Those of us pulled toward activism and positive change of any sort need to use our strengths, resources and passions to that end. If our strengths are artistic, then a whole world of questions emerges about how to create and present socially conscious art. I find that the answers tend to come fairly organically if the questions are asked thoroughly enough and the questions here should help with this process.
Continue ReadingToday would have been my aunt Margie Pozefsky’s 72nd birthday. Today offers a particularly good opportunity to look at Margie’s legacy and, perhaps more importantly, to look at what we can learn from her.
Continue ReadingThe inspiration behind my recent composition “The Countdown Began” comes from the phenomenon of aging out of the foster care system.
Continue ReadingJust be there and keep it real. Well, that was easy. Oh, you’d like me to elaborate? Sure thing . . .
Continue ReadingHere is a piece I wrote for the introduction of a book my daughter Ariana is compiling of stories told by foster youth. Those stories will be the heavy part, but hopefully this piques your interest in the meantime.
Continue ReadingMany have noted the irony of Valentine’s Day coinciding with the 2-month anniversary of the Newtown massacre. Many have also chosen love as the antidote to the madness and as the way out of the despair. Every day is a good day to declare that “love wins,” but this is a particularly timely opportunity to affirm that. I truly believe that if love is strong in our hearts, it wins because it shapes our reality and thus has the potential to guide our every action.
Continue ReadingWhat better way to celebrate Wayne Shorter’s awesomeness than to explore some of my personal favorites from his discography as a bandleader? None, exactly.
Continue ReadingDrunken louts in bars? Road-raging Hummer-drivers? Vitriolic right-wing politicians? They all fear me. I know you might think this is because of my massive pectoral muscles (why thank you) or my angry profane outbursts, which nobody can verify ever having seen but which are the stuff of legends documented in the bark of the mighty…
Continue ReadingMusic can heal at times like this, and here are 10 songs that are both well-suited for this and (for the most part) specifically crafted for that purpose.
Continue ReadingLittle things can have a big impact. Especially in a time of tumult like this, we must remember that each loving, caring or otherwise positive action is fundamental to our personal well-being and that of the world at large.
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