Sunday, July 22, 2007

Deja Vu 1975: Driving with Egg Roll.inside my head .. thinkin', ..."empty my mind."

Every step of the journey IZ the journey... where we have been before and where we are going is all relative to where we are at this very moment. Humanity has long suffered from a condition called "waiting". Believing its all gonna get better sooner or later... expectations that exhaust and frustrate us and waste our time.
Life is too short for that.
A long drive fills my head with lots of wide open spaces and imagery for songs yet to be written... at the same time I find company in audiobooks as I listened to the familiar wisdom of Eckhart Tolle (enjoy this link to some of it) http://peacefulrivers.homestead.com/EckhartTolle.html . With each mile I proceeded to empty my own head of clogged up irrelevant thoughts and started getting back in touch with my own inner stillness. There's something about driving that gets me closer to that place beyond the captivating beauty of external forms with names... that place where a state of connectedness with something immeasurable, indestuctible and greater than me exists... where I am totally here and present... where my true nature and inner essence of all things around me is revealed beyond the need for labels and prescribed form. Enlightenment for me is just being... being right here, right now... in a simple state of one-ness... simply aware of myself without all the mental noise... denying my ego of it's collected accomplishments that comprise its mind-based identity and ultimate control over me, me. me, me , me... "Eh, you somebody?" ha ha aka aka! K-den, I better stop thinkin' and let the smoke clear. Nice road, big hills, big trees and not too much traffic. This Cadillac I'm driving is a good, smooth ride. The weather is still cool and a leather or denim jacket was more than enough. Ate salads, crab & fresh fish to mexican food and fried chicken but took a break from my favorite Best Foods mayonaise. Its very refreshing and funny that I was on this journey before and might have always been clawing my way back. Maybe I never left it and have been hanging on to most of it all this time. I was already immersed in that type of discipline in the early seventies through martial arts and progressive youthful curiousity. Looks like I've kick-started it again in California... deja vu... San Francisco, Highway 101, mount Shasta, the Pacific Highway, the redwood forest... where this land was made for you and me. The country side looks just like the way Mr. Guthrie described it in a folk song... pretty much how I left it over 30 years ago~ "we have all been here before, we have all been here before..." (CSN&Y)
Time to get back to the cruise ships this weekend.

Thursday, July 19, 2007

FREE the mind and you will end up buying another guitar... on the California Coast!


Aloha... I'm on the road in California visiting family and friends. Chillin' out on the land in a cool set of wheels... I'm off the cruise ships for a much needed breath of fresh air. Northern California to the Oregon coastline is a great place to take that breath. Sporadic jamming, recording, and the search for the Holy Grail guitar. Found a Martin CEO-5 in Napa Valley at ALL STAR GUITARS (2522 Jefferson St., Napa, CA. 94558). Mahalo to Dan "da man" Howard". What a cool shop! Called Uncle Mike and he checked it out on the internet... told me the price was gonna save me big bucks. It's a special edition 12-fret dreadnought, solid bearclaw spruce top, herringbone top trim, tortoise pick guard, old style small abalone dot inlays, old style logo, gloss body, satin finish neck, signed by Martin CEO, C.F. Martin IV... look it up at http://www.elderly.com/new_instruments/items/CEO5.htm
Way cool!!! Maybe, just maybe... this axe might be THE ONE. Let's see... to get it back to the islands I'll carry it on the plane in a nice gig bag and stuff things that might make my suitcase too heavy in the guitar's hard shell case. Gonna leave my sound reinforcin' gear in Fremont and my very ornately inlayed Johnson guitar with Uncle Mike. I put medium gauge strings on dat buggah and tuned it down a full step so when you play an open G chord, its actually an F chord. E = D... etc. Now my Johnson sounds like it cost 4 times as much. Way cool, schwing! If you do something like that, ya might have to have the neck slightly adjusted or even the nut filed. I was told that the nut on a guitar bought with LIGHT gauge strings will accommodate a MEDIUM gauge. I think its a good idea to tune down at least a half step due to the extra tension imposed with a larger gauge string. All my guitars and music gear live mildew-free in a secure, air-conditioned storage unit halfway between Waikiki and home. Convenient in case I forget something while out on the road, but very, very expensive... ugh! Gotta play to pay...

Tuesday, July 17, 2007

Bodega Bay, Where Alfred Hitchcock filmed "THE BIRDS"



Left Highway 101 in search of the Pacific Highway via the town of Sebastopol.
During that California road trip last year I revisited places I had been to back in 1976. The only thing missing 30 years later was the motorcycle and my youth. In July,2007, I got on that road again and found part of me still out there where my "song remains the same". It was rejuvenating, like a trip back in time... serene, calm,... just like the beginning of the movie... only different. Because, back when I was a kid, that was one scary movie!

Tuesday, June 19, 2007

Cruising Maui...2 days, every week!



Maui no ka oi... they say "it's the best" and I am inclined to agree... all the islands are beautiful, but Maui has become a memorable part of my life. Week after week, entertaining on NCL America cruise ships had me stopping overnite (for a whole 2 days). That gave me lotsa time to explore and get to know this island and some way cool people. Looking for a musical experience? Go wherever LIVE LOCAL TALENT is playing or see the fabulous Ulalena production show in Lahaina. See Uncle Willie K wherever he may be playing... always surrounded by awesome musicians. I saw Willie Nelson at Charlie's in Paiea! Aloha plenty to the supportive friends at Bounty Music. My favorite thing to do on Maui? Put the top down and drive for a beach. Kihei and keep on going... all the way to La Peruse Bay. Oh yeah, I finally snorkeled little Molokini atoll... that's smilin' Mark Stevens, freelance photographer. I've known him for years, starting from our Pride of Aloha days. He took some pics of us on the way to Molokini. Bass guy turned steel guitar nut, Troy Millard and I make it a point to hang loose with braddah Mark when can. By the way, his Dad, Mort Stevens, won an Emmy for writing the musical score for Hawaii-Five-O! Buckle up... click it or ticket = $100+.