“Human beings are works in progress that mistakenly think they’re finished.”
“Thoroughly conscious ignorance has been the prelude to every advance in science.”
The summer's abundance of travel, inspirational friendships, and powerful new chance meetings is well underway...freshly home, I'm eager to integrate all that I've learned and experienced in the last two weeks – and looking forward to some amazing gigs in the month ahead.
I can't wait to share all of that new work with you – but I'm a little behind. So first things first!
Mycelium Music Compilation Vol. 4
A Benefit for the Amazon Mycorenewal Project
A Benefit for the Amazon Mycorenewal Project
I'm honored to be on this album alongside friends Supersillyus, Numatik, Cactus Bath, and Wei Chi Field, as well as a host of other talented producers. My track, "Throwing Sparks," is something totally different for anyone familiar with my electronic guitar improvisation – a lush and glitchy arrangement supporting my first Chapman Stick recording since 2008. Proceeds go to the Amazon Mycorenewal Project, using fungus to clean up oil pollution in Ecuador...a worthy cause!
New Live Painting:
"Manna Vesicles"
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2014-04-18 Scoot Inn – Sheer Khan, Resonant Frequency, The Human Experience, Andreilien
04-22 Austin Community College – The Human Fractals, Bob Slaughter
05-14 Empire Control Room – JPOD, Blunt Force, Cactus Bath
05-22 The Parish – The Nadis Warriors, Random Rab
06-04 Lanai – Fractala, Ram-Z, DRRTY WULVZ, Subaqueous
06-05 Empire Control Room – Quanta, Akasha
06-07 Archaic Revival Festival – Manoj, Desert Dwellers
06-12 Elanosphere – Studio
Inspired by vintage science fiction paperback cover artwork and fantastical NASA concept paintings, "Manna Vesicles" is also my first in a series of odes to the Texas Hill Country, a sacred landscape whose rolling terrain flows with abundant sunlight and spring water, nourishing an incredible diversity of creatures and cultures.
Sometimes when I look up in the sky and see those almost-invisible floating orbs, I wonder if they aren't dust but chi, the subtle energy of the cosmos flowing through and binding the world together. Given recent discoveries about the Earth's magnetic field and its relationship to storms, human biology, and solar activity, I imagine a field of orbs like this in every open sky – fields of interpenetrating influence, transforming cosmic radiation into something life on Earth can use.
The universe is a vast, mysterious place – most of it invisible to us. Space isn't really empty – it's full. This painting's a reminder of that.
Custom Texas State Flag Violin
My girlfriend Nicole Taylor repairs violins and guitars for a living. Recently her boss at Westbank String Shop asked me if I'd like to paint the state flag of Texas on a client's violin...and I convinced them to let me have my way with it. (Here's another shot of the finished job on instagram.)
New Custom Hat: Elephants & Hummingbirds
Hummingbirds and elephants adorn this latest lid. I love doing these – let me know if you'd like one of your own! You can see all 154 I've done so far on my facebook page.
New Merchandise on Zazzle
Every once in a while I meet someone who bought one of my phone cases or laptop decals, and I'm always impressed with how well they came out. Zazzle does a good job! So I'm glad to announce new items featuring my painting "Inner Light" from Rootwire and Art Outside Festivals last year. And there are plenty more where those came from:
Upcoming Gigs
I'm honored to be opening for the ultra-talented Taylor McFerrin, son of Bobby McFerrin, in Austin this July. His jazzy live electronica is taking the nation by storm and it's going to be a totally fun way to spend my only gig in Austin this summer...
And then it's off to three amazing festivals! Gratifly is a beacon of transformational culture in the Southeast; Portal is a very promising new event in the Northwest; and Arise is widely considered the best music festival in Colorado. I'll be speaking and painting at all three, as well as playing music with an über-talented coterie of special guest collaborators. Who's coming with me?
Thanks for reading! Feel free to stay in touch and have a beautiful day...more soon!
