Well, it's been a busy month for me.

February found me doin' a week-long gig in Ixtapa/Zihuatanejo, Mexico and then a 4-day trip to St. Petersburg, FL for a benefit gig.

I came back home to New York to a situation where I had to rebuild my workstation in my studio. So yesterday was all about putting things back together so I can seriously get back to work. Ready to dive in today. I hafta begin work on a video that I will be sharing with all of you here at this site very soon.

Listen, before I get to that I want to welcome any newcomers here. If you're checking in here from a different part of the country or a different part of the world, it's cool. The world is becoming a very small campus. Make sure you try to stop by every day, okay? Got a lot of cool things comin' up. If you're new around here, you might wanna make a pot of coffee or pour a glass of wine and browse through The ARCHIVE. Lotsa really fun stuff in there going all the way back to... to.. well, they go a long way back!

Here's a photo gallery from last summer. Click on this banner for a tiny example of the fun we had this year in Central Park. (No matter where in the world you're reading this, if you hung out with me you might find your smiling face in this collection!!!)

Click to visit this year's gallery
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NOW!

Just before I went away, I asked you to keep this name in mind... TONY WALTON.

He is a brilliant artist, illustrator, stage designer, director and theater professional who's won an Oscar, an Emmy, several Tony Awards and numerous Drama Desk Awards. Tony will be playing a big part in the development of the upcoming theater piece I'm working on. But last Wednesday, between the Mexico and Florida gigs, I went to his apartment with filmmaker Dean Love to shoot both he and his wife, speaking about the project. We got nothing but amazing footage which I will share with you very soon.

Tony Walton and his wife Gen Leroy Walton

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BUT!!!

I also found out something that is sooooo cool.

I know a lot of you already know this, but before making my living as a songwriter I spent my years between the ages of 20 and 27 working as a commercial artist. I'd always been an illustrator and cartoonist since I was a kid. Well, one of my great influences as a graphic artist was American painter Norman Rockwell, and I've enjoyed and studied nearly all of his work.

I absolutely love the way lives intersect and am often amazed at the synchronicity of my own life.

Turns out, in talking with Tony and his wife Gen as we shot the video last week, that Gen is the "girl" in one of my favorite paintings by Norman Rockwell. She worked as a model for him often and is the subject in several of his most famous paintings. One of them, "The University Club", is one of my all-time favorites and is a painting that is connected to me in another personal story. I will probably share it with all of you the next time I see you in concert. But for now, let me just share with you something that surprised and delighted me this week.

This is a painting I love which was used on the cover of The Saturday Evening Post.

Click for larger image

It's Gen Leroy Walton!!!!! The beautiful woman who is married to Tony and who came to my last concert at Merkin Concert Hall... to whom I was speaking last Wednesday...

...is the girl in "The University Club!!!!

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So f*cking cool!

Tomorrow I'm gonna share another painting of Rockwell's for which Gen modeled. So stop back. And we'll be one day closer to releasing the video and getting the new project underway. YOU will be invited to be a very real part of it. So keep stopping by, okay?

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Okay!

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At the start of this month I asked you what songs you think HAFTA be included and what songs and stories you'd LIKE to see included in the new theater piece. Keep those emails comin'!

Here... visit this update from February 1 to catch up.

But today I just wanna share a music video from that last concert of a song that won't be in the show... because I didn't write it. But it's a fun song that might make you smile on a crummy-looking day weather-wise.

Click to watch the video.

A COVER SONG

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Cool?

Okay, I gotta get to work on the video.

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THE ENTIRE CONCERT

For you guys again today... the entire concert... "The Something'th Annual Year End Concert" is here for you to watch. Go make a pot of coffee. Pour yourself some tea or a nice glass of wine and sit back and watch this thing. Plug in some headphones or some earbuds if you feel like it. You can actually jump around and watch different parts o the show.

We had such a great time again this year in that theater!

(The audio got a little funky during Teresa Reynolds' Christmas song... but I'm do everything I can to fix that sooner than later. Check back.)

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Here are a couple of different fun galleries to check out.

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HAVE FUN TODAY... being one of the Good Guys!!!!!! (And be cool to each other, okay?)

It can feel really good to be one of those people who are enjoying Life and trying to make the world a slightly better place... just by being kind, just by trying to understand, just by speaking an honest opinion of what the Truth might be... just by being cool.

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Thanks for everything.

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Peace ☮