"You're... you're crazy man. I like you, but you're crazy."

Peppers: Hey, hey. Careful with that. That's the most powerful tranq gun on the market. Got her in Mexico.
Frank: Cool.
Peppers: Yeah, it is cool. They say it can puncture the skin of a rhino from...
Frank: [Frank shoots himself in the neck with the dart]
Peppers: YES! That's awesome!
Frank: What?
Peppers: You just took one in the jugular, man.
Frank: What? I did.

I kind of feel like I've been hit with a tranquilizer dart. I've been staying up too late every night and now I'm starting to slooow down. Not necessarily because I want to. But because I can't go on full throttle much longer. I'm doing ok emotionally/spiritually. Just physically tired.

Need some sarvangasana, a cup of roobios, a warm bed. Something. And pretty quick. Now, actually. G'Night.

FINALLY!!!!

Joe Campbell talks about One Pointed Meditation: where the rest of the world falls away as you focus on your one thing. I feel like right now everything else has fallen away and I'm focusing on my music thing and so while I send my regrets for not updating this blog very frequently, I am pleased to announced that TREVDIESEL.COM is now live. Please swing by and check it out.

Ruining the Goonies

A friend of mine borrowed my copy of THE GOONIES because he had never seen it before. I sent him an email today asking how he liked it and THIS was his response. Of course, as a kid, none of these things came to mind. Now I'm never going to be able to watch it the same again.

Watched it Saturday. Very possibly the strangest movie I've ever seen.

Lets see, the girl in the short skirt decides (a) go in with what's his name because of a love interest (b) discovers that people are trying to kill her and goes crazy (c) consequently decides not to go up to safety (d) decides she wants to play "smoochie smoochie" with her love interest *while* the robbers are chasing her (e) walks the plank and nearly drowns and (f) kisses boy.

How did Brand survive a 45 MPH drop off a cliff into the trees? (How did that bike go 45 MPH?) Why didn't he just put air back into the tires? Or, how do you get the stems out that fast?

Why would you have a gate opening system that depends on replacing at least three parts every time? (Not to mention the chicken laying an egg.)

How did Data crash into the back door without a cable going *to* the back door?

How did the ship get out of the cave with the mast and sails intact???

Why didn't they just follow Chunk out the window to go get help? Why would you send the one person you *know* isn't going to be believed? Why not send at least one person up the well to get the police? (After all they sent Chunk earlier.)

How did they know they exact spot to start after 1000 feet by just walking in a general direction? And why did they leave their bikes in the middle of the road?

How did the guy know to rhyme the verse in the map in English if it was written in Spanish?

Why wasn't anyone upset there were only a handful of diamonds (maybe $100k) when there were billions of gold sailing away?

Why did they go *back* into the restaurant, even though they *saw* the body???

Why didn't the robbers take both bodies (instead of just one)?

Why did they start banging on the pipes underneath the country club? It only brought the robbers faster.

How did the SUV go so fast (through a bunch of other SUVs) even though they were in a race?

Where did the big dude get the Superman t-shirt? (I was okay with the pirate hat.)

Why not just throw the lit dynamite stick into the water? Either way you're not raining rocks on your head. For that matter, why would you need a "candle" if you could see sunlight?

How is it that Data was saved when he fell by the teeth/slinky combination? Neither one could hold more than 10 pounds. And just what was in his backpack anyway?

Why was short-skirt playing "chords" when there was only a single note on the sheet music? And even the most basic music people can tell the difference between F# and Eflat!

How did Mama get across the oiled log if the two sons couldn't do it?

And finally:

Was Mama played by a guy or a gal?

:-)

Greg

It's Samplin' Time!

I've got a couple unmastered preview tracks from my upcoming CD available to hear at my MySpace music account.

Also - if you've got a MySpace account and wanna be "super sweet" (just like you were in your Middle School yearbook), leave me a comment. I need to get the hype up so I can get these things sold! Cheers!

Date Info

Hope everyone had a happy Thanksgiving. I know the holidays are rough for some people due to bad memories or bad family situations. My hope and prayer is that everyone finds strength and peace at this time of year.

Just a little "Date Info." Trevdiesel.com goes live officially on December 15th and the official album release date is Saturday, January 15th. There will be a cd listening party on that evening at a TBD location.

...after much anticipation...

Well, I saw it. Amy and I went to the late showing on Thanksgiving night to see RENT, and though I'm mostly impressed, I'm still not entirely sure what I think about it.

• POSITIVES: The main messages of the piece (living for today, the glorification with the bohemian-artistic lifestyle, love and friendship are what matter in life) definately shine through. Most of the performances are great, and I appreciated the majority of the camera work and layouts of the scenes (seeing on-location action was really cool). Using the original broadway cast (with 2 exceptions) was also a brilliant decision. With Chris Columbus directing, I was sure they were going to pull out a lot of the objectionable content, but with the film's piece de resistance (IMO) - "La Vie Boheme" - there were certainly no punches pulled. That scene kicks major ass both on screen and on stage. How they got a PG-13 rating with that number in the picture, I have no freaking clue.
• NEGATIVES: The flow of the film, however, seems a bit clunky and even cheesy at times. There were two "cringe" moments: Angel's "Today For You" (couldn't they have broken away from the silly singing and shown his story in action?) and Roger singing on top of a corny Sante Fe cliffy landscape - yikes. I'm also not sure if it will win any new "converts" - it may mainly be for fans of the production. I'm not sure. I'd love to hear someone's feedback that saw the film and has NOT seen the stage show.

Some good. Some bad. I'm AM pretty sure, however, that they did as well as they could, what with translating this stage show to a film. Go see it. If you can withstand a little bit of cheese, I'm quite sure that the Life-Affirming message will break through to even the coldest of viewers. NO DAY BUT TODAY.

Almost Ready

Putting the final touches on trevdiesel.com. Should be ready within a week or so - however, we'll be in South Carolina for the holidays from Wednesday to Sunday, so that may delay things a bit. Stay tuned!

Dance Party

Tonight, Kalli was wildly dancing and clapping in the living room to the music of her electric piano. I then began cracking up hysterically when I realized that she was dancing just like Navin Johnson at the beginning of "The Jerk."

Hil - arious.

Maybe I need to find her some "whitey" smooth jazz and she'll start clapping right on the beat?

Album Update

The album is totally tracked! We begin mixing on Mon/Tues. Shouldn't be long now.

"December 24th, 9 pm, Eastern Standard time..."

I'm like a kid that looks in his parents' closet for his Christmas gifts.

I read a spoiler-filled review of the RENT movie today. I think most people will be happy with it, however die-hard "rentheads" (myself included) will certainly find some fault. There seems to be much from the original production that is left out (but of course, it IS an adaptation). Of all that is lacking, this part (which seems to be one of the main points of the story) may be the most missed:

"One of the heavy hitters for the musical was the feeling that... WOW, a year has gone by...just like that...look at these people...look at what happened...look at LIFE... wow. Didn't get that from the movie." (Amy Hu's review)

Nevertheless, I'm quite certain it will be a great film. I highly recommend it on premise alone.

But of course, if you REALLY want to get the full effect, go see an actual production of it. You won't be disappointed.

Welcome to the Midwest...

YESTERDAY: Summer weather.
LAST NIGHT: Tornadoes.
TODAY: Snow.

Quote of the Week

I asked my friend Fritz if he would like to sing a 3rd harmony part on a couple of the lines in my album, so he was in the studio with me while I was recording background vocals last night. At one point he made a comment about how it sounded great with my melody and high harmony and himself doing the 3rd of the chord in the middle. To which I replied:

"Yeah, Fritz is like the meat in a Diesel sandwich."

Going Live in 5... 4... 3...

TREVDIESEL.COM has gone live! The site should be fully functional in the next few weeks and will be the official home for trevdiesel music and the soon-to-be-released album: "The Parachute EP."

Thanks for your support everybody!

The Artist

"The reader will recall the story of Prometheus who met with a cruel fate for stealing fire from the gods for the human race. Prometheus stole the fire of the gods and gave it as a gift to the humans who so needed fire to create civilization. When he did this, Zeus was outraged and condemned Prometheus to be lashed to a rock where a vulture would feed each morning on his liver. But his liver grew back again each night.

"Psychologist Rollo May interprets the Prometheus story to mean that the artist becomes utterly "beat" after a day's work and is exhausted at night. But during the night, his energy (his liver) grows back again for his work the next day.

"I would go further in examining the archetype of the liver. The liver cleanses and recycles. The artist, too, cleanses and recycles the toxins in a culture. Artists turn pain into insight and struggle into triumpth and darkness into light and ugliness into beauty and forgetfulness into remembering and grief into rejoicing. Artists add awe to awe and beauty to beauty and wonder to wonder. When the liver is healthy, the person is healthy. The artist is to the community or body politic what the liver is to the human body: a cleanser and recycler of waste and toxins."

[from the book "Creativity" by Matthew Fox]

Photo Shoot and Congratulations

My photographer friend, Kevin, and I went out for a couple hours after getting some work done today to shoot some photos for the not-quite-ready trevdiesel(dot)com and for the album booklet. It's just funny how you take 80 pictures and end up with only 2 good ones and 4 possibly-usable-somewhere-sometime ones.

On a somewhat-related musical note, my friends Waltz for Venus were on the radio this afternoon doing a 3-part interview and live tracks on air. Congrats, dudes. Only wish I could've heard it - I tuned in, but only found out after the fact that I was on 93.5 instead of 95.7. Damn. Hope it was cool - let me know if you've got an audio file of the program.

Propellant

Yesterday, while eating a granola bar, I walked by a woman who said to me:

"Mmmm. Energy."

And it just struck me as kind of odd. That's what food is! It's gas for the car! Sure it is enjoyable, but technically our level of activity should match the level of intake - it's fuel! (...and at that instant, I was eating a granola bar mainly because I was bored).

I know that's a silly thing to blog about, but it's just the little things in life that make things interesting.

So Cute...

If you haven't seen my daughter's blog in a while, you should so check it out.

She's way cute.

And is a rock star in training.

Blown Away

My boss just walked in my office and handed me a note and a paycheck envelope. The note said:

"Trev, This is a gift from individuals who wish to remain anonymous. It is to assist your CD project."

I then opened the envelope and found a check for $1,000. I am absolutely blown away. I don't even know what to say.

"Follow your bliss and doors will open where there were no doors before." [Joseph Campbell]

Being Alive

People say that what we're all seeking is a meaning for life. I think that what we're really seeking is an experience of being alive, so that our life experiences on the purely physical plane will have resonance within our innermost being and reality, so that we can actually feel the rapture of being alive.

[Joseph Campbell]

Who'd Have Thunk It?

CLICK HERE TO READ THE ARTICLE

Life's Been Good...

So I've been an absentee-blogger for about a month now...

(sorry ya'll)

• Life is good. My music 'career' is picking up and I'm spending most of my free time working on the business side of things (promotion, booking, organizing, etc) or writing/practing/studio.
• My daughter can now moo, kiss, high five, dance like the woman in Flashdance, among other things.
• Not really reading anything right now, but just ordered B.K.S. Iyengar's "Light on Life." Iyengar, for those who don't know, was one of the first to bring Yoga to the United States many years ago and is still teaching and writing. This new book is supposedly about 'the art of living' as opposed to what he normally writes about: 'the art of yoga.' (Not that the two are all that different, in actuality). Will let you know how it is.
• I love this season: that time in Indiana when it's too hot for heating and too cold for air-conditioning. The windows can be open and there's a fresh breeze. You go outside in the morning and it's brisk and beautiful and it's just about the time to start wearing jackets. Campfire season!
• I go back into the studio on Sunday to record trumpet and finish guitar.
• Tasted "Cherry Vanilla Dr. Pepper" on Saturday. 3 of my favorite things in one can. I was majorly disappointed. It tasted like....... Dr. Pepper.

Great Photography

My buddy Kevin does some great photography - especially nature shots. Swing over and check out his most recent post...

Tracking Guitars - Oct 9

UPDATE

New pictures have been added to my previous post. Check 'em.

Weekend #1

This weekend went better than I could've even hoped. Derek (drums) and Cale (bass) hit it out of the park and we were able to knock out all 5 songs on those two instruments in 8.5 hours. Much, much love to both of them and to the people that came out to visit us in the studio (Amy, Llama, Jay, Nico and David).

the studio

Recording a scratch track


Yes, there is a lot of "down" time


A view from above


Smooth as silk


Setting up


The Llama, Empty Pizza Boxes and Beer Cans






Scott the Engineer


Derek England toying with the cymbal. How's THAT for a make-shift mallet? (Note: It did NOT work out)


Cale fixing a couple of bass lines in the main control room


Gazing into the visual drum monitor


the "When I Die" upright bass


the after-party

I look more "sauced" than she does, but she was keeping up just fine... don't let the picture fool you.


Llama and Diesel livin' it up


Cale macking on everyone else's ladies

Tracking (Day One)

Recording for the new 5-song EP began yesterday! Everything went better than expected - in part because my buddies are such amazing players. I'm so proud of the drum and bass tracks that are being layed down by my good friends Derek and Cale. More details including studio pictures and post-studio-party pictures coming late tonight or sometime on Monday.

In light of...

...the recent calamities in the world, the loss of young man, and Isaiah's most recent post, the following lyrics from songwriter Chris Rice came to mind:

None of us knows and that makes it a mystery
If life is a comedy, then why all the tragedy
Three-and-a-half pounds of brain try to figure out
What this world is all about
And is there an eternity, is there an eternity?

God if You’re there I wish You’d show me
And God if You care then I need You to know me
I hope You don’t mind me askin’ the questions
But I figure You’re big enough
I figure You’re big enough

Lying on pillows we’re haunted and half-awake
Does anyone hear us pray, "If I die before I wake"
Then the morning comes and the mirror’s the other place
Where we wrestle face to face with the image of Deity
The image of Deity

When I imagine the size of the universe
And I wonder what’s out past the edges
Then I discover inside me a space as big
And believe that I’m meant to be
Filled up with more than just questions

God if You’re there I wish You’d show me
And God if You care then I need You to know me
I hope You don’t mind me askin’ the questions
But I figure You’re big enough
I figure You’re big enough

Plans

This weekend (Oct. 1 & 2) I head into the studio to begin work on a trev diesel 5-song EP recording. It will take a number of months to complete, but I will certainly keep you all updated along the way. This has been a long time coming and I look forward to finally making manifest what has sat latent at the bottom of my soul for some time. Blessings and many thanks to those who have supported my music along the way (Amy, Tommy, Darrell, Kevin, Dan, and others) and encouraged me to finally make this disc a reality.

A Little Holy Humor

If you haven't yet seen the video clip of the hip preacher's faux pas, CLICK HERE. Freudian slip anyone?

The Two Hotties of My Household

The Fog

Letting the dogs out this morning, I was surprised to see the landscape blanketed in a thick white fog. The entire world was emerging from a smokey gray screen that, rather than providing a panoramic picture, seemed to be a series of isolated objects arising from the haze. Suddenly I became aware of the magic reality of that tree over there. The fence in my backyard took on a dewy freshness. The moon welled up out of nothingness and peeked through the cloudy brume.

In meditation, we find ourselves setting the stage for the same kind of thing. We strip away all that we're used to seeing and knowing, returning to a primordial empty blankness where there are no longer any objects. This is the emptiness that was before the Big Bang. This is the emptiness from which all things arise moment to moment.

Then as we open our eyes to go about our day, the whole world springs forth piece by piece, object by object, and there is now again a dewy freshness. Everything is alive. Spirit is and has always been spinning forth worlds and worms, molecules and marsupials, life and love - but now, at last, we begin to notice.

Introducing Sufjan Stevens

About two months ago, Amy and I were driving in the car when a special segment came on NPR about a small town in the south. This town was blessed by being the home of a very rare type of bird nicknamed "The Great God Bird" (as in, "Great God, that's an interesting bird!"). Naturalists and tourists flocked to this novelty site to see the bird and the town made a name for itself. They then talked about a young songwriter who even wrote a song about this town and bird and had the track available for download on the NPR website (click here to listen to the song as you read the rest of this entry).

Fast forward about a month and a friend of mine named David was talking about this songwriter named Sufjan Stevens. I was told that, among other things, he writes songs about specific locations and has released an album about Michigan, one about Illinois and his lofty goal is to write one album for each of the 50 states.

Then fast forward to last night, David and I went to the University of Illinois to see Sufjan and his 8 member band perform tracks from his Illinois album. I can't say enough about this album and this songwriter other than that "Illinois" is literally a masterpiece. I highly recommend that you read the first two user reviews on amazon.com for this disc, for they speak about the album in a way that is right-on-the-money. While you're there, listen to a few of the samples (my personal favorites being 'The Tallest Man,' 'John Wayne Gacy', and 'Chicago').

And then go ahead and do yourself a favor by ordering the disc. Fantastic, fantastic, fantastic. You won't be let down.

---

POST UPDATE: You can listen to that entire NPR story (which is a great listen) by clicking here and clicking the "Listen" button under the title.

Evolution

The sporadic nature of my posts as of late is not totally accidental. The truth is that my time in front of the computer is fewer and farther between.

My whole life I've been "victimized" by my own procrastination, inertia and disorganization. I am and have been a classic right-brain personality and had all but resigned to that lot in life. I assumed I would always bounce checks, sort through piles of papers for missing instructions, misplace my keys, have a messy house, not find time to really develop a relationship with my wife and others, and do only the amount of work necessary to not get into trouble. (...meanwhile always suffering because I felt I could never catch up)

But once again, the teachings of Ken Wilber (especially those about developing as a WHOLE being) have really opened my eyes to human potential. While I have certainly found myself progressing and evolving spiritually over the past 5 years, this was certainly the only developmental line in which I was evolving. I was deepening in meditation - in spiritual realization - in unfolding, but I didn't even consider that I could also be evolving in social relationships, in organization, in my marriage, in work, etc. And why not?!? Do we not all know people who are spiritual all-stars but organizationally, morally, or relationtionally crippled?

For the first time, I'm beginning to feel the freedom of having an organized and simpler life. It's almost like the purity and peace that I find within is starting to ripple outward into the various other outer spheres. (Which, as far as blogging is concerned, whereas I used to spend hours at work blogging and so forth, I now find that I'm getting things done, making a difference and living up to my responsibilities.)

It is certainly true that Spirit manifests itself as messiness, as disorganization, as chaos JUST AS MUCH as "cleanliness is next to godliness." But in a spirit of unattachment and through living out the precepts of Zen, I find that the more I develop and bring consciousness into the other areas of my life, the greater peace and space I find to BE and develop both spiritually and as a WHOLE being.

So excited...

Call me uncultured or cliche, but out of all the shows that have hit the stage, my favorite musical is still RENT. I love the rawness...the honesty...the messages about community and living for the day ("There's only us/there's only this/forget regret/or life is yours to miss") and love in its many facets.

So of course I got excited when I finally saw the trailer for the RENT Motion Picture that's coming out in November. Check out the RENT movie site here (be sure to click on ENTER THE SITE, and then VIDEOS, then TRAILER).

"No day but today."

Teaching Spiritual Practices

Tonight, I begin teaching a 12-week class at our church called "Spiritual Practices." It will be an introduction to various spiritual growth practices such as meditation, centering prayer, journaling, labyrinth walking, creative arts, lectio divina (divine reading), and more.

I firmly believe that divinity meets us on whatever level or stage in which we currently find ourselves. This is certainly where the concept of Grace comes in. Spiritual practices are not for the aim of finding favor with God or "getting to heaven." There is a far simpler grace towards all in that respect. Rather, they are for the deepening and special knowledge and unity with God that is for those who seek it. In the old Exodus story, Moses had to climb the mountain to see God's face. While we are all allowed and welcome to remain at the base of the mountain our whole lives, there is a far more inclusive love, compassion, awareness and realization available that comes when we actively move toward God, rather than resigning to rest only in a passive spiritual state.

Blessings

Prayers and blessings to all those affected by the Hurricane. May we reach out to one another in love and service in this time.

Waking, Dreaming, Emptiness

It has been said that long time meditators can stay conscious not only in the waking state, but also through dreaming sleep (such as lucid dreaming) and deep, dream-less sleep.

One might wonder why you would even attempt such a feat.

The reason is, once again, identifying yourself with the Witness within - the essence of YOU that is not confined to your body, mind, personality, etc. It is not just saying, but truly realizing that "it is not I, but Christ that lives in me."

I had my first glimpse of that this week. I was dreaming about driving down the road and watching a tornado come toward my car. At this point the car started to shake, everything got weird and scary - and then... I woke up.

But it was interesting because - and it's really hard to put into words (like any nondual experience) - but it's like there was no 'shift' between dreaming and waking. There was this "I AM" base to both experiences. It was the first time I'd had this experience and was fairly fascinating.

Steal the Moon

A Zen Master lived the simplest kind of life in a little hut at the foot of a mountain. One evening, while he was away, a thief sneaked into the hut only to find there was nothing in it to steal.

The Zen Master returned and found him. "You have come a long way to visit me," he told the prowler, "and you should not return empty handed. Please take my clothes as a gift."

The thief was bewildered, but he took the clothes and ran away. The Master sat naked, watching the moon.

"Poor fellow," he mused, " I wish I could give him this beautiful moon."

earworm

from urbandictionary.com

earworm (n.): Song that is stuck in your head.

I am currently obsessively, unhealthily addicted to the Gorillaz song "Feel Good, Inc." I can't get it out of my head, I have to listen to it a few times a day. It's extraordinarily creative (for a radio hit) and catchy to the point where I'm going insane. God, make it stop. (click on the link above to watch the video... it's equally as creative)

What about you? Got a recent earworm?

Zenteresting

As of late, I've taken an interest to Zen practice. Let me list a few of my notions about Zen and the characteristics that are appealing:

• Note the key word being practice. Zen Buddhism is unique in that it's not so much about belief (although there is a philosophy, but it is not to get hung up on). It is about trying it and seeing what happens. It is about the experience of being awake and aware, residing as the Witness, whether in Emptiness or in the world of form. Which leads me to...
• Zen appears to be one of the few nondualist traditions. As Ken Wilber would put it: there are many traditions/religions that are Ascending (this world is bad or illusion and the idea is to escape it, go beyond it, or "get to heaven") and there are many that are Descending (spirit is found in and through the Earth, Gaia, your fellow man, nature). But Zen would say that both are true (nondual=not two, one reality). "Emptiness is form, and form is emptiness." You go into the emptiness to discover your original face that was "there before your parents were born" then come back into ordinary, everyday life and see the One in the Many ("Before enlightenment there is chopping wood and carrying water, after enlightenment there is chopping wood and carrying water," "When you sit, just sit. When you walk, just walk.").
• Zen has an inherent HUMOR to it. Take this story, in which the only real response is to laugh in realization: "Tokusan kept his master Ryutan up late one evening with his questions. "Why don't you go to bed?" asked Ryutan finally. Tokusan got up to leave, then said, "It's dark in the hall." "Here, take this candle," said Ryutan. Gratefully Tokusan took his master's candle. Then Ryutan leaned forward and blew it out." (from David Fontana's "Discover Zen")
• Zen appreciates mindful ART as seen in Zen painting and poetry, gardening, tea-making, flower-arranging and the like.

Quick (zen) Question

Do any of you know anything about or have any experience with the Kwan Um School of Zen (Denomination: Korean Chogye Order)? I'm considering going to check out a Center in Indianapolis...

For that matter, are any of you students of Zen? Thoughts/reflections on your experience with this path?

Back from the Low-Country

Here are a few pictures from our vacation last week.


Panoramic Marsh Photo (yeah, that's 3 photos put together!)


A Local Resident


One of the docks


Mossy Tree


Bridge and Grasses


Keeping Guard

On a related note, we also had the incredible opportunity to meet fellow blogger Isaiah/Tommy and his wife, Cathy. What a turn of fate to find out that he lives minutes from my mother-in-law in South Carolina! Amy and I had a great time getting to know them and look forward to future visits and a continued relationship.

I'll get caught up on everyone's blog in the next day or two. Namaste.