had a really great time at this gig.
hope to be back down the road a bit.
thanks shawn, and all the great folks at the pourhouse.

especially, thanks mia!!!

enjoy!
click to play, or right click to download, ya?

hey!! i would love for somebody to make a video for this.
any takers?

click this to play - right click to to download. for Mac, i believe you do “control-click” then you can save to disk.
king-of-swing-jon-ji

the inspiration

the king of swing - king louie

sooooooooooo good!

–Anthony De Mello

This is from a book called “Taking Flight.”
But there is a book he wrote, that has become the most important book in my life. I have read it maybe 6 times over the past 8 years. And now I realize, that was hardly enough. I understand it more, on a deeper level each time.
I cannot recommend it enough.
“Awareness” by Anthony De Mello

Here is his Wiki

and here is an org devoted to his work.

New Orleans Saints Celebration!!

We all know that you can invite 200 people from Myspace to come to your show and maybe one of them will come. Still, that one is worth it. It is just that the average Myspace user had been so inundated with band requests that they have gone numb.

Now, on Facebook, I get about 20 event invites a week. It’s way more than that, but I can’t count them, because I don’t read them anymore. Why?

I imagine it’s no different for you.

What are we supposed to do?

I have no idea.

Except one.
Go out and meet people.
I have cut back on social media a lot. Little space, little face, and then that’s it. Tweet once is blue moon, but more out of guilt than anything else.

By going out, you make actual human connections with people. Then you can use whatever means you want to stay in contact with them. And do stay in contact with them. And do go to their shows. And don’t only think, what can this person do for me. In the old days, when you met someone, did you think “what can they do for me? will they come to my show, exhibit, public execution etc..?” I doubt it. You, like I, probably thought, “this person is cool” or “this person is a bunghole.” (Remember, it’s the old days, you can say bunghole.) When I go on tour, I meet all kinds of great people, and we exchange emails, maybe sites, and then follow up. But these things mean something now because we’ve met. There is something just way more powerful about really meeting someone.

I know. I should go out to some of the 20 events I’m invited to, but most of these people I don’t know and have never really met. Friended when we were all so young and foolish. Ha ha.

Am I a techno-hippie?

But, what do you think? What’s the next wave? Are we returning to the roots? How can we use social media without abusing it? Can we stop the face from becoming the space?
I would love to see a real discussion about this. thanks!

I want you ideas, because I’m toast.

busking in monterey, cannery row - jon ji

As the saying goes, you can’t judge a book by it’s cover. Tattered or torn, it might be the best story. I’ve got to keep reminding myself of this.
This little story proves it.

I had some down time on a little tour, and decided to hit the streets and busk for some gas and lunch money.
I was in Monterey, CA, so I headed on down to Cannery Row on a Sunday morning. Set up right across from the Monterey Canning Co. building. In a little spot across on the sidewalk, right in between a main parking garage and the main drag in Cannery Row.

I set up my little street cube amp, this thing is awesome, and sang with no mic. The reverb in this spot was soooo good. I played a tune and spotted across the street, under some trees, in a little park, the first person to notice what I was doing. It was an old, scraggly, white-bearded homeless man. He starts bobbing his head, then he gets up and starts doing the crazy homeless guy dance. It gave me a little chuckle.

Soon though, he heads into the street, still doing crazy man dance, and heads my way. I thought, “oh no, here comes trouble, if not just a hassle.” I’ve busked before, and sometimes the street people can be a pain, and you really have to keep and eye on your dough, because some will swipe it. All that was in my case at this point though was my “seed” money, you know, the money you toss in there to let people know it’s OK to tip.

Well, he comes up to me and starts talking, at first I couldn’t understand him, but then I realized he was making a request. The Beatles. I love the Beatles, so I said sure. Then, he surprised me, before I even started playing the next tune, his request. He thew a dollar in the case. My heart changed right then. I played Norwegian Wood, then Yesterday, then I’ve Just Seen a Face. He was the first person to put money in my case that day. I thought he was coming to hassle me, to steal my money, and he was my first fan. This guy has nothing and he tipped me. Goes to show.

A good amount of money followed from other people, a wide range of the classes. The most frequently generous being the Mexican families.
I got tipped by other homeless people, too. Two others. I don’t want to generalize too much, but I definitely noticed that those that have the most, seem to want to hold on to it the tightest.

So, the lesson is, as succinctly as I like to put it, so I remember, keep an eye on your stuff, but don’t be a jerk.

booking my fall tour and really looking forward to meeting some new folks out there.

also, going to try and have some new tracks down before i get out there.
otherwise, i’ll just be bring “jarm”
oh, and hey, if you buy “jarm”, contact me, i redid mission and it’s really cool. just email me, and i’ll send it to you for nothing.

ok, back to work for now

the weighted scent
of the distant ocean
gently flows through
the window cracked
and kisses the cheek
of the dreaming boy
smiling
he knows
he is home
creeping in the mist