episode 35 is a bit of an experiment. i recorded it last week while travelling, which makes it the first official simplemuzik "on the road" episode! cool, huh? :) hopefully i'll be able to do fun interviews and such with this same technology in the near future. but, alas, what we have this week is just me sitting on a hotel balcony in waikiki, talking stream-of-consciousness, as garbage trucks and parties and planes surround. that, and i play some outtakes from my 2002 cd "songs for when you think you made a mistake." i'm a little embarrassed to throw this rambling out, but (for better or worse?) will resist the urge to self-censor. so, here goes. hope it's ok.

love,
russell


honolulu is a tourist trap, yes. but also beautiful.

Posted by russell at 08:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (42) | TrackBacks (0)

as i mentioned in episode 33, i'm gonna be out of town next week, so there won't be a regular wednesday show. in lieu, i just uploaded a special edition weekend episode! :) the show features a set of audio clips from two seemingly opposite sources. the first is pema chodron, a buddhist nun, as she talks with bill moyers about her experiences and understanding of the potential to transform suffering in our lives. and the second is a clip from "way of the master radio," in which todd friel gives a fundamentalist christian play-by-play of a buddhist statement made at the inter-faith ceremony held at virginia tech last tuesday.

depending on your perspective, both (or either) segment may be challenging and/or confusing/upsetting/frustrating. i obviously have a perspective, and share it in the show. but, beyond that, i also really wanna listen and understand and see if it's possible for us to bridge some of these gaps in understanding, and grow in the areas we're missing. don't know. but i hope so.

i'm curious what you think, so hope you'll let me know. in the meantime, check out links to pema chodron and way of the master (below).

pema chodron's website:
www.pemachodron.org
and pema chodron on wikipedia.

way of the master radio website:
www.wayofthemasterradio.com
and todd friel on wikipedia.

have a great week!
russell

Posted by russell at 06:55 PM | Permalink | Comments (40) | TrackBacks (0)

this week's show was inspired by richard gere. i heard him on npr with terry gross last week, and found his tone and ideas and energy totally compelling and engaging and insightful. ever notice how some people just talk sense? it's totally subjective, but i notice it a lot. richard gere does that for me. i know he gets a bad rap (my opinion) for being a sappy hollywood buddhist pretty-boy actor. maybe he is? but he also talks emotional sense. and hearing him set me off spinning into the parallel universe of episode 33.

also, connected, is the sense in which - after the terribleness of what happened at virginia tech this week - i just wanna be human. i just wanna listen and feel and be honest with the people around me. richard gere says "when we're uncool [which is to say: fundamentally honest about who we are] people fall in love with us." i think that's true. which just means - whenever we drop the act of trying to be what we think will impress the world, the possibility for real connection begins. i mean, impressing people is great, i guess? i'm not critisizing that. but we all know it's a joke too, right? the real you and me is a whole different reality. under the social shell we're incomplete, lonely, confused, tired, trying hard and coming up short. none of us are alone there. and what's more emotionally connective than being with someone where that's ok? that's the whole meaning of love right? i can't think of anything better. honestly.

it's funny, cuz seems like we're all looking for the intensity of that kind of emotional vulnerability. but we're also afraid, and still trying to pose in the form of perfect, attractive, successful, etc., etc., etc. we know better than that, right? so why? i understand the contradiction. it's me too. i live with it. but i wanna shine a light in that direction, and look, and talk. i don't wanna just accept it as necessary or unavoidable. i don't think it is. i think it's possible for us to break through and go beyond, and in, and open, and find each other. that's what i want. i want it to be ok. so maybe we can start here, together?

i hope you'll take a listen to episode 33, and let me know what you think. i care, and i'm curious how you see it. also, xtra huge thanks to shirt (kris hauch), kiyoshi foster, nick guerrero, and jonas, for sharing their music with us. i hope you'll explore their links (below), and support their creative work. they deserve your ears!

musical links -

shirt (the band) on myspace:
www.myspace.com/streetpiano
nick g. on myspace:
www.myspace.com/nickguerrero
kris hauch on myspace:
www.myspace.com/thefannycake
kiyoshi foster on myspace:
www.myspace.com/kiyoshifoster
the jonas catalog @ simplemuzik.com:
www.simplemuzik.com/catalog-jonas.html

thinking/emotional links -

richard gere on wikipedia.
and this is why i love richard gere.
joseph campbell on wikipedia.
plus lots of other information on joseph campbell's work.
ernest hemingway on wikipedia.
visit the hemingway resource center.

media links -

npr - fresh air a great radio show!
the movie benjamin smoke is available on dvd. rent it!

hope the rest of your week is warm and good,
russell

Posted by russell at 04:27 PM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

i just uploaded a little mini-podcast with a few thoughts and songs inspired by the horrible events at virginia tech yesterday. there are no words that really help in times like these. i know. and yet, i can't help but at least offer something in respect and solidarity. i want it to be better. i want to work to make things make sense. but i don't know how. right now, seems the only thing we can do is to acknowledge the enormity of what has happened, our smallness, and keep caring and trying. i want this podcast (and my life) to be about that.

i hope you're well tonight.
russell

ps - to listen to tonight's mini-podcast, click here.

Posted by russell at 05:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (44) | TrackBacks (0)

just wanted to send out another plug for nick guerrero's show with the band shirt
(featuring the songs of kris hauch) this wednesday, april 18, at el rio, 3158 mission st., san francisco. 9pm. for details check out el rio's calendar.

i'll be there. hope you will too!
russell

Posted by russell at 03:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (50) | TrackBacks (0)

thanks to everyone who came out to hotel utah last night to see the procrastinistas! it was a lot of fun to see everyone, and a total honor to play with wee the band and the barrie hart band. i was feeling a bit under the weather going in, but the spirit and energy of the audience definitely buoyed me. by the end of the night, i was feeling much better. :) thank you! below are some pics...

enjoy!
russell


wee the band in-effect.


john levitt - rock deity.


mr. mcnamara leads the procrastinistas (and a mermaid from above).

Posted by russell at 03:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

i hope you'll take a listen to episode 32. as promised, nick guerrero drops in to talk about his current projects, and play some songs live in-studio. it's a rare treat! also, be sure to check out nick's various bands and collaborations (links below).

nick g. on myspace:
www.myspace.com/nickguerrero
nick is also in the band - shirt:
http://www.myspace.com/streetpiano
and the band - the entire world is a dating service:
www.myspace.com/datingservice
and the mannequins:
www.myspace.com/mannequinsmusic

also, as referenced -
check out musician and engineer dave weiland:
www.myspace.com/thedaveweilandproject
and another dave weiland project:
www.myspace.com/littledinosaur

hope you enjoy!
russell

ps - fyi: nick's band "shirt" (featuring the songs of kris hauch) is playing next wed., april 18, at el rio, 3158 mission st., san francisco.


nick guerrero performs!

Posted by russell at 04:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (40) | TrackBacks (0)

just wanted to give a heads-up that my #4 movie of 2006 (see: my top 10 list for 2006) "jonestown: the life and death of people's temple" is airing this week on pbs (starting tonight).

the movie gives a deep and thoughtful representation of passion and idealism, and how religious fanaticism can go horribly wrong. it's a grim story, with a terrible ending, so may not be for everyone. but i feel it's important to engage - especially if we're going to meaningfully interact and understand what it means to be human together - all the fear and desperation and longing that makes us who we are. both good and bad. in ways, i think it connects with the intensity and emotional power within all of us we've been talking about on the podcast. i mean, what sparks that? what causes us to open to an idea or philosophy or way of life? or close? or worship or fear another person?

the story of jonestown seems to show us that it's possible for transcendant good to come from the same idealistic motivation that inspires brokenness and desperation and destruction. or vice versa. which is completely scary and unsettling, right? but i don't wanna run away from it. i really wanna understand. if you're interested in that too, i hope you'll check it out.

showtimes:
kqed - pbs san francisco listing
official "american experience" page:
official "jonestown" documentary site
listen to the npr radio documentary:
father cares: the last of jonestown
san francisco chronicle:
related jonestown articles

thanks!
russell

ps - episode 32 will feature live music (and an interview) with simplemuzik icon nick guerrero. stay tuned!

Posted by russell at 05:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (44) | TrackBacks (0)

hey, for those of you who couldn't make it to liz's show last wednesday at blondie's, we missed you! hope you can make it out to the next one (el rio, may 15). for those who came out, thanks! it was great to meet and share it with you. :)

to see all upcoming shows, check: www.simplemuzik.com/rdshows.htm
and liz's page: www.elizabethangelucci.com

thanks!
russell


blondie's bar & no grill, april 4, 2007.

Posted by russell at 12:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (68) | TrackBacks (0)

merriam webster's defines "passionate" as (#2): "capable of, affected by, or expressing intense feeling : enthusiastic, ardent."

admidst all the unsureness and messiness of life, it feels important to hold on to our sense of wonder and intensity and participation, doesn't it? it's easy to look back and be astonished by what we see as our "mistakes," - all the stuff we'd do differently if we could go back, etc. it seems like a natural human thing. regret. i think it's ok. but it also feels important to remember that we did the best we could with who we were back then, with what we knew, what we understood of the world - that mix of limitation and strength. compassion. love.

in-between these opposites - somewhere - there's a kind of weird transformation too. cuz, beautifully, painfully, all those mistakes seem necessary and unavoidable and perfect somehow. i don't know how exactly, but they brought us here. which is totally weird, right? i know.

and, even with this awareness, i still have my unshakable moments of self-criticism and fear and doubt and emotional collapse. which just feels unavoidable and human. i don't know the answer. but seems all i can do is keep trying. i keep dreaming that somewhere down the road it's all gonna make sense in some way. i keep hoping it's gonna be ok. which it does, and is, and isn't, all simuntaneously. as i grow and change and learn, it feels more and more important to engage actively and live from that deep place of heart and passion and motivation and care, regardless of the outcome. daily. cuz really, that's the only choice we have, right? we either engage passionately and fully, for real, or we give up. and i don't wanna give up. my feelings won't let me.

so, this week's show is sort of about all of these things intertwining together and interweaving into a big sloppy emotional ball. i wanna let the passion and depth of my feeling out in the world. i wanna talk about it and live it and share it with you and be changed by how these things mix and combust between us. seems like change in the world, and meeting our potential in both action and relationship, depends on our willingness to be fully present together, and bring our whole selves. just like that. incomplete. "mistakes" and all. it's exciting and beautiful, isn't it? and possible too. i hope we can do that together.

this week also features amazing music by wee the band, nick guerrero, john levitt, and the mannequins. please seek them out and support them, ok?

some music links:
www.weetheband.com
nick guerrero on myspace
the mannequins on myspace

poetry + thinking links:
rainer maria rilke on wikipedia
rilke poems
international rilke society (german site)

you can check out erich fromm's "five basic needs" for yourself:
erich fromm on wikipedia
c.v. and bibliography (german site)

and don't forget: free mp3's!
www.simplemuzik.com/muzik (id + password = muzik)
or, same mp3's with chronological context (+cd and title info):
www.simplemuzik.com/rdmp3s.htm

thanks for sharing this with me.

have a great week!
russell

Posted by russell at 04:31 PM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)