The Heart of the Matter
October 26, 2014
New Music from Daya and Stuart

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In the spring of 2012, Daya Rawat (vocals) and Stuart Hoffman (piano) spent several hours in Stuart's LA studio rehearsing for a TPRF benefit concert in Germany.

Neither of these two extraordinary musicians had any intention of releasing anything from that rehearsal, but after recently listening to a recording of the music they made that day, the two of them realized they had captured something very special.

So they decided to create an EP (extended play) on BandCamp -- and release it to their fans and the rest of the known universe.

The EP includes: "You Gave Me the Key," "This Is My Paradise," "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face", and "What A Wonderful World."

Click here to download now. The cost? $10. Less than two capuccinos and a muffin, but the effect will last a whole lot longer. You're in for quite a treat.

Posted by Mitch Ditkoff at 12:50 AM | Comments (0)

October 25, 2014
Fuzzbee's New CD!

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See that guy with his head on my shoulder? That's Fuzzbee -- Fuzzbee Morse, world class multi-instrumentalist, producer, composer, Flying Fannoli Brother, raconteur, comedian, kibbitzer, and bundle of love.

In 1978 we were roommates. In an ashram. In Denver -- both of us having the same teacher, love of baseball, and propensity to laugh for very little reason at all. Our room was about the size of a jail cell. A very small jail cell. On many a night I would awaken around 2:00 am and see Fuzzbee on the floor, hunched over some scraps of paper, pen in hand, feverishly writing.

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"Ditty", he would call to me, "what rhymes with ocean...?" (or 'tunnel'... or 'whisper' ... or whatever word he had just written down for a song that would later become part of the soundtrack of my 30's).

Half-asleep, I'd call out something or other and Fuzzbee, flashlight in hand, eyes on fire, would chuckle and find a way to work it into the song.

It was clear to me, even then, that he was a master musician -- him having already jammed with Frank Zappa (at 15!), Jean Luc Ponty, Joe Zawinul, and a number of other greats.

But sharing that blissful little room with him 36 years ago, I had no idea he would go on to play with the likes of Lou Reed, Peter Gabriel, Bono, Richie Havens, Aaron Neville, Ric Ocasek, Willie Chambers, Dave Grohl, Karla Bonoff, Daniel Lanois, Jerry Marotta, Tony Levin, David Sancious, and many other musical icons of our generation.

Those of us who were friends with Fuzzbee back then, always thought fame and fortune were just around the corner for him. How could they not -- him being such a monster musician? In a logical world, that's exactly how it would have played out. But this is not a logical world, clearly demonstrated by the fact that Fuzzbee, for a while in his 20's, had to work in a cement factory and later, dress up once in a chicken outfit outside some low-rent, fast food restaurant, to make his daily bread.

Dues. That boy was paying dues.

But now, with the long-awaited release of his breakthrough debut CD, Dreams and Other Living Things, a stellar collaboration with Jerry Marotta, Tony Levin, and David Sancious -- those dues are beginning to bear some major fruit.

First of all, Oooh Baby is a likely candidate to become an anthem for lovers everywhere, background vocals provided by Daya Rawat. And Brother Ray, an homage to Ray Charles, doesn't just hit the ball out of the park, it transports the park to a place Fuzzbee's growing fan base would like to take a one-way trip to. Jimi Hendrix? You miss Jimi Hendrix? Here's your VooDoo Child fix -- the fourth cut out of 10 on this brilliant debut album.

Every track on this album rocks. And rolls, too.

Want to sample the CD? Click here for an iTunes preview. Want to download it? Click here for BandCamp. Or here for CD Baby. Of course, you could choose not to click, but that would be your loss. And besides, it will only take you three minutes to download.

Fuzzbee.com

Posted by Mitch Ditkoff at 10:09 AM | Comments (0)

October 20, 2014
This Thirst

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There is an aching deep within my heart that cannot be explained. It wakes me in the middle of the night and writes these lines, a kind of fishing in a great sea I cannot find by day.

This escapade is not the search for something new, it is not the need to find. More it is the being pulled by an unseen moon, how small birds, when days get cold, make their way across dark skies, how a feather falls to earth and a child, finding it, looks up, why dogs pace back and forth before a door as their master turns for home.

Ah, this restlessness, this thirst, this ache, this silent undertow inside that takes me back to the hidden spring where lions come to drink and snakes, why birds sing when they are all alone, and the long ride home on an empty train often feels like an arrival.

The above as a music slide show

Excerpted from this book

Posted by Mitch Ditkoff at 02:50 PM | Comments (3)

October 16, 2014
Centrifugal

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Posted by Mitch Ditkoff at 07:09 PM | Comments (0)

October 14, 2014
Give Everything You Have

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Excerpted from Full Moon at Sunrise

Posted by Mitch Ditkoff at 12:48 PM | Comments (0)

October 10, 2014
What Does Peace Mean to You?

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Excerpted from this music slide show

Posted by Mitch Ditkoff at 06:07 PM | Comments (0)

October 08, 2014
Every Breath We Take

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Posted by Mitch Ditkoff at 03:37 PM | Comments (0)

October 05, 2014
Remember Your Humanity

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Excerpted from this slide show

Posted by Mitch Ditkoff at 11:07 AM | Comments (0)

October 02, 2014
Native American Wisdom

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Posted by Mitch Ditkoff at 02:43 PM | Comments (2)

Welcome to Mitch Ditkoff's blog about what's really important in this life: Peace, gratitude, love, joy, clarity, and the effort required to wake up and smell the roses. Enjoy!

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