October 20th, 2007

I am excited to announce a new album’s completion and feel appreciative of having this method of expression and a great group of musical supporters to help me do this.  When I have finished a record in the past, it always felt like it would be the last one probably since it takes so much mental and physical energy to manifest it.  I sometimes am guilty of not giving myself enough credit for things and focusing on details that might not relate to the big picture and the overall accomplishment. But to me, the details have always been important.  This time, I do think I was able to surrender a bit more to imperfection and leave some of the quirks alone.  For my personality, this was not easy and now I am glad I was able to exercise less of my normal tendencies without feeling compromised.  What is important is the music and the message and I think it comes through clearly and powerfully.  I usually work with a co-producer but the lessons of the past few years led me to take it on myself.  essentially, I surrounded myself with great players and engineers but the reigns were mine alone.  I did however let go of the steering wheel when I knew I could learn from others.  There is no going it alone in life.  Collaboration in all forms is what makes us and being alone sucks to be a bit less formal.  It is nice to have the space to express oneself but solitary expression has its limits.  In fact, it’s impossible. The muse comes in many forms, but we need them.  Life seems to get more complicated these days and if you are sensitized to your surroundings, it can get a bit painful.  I hope this album can inspire people to push forward and feel good about life and feel good about our present and future.  Whatever it holds, we are in it together. My new album ‘Ours Is The Time’ is all about our collective bond.

March 22nd, 2006

I wanted to share a story about last weekend while visiting San Diego.  I was down there to record some demos of new material I am working on at the studio
owned by my old friend Patricio from college.  Just demos, no album yet. Nevertheless, my buddy also teaches kids music and without telling me where we were going, he drove us to a house in Del Mar where two women had set up a rehearsal studio for their kids in the living room of one of their houses. A full p.a. sound system among the chairs and tables and three kids ages 10 through 13. Their long hair made it hard to decipher at first whether they were boys or girls.  Turns out the drummer was a twelve year old girl with glasses who was very quiet and adorable.  She starts playing drums and this mega sound comes out of her. She is a solid player.  Then another long locked kid (male) straight out of the movie “dazed and confused” or even better yet , “over the edge”, if you remember that one, played the bass. Number three, a blond haired 14 year old guy, played the electric guitar.  They started jamming together and the mothers looked on. My friend said, “hey Scott, why don’t you sing” and he then picked up his electric guitar and I picked up the mic.  They knew “Helter Skelter” by The Beatles as well as “Day Tripper” and lots of Hendrix. They were playing great and I was very impressed.  They showed me a few original songs written by the guitarist which I found very advanced for such a young writer. I sang my ass off on “Helter Skelter” especially and had a great time.  I asked them if they liked “Arctic Monkeys”, a new punk band of 20 year olds I had been listening to.  They had never heard of them.  I thought it ironic that this old guy was listening to these young bands and the kids were inspired by Hendrix and The Beatles.  They did like The White Stripes however which we had in common.  So imagine the scene.  My old friend and I rocking out with these kids who made a great rhythm section.  I think the mothers were a bit bothered if you know what I mean.  It was a spontaneous occurrence in a beach town neighborhood.  Rock and Roll is a universal language for sure. Timeless.

The Ides of March, 2006

It has been months since I have written here.  Some recent thoughts will hopefully inspire some words.  The point I was thinking about minutes before I turned on the computer was how important it is to realize that every experience, even when it feels totally wrong and maybe against the grain can yield something completely unexpected.  I recently attended a birthday party for an x-girlfriend and I was reluctant to go. Just felt negative about the scene in general. I brought a friend and at 10 p.m. was still one of the first to arrive.  This party took place at Moonshadows in Malibu where I found myself lounging on an outdoor chair overlooking the ocean.  Next to me on one side was my buddy who I hoped was having a good time given the fact that all were strangers to him.  On the other side of me was a young blond woman who I began to chat with. She turned out to be a singer (what a shock) and next to her was her boyfriend who remained quiet and listened as we spoke.  She began talking about her favorite new artist, James Blunt and how brilliant he was.  I did not necessarily concur since I was not familiar with the artists work other than a song on the radio I heard maybe once.  Soon she started talking about her boyfriend who turned out to be a fairly well known music producer and songwriter from France.  Soon he had a copy of my latest CD in his hands.  I always carry them now after a chance meeting with Steve Jones revealed no such copy when I wanted to give him one for his radio show in Los Angeles.  Nevertheless, this time I was in stock.  I did not think twice about it and thought they might listen in the car on their way home and maybe toss it on the freeway to be run over by Malibu people in Hummers.  I had very little business on my mind but two days later, this man e-mailed me requesting a meeting.  I agreed and two days later, he was at my house and I played him new songs on the acoustic Gibson.  He liked the new songs and went on about how he never planned to get involved with a pop music project but he had to contact me when he heard the CD.  At present he is arriving back in Paris where in April a session is planned in Prague to record an eighteen piece string section (Czech National Symphony Orchestra) to be added to my existing recordings of “The Wishing” and “Maybes Are Fading”.  The thought of those songs being played this way is quite romantic. I am very proud of those compositions and they have climbed to the other side of the world to be embellished. I also chose to let the producer do his thing alone.  I am usually so attached to the recording process but this is a good experiment for me to exercise letting go and trusting my instincts.  I made the album.  I planted the seed.  It was done the way I envisioned it and I am letting go (for now).   The lesson for me or the further confirmation rather, is that we must be open to the limitlessness(if that’s a word) that exists and how we must stay open.  I am humbled that this producer wants to finance this project.  Another point was that I made a conscious choice shortly before this happened to continue promoting the music contained on the ‘Maybes Are Fading” album before embarking on anything new because I felt the album had not been given enough promotion.  It had never been shopped and I was just about ready to record a new one.  I eventually came to terms with the idea that a new project should be put on hold a bit longer.  At that point, I found new appreciation for it and the work that it took to create it.  In other news, I have been feeling pretty good in general lately.  That sounds a bit funny. A few shitty things have happened but they too eventually made sense.  I was also looking to possibly move to shake things up a bit but after looking extensively, I happily realized that I love where I live.  I spent years working on my home to make it a place to enjoy.  I still really do feel good about being there but I must travel more.  That I think was the eventual realization.  So now I travel away from my desk and off to the next destination, the car wash.  Must take care of the wheels that transport us.

Tuesday, December 6th, 2005

It has been a while since my last confession…journal entry.   Today I finally received the finished red Gibson acoustic.  Done deal, it’s beautiful.  Tomorrow I will test it out at an open mic night somewhere in L.A.  Tonight, I rap up a day that was of quite a range of emotions and actions.  I have been in the beginning stages of conceiving a new album, I think.  Who knows at this point but songs have been written over the past year and lately I have been recording demo’s and conceptualizing the projects possible themes.  As I have, in general, not been feeling that great lately, I have been in need of some life changes, although the direction of those changes is not yet clear.  As I was reading today in Rolling Stone, Jay Z, the rap mogul, was talking about Bruce Lee’s statement that one should be like water.  Going with the flow, molding to the situation, taking the form of what is given to us. I understood that language but it’s not always so easy. This brings to mind one of the ideas that has been brewing as a recurrent theme.  It is rebirth or rethinking your reality, recreating, letting go and moving to a new place.  This might be figurative or literal.  It could be a physical place or state of mind.  One cycle must end and the other begins and the switch is tricky and painful and it must happen if our well being is to survive.  When we get there, our life opens up completely.  That seems to be where the writing is coming from lately.  One example is a song I now call “Milton” that was inspired by a real guy of the same name who I met last new years eve.  He recently had a party at his home to celebrate the arrival of a friend’s new baby.  Milton is in his late 80’s. He is a very positive and active person who enjoys the company of young people. He is a doctor and professor at UCLA School Of Medicine and he is still working. He threw this party and I walked around his house and saw the evidence of a life fully lived while celebrating the arrival of a new one.  We spoke while looking at pictures in the hallway and he talked about his late wife and how good their life was.  He appreciated the moments and I was appreciating him.  This led to the song.  Another new one is called Nothing Else Will Do.  I think it could open the album since it sets the tone for the theme of rebirth and starting with just yourself.  I was reading some of the lyrics and actually got paranoid that they were too focused on being alone.  I felt I had to make adjustments because I did not want to communicate that being all alone and happy alone is the key.  I wanted to say that if you start with yourself, you draw otherness to you in the process. I hope I end up creating that vibe. It’s not all about self discovery, but discovering others through the mirror of a healthy minded you.  Or maybe I just want to be rescued by love.  This is the paradox.  Maybe a little of both.  At the end of the album, the cycle would lead to a release and one no longer holds back.  You are found.  This is what I want to create.  A song called Life In A Flash might serve as the final song?  It’s first four lines are, “a shining light in an open door, what better reason to explore, the bigger side of all you see, as you go for the ride of your life”.  I have contacted a few prospective roducers as well.   I will be meeting with them and take it from there.  In other news, my parents just moved and I have been spending some time helping them get settled.   I am pretty good at rranging furniture and laying out a room.  I also got a cool new leather chair out of the deal.  Guess it didn’t fit in their new place.  Looks good in mine. Maybe the chair benefited from the change of nvironment.  It got reborn. Good night. 

Sunday, October 9th, 2005

So it is a bit after midnight.  John Lennon was born on this day 65 years ago.  Bye the way, I ended up exchanging that red guitar after all that I was obsessing over in the earlier journal entry. So, in the end I did not compromise but instead got the opportunity through the Truetone music store in Santa Monica, to special order the correct guitar in red.  This will be a one of a kind item. I am very excited about it and it will take a few months to build.  Gibson agreed to produce the guitar only because of the 30 year relationship they have with Truetone. I feel very grateful to Gibson and Ken at Truetone music for this opportunity. I also made the radical move of trading my trustee Guild acoustic and an electric guitar I have used for years for a traditional Gibson Acoustic as a back-up.  Letting go of the Guild was hard but I felt it was time to start a new chapter.  It was symbolic of a new era and playing the new instrument is very inspiring.  In general, I have gotten better at not holding on so tightly to things.  Life moves when we let go. Furthermore, at one of my recent performances, I was spotted by a T.V. production team making a pilot show about musical artists and their lives off the stage.  They wanted to film an interview and performance in my home.  This filming occurred on Thursday and it was actually a lot of fun.  The questions dealt with what was important to me outside of music. I also spoke about some of my favorite artists, Lennon among them. It ended with me giving the guys a tour of my living space.  Everything from a replica of Speed Racer’s Mach 5 from my favorite cartoon, a photo of my dad and my brother and I taken in Palm Springs when I was about eight, to my music collection. Where it will end up being seen is still not quite clear. I was one of a group of artists they chose to profile and I guess the program is going to be shopped with the networks.  That same night, Fiona Apple was signing copies of her new CD at Tower Records on Sunset Blvd.   Her new record is great if you ask me. Six years between releases and a fight to preserve integrity results in a beautiful work. It would have been cool to meet her that night but time would not allow.  One of the production crew at my house was a fan as well so I agreed to drive us up there to Tower after the shoot. When we arrived, she was leaving the store looking good and appearing a little intense.  She gave some guy a hug before entering the back of a black BMW and being driven away.  I love this woman’s work and hope we might meet sometime. We do share studio musicians in common so maybe we will someday.  I got back to my house around midnight, cleaned up from the filming earlier and climbed into bed.  Conan O’Brien was on the T.V.  It was a special episode that featured U2 during the entire hour long program. Of course, I wanted to watch but struggled to keep my eyes open.  It was a marathon day.  I managed to fall asleep somewhere in the middle but I opened my eyes briefly toward the end to catch ”The Edge” playing a Gibson “J” acoustic guitar almost identical to the instrument I had recently purchased.  This put a smile on my tired face as I finally reached the end of a whirlwind day.  Peace and happy birthday John.

Monday, September 12 th, 2005

Well, I finally have something to say in journal form after a long hiatus or lazy streak maybe. Today was an odd day but it might host some entertainment value. I will start by saying that I have been in the market for a new acoustic guitar. I have been playing my old trustee Guild for a very long time so it was time to buy myself a present. I played many over the past month during this shopping period but I finally chose the Gibson J100 Extra for its great bass tone and overall quality. It just sounded perfect the first time I strummed it. All other makes I tried could not compare but there was a glitch in the transition to new guitar land. I discovered the hard way that Gibson has recently changed their design for the same guitar to a different wood. The look has also changed. The guitar I heard first was the beauty in terms of sound but its appearance paled in comparison to the version from the year before. I exchanged for this version figuring the sound would be similar and it would also look really great on stage. The sound was not even close to as good. I tried to exchange it back but no dice. This store (no name given to protect the guilty) would not give me a refund so I ended up getting a custom cherry red Gibson J100 X (old version) at no extra cost. Sounds almost as good as the lost jewel now sitting in Guitar Center waiting for a lucky finger picker. I am in denial. It looks amazing but it’s sonically lacking. I will still love it? So like the song says, ”if you want to be happy all of your life, never make a pretty woman your wife”. Well that goes for guitars as well. I’ll try to adjust my perception. That is all life is after all, right. Wait, there is a back story to this resolve that may be a little more entertaining. In the midst of the power blackouts and traffic chaos in L.A. today, I was in the unnamed guitar shop (Not Guitar Center) obsessing on the hanging guitars on the wall when I looked away to catch the image of none other than record producer Jon Brion. He was Amp shopping and I did say to him that he might be the right person to ask about acoustic guitars. He recommended playing this old vintage Harmony hanging in a corner. I took it down and it sounded marvelous. Probably better than the costly, flashy, pretty pieces hanging around getting all the attention. I loved the sound but I did not buy. I am embarrassed for being superficial in my pursuit of a new toy. Maybe I need a balance? Anyway, half way through my conversation with Jon, a man at the guitar repair counter hurled a broken guitar neck at a repairman’s neck. Yes, there is innuendo going on here. This customer was apparently upset that his broken instrument was denied a fare price for scrap parts. He was yelling at everyone as Jon and I stared in silence. Soon he was escorted out of the establishment. A police report followed. No casualties. This whole scene was a great microcosm for life in general. Themes of compromise, superficiality, authenticity and humanity all reared their ugly heads in the guitar shop. It was all there today. Jon Brion got a “Maybes Are Fading” CD and maybe if I put some dents in my new instrument, it will be perfect. Yes, perfectly imperfect. With the exception of guitar hurlers, isn’t that what we are. I think so. The power is even back on and XM Satellite Radio is playing “Wonderful Thing”. I really appreciate that too and have gotten some sales due to the radio exposure. Milestones on Monday. Have a pleasant week.

Saturday, June 25th, 2005

Today was a very difficult work day and I ended up making it out tonight to meet a friend for dinner. Afterwards, we went to a party on a little hidden Hollywood street. I just needed to air out but barely made it.  As I walked in the front door after the Hollywood ceremonial parking space search, there was Aimee Mann and Michael Penn sitting on the couch.  I was pleasantly surprised to see two artists I had always wanted to meet.  I sat down and we talked a while and it was a very nice occasion.  We spoke about independent music and ways to promote. What better spokesperson to voice the power of an independent artist than Aimee.  She did accept a gift of one copy of "Maybes are Fading" and then I proceeded to meet a nice bunch of new faces to end the very long day which really ended the next day (now) at 1:20 a.m. Good night and good dreams.