Mar 30 9:19 pm (Me & Mr. Clapton)
Just got back from an excellent swim today. 60 laps. Effortless. It's gotta do w/ the sufficient sleep I've got these days. Yeah!

Purchased the new Clapton CD Me & Mr. Johnson today and listened to it twice in the car. It was a very nice and enjoyable effort. Crystal clear studio recording. Faithful to the original, but still somewhat imaginative. His best work since From the Cradle (1994), which he only gave 60% of his chops. Here, maybe it was 70%. The point is not to show his chops, but show the space. Some of the best songs include Little Queen of Spades (Jeffy take note, Billy Preston on organ here), Love in Vain, Come On In My Kitchen, Kindhearted Woman Blues.When I went to Borders today, I also saw Aerosmith releasing a blues CD called Honkin' on Bobo (what a name!) w/ a nice harmonica cover. I want to hear it b/c I heard Aerosmith doing a blues song in Woodstock 98 and remembered thinking to myself, that was pretty damn good - these guys should come out w/ a blues album. Voila!

I declare myself the "musical prophet" as of today. Besides the Aerosmith issue, I also said to Greg during last year's American Idol, they should get Funk Brothers (Motown's major backing band) to play w/ people like Ruben or Clay. Today, on national TV, guess what? They got the holy Funk Brothers to play Motown songs w/ American Idol contestants. What did I say last year, huh? Back to the Clapton CD. People who know me know how much Clapton's Unplugged meant to me.

I guess if Clapton claims Robert Johnson called him to the blues, Mr. Clapton called me. This CD reaffirms my faith in the blues.
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Mar 28 11:30 pm (Weekend Update)
Damn fine gigs this weekend. Thanks to Clarence, Jeff, Jack, Gene & Josh for playing at the church benefit gig today (We raised lots of money for Moses Munene). Clarence, Jeff, Jack & I had a gentleman heart-to-heart at Kelly's Irish Times afterwards (my old neighborhood hangout) and Clarence told us some funny stories. One huge discovery this week: Josh Esponiza. This guy can play bass. Clarence says he has great talents and he will put him under his wings. The gig ended with a sentimental Kenyan version of Amazing Grace in Moses' native language. Jeff has said it all in his latest entry. I don't need to regurgitate similar feelings.

Josh also joined me at the Friday night Europa gig. I had great fun this Friday with Arthur and Josh, even though Rusty failed to show up (the excellent Bruce Katsu filled in at the last minute and arrived in unknown speed). I can't believe I played my Jewish woman song to Ryfie. The song was partly inspired by her. Thanks to Eileen, Kat, Jen and my co-workers for coming too. Without being sentimental, all I have to say is, maybe I have more friends than I thought. When people from different walks of life come to see you, whether it's a gig, poetry-reading session, or watching a Julia Stiles film (though for me that's off limits), you know that you're blessed and that these are real friends. So I'd also like to thank Greg, Munish, and Kristen for coming last week and numerous other people for coming to see me at any given time. It means so much to me and I'm grateful.

With that said, I miss playing with Bill Heid. He's due back next week.

A coupla new albums of note coming this week or soon: George Michael's Patience and Eric Clapton's Me & Mr. Johnson. In the meantime, my friend Wayne Wilentz has released his new CD Break fo Dawn, featuring Pam Bricker, Patrick DeSantos, Nicki Gonzalez on vocals.

Strange, I've been listening to Vanilla Ice's "Ice Ice Baby" and diggin it. I need medicine.
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Mar 26 4:25 pm (Racism, sarcasm, orgasm...)
Is this racist or just poor taste? If you think it's racism, sign the petition. If you think it's not, tell me why.

Also, check out the HK Film Award promo trailer here.

Finally. it's getting warmer....and don't forget to come to our charity gig this Sunday. I'd be really mad if you missed that one (See live gigs for details).
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Mar 22 7:48 pm (Back to the Basics, Pt. 2)
Listened to lot of my early influences in music this weekend: Starting w/ Jerry Lee Lewis, Engelbert Humperdinck, Joe Stanley, Van Morrison singing Mose Allison songs, Mose Allison and ending on an extremely good note w/ Donovan's "Season of the Witch." It was my musical journey revisited.

If you want to know what your name means, click on this website and enter your name. My name "Henry" means "ruler of the home" and has a German descent.

Finally, I'm very skeptical about the controversial assassination during the Taiwanese election. Here's a page that shows some of the loopholes, if you can read Chinese. The pictures are interesting too.

Breaking news: Three knives (there used to be six) are mysteriously missing from my apartment. Modest rewards for those who help me find them.
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Mar 21 2:13 am (Back to the Basics, Pt. 1)
Just came back from a mediocre, if not somewhat disappointing gig w/ Rusty Bogart and Arthur Gerstein. You would think a lineup like that would smoke. The second set was good b/c some people paid attention. Thanks to Gene Meros for sitting in. Special thanks to Kristen's boyfriend Scott Jackson for sitting in on bass with us. We owe you one. Also check out my Cafe Europa page.

Incidentally, Band of Blue (my niggas) were playing next door at Willie & Reed's. I was able to go by to say hello in the beginning and end of their sets. Grabbed one of their CDs and T-shirts. I'm actually listening to it now. Damn, it's so good!!! I'm gonna stay away from 1-4-5's now and listen to well-thought out riffs and songs like this. This group is original, funky and coherent. If you don't have a copy of the Band of Blue CD, buy one on CDBaby, for Christ's sake. You don't hear stuff this good these days. And this is coming from a snob like me. Good news: I'll be playing harp w/ Band of Blue (as a special guest) at Jammin' Java on April 7. Come by and hear this band (and me). Seriously!

Talked to an old friend/teacher/mentor Dean Fusto today. Dean was my dorm parent in Tron when I was at NMH. Glad to know that he's doing extremely well in Jacksonville, FL, that his wife gave birth to their daughter 17 months ago, that he published some books, and that he still digs good music. I might go down to Florida this June to visit Dean and reunite w/ Chris Shepard.

I conclude only three people read my website: Jeff, Heather and my Mom.
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Mar 19 6:11 pm (Exhausted...)
Long day at work. Can't believe I stayed til 6 pm on a Friday. Certainly worked hard. I deserve the weekend more than other weeks...

Teresa Caprio, a renowned singer in Hong Kong and one of my most revered artists, comments on William Hung as follows: William has great courage, but the William Hung movement is a backward development in the Asian culture. William's awkwardness and poor quality of performance give the audience a false image - i.e. people may easily think that Chinese people can't sing or dance, which is not true b/c there are Chinese artists who have incredible talent (Yo-Yo Ma, Vanessa Mae (half-Thai), Tan Dun, Coco Lee first come to mind). While people like Jackie Chan, Bruce Lee, Chow Yun-Fat who have tried hard to bring Asian art to the forefront of the mainstream American/International entertainment arena, the infamous William Hung movement drags it backwards to the mocking of Charlie Chan English in the 30's. Discuss and comment.

I keep three journals: A) online (i.e. this one), B) my diary, & C) my mind. Parents, friends, and the general public have access to A). Only I have access to B). Only God and I have access to C). A) is the most controversial, b/c it may not be the real me. It could just be the persona I try to project. It is not as honest as B) or C) b/c I know some people are reading A) and I have deep, dark secrets I don't want them to know. B) is very personal b/c it is a document of more intimate thoughts. Still, no deep, dark secrets. C), however, is hard to keep track of. I try to extract, edit, and expand on C) as much as possible and try to make A) a faithful abbreviation or digest of C). Sometimes, ironically, you may know more about the real me from A) than from B). But A) is only a version of me. Just think of a Depeche Mode remix of a Madonna song, if you will. Today, I tried to incorporate my quirkness of A) and C) into my updated Friendster profile. And surprisingly, I like it. Tell me if you think the profile reflects the real me.

Wow, this sounds really hip. Doc Scantlin and his Orchestra performs live at Swizzle. Does anyone want to go w/ me to 4/29 show? Times will never be like these again!

BTW, I wrote a song called "You Dig" dedicated to Bill Heid. Don't forget to catch me & Rusty & Arthur at Europa tomorrow night.
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