11.24.04

wanted to send out a little holiday love to those of you who continue to stay tuned and support me and my musical endeavors. I can’t tell you what a blessing it is to be able to tell people, when asked, what I do for a living. even though at times I feel overwhelmed by the frustrations that seem inherent to this industry, it has always brought me great pleasure to be able to say that I am a professional singer/songwriter. thanks to those of you who have been listening to my music, attending my shows and spreading the word to others, I have not had to fill out an application or submit a resume for a job since my days as an actor in Hollywood. you have afforded me a living for the past 7 years and for that I am sincerely thankful. I wish each and every one of you a happy thanksgiving and again, would like to say how grateful I am to be a part of your lives.

peace, love and good happiness stuff,
Tony

11.23.04
it’s come to my attention, since I’ve been back in New York City, that I have indeed been taking this place for granted. maybe not this place, necessarily, but certainly my place within it. the past few nights, I’ve caught myself thinking to myself, ‘it really is a cool thing that I was able to up and leave one amazing city and transplant myself squarely into another.’ honestly, I have done a bit of complaining about things in New York that I’m not terribly fond of. things I miss about LA, California, wherever. truth is, I’m never here more than a couple of weeks at a time. I haven’t given New York an honest go at it. I’m learning that this town, though rather overwhelming upon first visit, is a bit like a cat, in that it’s not just gonna take to you or warm up to you simply because you happened to move in with it’s owner. (say your girlfriend) it’s not the unconditionally loving dog that LA is where every time you threaten to leave town she gives you those sad puppy dog eyes that cause you to cancel your trip and stay longer than you know is any good for you. no, New York shows you her graceful side usually when you’re not looking to find it.

the other night I got to see my old friend, Todd Sickafoose (the bass player who played on my first two records) play at the Beacon Theater with none other than Ani Difranco. he’s playing bass for her now and they’ve been recording and touring as a duo, just the two of them. the show was amazing, of course, and what a pleasure to see Todd go to town on that big old stage with such an amazing artist as Ani. the Beacon is a great room. (I saw Jackson Browne there earlier in the year. it being the night after his Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction and a New York performance, of course he pulls none other than the Boss on stage for an encore of “Take It Easy”.) two nights after the Ani show, my lady and some friends of ours met up for dinner here in Brooklyn and on our way home, stopped off at one of our favorite spots, Bartabac. it’s very European, dare I say, “French”? great food, killer atmosphere and a really great vibe. they have these super crazy talented gypsy jazz guitarist play in the bar while people eat, drink and carry on. we walked by and heard them from the street. Gaby insisted that we all go in for a drink. what a treat, right here in our own neighborhood. and it was again tonight, that I realized I live in a very cool place as I sat and listened to the sounds of Jenny Scheinman, an exceptional violinist, at yet another groovy little spot here in Brooklyn called Barbes. (which I think is pronounced, “bar-bay”) again, my friend Todd was playing bass and Gaby, our friend Becky and myself, enjoyed the eclectic sounds of Jenny’s fusion of jazz, classical and contemporary music in a place no bigger than the average living room. it was great. and honestly, I could fill a bunch of pages simply recounting all the times I’ve had those last minute, unexpected, transcendental live music experiences here in New York City. there is a lot to soak up here if you give yourself time and make a point to get out and at least increase your chances of stumbling across it all.

I read through some e-mails today and of course, got a lot of sympathy wishes regarding the election. guess I had that coming. however, I just want to say to those of you who stand on the other side of the current political chasm, I appreciate your willingness to take my perspective into account and still continue to support me and my music. as your fellow American, I offer nothing but respect in return. do know that I will remain vigilant and that paying attention isn’t a fad. our leaders have, for the most part, earned their place in our society. however, they all warrant our scrutiny. being skeptical isn’t anti-American. questioning authority is what patriotism is made of. please dig deep. I’ll do the same.

much love,
Tony

11.04.04

well? hmm. I guess..., I guess it’s time to say something. George Bush gets another four years. that’s really something. really. I almost don’t know what to say. yesterday, walking around the streets of New York, riding on the subway, you almost got a sense that God himself had made a video that was aired on CNN informing the world that we only had x number of days left to live. everyone looked tired and sad, as though they had spent the entire morning sobbing the loss of a loved one. it was quiet. slow. the hum had ceased. the only sound you could hear was that of collective introspection, like the echo of a voice in the back of your mind that keeps repeating some undeniable, painful reality, you wish would just somehow go away. everyone’s face betrayed their inability to hide the emotions running amuck just beneath the surface. saw a lot of puzzled faces. the kind of face that you make when you can’t remember if you turned the iron off or not. or the one you make when the name of a song or artist escapes you. some had the face of a student who just found out they failed to earn sufficient credits for graduation and now have to tell their parents they won’t be graduating. the rest just appeared to be walking dead. truth is, I’m not even so sure it’s the fact that Bush got reelected that is what was (or is) eating at the hearts of those that didn’t vote for him. (I think honestly, a lot of democrats had at least considered the likelihood of a Bush victory for a number of weeks now.) to me what’s so baffling is the direction we as a country are clearly going to be heading now. you look at the red state/blue state map and it’s so interesting. the people of our country’s major cities, the people of aspiration and affluence, the people of diversity and tolerance, all seemed to have felt as though our nation would have been better off with a Kerry victory. the more simple, faith oriented folk of the rural and suburban majority clearly felt otherwise. and I won’t hold that against them. the fate of our country will be indication enough as to whether or not they were right and we were wrong. however, I do feel extremely disconnected from this supposed majority. even in the wake of both Kerry and Bush calling for unity and healing. it will forever astound me that those motivated by “moral values” will seek to galvanize the platform of their beliefs, and in doing so, deny other’s the freedom to uphold their own. that they can be pro-life and pro death penalty at the same time. that they can get so worked up over stem cell research and yet call 100,000 civilian Iraqi casualties a “catastrophic success”. that they can attempt to align themselves with our “founding fathers”, (themselves victims of oppression and intolerance) and do everything in their power to amend the constitution to infringe on the civil rights of gay and lesbian Americans, the very civil rights our Fathers set out to protect. “moral values”. wow. is it not moral to seek the truth, to analyze the intentions of our leaders, to fight for change when we feel those leaders have not been honest and forthcoming about their policies? or is it moral to cling to a president simply because he claims to uphold policies that you can vote for and still take communion? a president who’s entire strategy was simply to instill fear into the hearts and minds of the people, only to turn around and prey upon those fears by constantly reminding us that we were attacked and that the only way to prevent another attack is to vote for him. it doesn’t surprise me that polls indicated that Americans thought Bush would do a better job against the war on terrorism. (even though the original war plan for Iraq, drafted years before 9-11, hardly had anything to do with terrorism) I mean, that’s all he had to campaign on. that’s it. that and the fact that he is a Christian who pledges to maintain an ultraconservative agenda. this is where the new disconnect in America seems to stem from. with the newly elected republicans in the Senate and House of Representatives and with the inevitable appointment of ultraconservative Supreme Court justices on the horizon, you can bet that America is soon to be synonymous with right-leaning conservatism. gay marriage will have been a flicker of hope put out by the fear and condemnation of the self-righteous. whether or not Roe vs. Wade gets overturned in the next four years remains to be seen. but you can bet women are going to have to do everything in their power to maintain the rights they’ve fought so long and hard to protect. assault weapons are likely to remain on the streets and most likely in record numbers and ultimately in the hands of real “evil doers”. the environment will continue to take a back seat to secret energy task force policies and god knows what’s to become of the economy, unemployment and health care. not until we have complete control of Iraq’s oil industry and a Starbucks on every corner of Fallujah will we see “democracy” take shape in the Middle East. yes, freedom is on the march and to the tune of 1200 U.S. casualties. (and counting). forget that there were no weapons and that the “liberation” of Iraq was just another way of saying “regime change”. our reputation abroad is abhorent, our credibility diminished. the world has watched our bitter election campaign season unfold and has now got to be completely dismayed that we have “stood by our leader in these troubled times”.

11.17.04

I’m on a plane, heading back to New York after having spent the better part of the last two weeks in Michigan. had trouble hooking up my lap top to my folks’ modem so I was unable to post the first half of this entry sooner. I thought I might actually delete it and start over but upon rereading it, I realize it was a very honest outpouring of my thoughts and emotions about something I’ve chosen to take rather seriously these past several months. I have been on-line and have received and have come across a great deal of post-election banter, some humorous, some not quite so lighthearted. for this reason, I thought I might refrain from being yet another disgruntled “liberal” bemoaning the prospects of another four years of George W. what are ya gonna do? however, I did find some bittersweet, melancholic solace in a gorgeous song by the incomparable, Peter Gabriel. I offer his words as consolation for a lack of my own.



when the flood calls, you have no home, you have no walls.
in that thunder crash, you’re a thousand minds within a flash.
don’t be afraid to cry at what you see.
the actors gone there’s only you and me.
and if we break before the dawn,
they’ll use up what we used to be.

lord, here comes the flood.
we will say goodbye to flesh and blood.
if again, the seas are silent in any still alive,
it’ll be those who gave their island to survive.
drink up, dreamers, you’re running dry.

“here comes the flood” -Peter Gabriel