Quiet Solitude

This week so far has been very calm and quiet. My older son went back to San Francisco after spending the week here helping to photograph the studio experience. And my younger son is living it up in New York City. I knew he would love it there. The energy of that city is infectious and for a twenty-two year old I'm sure it's completely irresistible. I'm so proud of how he has adapted himself to the environment so quickly. He's settled in well to his internship at vicetv.com and has also gotten an actual paying job at American Apparel. As he states, he's involved with all of the "hip" things going on right now! I would love to be able to go out and visit him and hope to do so--with a few gigs booked--soon.

I sent off three press kits to Porto Alegre, Brazil a couple of days ago and now I'm crossing my fingers, toes, legs, eyes and anything else that can be crossed in hopes that the gigs come through. What a thrill it would be to play in Brazil and get a sense of how my music is recieved in other parts of the world. Of course cost is always an issue but it's a problem I WANT to have.

Last night I attended an open house meeting for two grants that will be given out through both the San Francisco Arts Foundation and CCI. The SF grant, although I do not qualify for it due to the fact I don't actually live in SF, is a wonderful grant that attempts to blend community and social issues with the arts. It's what I most believe in when it comes to sharing the arts with children who need it the most. I'm going ot try and find someone in SF to partner with so I can develop a program that will take music and art out to the neighborhoods. It would be so awesome to get funding for this so I don't have to take the money out of my own pocket. I truly believe that the power of music could be an amazing healing tool in areas where family life is fragmented. We need to save our children and give them a sense of hope. Hope is what is diminishing so rapidly in our world. Without hope the world breeds terror, fear and violence. There's got to be a way to return to a world where we can look forward and not be frightened.