HEY! Wanna be in a movie!?

I'm serious.

Listen, I know there are lots of people reading this in another part of the country or another part of the world. Thanks for stopping by the site today. But, if you live in or around New York City...

...this Saturday, head on out to "The Hill" in Central Park and hang out with me. A bunch of really cool people from the other side of the country are coming to shoot a documentary. I'm gonna crank up the music around 12:30 like I always do... and, y'know, then we'll just spend the day doin' what we do all afternoon. Right now, the weather is lookin'... um... perfect.

Last week was a great first weekend. But, y'know? I kinda forgot to play a few of my own original songs that have been collecting dust... "Relax It's Only Life" and "One Word" and "Tired of Being Lied To"... stuff like that. And, as I've said, this summer I'm gonna make a point of playing some more cover tunes by female artists... inject a slightly new and different energy into the day out there. We're gonna have a lot of fun this year, a lotta laughs... and, hopefully we're gonna do some good, too.

Listen, yesterday, here on the homepage, I wrote briefly about an idea I'm kickin' around with some old friends and some new friends about a benefit concert that we'd like to put together for sometime in September or October. I'm gonna speak with some more great people today who might wanna help. Y'see... I've found that personally, as an artist and as a man, it's not enough for me to write songs and write articles in the "Forum" about the women and children who's lives are being destroyed everday in this nightmare of a war we started in Iraq. Here's the thing... I'm gonna need a lot of help from ordinary people if we wanna do anything significant. I mean, I'm an ordinary person... who is an independent musician. There are no record companies or corporations behind the music and all that we do here on this website (Thank Goodness!)... just a circle of friends and really good people.

So, the idea is: "Ordinary People... Helping Ordinary People"

Now, remember Gordon?

Um... Gordon's the one with the red hair.

(Whew! Look at those little ones!)

Well anyway, he's a fascinating young man who, even though he vehemently opposed the war and the false reasons we were given for prosecuting it, went to Iraq anyway and spent a year there helping ordinary people. He also spent time in Aghanistan to help the ordinary people with their election process. He and his girlfriend, Consuelo, have lived extraordinary lives in the past few years. They still have many friends and collegues who are still there with Mercy Corps, when nearly everyone else pulled out.(That kind of commitment always touches something in me.) I was introduced to Gordon last year over the internet by his Mom who comes out to Central Park to hang out on "The Hill". Gordon and I started emailing back and forth a little, and he became our unofficial correspondent in that part of the world for a while. (Gordon's also got a brother, Lee, who is in the Marines right now.)

Anyway, Gordon's back in the states now.

Now, getting to know him just a little (we still have never met in person!) combined with the recent news last month about Marla Ruzicka...

...and the work that her group CIVIC, and groups like Mercy Corps are doing in that war torn country also touched my spirit in a very powerful way, as well.

Past update about Marla Ruzicka

So, I thought...

...hey, I'm an ordinary person.

Okay... let's help. Let's do something!

In the coming days, I'm gonna ask James Marino to set up a special way for ordinary people to get in touch if they wanna help out with a concert to raise money to really help the children... the children who's parents have been killed or horribly injured.... the children who are being hurt and broken... the women who are suffering... the civilian men, fathers and sons, who are being caught in the crossfire over there.

I'll keep you posted.

In the meantime, get your ass in a movie!

Come on out to "The Hill" in Central Park and sing loud this Saturday. It's gonna be a good, good day.

Thanks again.