JEREMY WEINGLASS

A few weeks ago, the opportunity for me to see Wah! in concert, came to be. My wife was introduced to her by some friends a couple of years ago and had been raving about the concert she went to ever since. And although we had been enjoying listening to a few of her CDs, the consensus among friends who know of her was that her recordings were no match to her live performance. So, when we found out she was performing in Encinitas on a Saturday evening, we made a plan to drive down straight from work in Canoga Park to meet up with friends so that I could experience Wah! live for the first time.

Wah! has a unique take on kirtan that “has become a sensation in the yoga world with her spiritual, Eastern-tinged sound.” What is most captivating about her, alongside her mesmerizing voice and impeccable bass playing, is that she speaks right to the heart through the chanting, mantras and the messages and stories she shares between songs.  There is such a seamless flow from the music to her speaking and back to the music again, that at points it is hard to tell the difference between the two.  Musically, her trio took me beyond my mind’s ability or need to decipher chords, melodies and the richness of harmonies, as we educated musicians tend to do. Instead, I was lifted into a vibration of peace, oneness and bliss with the music flowing through me, without thought, just connection.

She explained that each performance is unique and that each tends to have a certain theme or message that is being communicated. This message isn’t planned… it’s simply manifesting itself in the moment. On this particular evening in a cozy yoga studio, holding about 80 people seated on cushions and chairs, the first message I received from her was “The Truth is revealed: You are Light, You are Loved!”

Along with this message were several others that really resonated with me that I would love to expand on:

1) “It’s Happening” is a beautiful mantra that can be said anytime.  It simply means that Life Is Happening Now. Not good, not bad. Not too high, not too low. Acknowledging the reality of the Now, can be healing and uplifting instantly no matter what situation you are facing.

2) “Drop the Narration” Wow, what a concept!  Stop narrating life’s events.  Narration just limits the possibilities available to us.  If someone does something you don’t like, why label them as a “creep” or a “jerk?” If you decide that, then they will likely continue to be one, or worse, you may continue to attract “jerks” into your life just because you are now identifying them. Our minds are very powerful. Why waste our manifestation powers on negative thinking? Just let it be!

3) “Playful, Enthusiasm!”  Do everything with enthusiasm!  Be playful, sexy and savor the sparks ignited. Be grateful for the blessings our physical life offers us.  Get passionate about something and do it full out!  For me, that is a wonderful vibration to not only have yourself, but to be around others who have it too.  We can all inspire each other!

4) “Plant lots of Seeds”  This goes hand in hand with enthusiasm. Plant a lot of seeds and ideas, they don’t actually all have to sprout, just plant a bunch of them. Because it’s not about whether they bloom or not, it’s what you get out of the act of planting. Just try things out! Yes!

5) “Non-Attachment to the Outcome”  It’s, the paradox of life: Dream big and do everything with great intent, passion and enthusiasm, BUT at the same time, don’t be attached to the how, the when or the final the outcome. The reality will always be somewhere between You, Your Heart, and The Universe!  Either way, life is good, and “It’s Happening!”

As the evening came to a close, I was left feeling very inspired on many levels. My heart was opened, my spirit lifted and my consciousness expanded. I also walked away with some valuable insights as to how I might apply Wah!’s seamless flow through the music and speaking in my own performances as I strive for a similar heartfelt connection with my audiences. And, a final interesting note was that I realized at the end of the concert that I knew the percussionist, Delton Davis. We had actually performed together several years ago with another artist, Krassimir. So, that was an unexpected treat getting to reconnect with a great musician!

If you’re intrigued to check out Wah! for yourself (which I highly recommend) there’s an opportunity coming right up at the Tadasana Festival happening in Santa Monica this weekend. It’s sure to be an amazing yoga and music festival also celebrating Earth Day. My favorite yoga instructor, Bryan Kest, will be teaching there too among a host of other outstanding yogis and speakers. Oh, and to top if off, my dear friend, Eva Clay of Sacred Dance Live, is emceeing the event. Kim and I would LOVE to attend, but I’m completely booked with gigs all weekend long (including a friend’s wedding in Ojai). Oh, well, too much goodness going around and that’s a good problem to have!

On Friday, March 23, I was honored to be a part of the Big Brothers Big Sisters Accessories for Success Spring Luncheon held at the Beverly Hills Hotel.  In addition to playing the piano as speakers were introduced  and as entertainment during the lunch, I was also a featured speaker sharing my personal story about my journey from a little to a big. I spoke of how I grew up with a single mom amidst a challenging home life and how having a “Big Brother” was monumental for me being able to finish high school and continue my passion for playing the piano. Bringing it full circle, now that I have followed my dreams to become a successful musician, I am able to pay it forward by being a “Big” to another young boy who does not have a father figure in his life.

It is such a rewarding experience for me to have the opportunity to inspire others with my story. It felt great to stand up there, in front of the room full of people, and share my experience which hopefully created a resonance and inspired others to take action by donating money and/or getting involved as a big themselves. And I love the fact that I was able to play piano, just like I do at so many other events, but in this case it exemplified the direct success of their program!

Some other highlights of the day were my official arrival on the red carpet and being interviewed prior to the luncheon by Elisabeth Laurence of Lives of Style which will be airing sometime in April. I’ll be sure to post the link to that when it’s up!

Here is the speech I prepared. I ultimately used bullet points and spoke from my heart rather than reading, but this is the gist of what I said.

Good afternoon, I’d like to share a little bit of my story with you today. Raised by a single mom, my twin brother Matt and I grew up in an unstable home environment.  Although our mom did the best she could at the time, we consistently struggled both financially and emotionally with her. Despite the chaos at home, there were two things that my mom did for me that I am forever grateful for: getting me started in serious piano lessons at an early age, and getting me involved in The Big Brothers Big Sisters organization.

When I was 11, I met my Big Brother, Scott. I remember being very happy.  Once a week or so, Scott would take me out to a variety of activities. We would go to movies, bowling, shoot hoops, bike rides, museums and theme parks. Even though that doesn’t seem like much, at the time I remember it seemed like everything.

Scott was a true father figure and hero for me growing up. What I got from him was some certainty, consistency and real responsibility that all kids definitely need. He was there as support, guidance and inspiration for me to do the best I could in school, at home and as a citizen of the world. To this day, I continue to spend Christmas with Scott and his wonderful family.

Because of Scott’s decision to become a Big Brother, I feel I avoided  going down a potentially dark path that would have been very likely for someone in my situation. By having a positive role model and some stability, I was able to sustain a livable home, continue playing the piano, make it into college and ultimately follow my dreams to be a successful musician.  

Coming full circle, I reached a point in my life when I wanted to give back. I felt that because of what Big Brothers Big Sisters provided for me as a child, it was now my time to become a “Big” myself!  

I am happy to say that I have been matched with an incredible young man who I’ve been really enjoying getting to know over the past year and a half. Christopher is a very bright and athletic 11 year old with a supportive family. My time with Christopher has been rewarding and humbling to say the least. My goal is to be able to provide him what was given to me; friendship, support and guidance. I want to encourage him to be the best that he can be, and to strive for excellence in his life.

So, in being given an opportunity to pursue my dreams; I did! Even through challenging times I continued to do what I love; that is play the piano and create music.

I continue to gain new perspectives on how significant having a Big Brother was for me in my life. These insights are especially helpful now in my role as a “Big.”  I am so grateful that I have been able to make the connection to give back, because giving back, in fact, has been my greatest gift of all!

Having recently celebrated the one year anniversary of our sold out ODYSSEY performance at the El Portal Theatre, I thought it would be a good time to review and reflect on what we’ve accomplished.

11 years ago I began the process of composing a 12 part musical piece representing each month of the year through all 12 keys.  After graduating from UCSB with my BM in Music Composition, I was determined to keep myself motivated to compose now that I no longer had school assignments that I was required to complete. Beginning in 2001, I assigned myself the task of composing a song for each month throughout the year as it unfolded. I stayed on task until April when something changed for me. Up until then, I was heavily focused on trying to “out-do” myself, or finding a new complex structure or clever harmony to use in my next composition. For the first time I can recall, I decided that I desired something else to focus on other than music: more life experience and new inspiration.

I began to seek out new experiences and dive into my new life in Los Angeles. What resulted was a four year hiatus from ODYSSEY, but I was brought back to task when profound inspiration struck in 2005 upon meeting my future wife, Kim. We embarked on our journey together exploring nature, spirituality, personal growth, traveling and developing many new friendships.  I took time to reflect on those experiences and grow from them. I was seeing the world through a new lens and best of all, I had someone to share it with!  The inspiration to write was triggered within me once again and the music began to flow out of my heart, but this time with deeper passion than I had known before.

By October 2008, I had completed  most of the music of ODYSSEY with the exception of two months; October and December.  I was feeling a little stuck on October because I knew that ODYSSEY had to reach its peak here. All I had thus far was one melodic idea and I knew it was going to be in A minor. On October 29, 2008, I was playing the meditation music at Agape. Since I usually improvise the music during the meditation, and the space is so powerful, it has often times given rise to wonderful new creations in the moment. As we were coming out of the meditation, I thought this would be the perfect time for me to play around with my idea for October. Enter Chris Woods, a guy with a violin, who approached me on stage and whispered, “Hey, do you mind if I play along with you?”  All I could think was that if he was asking me right now, in front of hundreds of people, then he must be pretty good with that violin.  I said “ok sure; follow me in A minor.” We began to bring the room back from their silence and the music that we created together on piano and violin in that moment came together so naturally that it left people wondering how long Chris and I had been playing together. The beauty of it, of course, was that we had only just met.

Kim suggested that perhaps ODYSSEY should be rewritten for piano and violin. I agreed, and spent the following year of 2009 doing just that! The result is the album that Chris and I recorded in 2010 with producer David Bergeaud; ODYSSEY: A Twelve-Month Revolution. In March 2010, while still in the process of completing the album, I had an opportunity to perform ODYSSEY at a music festival in Mexico and I decided to add dancers to the experience. During this process, the lead dancer, Michelle “Star” LaVon, and I began to realize that including the art of dance opened the door to telling a story with the music. Michelle and I began collaborating and developed a story of two lovers in their search for truth and love. We worked together to pull characters and a storyline out of the music I had already written. We envisioned a full blown production that included modern and aerial dance narrated by my music!

The question then was how to bring this story to life. I had always dreamed of doing something someday to give back. Possibly start a foundation to teach music to underprivileged children or something along those lines. But, then it dawned on me… why wait? Why not do something to the best of my ability NOW for an organization that already exists that has had an impact on me personally? This was a no-brainer and Kim and I decided to produce ODYSSEY ourselves with 100% of the net proceeds going to Big Brothers Big Sisters of Los Angeles. By tying BBBSLA in with ODYSSEY, we made the show bigger than ourselves and created a way to make this all work.

By the summer of 2010 we had reserved the El Portal Theatre for our January 2011 performance, consulted with our technical director: Dustin Engelskind, and brought on board a brilliant, award-winning director: Stephen Hues. Michelle would be our choreographer as well as the lead female dancer. We then cast our own ensemble of dancers who were uniquely talented to bring our story to life. ODYSSEY was on its way to become more than just a musical composition, but a theatrical experience. Kim was busy working on all the necessary behind the scenes stuff including heading up all our promotional efforts, working with our public relations firm: Gorgeous PR, the staff at BBBSLA and the various companies that would contribute goods and services to the evening.

After a 6 month whirlwind of work on the show, on January 14, 2011, we debuted ODYSSEY to a sold out audience of 360 people at the El Portal Theatre in North Hollywood. The whole night was a dream come true. Walking out on stage in front of a theatre filled with friends, family and fans was nerve-wracking and heart-warming at the same time. However, in the moment I found myself to be calm and speaking from my heart to deliver a speech sharing much of the story shared here. This was an important aspect for the evening because I was able to tie together the purpose of the event and how important it was to me that everyone in attendance was supporting this cause. Even before I played the first note of the Overture, I had created an emotional connection with the audience by sharing who I was – and it felt awesome!

The blossoming of ODYSSEY into this new and exciting endeavor was more than I could have imagined when I started it over a decade ago,  but that’s the beauty of it. In my experiences, one of the things I have learned is that being open to serendipity can create extraordinary results and things come together in ways that could never have been planned.The story that we told through the piano and violin with the added dimension of dance was felt by everyone. We literally had people in the audience ranging from 4 to 94 years old and everything in between and they all walked away moved by the experience!

I am so grateful for all of the cast and crew that worked so very hard on the production. The amount of work that everyone on our team did to pull this off really spoke volumes about the level of professionalism, creative drive and a common goal that we all shared! The support that we received from so many people made the night a most magical, memorable and successful event. I want to give an extra special thanks to Good Gracious! Events for generously providing the food for our VIP reception after the show. The food was amazing and enjoyed by all who attended. We were fortunate to have some amazing photographers capture the magic of the night. Check out the fantastic gallery posted by CuriousJosh!

The most rewarding part of this whole experience was going with Kim to the Big Brothers Big Sisters office after the show to hand deliver our donation of $2,000. It was such a great feeling to know that we created and event that entertained, touched and inspired so many people while at the same time raising a significant amount of money for a wonderful organization that has such a positive and lasting impact on the lives of our youth. When we handed our check to Tiffany Siart, the CEO of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Los Angeles, she gave us a card that said: “With profound thanks from everyone at BBBSLA for your incredible support of our work. ODYSSEY is spectacular and we are thrilled to have been the beneficiary!”

We spent the next 6 months following the show working with our editors to create a full length DVD of the performance as well as a 2 minute trailer. The process took longer than we expected, but we are very proud of the results. Watch the trailer below!

For a limited time, we are offering a special package price for the ODYSSEY DVD and CD. You can order both for only $25! (We normally sell the DVD for $20 and the CD for $15.)  Click here to purchase.

Thank you to everyone who has helped and followed me through this process of artistic expression thus far. Now that we have the materials we need to show what we’ve created, we are going to be seeking opportunities to perform ODYSSEY again. Stay tuned for the next chapter of the journey!

Raised by a single mom, my twin brother Matt and I grew up in an unstable home environment.  Although our mom did the best she could at the time, we consistently struggled both financially and emotionally with her.  I guess raising two 6’ 7” giants alone was quite daunting for her.   We were both very active in school, music lessons, jazz band, the basketball team as well as theatre.  However, the most challenging part of the day was at home.  Matt and I grew up with a very chaotic and uncertain home life.  However, amidst all the chaos, there were two things that my mom did for me that I am forever grateful for: getting me started in serious piano lessons at an early age, and getting me involved in The Big Brothers Big Sisters organization.

When I was 11, I met my Big Brother, Scott.  I remember being very happy.  Once a week or so, Scott would take me out to a variety of activities.  We would go to movies, bowling, shoot hoops, bike rides, museums and theme parks- he even taught me to play poker.   Even though that doesn’t seem like much, at the time I remember it seemed like everything.

Over the years, Scott would take an even more active role in my life.  When times got tough at home, he would mediate the communication with my mom, give me tools to help me resolve any problematic situation, but most importantly he would be there as support, guidance and inspiration for me to do the best I could in school, at home and as a citizen of the world.

Scott was a true father figure and hero for me growing up.  What I got from him was some certainty, consistency and real responsibility that all kids definitely need.  As the years passed, I continue to spend Christmas and other holidays with Scott and his wonderful family.

Because of Scott’s decision to become a Big Brother, I feel I avoided  going down a potentially dark path that would have been very likely for someone in my situation.  By having a positive role model and some stability, I was able to continue all of my various activities, sustain a livable home, and have minimal drama with my mom moving forward in my life.  And of course, I was able to continue playing the piano, make it into college and go on to evolve, grow and ultimately share my gifts with others.

Recently, I came to a significant point in my life where I chose to take on more responsibility and to do everything I can to be a beneficial presence on the planet. I, like many people probably, found myself often thinking “when I become successful or have XYZ, then I will begin to give back.”  At some point, it just clicked that there is no WHEN, there is only NOW and I wanted to step up, stretch myself as far as possible and do whatever I could in the time I am here.

This mindset is what compelled me to take on the task of creating, producing and performing in the musical & dance production: ODYSSEY A Twelve-Month Revolution in January 2011 at the El Portal Theatre in North Hollywood.  We donated 100% of the net proceeds of ticket sales from the sold out show that evening to Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Los Angeles!  This was by far the biggest thing I’ve ever done and the biggest risk I’ve ever taken in my life. I feel it was in this performance that I stepped fully into my potential as a musician, composer, and producer while creating something bigger than myself in order to give back to such a wonderful and beneficial organization that gave so much to me.

In addition to putting on this production, I also decided I was ready to embark on the journey of becoming a Big myself. I am happy to say that I have been matched up with an incredible young man who I’ve been really enjoying getting to know over the past year+.  Christopher is a very bright, athletic and shy 11 year old with a supportive family.  We’ve enjoyed going to the beach, playing basketball, movies, bowling, museums,  and even a Laker’s game!  My time with Christopher so far has been rewarding and humbling to say the least.  My goal is to be able to provide Christopher what was given to me; friendship, support and guidance. I want to encourage him to be the best that he can be, and to strive for excellence in his life.

So in being given the opportunity in life to pursue my dreams; I did!  Even through challenging times I continued to do what I love, that is play the piano and create music.

Still to this day, I continue to gain new perspectives on how significant having a Big Brother was for me in my life. These insights are especially helpful now in my role as a Big.  I am so grateful that I have been able to make the connection to give back, because that, in fact, has been my greatest gift of all!

‘Tis the season to celebrate and commune with friends and family and live  music just enhances the festive spirit in the air.  December is historically the busiest month of the year for me and 2011 was no exception.  Besides my regular gig playing piano in the luxury court at the Westfield Topanga Mall on Friday, Saturday and Sunday afternoons, my evenings were booked up with a variety of special events and holiday parties! I am just now getting a little breather as Kim and I will soon be heading up north to the Bay Area for almost a week to visit our family and friends. As I reflect over the past month, there are 3 performances that stand out for me that I would love to share a little bit about.

DOROTHY CHANDLER PAVILION

On December 9, I was delighted to play piano for a swanky reception held after the filming of the American Giving Awards at The Dorothy Chandler Pavilion.  I got the booking via DJ Pasha who is a great DJ that I had the pleasure of playing a wedding with a couple years ago. The best part about this gig was that they wanted me to play with a standup double bass player.  This was perfect because I recently started working with Elizabeth Riordan, whom I met playing with the band I,Star.  She is a phenomenal bass player, a sweet soul and we clicked instantly.  We had already performed a few times together in October and November, but now we had the opportunity to rehearse for a big paid gig!  We had so much fun playing a range of classical, jazz, pop, rock and a couple of my originals.  Metallica and Coldplay seemed to be the big hits of the evening.  I look forward to many more opportunities to perform with Elizabeth in 2012.

M BAR IN HOLLYWOOD

We have been putting on concerts at M Bar in Hollywood several times a year for the past few years, and last week’s concert was probably the best one yet.  I love playing at M Bar because they have a great Yamaha grand piano on a stage and the room is perfect for 40 -80 people to enjoy dinner and drinks as they listen to live acoustic music. It’s a cozy, retro, supper club vibe with great sound situated in an unassuming strip mall at the corner of Fountain & Vine. When we put on a concert, we like to feature another musician or band that I personally really respect and admire because I love introducing my fans to other great artists. Last week featured Elizabeth Riordan on bass and my dear friends, Aradhana Silvermoon and Truth-I heading up their band: I,Star.  It was a particularly special night as this was I,Star’s farewell to LA concert because they are moving to North Carolina in January to start a family.  I met Aradhana shortly after I arrived in LA and we’ve collaborated musically on and off throughout our ten year friendship. Recently, I was honored to play piano on 3 tracks on their debut album Music and the Mood released earlier this year.

I must say, the flow of the show was beautiful and seamless.  I started the evening with one of my most challenging compositions, Suite Mystique, which was recently featured on a classical music program on KXLU. I played another song solo and then I brought Elizabeth up to accompany me on double bass for four more. Then I introduced Aradhana, Truth-I and Joel Long on percussion. The first song we performed was my most recent song that I wrote while in the jungles of Peru called “Choose Love.” Watch the video of us performing it below!

After “Choose Love” we segued into I,Star’s music and played through a great set of their music and even included an awesome cover of “Where is the Love?” For one of the final songs, we brought up special surprise guests J Brave and Guido Corleone of the Luminaries who joined in on “Song of Freedom.”  It was such a fun show; I really enjoyed every minute of it.

BETHANY TOWERS RETIREMENT COMMUNITY

On Tuesday, I performed for a very nice, “mature” audience at Bethany Towers Retirement Community in Hollywood. My friend Amy, who works as an intern there, asked me if I would be willing to bring some holiday cheer to the kind folks that live there.  Naturally, I was delighted to!  It always gives me so much joy to know that my music is helping to brighten peoples day. I prepared a concert playing primarily Christmas songs including “Chestnuts,” “Silent Night,” “Santa Claus is Coming to Town,” “Silver Bells” and “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas.” They were all so sweet and appreciative. Some were clapping along and singing or humming, others watched me intently, but they were all smiling and full of joy!  I also shared a few of my original compositions with them, and I played some favorites like “Fur Elise,” “Cannon in D,” “Misty” and “My Favorite Things.”  I’m sure these songs triggered many memories.  It’s amazing how powerful music can be, especially when you are in your “happy golden days of yore.”  It warms my heart to know that I gave my gifts fully and helped touch people’s lives. I look forward to returning to Bethany Towers to perform sometime in 2012!

I’m so filled with holiday cheer not only from all the holiday parties I’ve been playing recently but also from all the love and support I’ve received for my latest music release, “The Divine Within.” Last month I shared with you the story of how I met my friend Mason and the song I wrote for him on his 15th birthday. If you missed it, I encourage you to read my previous blog so you can get the full story – I promise you’ll be glad to read it. But, to briefly recap, I have released “The Divine Within” as a single and I am donating 50% of all the proceeds from this composition to WHEELS FOR HUMANITY. It will be a couple of months before we have the sales reports from iTunes, but based on the feedback I’ve gotten thus far, I’m fairly certain we’ve hit at least triple digit sales and for that I am so incredibly grateful.

Mason’s 16th birthday weekend was a total blast. There were so many of his friends and family members there to celebrate with us at the mall and we had lots of fun surprises. I brought in my friend, Elizabeth Riordan (who coincidentally knows Mason too) to accompany me on her double bass and we performed some of Mason’s favorite songs together including “Imagine” and, of course, “The Divine Within.” Two of Mason’s friends from school even put together a special dance routine to perform while we played “The Divine Within.” Watch the video of the performance below:

We topped it off with a huge crowd of people singing “Happy Birthday” to Mason. He made a wish and blew out his candle and then we ate cake! And, to give an extra boost to our fundraising efforts for Wheels for Humanity, we decided to donate 50% of ALL our CD sales that weekend to them. We are happy to have raised $250 thus far and we hope that we’ll get to add a zero to that once we see the results from the online sales in a month or two.

If you haven’t purchased “The Divine Within” yet, I hope you will take a moment of your time to do so now. It’s only $0.99 and is available on my Bandcamp site,  iTunes and an array of other digital retailers. Bandcamp is the best place to purchase because you have the option to donate more than $0.99 if you’d like. Click on the link below to listen, purchase and share. Thank you!

About a year and a half ago, I met a boy named Mason.  He appeared in my life by coming into the Westfield Topanga Mall to hear me play the piano on the weekends during my regular shifts. The first thing that comes to mind when I think about Mason is that he is the happiest and most radiant being I have ever met.  The smile on his face speaks volumes about who he is and his spirit within him.  Another thing about Mason is that he was born with cerebral palsy and because of this, he gets around via a wheelchair and his primary form of communicating words is through his computerized device called an “eco.” However, these attributes don’t say anything about who he is as a person. Because despite these circumstances, Mason glows happiness to the highest degree I’ve ever seen in any human being.

So, when I began performing at the Westfield Topanga Mall in June 2010, I noticed Mason started showing up pretty much every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday to listen to me play piano. We didn’t talk at first because Mason seemed very shy. But slowly, we began to build a very strong connection through music. I learned that he has been a huge fan of classical music all his life and the piano is his favorite instrument. He took a real liking to my music – particularly my original compositions. Eventually Mason started getting the courage to say “Hi Jeremy” and “See you Friday” (or whatever was next day I was playing at the mall) and our friendship began to develop.

After a few months of friendship, I found out that Mason’s 15th birthday was coming up. I wanted to do something special for him for his birthday to show how much I appreciated his support and enthusiasm for my music and also to communicate how he had touched and inspired me personally. I decided that for his birthday, the best gift I could give him would be to write a song especially for him. And so I wrote, “The Divine Within” and it has become one of my most cherished works to date. Beyond what words can describe, the piano tells a story of innocence, discovery, adversity, determination, acceptance, love and triumph!

On November 19, 2010, I surprised Mason at the mall by playing “The Divine Within” for him for the first time on his birthday. As you might expect, his face lit up bigger than ever before!  We captured that special moment live in the video below. (Although, he was also still really shy then, so it’s kind of hard to see his face!)

In honoring the fact that “The Divine Within” was inspired by Mason and also as part of his gift, I told him we wanted to donate 50% of the proceeds from the song to the charity of his choice.  Mason chose WHEELS FOR HUMANITY which is a wonderful organization that provides wheelchairs to people in need all around the world! Now, one year later, “The Divine Within” is available as a single on iTunes and many other digital retailers for only $0.99.  With Mason’s 16th birthday around the corner, I’d love nothing more than to be able to tell him about the money we’ve raised in his honor. If all of my blog readers, newsletter subscribers, Facebook friends and Twitter followers take action, we could raise a significant amount of money to contribute to this outstanding cause! It’s really a win-win all around. You get a beautiful song, inspired by a beautiful spirit and money goes towards helping people get the wheelchairs they need. Please click below to listen to the song and purchase.  This link will take you to my Bandcamp page and what is great about buying purchasing through here is that they take a smaller percentage than the other digital retailers and you have the option to contribute more if you’d like.

I’d also like to take this opportunity to thank a few people who helped with this project. I recorded the song at a great studio, Casa Amarilio, on a beautiful Kawai piano. Greg Townley did a great job mixing the track for us. And, Xavi Panneton has graciously allowed us to use his beautiful art (shown above) in association with “The Divine Within.” I think it fits the music perfectly, what do you think?

Since his birthday a year ago, Kim and I have grown quite close to Mason and his family.  Mason continues to shine his light while visiting me in the mall every weekend. And now, the once shy boy has really come out of his shell! He sits right next to me while I’m playing piano and laughs and squeals with joy throughout my set. Every day that I see his glowing face and get to play the piano for him, I am so overwhelmed with joy and bliss – to see this young man’s soul shine so bright, despite a life situation and challenges that I can barely fathom. There is so much love within him and all of those in his life. He has been a huge inspiration to me and is one of my greatest teachers. I am honored to call Mason my dear friend, and my biggest fan!  My only wish is that his song touches your heart as much as Mason has touched mine!

If this story has touched  you, please don’t hesitate to share it – you can do so easily with the Bandcamp link. With such a small investment of $0.99 per person we need to get lots of people to buy the song to make an impact! Thank you!!!!

Lately I have been getting booked with a lot with gigs (sometimes 2 or even 3 in the same day), which is really awesome!!!  And, given that I have been performing at weddings and parties since I was 12 years old, I would estimate that I have probably performed at over 500 events in my time.  Last Sunday, was an exceptional kind of party that really stood out to me. It was a masquerade ball at The Castle Green in Pasadena for about 250 guests. Everyone was to wear masks of some kind, and they even provided them if you didn’t have one. There was dancing, magic, games, photos, an open bar, awesome food by Castle Catering, and me at the piano!  It was very well organized, wonderfully hosted and an all around exceptional night.  But what was extra cool, and somewhat unusual, about the event was that all of the guests were pretty young; early 30′s or younger – and having tons of fun!!

I have played at The Castle Green many times so I know that the space is big and they have two main pianos in different rooms.  Since I was the only hired musician for the evening, other than the DJ in the dining room, I was free to play both pianos  (i.e., run back and forth) throughout the night as I saw fit!  Boy was that fun and interesting.  Then at some point, a few of the girls wanted to start singing along while I accompanied them.  Before I knew it, I had 6 or 7 people gathered around on either side of me, another group close by, and others looking through my music binders for song choices!  We covered everything from West Side Story, Les Miserables and Oliver, to Journey, The Beatles, and Guns N’ Roses!  And most of the singers were really quite good!  The big hits ended up being: “Bohemian Rhapsody” and “Stairway to Heaven.”  I had so much fun that I practically forgot  I was working.  And on top of that, I received a very generous tip!  Wow, so much gratitude!

In contemplating the significance of this outstanding event amongst the many of my 20 year career, it occurs to me that as I get older, the parties and events I am playing are eventually going to have crowds that are primarily attended by my generation and younger.  Since I started playing at events so young, I have been used to being younger than most of people in attendance. But this has obviously been shifting over time and lately I’ve had some gigs where I was around the same age as most of the guests. In my time, I have seen Metallica go from “alternative” to “classic rock,” The Beatles from “hip” to “standard” and Sinatra to, well, “ancient.”  I’m always looking to add music to my repertoire to keep it fresh, but I must admit I find it somewhat challenging to figure out what current music is actually worth playing these days that the “kids” will like!  (I guess that means I’m getting old now, ha!) But in all seriousness, I am truly delighted to say that based on the hip, upscale, super fun party I was just at, I have a feeling my generation will rock it very hard for a really long time!

Kim and I recently returned from an incredible, adventurous, and inspiring journey in the jungles of Peru. We were with a group of 20 people, including some close friends, for the purpose of venturing deep into a meditative space seeking healing and insights.  It was definitely not your typical “vacation” that’s for sure!

This trip was not about sight-seeing or activities per se, it was a time for us to simply be, reflect, meditate, and allow ourselves to unfold. We were well taken care of by the indigenous people who were some of the most happy, caring and friendly people I have ever met. We stayed with them on their land for a couple weeks as we each resided alone in our own tambo (small cabin). Every other day our group would come together for sacred ceremonies filled with beautiful music and meditation. The days in between, we spent the majority of our time alone in silence for the sake of finding peace within and being one with nature!

What a gift it was to have all of this time to reflect, read, write, rest, and slow down all regular activities. I have never before felt so in-tune and connected to nature and all of the life-forms inhabiting our world. There was always an ongoing choir of  singing, laughing and howling from many creatures of the jungle day and night. The orchestra of birds, monkeys and insects created a unique soundtrack unlike anything I had ever experienced before!  I listened closely to the songs of the animal spirits and was humbled by all the life that we share our planet earth with.

Moment by moment, I settled into the peace of the NOW.  Surrendering to what is, and allowing my mind to gradually slow down and take a break from its regular constant chatter.  I had nowhere to be, no one to talk to or be distracted by, nothing really to do, except what I felt moved to do. When I wasn’t sure, I simply sat and waited for inspiration.  Rather than just reacting with thoughts, actions and feelings, I was able to practice being conscious of my movements and decisions. I became more fully present and felt more in-tune with my spirit.

The gem for me out of this journey was when my creative juices began to flow. Without a piano, I was feeling music in a whole new way. I began writing words; poetry from my heart that I have never really given myself space to do before. The words flowed so effortlessly and quickly. I realized very soon that these words needed to be put into a song – I call it “Choose Love.” I have written a handful of pop songs before, but this song was being inspired from a deeper space within my heart. One of the other members of our group, Shems, is a very talented guitar player so I asked him if he would like to learn my song and work on it with me. He agreed, so we began to practice together with Shems playing guitar and me singing. I continued to tweak the chords and melody while Shems valiantly continued practicing and putting up with my changes. This was something way out of our comfort zones for both of us: me singing and without a piano, and Shems working with someone else on their song. In the end, we performed it for everyone in the last couple ceremonies to the delight of the whole group. I was so grateful for this opportunity because I never would have pushed my boundaries to write something like this; let alone sing it.

Now that I am home, I am still buzzing from the whole experience. I see my life as such a gift and I am filled with more love, peace and goodness in all that I am and all that I do.  The biggest lesson I’ve learned is: within all of the confusion of the world today, there is so much goodness that exists too.  And it is that goodness that I can continue to align my life with. Through commitment and practice, surrender and forgiveness, I now have an absolute faith in myself, my community, and the world as we move forward with creative passion and motivation to fully live from our hearts!

It has always been a dream of mine to own a grand piano.  For the entire 27 years that I have been practicing and studying the piano, I have never had my own grand piano.  My mom had an upright piano that was in okay shape in my early years, but by the time I was 10 I switched to practicing on a keyboard.  Since then, I have only owned keyboards.  During my various gigs and performances over the years I would always look forward to the opportunity to play on grand pianos, often very regularly, just never in my own home.

For all these reasons and more, I am in deep gratitude right now for receiving an absolutely amazing gift from my dear friend, Judith Bloch.  A couple weeks ago, Judith contacted me about a piano that had been in her family for 75 years and needed a new home.  She had wanted to donate it to her high school alma mater, but they couldn’t take it. She wanted to see if I had any ideas for where to send it. As luck would have it, we live in a space now that can actually fit a grand piano. Judith thought it over and decided she wanted the piano to go to me as she knows that I will use it and care for it just like her family had all these years.

The piano was delivered to our loft downtown last week and we had it tuned on Monday! It is a 6 foot Sohmer & Co baby grand piano with a very beautiful rosewood finish, and was manufactured in approximately 1910.  It was the rehearsal piano for the LA Philharmonic at one point in its long history. It had been in Judith’s family for 75 years: her mother had played it throughout her childhood and she had taken lessons on it for many years.  It also was in a fire a long time ago.  Judith’s father refinished the piano and the only trace of the fire is the under side of the lid which he left for remembrance.

The piano fits perfectly in our room in our loft and I am so incredibly happy to have received this precious gift.  I feel that this piano will ignite my creative process to greater heights!

There is just something about playing a real piano that is like nothing else in the world.  Even though the technology today can make a keyboard “sound” just like one, it is just not the same as actually playing on one.  The ivory keys, the hammers on the strings, the echo under the lid, the vibrations resonating out, the overtones, the look, the smell, opening the lid before even playing a note! I am already feeling more inspired to compose, create, practice and perform in my home.

I cannot thank you enough, Judith.  With all my heart I am in gratitude.  I will make sure that this is a gift that continues to keep on giving!