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Posts Tagged ‘Music’

“Addicted”, Amy Winehouse

Posted in Groovin' High, Music, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , on July 23, 2011| 3 Comments »

I am dropping a special edition of Groovin’ High tonight to say a sad good bye to yet another entertainer tragically lost before her time.  Just in case you have not heard Amy Winehouse was found dead today at age 27 in her London apartment, most likely as a result of a drug overdose.  Whether a fan of hers or not one has to be a little alarmed when a person of talent, beauty and accomplishment still cannot keep their shit together.  I for one am saddened by the whole ordeal.

Sindia turned me on to Amy Winehouse a few years back on a trip to Australia and since I have rather enjoyed her music. Sure she was a mess, but who isn’t?  When Adrienne left me her tune “My Tears Dry On Their Own” spoke to me.  Addicted is sort of a funny song about how her girl friend’s boy friend keeps coming over her house and smoking all of her weed.  I looked through a ton of different versions, even found one where she was so messed up she could barely stand.  I hate remembering people like that.  In this live version she lays down a confident performance that I think she was happy with.  Amy may you be in a happier place now.

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“Change the World” T Pain

Posted in Groovin' High, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on July 17, 2011| 5 Comments »

First off I want to let all the haters know up front I am not going ignore the Eric Clapton version, the original.  It will be posted at the end of the this blog.  Clapton is the man at the guitar.  I am a hip/hop guy and this version just really moves me, both physically and emotionally.  I mean seriously I can bust a foul move to this groove, plus M.J. gets down on the track and she is a full on diva.

More then anything I wanted to jot down a little bit about what this song means to me and the whole idea of actually changing the world.  I used to believe that it was impossible for one person to change the world and as a result always just passed the buck on to the next person. “I am just one man and the world is fucked anyway so who gives a shit”.  This was my mantra for the longest time.  I feel a bit different now.

I believe that we can all change the world individually, one person at a time, by showing our fellow man the same courtesy we ourselves would like to be shown.  “Do onto others as you would yourself”.  I spent way too many years being angry and miserable.  Now I try and smile as much as possible, don’t get me wrong its really hard to do, but “a smile can defeat a frown”.  I really do believe that.

Staying positive is important as well.  I just about spent the last thirty years thinking in the negative and you know what, when you give off those vibes you get them right back.  I have lived a blessed and beautiful life from day one.  Instead of dwelling on that and what I had, I spent the majority of my time always wanting more.   At the end of the day all it did was frustrate the hell out of me and make everyone around me miserable.

These days I make the most out of everything.  I try and appreciate the small things, like a remarkable sunset or the spectacular full moon we have gotten to enjoy the last few nights.  I give everyone around me the benefit of the doubt even if it comes around to bite me in the ass.  I try and listen to what others have to say and actually consider their point of view instead of my usual dismissal and insulting retorts.

All this sounds rather obvious, but think how rarely we consider these things in our busy, consumer-centric, generic society.  We are taught from day one that it is a kill or be killed world out there instead of live and let live.  All I am saying is that each and every one of us counts towards the greater good of our world.  Even if it is as small as holding the door for someone who has his hands full of packages or giving up your seat on the bus for an old lady.  Its those small kindnesses that become infectious and maybe those people whom you bestowed your kindness on will show it to the next person.

I am not saying I’m perfect.  I still regress every so often and do a thing or two I am not proud of.  It is our mistakes that make us human.  Perfection is boring.  As long as we learn from our misgivings then I feel it was not in vain.  I briefly wrote it in yesterday’s blog Your A Fucking Idiot, but So Am I that we if expect nothing but the very best in us then we can not go wrong.  I think that when we do that other people around us can feel that motivation and will strive for their personal best as well.  I know it works that way for me.

All I am trying to say is that I think I have been changing the world just a little bit one person at a time for a while now and have just never realized it.  It may have been adverse or positive. These days I am only shooting for the latter.  If we all put our efforts in a positive matter then just maybe we can turn shit around before we really are fucked.  That is just my two cents and probably just about all its worth as well.  I hope you enjoyed the song even if I just put you through 800 words of complete gibberish.  Below is the Eric Clapton version.

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I’m Calling Out to You!!!

Posted in Appalling Gnarl from the Net, Life, Music, News From Lisanti Land, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , on June 30, 2011| 7 Comments » 

*all the blogs linked in here are because they explain how I ended up where I am.

Maybe I should not put three exclamations in the title line.  Someone once told me that is the equivalent of shouting.  I could have put it in all caps too.  I’m not trying to shout at anyone in particular, but to shout out to all of you my faithful and truly loved readers, your friends, family and diverse spheres of influence.  I…well we, need your help.  Sit back, relax, read on and find out just what it is I ask of you.

Well it all started over a glass of port back in early April at a small little beatnik hole in the wall off State St.  It was right around when I wrote: “The House of Lisanti is in Disarray“, wow that seems so long ago now.  I went downtown with my friend Jules to pretty much cry about my desperate situation.  Early on in the evening she ended up bailing on me for one reason or another leaving me sitting all by my lonesome looking rather pathetic at this tiny little table in the corner.

While there weeping in my $8 glass of less then stellar port this group of four people came up and asked if they could join me.  There were plenty of available tables yet they were rather persistent.  The ringleader of the group, this strange looking Australian dude just would not take no for an answer.    Too distraught to put up any type of fight I agreed.

They asked what was a matter and my response was” you don’t want to know” To which they insisted to hear my story of deceit, heart ache, despair, destruction and ultimate heart break (although at that time I still believed I had a chance). You can read about that story in “Bowing Out“.  They were pretty genuine people and all seemed like worthy and respectable individuals, traits very uncommon amongst many today.  With their careful prodding and fun input the story took on a life of its own and when all was said and done I had four new friends.

Turns out the Aussie, Nick was throwing a party at his house the following day and invited me to come.   Although my plans were to stay in bed for the next five days or so I decided to attend.  The party turned out to be a ton of fun where I met heaps of wonderful people.  About a month later right after “One Last Perfect Day” was dropped, Nick had another party, which I also attended.  Trust me if you ever have the opportunity to go to one of his events make sure you grab the bull by the horns and show up.  They are just about unsurpassed.

Since my life went down the crapper everyone loved to tell me that everything happens for a reason and other bullshit cliché stuff of that variety.  Up until now I did not believe them and just frankly wanted to bash skulls in each and every time I heard that type of stuff.  Now looking back I realize there may have been a lot of truth in that adage.

The thing about these parties is that I seldom know anyone at them because everyone is rather new to me.  It is a completely different circle then I am used to traveling in.  The majority of the attendees are really positive, hardworking, professional people all around my age, instead of the typical burnt out waste of space characters I usually choose to keep around me.  I must admit it is a very refreshing change.

At this particular event I began talking with this pretty chill guy Ken, who ended up with in the course of a few casual question most likely just to be polite and make conversation got wrapped up into a string of tales from Lisanti Land.  Poor guy.  As it turns out he is a musician as well and we had very similar musical roots.  Ken apparently runs this theatre company here in Santa Barbara with his lovely girl friend Kyra called Proximity.

Through the course of the evening Ken said he thought he could use me in the company.  We exchanged numbers and then I cruised out to meet up with some friends at the Wild Cat, after all is there any other way to end a perfectly good Saturday? I think not.  I was thinking it a 50/50 chance he would hit me up.  I was sort of hoping he would though, because I have just recently been wood shedding on my horns hardcore and would love to work my way back into the arts.

About a month passed and I figured that Ken was no longer interested.  It was no worries I was not sure if was ready to play in that capacity anyway.  Then I got a call from him that he was having a potluck dinner meeting with the group and if I would like to join.  I still sort of thought he was just trying to get me over so I would cook a banging dish for his group (I did my usual go to pot luck dish: Baked Ziti, it feeds a large number and is absolutely scrumptious, don’t worry I promise to post some new recipes soon).  Turns out he was pumped to have me and so was everyone else there.

What an amazing group of people he had assembled for Proximity.  With out even seeing them in action I could tell these artists were very talented (after experiencing their capabilities, I can vouch for the entire group).  They were all so passionate about what they have going on.  I had not seen passion like that since my early Berklee days and it was refreshing.  It’s not about the money or the accolade, but just about the pure love of putting on an incredible performance and that warmed my heart more then anything has in some time.

Important!  Read Here:

Why have I wasted your time with this pointless boring story you ask.  First off you should all know by now I am rather long winded much like Hawthorne, except I am not paid by the word.  Second I, we at Proximity need your help.

We are a very small group who are doing this for the love and not the money.  Proximity is also a nonprofit organization (its legit and tax deductible!)  This summer we are putting on a pretty big production of an original show written by group member Karina Richardson entitled Shandy Wilkes.  It’s a pretty cool story that I will not get into here but will furnish a link to it at the end of this blog.   All I can say is that it is guaranteed to be an excellent show.  The plan is to run it here in Santa Barbara from August 10-12 at The Center Stage Theater and take it to New York City from August 18-20at The Robert Moses Theater.

To put on a performance of this magnitude it is not going to be cheap and this is where I am personally reaching out to each and every one of you.  We are looking for donations (like I said before whatever you give can be used as a tax write off) from anybody looking to support something great. You can give as little as $1 or as much as you wish.

It’s not like me to go soliciting for money or I would have a donation button here on my site. Considering that, you have to think I must really have high hopes for this project.  All I can say is that this group has given me something to believe in again, has helped me get my life back on track and allowed me to once again enter into the music world, a place I once swore I would never take part in again.  I am very excited for this, but we can’t do it with out your help.  So if you have anything to spare even if it is just $1, throw it in the pot cause every little bit helps.

You can donate and learn more about the project here: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/kenurbina/proximitys-shandy-wilkes-in-sb-and-ny

Check out Proximity and what we are all about here: http://www.proximitytheatre.org/

Support this cause for no other reason then to get me back on the sax.

Thank you for listening.

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“Ex-Factor” Lauryn Hill

Posted in Groovin' High, tagged , , , , , , , , on May 31, 2011| Leave a Comment »

I may have had this one as a Groovin’ High entry before.  Truth be told I don’t really know and that page is so hard to open because of content that I don’t really care to look.  Even so it’s not like anyone bothered to ever read that page with exception of Kooky Kyle and maybe Nick the Kook.  Back then when I posted it I think it was probably cause I thought it was a cool song.  Well I still think it is a really cool song.

Ex-factor came up in my shuffle this morning while I was finishing packing up the remainder of my stuff from my old room and moving it across the hall to my new room.  Once again I had never actually listened to the lyrics before.  How powerful and true to my situation they were.  I know I said I would try not to post anymore sad love songs here, but what I have realized in the last six weeks is that the majority of  my Ipod is made up of sad love songs.  I just never really knew what love was or sadness for that matter or heart break.

I always thought them all just cool songs.  Now I hear the words and all the emotion that went along with those words and they really speak to me.  Anyhow I’m not crying anymore.  I am past that stage.  I am not angry, bitter or jealous.  I decided to skip being petty this time around and hopefully from here on in.  I’m regrouping and rebuilding now and at the moment these songs are still the ones that speak from the heart to my heart.  What is the old saying “Better to have loved and lost then to not have loved at all”?

At first that is all I wished for, that everything that was happening was all some terrible nightmare and I would wake up at any moment and Ades would be right there next to me happy.  I never woke up.  You can’t run from reality.  Believe me I have tried, as a matter of fact I have been doing it my entire life and my legs are tired.  For the first time ever I am not running, but facing my future head on no matter what is a front.  That is what a real man does.  He handles his shit.  I can’t see my future and I think it is a good thing that it is a power I do not possess.  Life would not be worth living if we always knew what was in store for us.

Lauryn Hill is one of my favorite female vocalist who does nothing but emit soulful vibes.  Ex-factor is off her debut album back in 1998 entitled The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill.  If you have never heard of her before shame on you cause you have been cheated out of a great talent.  I hope you enjoyed the tune and check out more of her stuff.  I can promise it is all solid gold.

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“Struggle” Ashanti

Posted in Groovin' High, tagged , , , , , , , , on May 16, 2011| 5 Comments »

Im an Ashanti fan so sue me.  I think her vocals are pretty tight, she is good to look at and her grooves are solid.  Her music speaks to me as of lately.  I have been playing her on loop from my Ipod the last few weeks.  This is one of her weaker songs from the Declaration album entitled Struggle.  It actually came on my shuffle while I was sanding boards yesterday and I had never really listened to the lyrics before, usually I always skip it because of the cheesy key board intro.  I must of been the middle of something that required the use of both my hands cause I let it play out.

Turns out the lyrics really reflected my current emotions and feelings.  I ended up repeating it three times, then listened to it again this morning.  Pretty much everyone around me right now is looking at me like door mat and believes that I have completely disrespected myself.  They don’t fully understand my situation, heck I don’t understand it even the slightest.  My world is in complete disarray right now and I have to just have faith and trust in the lord, in myself and in the other person whom I care so deeply for.

So yeah what I’m doing right now is crazy and it hurts, but it feels good too.  I don’t know how things are going to play out.  All I can do is stick by my convictions a bit longer despite how pathetic it looks and be strong.  If your still at loss to understand why I’m traveling down the path that I am listen to the lyrics of this song closely and maybe you will see.  This captain is going down with the ship.

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“You Were Meant For Me” Jewel

Posted in Groovin' High, Music, tagged , , , , , , , , , on April 27, 2011| 6 Comments »

Groovin’ High Song of the Week: You Were Meant For Me, Jewel

There was a time when Jewel kept it real and was dynamo.  Her music really spoke to people.  I’m talking back when she was just some folk singer from Alaska with jagged teeth.  Even with those teeth her beauty was breath taking.  Alas like everyone else in the world her soul had a price and she was paid out for it thus ruining everything.   I’m not here to lament over Jewel’s current musical direction.

This song comes from her first hit album Pieces of You and is one of my all time favorite songs.  Its funny how when yo are in your most vulnerable state how important music becomes in your life again.  For a long time now I had begun to tire of music in general.  Sure I still always had it playing , but I just did not feel passionate about it.  Then I entered into my current state of torment and all of a sudden certain songs make me smile while others bring me to tears.  I have even broken out the saxophones again.

Tonight I managed to luck into a free ticket to see this guy Chris Robinson play at a very small venue called Soho here in Santa Barbara.  I had no idea who he was, but a new friend of mine, this French guy Alex is apparently a fan.  Turns out Robinson was in some rock group called the Black Crows and they were super popular.   I think I had heard of them.  I live under a rock remember, so don’t judge me.   I just recently met this dude Alex and in an effort to cheer me up and get me off the couch I decided to join him.

I have to say I was super impressed by the performance even if the style of music was not quite my cup of tea.  The band was super tight and the keyboardist absolutely killed it.  Think Joseph Zawinal but in a rock style setting.  I met this dude Alex at some random party this past Saturday, but that is a whole other blog altogether.  Lets get back to Jewel.

I was at this show and saw all these couples dancing and having a great time.  Everyone was having a blast.  I although very grateful to be out became very sad.  Truth be told today was a tough day for me.  I don’t want to get into it except for the fact that I spent the bulk of the day just wanting to crawl under the covers of my bed and cry. I persevered though.

That is when You Were Meant For Me popped into my head.  I played it on loop from my ipod like ten times just letting it speak to me.  That song embodies my current situation right now to a tee.  Its funny how much pain people who care for one another can inflict upon each other.  I guess pain is a part of life and something we all must go through.  I know I personally have been guarding myself against it for years and once I finally realized I had dropped that guard it was too late.

I’m sorry for crying in my Cheerios again, this is not what surfingruinedmylife.net was suppose to be.  Its late and Im going on another sleepless night awaiting an answer I feel more and more to not hold the outcome I would like.  Time heals all wounds and if we can learn something from them then just maybe it was worth it.  I know I have learned a lot in a short period of time about myself and how I want to experience the world from now on.  For right now I’m going to have get through this period of melancholy first.

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September: The Return of Groovin’ High!

Posted in Groovin' High, User Choice BLog, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on March 13, 2011| 4 Comments »

This week’s UCB makes a victor of Nick the Kook.  You know between Nick the Kook and Kooky Kyle it really begs one to reason what kinds of friends I keep, but since I bestowed those nick names on the two I guess it really points out what kind of asshole friend I am.  Anyway he said I ought to allow user submissions for the Groovin’ High section of this blog.  Well if everyone remembers back to the very beginning of surfingruinedmylife.net in August of 2010 (thats right only about six months ago), when I started Groovin’ High the whole point of it was for everyone to share different musical Ideas and tastes.

I said “feel free to post your own entries in the comments and what those songs mean to you, help me experience music I have never heard of” .  This is what I hoped would happen and in its early days I think about three people posted, Nick being one of them.  Everyday I get a stats report for SurfingRuinedMyLife.net and it gives me all sorts of helpful information about my blog and its readership, which pages are viewed, how many hits each page gets, overall hits, etc.  Well I noticed shortly after the first month of Groovin’ High that the page was not getting any hits at all, as of press time it has only received 118 hits since August 2010.

Now Im not bitching (ok maybe just a tad), just stating some facts. It is for this reason that now with my busier schedule Groovin’ High has sort of feel by the wayside.  Truthfully Im a little saddened by that.  SurfingRuinedMylife.net is a selfish monument to my own personal vanity.  That being said I have been accumulating more hits and readership daily.  For whatever reason be it amusement, mocking, entertainment, interest, pure cubicle boredom people like reading about my life.  Music is a major part of everyone’s life and the tunes they are jamming out to at a certain period of time can really reflect on their character and overall mood.  Right now I personally hate the direction hip/hop and R&B have taken and am listening to more old school stuff as one may have noticed from Groovin’ High.

Im not blaming anyone but myself for the failure of Groovin High.  I put it up as a side show and therefore updates to it are not recorded on the main home page.  A user actually has to click on the link to view the latest update.  To correct this problem I am from this blog foward going to turn the section into actual blogs and then post just the links on the Groovin’ high tab, similar to how Recipe D’Jour or The Coffee Table Saga is done.

Thanks to Nick the Kook I have been motivated to resuscitate this near dying segment I had considered pulling the plug with.  This will be the first entry of the newly revamped Groovin’ High segment.

September, Earth, Wind & Fire

This song is my personal jam.  Everyone has one I dont care who you are.  Even deaf people probably have something they rock out to even if is only as a result of felt vibrations for such music.   September is that song for me.  No matter where I am or what mood Im in when September comes on I cant help but breakdown into some completely retarded dance move.  Its a great song for sure but besides that just the title if you are a surfer on the east coast will make you happy.  September is a great month to be a surfer back east, warm water, light crowds and the bulk of hurricane swell action with the beginnings of Nor’Easter swell as well.

When this tune is played I never know what is going to happen from me breaking it down in the middle of the frozen food aisle in the supper market to getting kidnapped by some psycho bitch at the Wild Cat, anything is fair game.  One thing that will always remain constant when this song comes on is it will completely take over my soul for its duration.  It is very similiar to that Seinfeld episode, where Elaine’s boy friend would go into a trance every time the song Desperado would be played.  Thats a great episode and totally a must watch.

Here is a clip from the Seinfeld episode I referenced earlier.

Finally Nick the Kook made a Groovin’ High suggestion to go with this blog that helps reaffirm why I don’t deal in submissions except for in the comments section of a Groovin’ High blog.  Let me apologize for the abuse to your ears before hand.

http://themusicninja.net/newsongs/Charlie%20Sheen%20Spinstyles%20_Bi_Winning_%20Edit.mp3

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“Crush On You”, Lil’ Kim

Posted in Groovin' High, tagged , , , , , , , , on January 5, 2011| Leave a Comment »

A female rapper with attitude and sex appeal, Lil’ Kim definitely knocked down some doors when she came on the scene.  BIG’s discovery, mistress and protege proved her staying power lasting long after his time.  All I can say is that Lil Kim has always done alright by me.  Her beats and samples are always fresh and her words, as erotic as one can get even if they are borderline trashy and inappropriate at times.  Crush On You is a great tune featuring Lil Cease and the video is pretty entertaining too. I want to go to that club.

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