And THANKS to every single one of you who hung out with me last weekend. It really was a remarkable day and an amazing way to kick off another year together in Central Park.

.

Y'know how I'm always saying that it's important for me to pay attention? By that I also mean to pay attention to the little things. Y'know, The Universe puts up big sign posts that I can miss if I'm not paying attention... if I'm not really present in the moment. Of course, when I see the signs post it's up to me to take that particular direction or not. But the signs are always, always there. Still sometimes the fun is in noticing, not the BIG signs, but the little messages in the background.

Like...

Last Saturday, we all got to witness the incredible Life affirming and healing power of music in my good friend Sid. We also got to share an incredibly special and spontaneous "first dance" with a young couple who had been married for about 3 or 4 minutes. It was truly their first dance together as husband and wife... and it turned into a Uniquely New York Moment as a few hundred New Yorkers and people from all around the world sang "Can't Help Falling in Love" to these two as they danced in each others arms.

.

.

But what is my favorite part of this captured moment?

Not the beautiful look on her pretty face. Not this arms wrapped around her. Not the lush, green beauty of Central Park, or even the big-ass smile on my face! That stuff is all wonderful and real...

.

.

.

.

But I love this!!!

.

.

DAMN! A couple who just happened to be there for this moment in time. Whoever she is, she's shooting the moment on video on her little camera phone!!! And she doesn't even stop shooting I'm guessing. And he doesn't care. He's got to take her in his arms and kiss her. See? It's contagious! It spreads.

Love is not only powerful, but it's contagious. It spreads. Romance can't be confined. It can't be dictated or selected, but it also can't be confined. Not in this town. Not when there are open and loving hearts around.

Nice to be right in the middle of that, hah?

.

.

.

.

And it's even more wonderful when I... really pay attention.

.

.

****************************************************************************************

.

.

Listen... this is the project I was talkin' about in Central Park last Saturday. It's gonna happen in September. Keep checking back and I'll let you know how YOU can be a real part of it. Cool?

.

If you haven't seen this before, here's a Broadway legend and his wife to describe the concept a little. (These two people have truly artistic souls and they "get it".) This man isn't all talk and numbers. Tony Walton has done it on Broadway and has the Tony Awards to prove it. He's done it on film and has an Oscar to show for it. There are Emmy Awards sitting on his shelf, too. So this guy is the real thing.

.

Click to watch the video

.

.

.

For the newcomers who have NO idea what it is we do in the Central Park, here's a little Photo Gallery from last Summer. Very cool.

.

*************************************************************************

.

Here are a few songs from the December concert.

Click to watch the videos

.

.

.

.

.

****************************************************************************

.

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

.

.

HAVE FUN TODAY!!!!!! (And be cool to each other, okay?)

.

Thanks for everything.

.

Peace ☮

This Life has been an amazing ride... and it continues to fascinate me on so many levels.

I've been going through a very emotional and intense few months for many reasons. Not all good stuff, not all bad stuff. Just very "real" stuff. And I hafta say... some very cool stuff. Like last week I found myself in a good friend's home singing "Blowin' in the Wind" with the 2 men who sang it as part of a trio at The Lincoln Memorial with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. as he made his "I Have a Dream" speech.

Peter, Paul & David

.

It's a blurry iphone photo, but I don't care. The memory of singing that song with Peter Yarrow and Noel "Paul" Stookey is locked vividly in my heart and in my mind.

.

.

And then Saturday I was out in Central Park for the first time this year... and there are no words to summarize the kind of day we had together in the middle of New York City's 843 acre backyard.

.

.

.

BUT! Y'know? I'm always starting off many of these updates with the words:

"Welcome to all of you checking in from different parts of the country and different parts of the world"

Well, that's because I get so many emails from people all over the planet. I'm such a lucky man. Because I've been "That Guitar Man from Central Park" for the past 20 years, I've gotten to share songs and stories and ideas and feelings with hundreds of thousands of beautiful people. And because we live in a technological age that is making the world a very small campus, we all get to stay in touch.

The reason I'm writing this today is just that... well, I went out to the park with my guitar again for the first time this year, just this past Saturday. And I shared on Facebook that it was a remarkable day... another typically amazing day in the Life of a fiercely independent artist. I also shared in YESTERDAY'S UPDATE that if you were lucky enough to be there with us, you got to be a part of a little perfectly, practical but very real miracle... where we got to once again witnessed the Power of Music, and not in an abstract sense, but in a VERY real way.

One woman replied with a comment that she was sorry to have missed it but she lives in another country. That just started a landslide of private messages, and emails, and public postings from all across the country and all around the world. It just hit me like a wave.... nearly knocked me over when I really let it sink in...

The Power of Music

Here's just a small sample of what I'm talkin' about from the Facebook page.

.

I MEAN... PRETTY COOL RIGHT!?

.

**********************************************************************

.

Listen... this is the project I was talkin' about in Central Park last Saturday. It's gonna happen in September. Keep checking back and I'll let you know how YOU can be a real part of it. Cool?

.

If you haven't seen this before, here's a Broadway legend and his wife to describe the concept a little. (These two people have truly artistic souls and they "get it".) This man isn't all talk and numbers. Tony Walton has done it on Broadway and has the Tony Awards to prove it. He's done it on film and has an Oscar to show for it. There are Emmy Awards sitting on his shelf, too. So this guy is the real thing.

.

Click to watch the video

.

.

.

For the newcomers who have NO idea what it is we do in the Central Park, here's a little Photo Gallery from last Summer. Very cool.

.

*************************************************************************

.

Here are a few songs from the December concert.

Click to watch the videos

.

.

.

.

.

****************************************************************************

.

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

.

.

HAVE FUN TODAY!!!!!! (And be cool to each other, okay?)

.

Thanks for everything.

.

Peace ☮

.

.

I've gotta tell you guys... seriously...

SATURDAY was one of the most amazing "Opening Days" we've ever had in Central Park, for a lot of reasons.

Y'know? In my mind, for years I would imagine my return to "The Hill" with sunshine and smiling faces and a huge crowd of beautiful people singing and laughing. But in reality, the first day of the season has often been a little chilly, cloudy, sometimes wet... and often the turnout is small. But not only was the crowd huge and the weather picture-perfect all day on Saturday... the day was kind of a "miracle" for reasons I will share with you now.

If you've been following this site at all over the winter, you're aware that our good friend and colleague, the man I've called "Big Brutha" for the past 12 years, has been having some very serious health challenges... the kind of stuff that naturally happens when you've been on the planet for 93 years. Sid Bernstein, the man who brought The Beatles to America, has been in and out of the hospital and been and several times precariously close to the edge of "the jumpin' off place". But then he would make a little comeback the following day, saying how much he was looking forward to the next concert, the next project, and mostly the first day back in Central Park with all of you.

Still, just several days ago his family was around his bedside with tears in their eyes, surrounding him in case it was time to say good bye. THEN... this weekend his son Dylan brought him out to his favorite Saturday afternoon place where he'd been hangin' with us for the past 12 years. The man arrived at about 2:00... and stayed the entire afternoon!!! Not only was he smiling and hangin' out and smiling and laughing all afternoon... as the music played and the people sang, he began to sing along at the top of his lungs like a 20 year old. At one point he was asking everyone around him for cane... so he could get up and dance!!!

.

The first batch of photos that capture some moments from this past Saturday were sent in to the website by our friend David Hayase. You can check them out in Yesterday's Update.

More Amazing Moments from "Opening Day"
.

Click for larger image
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

.

.

.

Ah Life.

.

*********************************************************************************

.

.

Oh, and listen... this is the project I was talkin' about yesterday. It's gonna happen in September. Keep checking back and I'll let you know how YOU can be a real part of it. Cool?

.

If you haven't seen this before, here's a Broadway legend and his wife to describe the concept a little. (These two people have truly artistic souls and they "get it".) This man isn't all talk and numbers. Tony Walton has done it on Broadway and has the Tony Awards to prove it. He's done it on film and has an Oscar to show for it. There are Emmy Awards sitting on his shelf, too. So this guy is the real thing.

.

Click to watch the video

.

.

.

For the newcomers who have NO idea what it is we do in the Central Park, here's a little Photo Gallery from last Summer. Very cool.

.

*************************************************************************

.

Here are a few songs from the December concert.

Click to watch the videos

.

.

.

.

.

****************************************************************************

.

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

.

.

HAVE FUN TODAY!!!!!! (And be cool to each other, okay?)

.

Thanks for everything.

.

Peace ☮

Well, here we are.

Oh man!

The 2012 season in Central Park has officially begun. And what an amazingly beautiful way to begin. The weather was perfect. The people came out. Old friends. New faces. People from all across the country and people from all around the world.. all hangin' out in the middle of the greatest city on the planet.

This is why I feel like the luckiest man alive in so many ways... certainly why I feel like the luckiest independent artist in this town.

A FEW MOMENTS FROM OPENING DAY

There were sent in to the website by David Hayase

Click for larger image
. . . . . . . . . . .

.

.

I'm hoping to post a whole bunch of new photos this year from both Dean Love and our photographer pal David Hayase. And our friend Frankie says she's gonna be out there shooting video. If YOU have any photos you like to share with the website, you can go ahead and...

EMAIL ME HERE.

(Of course, you can email me for any reason at all.)

.

Sid Bernstein was out there with us all day. Wedding couples danced their first dance with us. Pretty girls got up and sang with me. Strangers sang with each other. We laughed together. We cried a little together at times. Just a typically amazing day in New York.

.

*************************************************************************************

.

Just wanna share this with you again!

Last Wednesday, I was asked to attend a little gathering at my good friend Kara's home. It was to raise money for a really good, good organization headed by Liz Sunde called Music2Life. (You really should check it out and donate if this is the kind of thing you care about.)

ANYWAY! The 2 marquis guests that night happened to be 2/3 of Peter, Paul & Mary. They asked me to do a couple of songs in the middle of their house concert. YES! Peter and Paul got to hear the latest version of "Tom Cruise Scares Me" for the first time. (I'll post that this week.)

But check this out! Now, the quality of the video is really shaky, only 'cause it's an iphone in a casual gathering for a good cause. At the very beginning, the person holding the camera put their finger over the microphone, but that's an easy thing to do. I don't care. I was sharing a couple of my songs with Peter Yarrow and Noel "Paul" Stookey... and they're sitting with me listening in this video.

This is a song I wrote about men and women... "artists" like them.

Click to watch

By then as the night of music wound down, Peter and Noel (Paul) asked me to sing "Blowin' in the Wind" with them. I got to share a musical moment with 2 of the giants in the world of music of social conscience. Can you imagine... I was singing the same song and standing between the 2 men who, along with Mary Travers, sang on the steps of The Lincoln Memorial during the 1963 Civil Rights March on Washington, where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his famous "I Have a Dream" speech.

(Again, it's only caught on an iphone by a dear friend in the audience! But I don't care! It's a moment that lives in my heart and in my mind.)

Click to watch

.

.

You can bet I'm gonna carry this Spirit into the Summer in Central Park.

.

**************************************************************************

.

Oh, and listen... this is the project I was talkin' about yesterday. It's gonna happen in September. Keep checking back and I'll let you know how YOU can be a real part of it. Cool?

.

If you haven't seen this before, here's a Broadway legend and his wife to describe the concept a little. (These two people have truly artistic souls and they "get it".) This man isn't all talk and numbers. Tony Walton has done it on Broadway and has the Tony Awards to prove it. He's done it on film and has an Oscar to show for it. There are Emmy Awards sitting on his shelf, too. So this guy is the real thing.

.

Click to watch the video

.

.

.

For the newcomers who have NO idea what it is we do in the Central Park, here's a little Photo Gallery from last Summer. Very cool.

.

*************************************************************************

.

Here are a few songs from the December concert.

Click to watch the videos

.

.

.

.

.

****************************************************************************

.

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

.

.

HAVE FUN TODAY!!!!!! (And be cool to each other, okay?)

.

Thanks for everything.

.

Peace ☮

I know a lot of you are checking in here from different parts of the country and different parts of the world. but here in New York City, it really couldn't be a more perfect day, weather-wise, to put my guitar on my back and head out to "The Hill" in Central Park. I guess after today I can officially tell people... yeah, I'm still "That Guitar Man from Central Park".

.

What a ride this has been and continues to be.

Gotta tell you -- this year has been kind to me... and it's been hard... and it's been wonderful... and it's been so sad... and it's been... well, it's been a year in an amazing Life. But I also hafta say, I really, really can't wait to see all of you today.

Oh listen, if you're new here and you have never been to "The Hill", this might help to show you exactly where it is I hang out with our friends. Print it out if you want. Bring a bunch of people or come and hang out by yourself. It's completely cool either way. the feeling on that little patch of green by "The Lake" is something very cool. I'll crank up around 12:30 and we'll just see where the day and the music lead us. If you're new to all of this, here's a little map that will help you find us in New York City's beautiful 843 acre backyard.

You can click on this image for a larger, printable version.

.

As always, I play until around 5:30 or until I fall over... whichever comes first. (I might actually mean that literally this year!)

.

Cool?

.

*********************************************************************************

.

SOMETHING VERY COOL

Y'know... I say this all the time.

I just need to PAY ATTENTION!

Man! When I'm paying attention, life is truly amazing. On Monday night I was at the home of a friend and colleague, Gretchen Cryer, the woman who's jumped on board to direct the theater piece we're gonna do downtown in September. That night, Bobby Lopez (composer) and the 2 stars from Broadway's "The Book of Mormon" played and sang and did a whole bunch of really cool things... including one "cut" song which the Broadway audience will never hear. Bobby and his wife also sang a song they'd written specifically for Stephen Sondheim... just amazing.

Then on Wednesday night!!!!

I was asked to attend a little gathering at my good friend Kara's home. It was to raise money for a really good, good organization headed by Liz Sunde called Music2Life. (You really should check it out and donate if this is the kind of thing you care about.)

ANYWAY! The 2 marquis guests that night happened to be 2/3 of Peter, Paul & Mary. They asked me to do a couple of songs in the middle of their set. YES! Peter and Paul got to hear "Tom Cruise Scares Me" for the first time. (I'll post that tomorrow.)

But check this out! Now, the quality of the video is really shaky, only 'cause it's an iphone in a casual gathering for a good cause. At the very beginning, the person holding the camera put their finger over the microphone, but that's an easy thing to do. I don't care. I was sharing a couple of my songs with Peter Yarrow and Noel "Paul" Stookey... and they're sitting with me listening in this video.

This is a song I wrote about men and women... "artists" like them.

Click to watch

By then as the night of music wound down, Peter and Noel (Paul) asked me to sing "Blowin' in the Wind" with them. I got to share a musical moment with 2 of the giants in the world of music of social conscience. Can you imagine... I was singing the same song and standing between the 2 men who, along with Mary Travers, sang on the steps of The Lincoln Memorial during the 1963 Civil Rights March on Washington, where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his famous "I Have a Dream" speech.

(Again, it's only caught on an iphone by a dear friend in the audience! But I don't care! It's a moment that lives in my heart and in my mind.)

Click to watch

.

.

You can bet I'm gonna carry this Spirit into the Summer in Central Park.

.

**************************************************************************

.

For the newcomers who have NO idea what it is we do in the Central Park, here's a little Photo Gallery from last Summer. Very cool.

.

*************************************************************************

.

Here are a few songs from the December concert.

Click to watch the videos

.

.

.

.

.

****************************************************************************

.

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

.

.

HAVE FUN TODAY!!!!!! (And be cool to each other, okay?)

.

Thanks for everything.

.

Peace ☮

Okay, guys! Life is so... well, it's just life. Sometimes tough things and good things... things that are difficult and things that are wonderful... all happen at the same time. Some things are sad. Somethings are painful. One thing I can say is that, it's gonna feel good to see you all again tomorrow.

The park is green and flush with Life. Spring is here. The rain we had all week has moved out. The Sun is making a comeback for the weekend. I've got some stuff to do today... and then something I've gotta do tomorrow.

I'm gonna put my guitar on my shoulder tomorrow and stand in the same spot I've been standing in for a generation.

.

And then we'll just see where the day and the music and the spirit takes us.

We've been through a lot together out there... you and me and my guitar. Hell, when I first headed out there the first Bush, George H.W. Bush was in the White House, Seinfeld was only in it's 3rd season. We've been through several mayors here in town, Bill Clinton and Monica Lewinsky, Y2K...

.

September 11.
(And as importantly, we were together in the park five days later on September 16)

.

We sang our way through the dark, dark years of George W. Bush and the Iraq War. We saw the election of the first African American president, while at the same time voter's rights among African Americans are being assaulted. We've seen gay rights leap forward, at the same time women's basic human rights are being marched backward in some states. We've making our way through these confusing times of disillusionment and change, heartache and growth, disappointment and resolve together. We've seen hypocrisy, fear-mongering, selfishness and oligarchy raised to an art form on the political right... with fecklessness and rationalization raised to a level I could never have imagined by the political left. We've seen technology rocket us into new, unrecognizable, fascinating, fun worlds... it sometimes seemingly on a monthly basis. We've seen maps change, social lines redrawn, old hatreds reborn and Love's resilience and Power manifested all around us.

And through it all, we've laughed and cried and sang together in Central Park.

.

.

.

What d'you say? Ready to do it again?

.

.

.

.

See you tomorrow.

.

.

.

******************************************************************

.

SOMETHING VERY COOL

Y'know... I say this all the time.

I just need to PAY ATTENTION!

Man! When I'm paying attention, life is truly amazing. On Monday night I was at the home of a friend and colleague, Gretchen Cryer, the woman who's jumped on board to direct the theater piece we're gonna do downtown in September. That night, Bobby Lopez (composer) and the 2 stars from Broadway's "The Book of Mormon" played and sang and did a whole bunch of really cool things... including one "cut" song which the Broadway audience will never hear. Bobby and his wife also sang a song they'd written specifically for Stephen Sondheim... just amazing.

Then on Wednesday night!!!!

I was asked to attend a little gathering at my good friend Kara's home. It was to raise money for a really good, good organization headed by Liz Sunde called Music2Life. (You really should check it out and donate if this is the kind of thing you care about.)

ANYWAY! The 2 marquis guests that night happened to be 2/3 of Peter, Paul & Mary. They asked me to do a couple of songs in the middle of their set. YES! Peter and Paul got to hear "Tom Cruise Scares Me" for the first time. (I'll post that tomorrow.)

But check this out! Now, the quality of the video is really shaky, only 'cause it's an iphone in a casual gathering for a good cause. At the very beginning, the person holding the camera put their finger over the microphone, but that's an easy thing to do. I don't care. I was sharing a couple of my songs with Peter Yarrow and Noel "Paul" Stookey... and they're sitting with me listening in this video.

This is a song I wrote about men and women... "artists" like them.

Click to watch

By then as the night of music wound down, Peter and Noel (Paul) asked me to sing "Blowin' in the Wind" with them. I got to share a musical moment with 2 of the giants in the world of music of social conscience. Can you imagine... I was singing the same song and standing between the 2 men who, along with Mary Travers, sang on the steps of The Lincoln Memorial during the 1963 Civil Rights March on Washington, where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his famous "I Have a Dream" speech.

(Again, it's only caught on an iphone by a dear friend in the audience! But I don't care! It's a moment that lives in my heart and in my mind.)

Click to watch

.

.

You can bet I'm gonna carry this Spirit into the Summer in Central Park.

.

**************************************************************************

.

For the newcomers who have NO idea what it is we do in the Central Park, here's a little Photo Gallery from last Summer. Very cool.

.

*************************************************************************

.

Here are a few songs from the December concert.

Click to watch the videos

.

.

.

.

.

****************************************************************************

.

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

.

.

HAVE FUN TODAY!!!!!! (And be cool to each other, okay?)

.

Thanks for everything.

.

Peace ☮

Another Summer season of memories... one smile after another, one song after another, one incredibly wonderful moment after another.

This gallery will work back ward all the way to opening day and will grow as the year goes on. So, let's start right off with the most recent weekend in Central Park and work backwards.

.

.

MAY 12 -- "OPENING DAY"

Click for larger image
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

.

.

*******************************************************************************

.

Really not a bad thing to do with a Life.

Thanks so much for making part of the city I love so much.

.

.

Peace ☮

So... what're you guys thinkin' about this Saturday?

I'm thinkin' it's gonna be a beautiful day, weather-wise. And that means everything should lined up for me to head out to "The Hill" in Central Park to begin another season of hangin' out with you guys and with people from all across the country and around the world.

Another chance for us to share music and laughs and amazing moments in the middle of the greatest city on earth.

Here are a few memories from "Opening Day" last summer.

Click on the photo for larger image
. . . . .

. . . . . . . . .

.

.

Those are just some photos from last year's "Opening Day". (Yeah, I guess I kinda went with the "Mountain Man" look last year.)

.

I've got a handful of new songs to run by you guys... some I've written and some cover tunes I've never done before. And this year I wanna focus on playing classic rock songs, more classic folk songs and more of my own original tunes, even those from way back. The library of songs I've written, including those which never made it onto an album or might make it onto the next album, is getting pretty extensive. So what the hell... I'm a song writer. I should be playing these songs for you guys and telling the stories behind them.

.

*********************************************************************

.

THIS IS A LITTLE RE-POSTING OF YESTERDAY'S UPDATE.

.

I thought this stuff was pretty cool.

I'm just sayin'... y'gotta LOVE livin' in this town.

I mean, y'never know who or what is comin' up next. I think sometimes we get so used to the incredible uniqueness of this amazing city, that we sometimes forget to pay attention to the really cool moments that people who live in small town America don't get to experience... almost on a daily basis. And now since we all have video and still camera with us all the time, we get to capture the moments that used to just fly and later land only in conversation.

Y'know?

How many times are you walkin' down the street and you see something amazing, or beautiful, or just really unusual. Like, living in New York there must be a few thousand people named Goldman. But I was heading downtown on the subway and wound up sitting directly across from a "Gold Man".

Click photos for larger image

.

And a few days ago I passed a Tree Man outside my apartment on Central Park West. (Don't ask me what this guy could have been doing. It really doesn't matter. It's just soooooo fucking cool!

Click photos for larger image

.

AND HERE'S A LITTLE VIDEO OF "TREE MAN".

CLICK TO WATCH TREE MAN (Give it a minute to load.)

.

.

Now, you guys are aware that I've asked Gretchen Cryer to direct the new stage piece I'm developing for The Theater for the New City in September. Well, this week she asked my to stop by her apartment to meet a few of her friends and colleagues.

Check this out...

Click to watch

Very cool, right?

They just ain't hangin' out and doin' this kinda stuff in Des Moines or Cleveland. I'm sure there's a lot of nice stuff to do in those places. But this kinda thing just makes me feel very lucky to live in New York City.

Hey, this is gonna be an interesting Summer in Central Park.

Click photos for larger image

. . . . .

.

.

******************************************************************************

.

I mean, it's already been an interesting year for me. Lots goin' on... lots of changes happening. Lots of "possibilities" in the mix.

And this is another presidential election year. You know how I feel about music's place in the fabric of our social conscience. Even though it's been lost for a while in popular, mainstream music, men and women like me kinda have it in our job description to sing about what's going on in this country and in the world. And you would think with this being another election year, I'd be all fired up.

Well, I am.

But not for the reasons you might think. We'll get into that when I see you guys in the park! Hopefully I'll see you this coming weekend for "Opening Day". I say hopefully because it always, always depends on the weather of course.

For the newcomers who have NO idea what it is we do in the Central Park, here's a little Photo Gallery from last Summer. Very cool.

.

*************************************************************************

.

Here are a few songs from the December concert.

Click to watch the videos

.

.

.

.

.

****************************************************************************

.

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

.

.

HAVE FUN TODAY!!!!!! (And be cool to each other, okay?)

.

Thanks for everything.

.

Peace ☮

I mean, y'never know who or what is comin' up next. I think sometimes we get so used to the incredible uniqueness of this amazing city, that we sometimes forget to pay attention to the really cool moments that people who live in small town America don't get to experience... almost on a daily basis. And now since we all have video and still camera with us all the time, we get to capture the moments that used to just fly and later land only in conversation.

Y'know?

How many times are you walkin' down the street and you see something amazing, or beautiful, or just really unusual. Like, living in New York there must be a few thousand people named Goldman. But I was heading downtown on the subway and wound up sitting directly across from a "Gold Man".

Click photos for larger image

.

And a few days ago I passed a Tree Man outside my apartment on Central Park West. (Don't ask me what this guy could have been doing. It really doesn't matter. It's just soooooo fucking cool!

Click photos for larger image

.

AND HERE'S A LITTLE VIDEO OF "TREE MAN".

CLICK TO WATCH TREE MAN (Give it a minute to load.)

.

.

Now, you guys are aware that I've asked Gretchen Cryer to direct the new stage piece I'm developing for The Theater for the New City in September. Well, this week she asked my to stop by her apartment to meet a few of her friends and colleagues.

Check this out...

Click to watch

Very cool, right?

They just ain't hangin' out and doin' this kinda stuff in Des Moines or Cleveland. I'm sure there's a lot of nice stuff to do in those places. But this kinda thing just makes me feel very lucky to live in New York City.

Hey, this is gonna be an interesting Summer in Central Park.

Click photos for larger image

. . . . .

.

.

******************************************************************************

.

I mean, it's already been an interesting year for me. Lots goin' on... lots of changes happening. Lots of "possibilities" in the mix.

And this is another presidential election year. You know how I feel about music's place in the fabric of our social conscience. Even though it's been lost for a while in popular, mainstream music, men and women like me kinda have it in our job description to sing about what's going on in this country and in the world. And you would think with this being another election year, I'd be all fired up.

Well, I am.

But not for the reasons you might think. We'll get into that when I see you guys in the park! Hopefully I'll see you this coming weekend for "Opening Day". I say hopefully because it always, always depends on the weather of course.

For the newcomers who have NO idea what it is we do in the Central Park, here's a little Photo Gallery from last Summer. Very cool.

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Here are a few songs from the December concert.

Click to watch the videos

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****************************************************************************

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

.

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HAVE FUN TODAY!!!!!! (And be cool to each other, okay?)

.

Thanks for everything.

.

Peace ☮

Our pal, Sid, is in this movie. I'm gonna go see it. Hope it's playing someplace with a big screen like The Ziegfeld Theatre.

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Okay... here we are in New York City. Here we are in the second week of May.

And here we are 5 days away from heading to Central Park again to begin another year of music and laughs. Who knows what's gonna go down this year... who we're gonna meet, what twists Life has in this wonderful town.

.

One thing I can say for sure is that I'm really excited about seeing you all again this coming Saturday afternoon. I've got a handful of new songs to run by you guys and I'm writing more. I'm hoping to work it out so that Teresa Reynolds will be able to join me again. I know it's a long way off, but I'm also looking forward to telling you guys all Summer about the stage project I'll be doing downtown in September. It's definitely gonna happen. The dates are already selected and the director (Gretchen Cryer) is on board. And I'm probably getting way ahead of myself, but we already booked the date for "The Something'th Annual Year End Concert" in December.

But back to today... to this moment.

Because these are all plans. None of these tings exists yet. Today is the show. Today is Life.

.

So to start off the update today, I just wanna share a couple of videos with you guys that will hopefully make you smile. One is a beautiful moment from last Summer, and the other is just a clip from last year's gig at Merkin Concert Hall... or as I like to call it now -- "The Magnificent Laryngitis Session".

Click for a moment from last Summer

Click for a moment from December

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Y'know what!?

Here's a video I watched with the son of a good friend the other day. It's about 10 minutes long but it made me laugh the whole time. Just to put a little laughter in your day.

Click to laugh

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(And truthfully... I bet Louis is a great parent. It's the smile in between that gives him away.)

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Okay a couple more moments from that gig. SINGING THROUGH THE LARYNGITIS!

Click to watch the videos

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I hafta shake my head sometimes. No kidding. I couldn't have possibly known that very first day all those years ago, when I put my guitar on my shoulder and stood in that spot that in 2012 I would be starting another season of music, laughs and love... another year of sharing stories, ideas and songs. Makes me a very lucky man.

And I know it.

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For the newcomers who have NO idea what it is we do in the Central Park, here's a little Photo Gallery from last Summer. Very cool.

.

*************************************************************************

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

.

.

HAVE FUN TODAY!!!!!! (And be cool to each other, okay?)

.

Thanks for everything.

.

Peace ☮

But we're all set with the Special Events Permit from The Parks Department for next weekend, and I already secured the Sound Device Permit from the NYPD. So we have all the paperwork... and we'll just start watching the weather sometime around Wednesday. I'm thinking we're gonna begin another great season in 6 days!

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I know a lot of you are always stopping by here at the site from different parts of the country and different parts of the world. But if you're gonna be in or around NYC next weekend, I hope you can join me out there to share our first afternoon of music, stories and laughs.

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This is kinda cool.

I've been working on a song recently, but I've been stuck on one final lyric. Well, yesterday I stopped by a friend's to talk about... just stuff. And she said, "I haven't heard the newest song yet." So I picked up her guitar and ran through the song. (It was really close to being finished.) I got to the 2 lines in the third bridge that had me stumped, and as I was explaining where the problem was... the lines just kinda wrote themselves. (I absolutely LOVE when that happens!)

The song is called "Already Had My Share". I'm gonna record a demo and get it here for you guys to check out this week.

So, the song is finished and it's time to write the next one.

I think the next song is just gonna be something about the sound of "high heels on sidewalk". I love that sound and it makes me drop everything and turn my head every time!

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I already asked you guys this question this week. But I'm still thinkin' about it. There's soooooooooo much going on. I started on the script for "Possibility Junkie" this week and I'm finally writing in earnest. But I've got a few other things kicking around inside my head today.

Y'know?

I haven't recorded or released a new album in a couple of years. (It's always a question of money and time. When you're an independent artist, both commodities are precious and fleeting.) But I'm seriously considering whether a CD is the way to go or if I should just record the songs and go exclusively with digital downloads. These days, the only reason for a CD is to get the music home to your computers and ipods. After the songs are uploaded, the CD really becomes nothing more than a lovely, decorative beverage coaster. But yesterday I sat down an wrote out the titles of some of the songs that have never found their way into a studio.

With Me
With Anyone But You
Hey Now Right Now
There Will Always Be People
Yes
The Last Protest Song
Can't You See
Stupid Country
Occupy Wall Street Rag
Hermione Got hot
You Might Be Her
I Believe You
A Different Cowboy's Lament

and the newest...

Already Had My Share

And I'm writing another as we speak. So I guess I'm gonna hafta decide what the next step will be. What do YOU think? Another physical CD? Or would guys be cool with downloading songs directly to our computer?

CLICK HERE AND GIMME A SHOUT

.

*******************************************************************************

HEY! Can't wait to run these songs by you guys this Summer. It looks like "Opening Day" is gonna be this Saturday, May 12th. Keep your fingers crossed for good weather.

Click photos for larger image

. . . .

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*******************************************************************************

.

If you haven't seen this before, here's a Broadway legend and his wife to describe the concept a little. (These two people have truly artistic souls and they "get it".) This man isn't all talk and numbers. Tony Walton has done it on Broadway and has the Tony Awards to prove it. He's done it on film and has an Oscar to show for it. There are Emmy Awards sitting on his shelf, too. So this guy is the real thing.

.

Click to watch the video

.

.

For the newcomers who have NO idea what it is we do in the Central Park, here's a little Photo Gallery from last Summer. Very cool.

.

*********************************************************************************

.

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

.

.

HAVE FUN TODAY!!!!!! (And be cool to each other, okay?)

.

Thanks for everything.

.

Peace ☮

If you're checking in to see if I'm heading to "The Hill" with my guitar... the answer for today is "No". The Parks Department didn't give us the permits I applied for, so I can't head out there today. Nothin' I can do about that. But before we get to today's update I wanna say...

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Happy Cinco de Mayo! (Which of course means "5 jars of Mayonnaise")

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Welcome to the website.

SO... WE ARE 1 WEEK AWAY FROM "OPENING DAY" IN CENTRAL PARK

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Yeah, keep your fingers crossed for a nice day next weekend.

But I'll tell you what... I'm gonna make a few phone calls tomorrow and see if a good friend of mine feels like making the trek out to "The Hill", just to hang in the sunshine for a while. If he says he feels like it, I might just head out there with my guitar for an hour to sit and play a few songs completely unplugged and acoustic. (Yeah, yeah. Y'really can't hear it. But it might be a little fun thing to do.)

********************************************************************************************

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Oh listen... this has nothin' to do with anything. But I wanna ask... especially of those who watch a lot of baseball or football.

When those commercials for Papa John's Pizza come on... does the owner of the company give you the creeps? I mean, I have no idea if he's a ice guy or an asshole. But something about this guy just gives me the creeps every time I see him on camera. I wonder why he insists on doing the spots himself. Maybe the camera just doesn't like him. He might be the nicest guy on the planet. I was just wondering if I'm alone.

Just gives me the creeps for some reason!

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You Too? SHOOT ME AN EMAIL

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Moving on!

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Click photos for larger image

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HEY! If you'd like to check out some of the first still photographs from the new webseries "THERE" -- you can see them in THIS UPDATE and THIS UPDATE. And if you wanna stay ahead of the pack and get in at the very beginning... go to the Facebook page and be on of the very first people in the Universe to "like" the show.

Click to visit the page and
then click "Like"

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Cool?

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Hopefully I'll see you next weekend for "Opening Day" in Central Park. I say hopefully because it always, always depends on the weather of course.

For the newcomers who have NO idea what it is we do in the Central Park, here's a little Photo Gallery from last Summer. Very cool.

.

*************************************************************************

.

Here are a few songs from the December concert.

Click to watch the videos

.

.

.

.

.

****************************************************************************

.

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

.

.

HAVE FUN TODAY!!!!!! (And be cool to each other, okay?)

.

Thanks for everything.

.

Peace ☮

Always gotta say a special "Hey" to all my fellow New Yorkers! We're about a week away from beginning another season in Central Park. "Opening Day" will be a week from tomorrow.... Saturday, May 12.

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Wanna start today's update with a TV commercial that I think might be one of the most beautiful spots I've ever seen on a TV screen. Have you guys seen this thing?

Click to watch

Subtle. Sexy. Passionate. Simple. Beautifully shot.

Man!

Moving on.

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I OWE YOU GUYS AN EXPLANATION (About this update.)

Okay... so if you've been coming around here lately, you might be getting the impression that I've been a little angry and disillusioned by the state of the union. You might be getting the impression that I am disheartened and disappointed by Barack Obama in the office of the presidency.

I am.

But that's not to say that I'm not filled with joy and purpose every day and it doesn't mean I'm not jazzed and hopeful for the future of the human race. And it doesn't mean I don't wake up every day grateful for the people in my life and the work I'm lucky enough to do. I just calls 'em as I sees 'em. I did that with my words and music through the dark, dark, inherently unAmerican Bush presidency... and I will continue to do the same when I see things happening now with which a person of Reason should be reasonably angry. Okay, politics in this country is insane. Yes... the prison at Guantanamo is still open. People are still being held without charge. Nobody has been held accountable for breaking both U.S. and International Law by torturing prisoners. A health care law passed with an individual mandate to buy a product from a private, for-profit company, and so it has to be deemed unconstitutional... because it is. So, yeah. I'm angry. One thing I've learned in my Life is that "anger" is a healthy and natural human instinct. It can be a defect of character and a cancer in my Life when it exceeds it's intended purpose. But it's true and healthy purpose as far as I can tell is to be a motivator. When I'm angry, it sometimes inspires me to write the next song, or make the next change in my Life, or show up for a good cause, or do a sincere personal inventory of my own shit! There's a certain amount of hypocrisy about all of our lives. But the outrageously virulent hypocrisy we so often see in so-called Right Wing Christian Conservatives is the same wherever it raises it's ugly head. And in regard to our current president, I have to say this...

Principle can't be convenient.

Principle can't be based on political expediency.

So, what triggered that statement I made here 2 days ago about the president's trip to Afghanistan?

IN A NUTSHELL

I guess if anyone listens to my music, they know how I feel about Life and Love and Reason and principle and honesty... and I guess it's no secret to anyone that politically I am fiercely Independent. So, I feel yes... good people like you deserve an answer or a reason when I write something like I wrote here in WEDNESDAY's UPDATE. Very simply...

There were 32,800 U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan on the day President Obama took office.

There were over 90,000 mired in that country as he made his speech on May 1.

.

Approximately 630 Americans killed in Afghanistan in the 8 years of the Bush administration.

Over 1,320 killed in just the 4 years of the Obama administration.

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Who's kidding who? It's time to be honest. You can bet if a Republican like John McCain was currently occupying the Oval Office, we Independents as well as Liberals and Democrats would be screaming our heads off. And if so many Republicans weren't generally blind, fear-based, or historically ignorant hawks somebody would be making this an issue. But no...

This "war" goes on and will go on for at least another decade, and no one can come up with a reasoned, intelligent and strategically plausible reason why. Only political reasons. If I hear one more politician, including Obama, say that these men and women are fighting and dying for my freedom...

Hope that answers the question.

Hey, as an artist and as an American folk singer it's kinda in my job description to calls 'em as I sees 'em... independent and free from affiliation. Doesn't make me certain of the right or wrong of it all. But it's my job to express an honest opinion about the Truth at any given moment in time.

Rock on!!!

(Oh relax. Nobody with any sense thinks an empty suit like Mitt Romney is a viable alternative. Ay! There's the rub! There's the respect that makes calamity of... so turbulent times!)

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*********************************************************************************

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NOW!!!

You guys know how I feel about music's place in social conscience... especially when it comes to part of my job description as an American folk singer. Besides writing songs that reflect what's goin' on in my personal Life and in my heart, I've also been writing songs that reflect what's going on around me in this country and in the world. BUT I absolutely insist on having fun most of the time and feeling Good while I'm doing it. Makes me feel like the luckiest man alive most of the time.

Hey look... look at the people who I get to share a stage with!!!

Click to watch the videos

.

.

.

.

****************************************************************************

.

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

.

.

HAVE FUN TODAY!!!!!! (And be cool to each other, okay?)

.

Thanks for everything.

.

Peace ☮

A sweet friend of ours out in Central Park, one of the real "People on the Hill", is a man who has been coming out there for the past 12 years or so. He also happens to be the man who brought The Beatles to America. (As well as The Rolling Stones, ABBA and dozens of other artists.)

A few years ago in a radio interview he was asked, "What are your favorite songs of all time?"

He answered, "I have so many favorite songs. There are so many wonderful songs that I love. But my 2 favorite songs have to be "Imagine"... by John... and... that song David wrote."

He never remembers the title. But that's okay. Nobody ever remembers the title... which tells me I probably could have picked a better title! Still, the name of the song is "The Next Time Around", and my pal Sid Bernstein loves to get up and sing it with me in Central Park.

.

Click to watch

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Sweet.

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*********************************************************************************

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OH LISTEN... I wrote something about President Obama in YESTERDAY'S UPDATE and received a bunch of email regarding the boldness of the statement. Took some people by surprise I guess. I will be back here tomorrow with a brief explanation, I promise. So check back.

There's soooooooooo much going on. I started on the script for "Possibility Junkie" this week and I'm finally writing in earnest. But I've got a few other things kicking around inside my head today.

Y'know?

I haven't recorded or released a new album in a couple of years. (It's always a question of money and time. When you're an independent artist, both commodities are precious and fleeting.) But I'm seriously considering whether a CD is the way to go or if I should just record the songs and go exclusively with digital downloads. These days, the only reason for a CD is to get the music home to your computers and ipods. After the songs are uploaded, the CD really becomes nothing more than a lovely, decorative beverage coaster. But yesterday I sat down an wrote out the titles of some of the songs that have never found their way into a studio.

With Me
With Anyone But You
Hey Now Right Now
There Will Always Be People
Yes
The Last Protest Song
Can't You See
Stupid Country
Occupy Wall Street Rag
Hermione Got hot
You Might Be Her
I Believe You
A Different Cowboy's Lament

and the newest...

Already Had My Share

And I'm writing another as we speak. So I guess I'm gonna hafta decide what the next step will be. What do YOU think? Another physical CD? Or would guys be cool with downloading songs directly to our computer?

CLICK HERE AND GIMME A SHOUT

.

*******************************************************************************

HEY! I just finished writing another brand new song called "Already Had My Share". And now I'm kicking around a lyric for another. Can't wait to run these songs by you guys this Summer. It looks like "Opening Day" is gonna be Saturday, May 12th. Keep your fingers crossed for good weather.

Click photos for larger image

. . . .

.

.

*******************************************************************************

.

If you haven't seen this before, here's a Broadway legend and his wife to describe the concept a little. (These two people have truly artistic souls and they "get it".) This man isn't all talk and numbers. Tony Walton has done it on Broadway and has the Tony Awards to prove it. He's done it on film and has an Oscar to show for it. There are Emmy Awards sitting on his shelf, too. So this guy is the real thing.

.

Click to watch the video

.

.

For the newcomers who have NO idea what it is we do in the Central Park, here's a little Photo Gallery from last Summer. Very cool.

.

*********************************************************************************

.

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

.

.

HAVE FUN TODAY!!!!!! (And be cool to each other, okay?)

.

Thanks for everything.

.

Peace ☮

I guess you got the news about "Opening Day" in Central Park. We're gonna head back out there to begin another season on Saturday, May 12th. Keep your fingers crossed for great weather.

.

.

This year, I've got a handful of new songs to run by you guys. And all Summer I'll probably be giving you updates about the two shows with which we'll kinda wrap up 2012... the 4-night run of "Possibility Junkie" in September, and "The Something'th Annual Year End Concert" in December. This is gonna shape up to be another interesting year for an American singer/songwriter. OH LISTEN....

Before I get into today's update I want to make this unequivocal statement:

I feel that President Obama's visit to Afghanistan on the anniversary of the Bin Laden operation, and his speech to the troops yesterday were disgraceful on so many levels.

I mean that. I'll get into the reasons for that statement in future updates. Check back if you care to.

.

.

It's another presidential election year, and I hafta say... the level of absurdity in this country is overwhelming and fascinating and inspiring. Gonna be a ride! MAN! I was watching FOX News yesterday... (I feel it's part of my job to monitor that bizarre, childish and unapologetic propaganda machine.) ...and typically, every other story was about stoking some kind of fear -- and some were skewed to denigrate or stoke resentment toward The Occupy Movement. There was one entire segment where 5 people were sitting around a conference table calling people like me, my Dad, my sisters, my colleagues Teresa Reynolds and Dean Love and so many others who stood with the protesters downtown last year... "idiots" and "dirtbags". So I thought I'd post a few relevant videos today.

Rock on!

Click to watch

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Honestly... I feel so, so, sorry for people who watch FOX News. I mean, things are odd all over these days... but what an especially fucked up world they live in!

.

*********************************************************************************

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NOW!!!

You guys know how I feel about music's place in social conscience... especially when it comes to part of my job description as an American folk singer. Besides writing songs that reflect what's goin' on in my personal Life and in my heart, I've also been writing songs that reflect what's going on around me in this country and in the world. BUT I absolutely insist on having fun most of the time and feeling Good while I'm doing it. Makes me feel like the luckiest man alive most of the time.

Hey look... look at the people who I get to share a stage with!!!

Click to watch the videos

.

.

.

.

****************************************************************************

.

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

.

.

HAVE FUN TODAY!!!!!! (And be cool to each other, okay?)

.

Thanks for everything.

.

Peace ☮