As a teacher and creativity coach, I sometimes need to square up and kick hard with the steel tipped boot of NFA. It can be kind of harsh. But it’s always backed with love. It’s true. Sometimes people need their hand held. Sometimes people need a nudge in the right direction. Or a cheerleader in [...]
Tonight I am taking a major trip on a musical time machine. It was July, 1985, when my folks dropped me and few friends off in the parking lot at The Spectrum in Philadelphia somewhere around noon. We simply had to get there very early. We baked in the 90+ degree direct sunlight all day [...]
How’s the new year treating you? You guys rocking forward with your writing, tunes and other general creative mayhem? Hope so! This past weekend in Seattle I had the absolute honor to lead a 2day NFA workshop called HOW TO LIVE YOUR DREAMS IN ’19! These SuperStars stepped into their hearts, dismantled their fears, [...]
How many old stories do you hold onto? I’m talking about the stories of your life. And for you SuperStar writers out there, I’m talking about half written pieces, sketches, outlines, ideas on napkins. In life, things happen. Objective [...]
The second day of shooting my short film ROADTRIPPING WITH DIA was easily one of the top ten most stressful days of my life. With the cast and crew all on-set (and on my dime) for sixteen hours straight, the challenges, tech and creative decisions soon compounded into a roaring wave of self doubt that [...]
(I wrote this a few weeks ago— right before I started production on my second short film, ROADTRIPPING WITH DIA.) In case you’ve never made a movie before, it’s an incredibly complex creative and technical process. Even in a simple film there are abut a zillion things to consider. Everything from the words in the [...]
The other day out of the clear blue I got a referral to write some original music for a high end international dance troupe. These guys are Not F*ing Around. Fortune 500 corporate gigs, celebrity birthday parties, sold out shows in New York, London, Shanghai. I spoke to the artistic director about her vision, the [...]
When I was a teenager learning to play guitar I was so psyched to learn cover songs. I had this amazing teacher, this long haired 20 something metal dude named Eric Todd. This guy could play. I’d go into the lessons with a song I was into that week. He’d listen to it on the [...]
My heroes are people who shine, act and broadcast clear ideals that have shaped my personality and mission in life. Heroes don’t always save babies in burning buildings. Sometimes they simply show us courageous ways to live in the world. In one way or another, all of my heroes are Not F*ing Around. Life on [...]
As a kid, I didn’t really have any friends. I was always sort of lost in my own little world, making up stories, creating kingdoms and stirring up magic potions. Or drawing wayyy outside the lines. The other kids didn’t really get me. And I didn’t really get them. As I got older I attempted [...]
