Religious adherents like to believe that their faith brings people together. And it does, as long as it’s the same faith. I’m not even really talking about something like Islam vs. Christianity here. Even within one faith, there’s a zillion branches and denominations.. Let’s take Christianity for example… Roman Catholic Protestant Lutheran Episcopalian Anglican Baptist…
One of the most common questions I get as a performer is how I’m able to manage to get up in front of a room full of people and talk, sing, and play guitar for an hour without dying of anxiety. It’s been a long-held belief that people fear public speaking more than even death…
We hear a lot about “extremists” in other countries. But we have extremism here in America too. And I don’t mean the “we don’t need to learn how to land it” type extremists. Maybe call them “Capitalist Extremists”. I walked into Burger King and ordered a whopper. The lady asks me if I want to…
I was flying out one time to do a gig and I was at the airport checking my luggage with the porter outside. I got to the front of the line and the porter was a black guy. He looked at me and said, “Don’t hurt me now!” Being that he was a pretty big…
A few days ago I started writing about the songs that I use as a swipe file for my own songs. Someone once said, “Blatant rip-offs are the sincerest form of flattery.” Or something like that. 😉 I was never good at copying other people’s work anyway. It’s why I was never in a cover…
Every songwriter has a list like this. It’s hearing a song that makes us go “Damn! Why didn’t I think of that?!” that makes us continue to write, always looking for the holy grail of songs. Or the next holy grail anyway. Once difference between just liking a song and being influenced by a song…
Group 99: We’re pissed off and we’re not going to take it anymore! Group 1: And what are you going to do about it? Group 99: We’re going to go camping! Group 1: Alrighty then… You’ll need some camping gear, won’t ya? There’s a Walmart right over there than can set you up. Group 99:…
I was listening to the Music Biz Weekly podcast over the weekend and they were talking about a new social network called Chime.in. Michael and Brian both seemed to like it an get some traction on it early. So I thought I’d give it a go. My profile is at http://chime.in/user/PhilJohnsonComedy Your thought is probably…
8 kids. That’s all I had at my door last night. Now, admittedly, I didn’t get home until 7:30 last night. Probably missed quite a few. But it was dead by 8pm and that’s sad. Ok, it’s a school night, but it won’t kill the kid to go to bed a little late one night….
I spent all of today driving. And I like driving. Especially through northernmost California and up the Oregon coast like today. And the shows tonight and the rest of this week will be fantastic. The problem is I can’t accomplish much else while I’m driving. I can at least keep my brain engaged with podcasts…
I just finally got a smartphone. I know… welcome to the 21st century. I had been putting it off because I didn’t want to pay extra for the data plan. Just to put things in perspective, I didn’t even start texting regularly until about 8 months ago. My headstone probably won’t say “Early Adopter”. I…
I don’t envy the people that have to go through the job interview process. They always seem to demand more acting skill than any audition I’ve ever been on. I never really went through a real interview process like most people do. For one job, working at a Montgomery Ward, painting the place, my interview…
Dave Hooper over at MusicMarketing.com posted today about the Canadian band Living With Lion’s recent go around with the the Canadian government run FACTOR organization that fund and supports Canada’s music artists. A fantastic thing unto itself. Sort of like our NEA, but without the snob appeal. Anyway, LWL’s new album is called “Holy Shit”…
Once again, Seth Godin has put into words something that rattled around my brain but wouldn’t join into full sentences. His blog post, An End Of Magic, starts with Arthur C. Clarke’s famous quote that “Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.” And Seth goes on to say that we know it’s all possible…
I don’t think it’s any secret that working as a performing artist is not the instant way to riches. And if that is a secret to you, now you know why music and other types of artists prefer you buy their work instead of downloading it for free. 🙂 Most performers I know are debt…
I was recently exposed to the idea of baby helmets. My first response was “WHAAAT!” Of course, there are different kinds of baby helmets. If you’re taking the kid on the back of your bike for a ride, definitely strap them up. Then I saw Thudguard… Holy Overprotective Parent Batman. Tell me something… Did you…
So, I’m driving down a two-lane highway, going the speed limit-ish because I’ve got two out of state tickets on my record and my insurance is through the roof. I’m in the left lane because I’m going faster than all the semi’s in the right lane. Rolling up behind me is a dude in a…
There are two things that really rile me up… Seeing people waster their money on stupid things and religious idiots that take advantage of people. And here’s a guy that nailed the double header on that one, which makes him A#1 on my list of people I’d like to see bludgeoned with their own severed…
I’ve been thinking about immigrants and the way they assimilate into American society. It used to be that groups would come here, live in abhorrent conditions and work their way up. I’m thinking of the Italians and Irish living in Four Points, African Americans in Brooklyn, Asians in a variety of Chinatowns and gold mining…
This article in the San Jose Mercury caught my eye yesterday. It seems that at some kids soccer games you’re not allowed to cheer anymore. That’s right Dad and Mom, sit in silence while your kid runs his little ass up and down the field. The goal is mostly to stop parents from yelling inappropriate…
I was reading an interview with someone once (totally can’t remember who) and he said one of this goals in life was to never have to wear a neck tie. Amen brother. I’ve kept to that myself over the years. When I was kid, I had a couple of those clip-on jobbies. And I had…
I was just listening to part of an interview with Maziar Bahari on NPR. He’s the Iran correspondent for Newsweek. He spent 4 months in Iran’s notorious Evin Prison where he was beaten, interrogated and tortured for being a spy, which of course he isn’t. At one point during the interview he talked about the…
Today’s my birthday so I’d like to pay tribute to the artists that have made me think the way I do by turning you on to them. That and I’m kind of slacking off by not writing a real post. 🙂 First off, The Wildhearts… One of the greatest, most underrated rock bands of all…
In my time traveling as a performer, I’ve been to about 19 states outside my home in California. And I’ve noticed two prominent things. I have a rule in life… Don’t walk in front of something that weighs 11 times my own weight. Like a car. I think it’s a good rule and it’s kept…
