feel like doing is screaming, crying, or sleeping. So it may seem a little strange that, upon thinking of all the areas listed above, this is the response I'm choosing to focus on and share with you this day. I hope its relevance is not lost on all who read this; it certainly isn't lost on me:

This melancholy hormonal just-snowed-again-in April morning, I was soothed by the voice of my lovely husband, whisper-singing in my ear while we were lying in bed, "you don't know what it's like, baby you don't know what it's like, to love somebody, to love somebody, the way I love you..." Sometimes all I can say is: to heck with all the woes of the world and my own world; moments like these are what make life worth living. Filling life with many more moments such as these would be an outstanding antidote to "what needless pain we bear."

Today in the face of all I cannot change but wish desperately that I could, I cling to the sound of a whispered song from the voice of my own personal "inner-beast whisperer." May we all be so blessed to see enormous mounds of pain dissipate at the mere presence of tiny whispers.

the floor is yours--tell it like you see it...

From learned to learner

If you are the least bit interested in theology and future spiritual/cultural trends, or even if you're not, I cannot recommend the works of Mr. Leonard Sweet highly enough. One of my favorite writings of his is called "From Learned to Learner" and here's the link to it.

www.leonardsweet.com/llltransformation.asp

You really should check out his whole site, www.leonardsweet.com, and bash in the greatness of all the wisdom, progressive thought, good solid humor and writing skill that lies therein.

I'm actually reading his book, "Summoned To Lead" for 5 minutes every workday morning, and it's one of the best books on leadership that I've ever read, with a truly unique perspective using the exploits of Shackleton as an ongoing case study.

Taste some "Sweetness" today!

the floor is yours--tell it like you see it...

Haunting, hunting, hurting

Last night, my husband said the most amazing thing to me, in one of my "getting fewer but still appears once in an annoying while" moments of major depression mucky-muck. He took my hand and declared, "Honey, for everything that is haunting, hunting, or hurting you, I am here. Let me be here for you for all those things." Talk about a miracle statement. This from the guy who was just depicted as dashing younger man in our so-called "May-December" romance, featured in this week's edition of the Des Moines "Juice" publication (www.dmjuice.com--search with keyword May-December). Actually, I'd like to call it more like "May-August or September." Anyway, even in my momentary funk, I was instantly reminded of how blessed I am as "wife of Brandon", and what we said in this "Juice" article is so true, that love is not about age, but finding the "right person at the right time for the right reason." Thanks to Brandon for once again being the "right" that rights a million wrongs.

the floor is yours--tell it like you see it...

unimaginable devastation...

I sped past my usual newsstand on the way to work, peering over to discover today's headline...Iowa City family murdered. At that point, all I wanted to do was just keep on driving down the highway, all the way over to my daughter Dove in that same city, look at her face, hold her in my arms, and be reassured of the love we have for each other. What a horrific tragedy--simply put, there are really no words. It takes me back to the memory of when Dove was little; one morning while she was still sleeping, I awakened early and went to our apartment doorway to pick up the daily newspaper to find this headline...Algona family murder-suicide. NO--not in MY own idyllically-sheltered-from-the-world hometown, not THAT family--one of the wealthiest, most high-profile in the small town's history, not THOSE kids--whom I waited on during their holiday visits home when I worked at the Algona Public Library. How did the world get so crazy?

Being famous for my "penchant for sorrow" persona, I've been reading some "positive-thinking" stuff lately, including "The Little Book of Such and Such" books by sales guru Jeffrey Gitomer--www.gitomer.com. I like them; he says quit watching violent movies and the evening news--they're way too negative. And I do agree that optimism should be cultivated in life. But sometimes all we can do when we are hit with "bulldozer" news like today's unimaginable devastation is linger in the pain at least a moment, for it is undeniable reality at its most desperate and honest. Think of all the tiny and not-so-tiny heartaches that led up to that headline, the layers of complexity that rose and rose like a house of cards believing it could withstand the wind. And yet the wind came, a bloody wind that leaves behind an aftermath for all of us to respond to, and learn from; that somehow these cycles of unimaginable devastation can be tempered with sanity and grace.

the floor is yours--tell it like you see it...

from leading to led

I begin by revealing how radically I've been changed by my interactions with the 2 most important people in my life...my husband Brandon and my daughter Dove. They've carried tiny chisels and refined me into something much closer to a masterpiece than I ever could've achieved on my own. Dove's influence has led me to very pleasant obsessions with Project Runway, Sex and the City, and my latest fave, 30 Rock. And Brandon has encumbered me with the greatness of Jimi Hendrix, several Tao/Samurai books and movies, the Black Crowes (aka Sweet Crush Chris Robinson and the other guys), and a long-awaited reclamation of my right to what once was robbed me, the right to serious Led Zeppelin consumption. Artistic examples aside, my existence is infinitely better the more I cease resistance, and allow these 2 loved ones (and it's really 3 counting my best friend Karen) guide me and inform my choices. I remember nights when Dove was little when the two of us got home from work and I wisely just plopped down, looked at her adorable face and said, "Now what? You tell me!" whereby we proceeded to have the greatest of DIY evenings ruled by the navigating skills of my tiny teacher.

I think life is so chaotic that we're fools to try and control it as much as we do. We resort, when left to our own lethargic devices, to the same paths, the same smells, the same straws in the same cups of the same stimulation. At my age and stage, I truly am discovering the pleasure of finally shifting from leading to led.