things I can learn from my 9 month old son...

...besides the ability to go for hours and days on almost no sleep (yes, I'm writing this at 5am my time after having been awake for the past two hours - his big sister slept a lot more when she was this age)

and there are plenty of things I can teach him but there are a few things I can learn from him, I think -

1. ask for help when you need it.

He's 9 months old, so can't do a heck of a lot by himself, yet. But he can try. He can pull himself to a kneeling position in front of a chair and with his big gray eyes and a huge smile look your way so you can sit him on the chair or just pick him up.

Here are my big brownish/hazelly eyes and huge smile :-D (see, a huge smile!) I can't do everything myself, although sometimes I try.

But what I can do is ask if you know anyone who would like to play guitar or bass with me at a show in April - let me know!

I also need some with a video camera to film me playing some songs - my YouTube page is sadly empty - just let me know!

and if anyone has a "catchphrase" idea - "acoustic rock and soul" (what I use now) is almost, but not quite right

2. remember people

He's 9 months old. He has some sort of facial recognition and lights UP when he sees someone he recognizes.

You may see me lighting up, but when I see you at a show, when I see your comments on www.facebook.com/dannrussomusic or when I know you are listening to an on-line show, I light UP.

Let me show you how - pick a song you want me to play, let me give you a shout-out on the computer, let me send you a personal recording for your birthday :-P

and let me say thank you for everything you have helped me with so far, even if it's just forwarding my messages/blogs or having me playing in the car when you drive your sister/friend/dad/kids somewhere.

3. every so often remind people what you're up to

Just in case I get distracted by an article, the radio, papers to grade, I often hear a DADADADADADA coming from this little dude. (whether he is actually calling to me or just knows how to make the DA sound and likes it is yet to be determined), so here is my version of DADADADADADA.

I am writing a WHOLE bunch of songs right now - I'm taking part in 2 February writing challenges, and at the end of the month will have a CD of songs entitled "The Locksmith." I've decided to have at least one reference to gate/key/lock n every song and I welcome your challenges to add to the album. If I use your idea, you get a free CD.

I'm giving a talk at a conference. The Classical Association of New England's annual conference is in Providence in March and I'm giving a talk on music and how Greek and Roman poetry/myths were just the pop music of the time. To hammer my point home, I'm bringing my guitar and playing a bunch of songs I wrote based on the classics. I think it's a pretty cool idea and I'm really psyched and a little nervous about it.

So, once again, thanks.

And I'm going to see if I can get this little boy back to sleep.

peace,

Dann

to honor the Holy Day

to celebrate (can you "celebrate" Ash Wednesday?) I was inspired by the TS Eliot poem Ash Wednesday and this is what I can up with (borrowing the first verse from Mr Eliot, natch)

Teach us to care and not to care
Teach us to sit still
Even among the rocks
Our peace in His will
And even among the rocks
Sister Mother Spirit of the River
Spirit of the Sea
Let my cry come to Thee

Won’t you hear me Won’t you listen to me Won’t you hear me now
Won’t you meet me And open up the gate Won’t you show me how

Teach me to know and not to know
Teach me to be found
Everywhere I get to go
Every road and every town
Let me be the outward sign
Of whatever grace I own
Let me never be resigned
Far away or here at home

Won’t you hear me Won’t you listen to me Won’t you hear me now
Won’t you meet me And open up the gate Won’t you show me how

It was snowy and the same time not
As I walked the aisle
100 people in front of me
Heads bowed just like mine
And the kids brushed it away
Like they’re trying to hide
Everything the preacher says
Played back within my mind

Won’t you hear me Won’t you listen to me Won’t you hear me now
Won’t you meet me And open up the gate Won’t you show me how
Won’t you lead me Won’t you pray for me Even though I’m down
Won’t you meet me And open up the gate And then show me around

i feel obscenely productive

I feel obscenely productive. Last year I wrote 4 songs on Feb 28th, and this year, two days into February and I have two songs completed for the RPM 2010...

"Vulnerabilities" a song about not having to lock away and hide your true self - sounds very Jack Johnson or Jason Mraz-y, which is a totally different vibe then I'm used to writing.

"Lessons Learned" one of the saddest songs I have ever heard. It's about breaking up with someone and you go from knowing every single thing about them to knowing nothing.

I'm trying to stay within my self-imposed "lock" topic. The first line in the chorus if "Vulnerabilities" is "You don't have to lock away your vulnerabilities" and the second verse of "Lessons Learned" has the line "doors were locked and opened slow."

I'm psyched. Are you? :-)

peace,

Dann

my take on the GOP retreat

1. it's really nice to see that people in government can actually treat each other civilly like human beings and discuss things in a polite manner...there was no yelling or screaming or "talking points" or "you lie!" it started to revive (just a little, I promise) my faith in government...which leads me to

2. Again and again, it seemed like the President actually did want to talk to people, to discuss things, and went on with well-thought-out eloquent answers that could never (and this is a sad state of our society that this is the case) be minimized into concise, 7 second sound bites. Without demeaning anyone the President explained the reasons he has done some things, express how he would like things to be done in the future and "corrected" those in accuracies brought up. He even got some applause from the GOP members there. And, he seemed annoyed with the way that politics works. He said "but that's the way our politics work now" more than a few times and mentioned that it was merely rhetoric but we have to bridge the gap between rhetoric and reality and "we've got to be careful what we say about each other sometimes...a tone of civility instead of slash and burn would be helpful. The problem we have is a media that only responds to slash and burn" - there were very few 7-second sound bites and even fewer really polarizing statements where someone can turn it into "he hates America." There was thought and eloquence very rarely seen on TV nowadays. THIS is the person I voted for, who wants to have honest discussion to fix things, not just yell until someone else fixes it or people just give up on some very worthy causes.

peace,
Dann

it's not a Total Tragedy at all

So, King Henry the 8th wrote Greensleeves for one of his many wives - you may know the melody as "What Child is This." This is a slightly different take on the song, released in honor of Erin Dionne's book release party for her new book "The TOTAL Tragedy of a Girl Named Hamlet" which you can purchase here: www.thebookrack.com/store or any bookstore near you.

And don't forget you can now request a 15th century rock song at shows! :-P

peace, Dann

http://www.dannrusso.com/free_download_of_the_month.html