To dream the egregious dream

"To dream the egregious dream"...somehow, I'm sure I'm making Andy Williams turn over in his....wait.....

...what was that?

....come again?....

REALLY?

....he IS still alive?.....

oh...okay....

(ehh-hem)....

I'm sure I'm making Andy Williams pause at what he's doing, (perhaps his daily regimen of boxing with the hired help?), to look up a little and go..."hrrm??" when I butcher the title of his song, (so expertly sung by Peter O'Toole in Man of La Mancha), and I know that the definition of the word is really "outstandingly bad, or outrageous", but I'm leaning more toward the latter of the two because well, heck...four years ago, on my fortieth birthday when my lovely wife gave me a guitar, rather than a sports car, (mid-life crisis, indeed), I'd never have considered that I'd be where I am right now.

...what?...sitting in my pajamas, typing up a blog entry from the relative safety from zombies and politicians* {same thing}, in my computer room in a house on a hill in Benicia, California?

Nope, but the the simply "outrageous" thing to me is that with that same guitar, I have managed to pen upwards of 43 some-odd, (some serious), tunes, which, when finally recorded, packaged, sterilized, distributed and forced upon the airwaves *might* just get me to a place where I could get a few sports cars. It can happen.....just sayin'....

*(Yes, these little asterisks are usually found at the bottom of an article, but, hey, this is my blog so 'nyahh'); The fifth definition for the word 'Outrageous' in the Urban Dictionary, (epic-love for this site), reads; "Used to describe the actions of democrats, republicans, or any sort of politician". Oh......(laughing out loud)......I think I just peed a little...

('you ever do that? 'pee a little'?')

So, while forging on with the songwriting, I made a rather pleasant discovery.

People like the music.

And not just any "people", I had a Grammy award winning Ex-A&R Executive from Motown compliment me on my stuff. Why does this man get the moniker of "Ex", well, give the guy a break, if you worked with Eric Clapton, Santana, Prince, Stevie Wonder, Neil Diamond, Marvin Gaye, Jermaine Jackson, Rod Stewart, Diana Ross, David Bowie, The Commodores, Rob Thomas, Wyclef Jean, Rick James, Fleetwood Mac, Sir George Martin (The Beatles producer) Dave Matthews Band, Lauren Hill, INXS, Ice-T, Sly and the Family Stone and Cher, you'd deserve a break to raise some children yourself, wouldn't you? In any case, it's high praise to have a guy like this chat with you on the phone for 45 minutes about your music and subsequently waive his $100.00 an hour rate in favor of a percentage deal, (any lawyers out there who wouldn't mind pouring over a potential contract for me?)

Okay, so I brag......

('you ever do that? 'brag a little'?')

With the band members finally coalescing, (MAN...I never get to use that word, awesome!), with the songs continually being written by not only me, but the other guys involved, with the dedication of everyone involved, (Paul, the Bass player is moving from Indiana to be in the band), and with our upcoming gig at Angelica's Bistro in Redwood City, CA, <--(hit that link!), it's hard not to think that this is all just plain outrageous - but - it is...and it's good.

At the beginning of this year, I just knew that things would start to come together for Junkyard Academy as well as the household with which I share with my lovely wife. All this is proof-positive that there may be something to thinking positive and listening to the universe, rather than rebounding around in it like a nerd in a mosh pit. (there's a visual...)

Bottom line, I've always knew, even as a child, that this life will offer up something simply great, I've just been too preoccupied with the mechanics of it all. Like Alton Brown says about making and omelet;

"Walk away, do nothing for ten seconds. At this point, there is no amount of prodding, poking, or fiddling that will make that omelet cook any quicker, in fact, messing with it now will only result in an omelet that stuck to the pan. In other words scrambled eggs, not that there's anything wrong with that it's just not really what I want today."

Okay, so I'm a foodie too, but how this translates into life? Sometimes you gotta step back and let things work rather than forcing them....scrambled eggs is what I got last year when I tried to rush the creative process and those of you in the know understand...you just can't rush art.

Enjoy your omelet.

Lewis