JOSE DIAZ

9-12-2012

YESTERDAY

Yesterday lives in a perpetual demi-fog. I lived it. You lived it. The world lived it.

It's been a wonderful year so far, for the most part.

                                        

 

Contact: Jose’ Diaz                                                 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Tel. 361-575-4154

Email: joseexist@legasyssongs.com      Web: http://www.legasyssongs.com

 

                CDr: “MUSING IMMORTALS”

 

  The latest release from the “Tornado-Fingered-Texan” Jose’ Diaz will soon be          

 

available on CDbaby.com. “MUSING IMMORTALS” contains twelve all new

 

tracks from the gulf coast solo studio artist and multi-collaborationalist. It will

 

mark the 10^th release of all original material by Jose’ as it joins the other 9 albums

 

at CDbaby as well as other multiple websites.

 

  On this outing Jose’ takes on the subjects of “things coming to an end”,

 

“choosing alternative actions”, and of course, “the sad and dark sides of love”. The

 

Tornado-Fingered-Texan gives up emotional guitar work that breathes softly at

 

times or screams with emotional abandon at others. This tenth offering is slathered

 

with deep lyrical meaning backed up by a wall of guitars and fresh song structures.

 

  Jose’ takes on all duties as usual wearing all applicable hats. Composing,

 

arranging, recording, mixing, mastering, and graphic design, are all his jobs alone.

 

Doing it himself keeps the pressures of deadlines at bay and there are never any

 

executives screaming for a ‘single’.

 

  In his own words:

 

     “I make music as freely as I choose to live my life. Fame, fortune, and accolades

of glory are never my targets to achieve. Whatever blessings God will bestow on me

are his to give. Whatever travails assault me because of my music, I accept without

shame.”

 

"What I did yesterday may make me who I am today, but what I do today will make me a better person tomorrow."

                                       Jose’ Diaz

                                                               # # #

 

The new album will be available soon!

Hope you like it!

 I'm recording new music at a much slower pace than normal. The tunes are a bit mellower than usual but I still have fun doing them. If it were no fun then I would be looking for something else to do.

 Still having a ball playing with a few of the newest toys. Mics and preamps, guitars and amps, all full of suprises yet to be discovered.

 Looking forward to a few new pieces before too long. Maybe another low-watt amp. I saw a great set of cans from KRK. Might give a certain edge I need in the process. People knock mixing with cans (headphones) but I like the detail I get. The room monitors are great but the room acoustics suck. Cans work better for me.

 Keep it as loud as possible!

  I recently finished another piece of science fiction. Halfway thru it arthritis attacked and I am still recovering but coming along well. Aging is indeed painful.

 

 Joel dropped by the other morning and asked for more LEGASYS CDr. I burned a few and he picked them up while dropping off a set of lyrics I thought was lost for all time. The song has a Kings X vibe to it but I can make it work. It will be a ‘rocker’.

  My boss bought a guitar for his son but his son didn’t want it for some reason. I bought it right away and love the tone! Once I put my preferred GHS strings on it and tweak it a bit it will easily make it onto some new tracks. It’s a telecaster style affair with that ‘tele’ sound.

  With four brand new songs completed I have been writing quite a bit lately. Not lyrics and songs mind you, but stories. If you haven’t had an opportunity to check out “Musings On Muses” at the local newspapers website, here is a link.

     http://www.victoriaadvocate.com/weblogs/musings-on-muses/

 

 In this blog, started in 2009, I write about the many avenues thru which inspiration comes to me. I also diverge into short stories and excerpts from a couple of books I am working on. “The Niaro”, and “Rocknauts” are those. The short stories are “Resolving God”, “The Markers”, “Forever In The Blink Of An Eye”, “Contraption”, and “Sensor Survey Sampling”. Beyond these offerings are a whole lot of other short pieces. Most of the latter lead off with no title but the same first sentence. “At the fringe of my imagination.”

 You will also find many references to the grandest of all my muses, and many pieces dedicated to her. Her name appears in a few stories and she seems to be a recurring character across the universe that is my imagination. The true blessing is that she is an integral part of my reality. Her name is Glenda. She is the muse I can never refuse.

 Four new songs are completed and still, as ever, there is music flying about in my mind. 2011 is looking promising. New tech is rushing in like a Bonsai wave and its inevitable affects are already exploding onto the scene. The trees (yes, we put up 2 this year) are up and the lights are shining down on the gifts.

 Thank you for spreading the word worldwide and with my glass high I bid you all a very, very, MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Keep It Loud!

 Jose’

 

1. How long have you been together (solo artist)?

Since about 1984 or 85 I think. Once I hit the oil and gas industry most of my time was pretty much eaten up by my day job. There was never enough time to practice with a band or work on songs in a group.

2. How did you get together?

My first band grew out of a group of high school buddies I hung around with in Bloomington, Texas. We called ourselves Legasys and played a few wild parties early on. We're all scattered out these days and rarely ever communicate. After that I joined Bois D Ark and recorded a 45 with that great band. I do a lot of recording and writing these days on my own but I also collaborate with quite a few artists as well.

3. How was the writing process for this release?

I quit smoking for seven months due to allergies and asthma. I notices a marked change in my voice and I think it really shows on Clouds In Cathedrals. As far as the basic process, I still write lyrics as oftenas possible and the really hard trick is finding the actual time to write down all the words swimming around in my head! (Laughs)

I came at the tracks from several angles as usual. Some were composed music first, others words first. Some happened on the fly as I was working on something else entirely. I leave all creative doors open once I'm in the studio. Anything can change at the drop of a hat. Spontaneity rules.

4. What kind of response are you getting form: A. fans B. media

I have quite a few dedicated fans that are always asking me what's next. I refuse to draw a line between friends and fans as I feel a close kinship with anyone who listens to what I do. The first few pre-release CD I sent out got a very warm welcome from those lucky few I was able to provide them to.

The media response is as always at a level pitch. I'm not shaking any trees or getting superstars to call me but that doesn't mean I'm not making ripples on the water so to speak.

5. What makes your music unique?

I don't do covers. All my songs are pretty much 100% my own creation or remnants of what I wrote with Legasys. I think my subject matter sometimes sets me apart from other artists. I deal with darker emotions but not with a focus totally on one thing like 'death', or 'killing'. I ask questions like; What does the future hold for the human race? What will the end of the world really be like from any given individuals perspective? If we do make it to the future, what will that be like? I have an endless supply of such questions and the music I compose and record is just my way if trying to answer such questions with a story telling of sorts.

6. What’s the music scene like in your city?

It's there in its' own way. I don't dip into it too much because my style of music is hard to find a shoe to fit into. A few artist, bands, and organizations pop up from time to time to do shows that they have to produce themselves and I see their efforts come to fruition for the most part. I feel that this city really wants to attract big superstar names and just hints at the local talents. There are a lot of artist out there but getting recognition is the hardest thing for them to do. Most venues cater to country or pop and hip-hop, or Latino genres. There's a powder keg of hard rock and metal just below the surface but every time it rears up somebody seems to knock it back down again. Fortunately, that is the very nature of artist like myself. We can get trampled under by the 'establishment', kept out of venues, kept off of store shelves, or suffer any numerous setbacks and pitfalls, slings, arrows, sticks and stones, but we keep rolling along.

7. What are your goals for the rest of the year?

That's a good question. I've slipped out of focus for now but just over my mental horizon there a goal I have yet to see clearly. I can hear the music though. It's gonna be awesome!

8. Is there anything you would like to add?

Stay loud and remain true and proud to the music you love. If our government has its way volume controls will be a thing of the past. Do you really want to have only an on off button on your car stereo or other playback device? An electric guitar without a volume knob is pretty much a useless stick. A high powered amp that only whispers is just a wall of silence to me. Be wary music aficionados, legislation is already in the process.

 

 I'd just gotten all the isrc numbers and bar code info to finish off posting Clouds In Cathedrals on AmieStreet when I noticed a "click here for important news". That button was just too tempting. Beyond it I found out that this wonderful springboard of a site for new music was cashing it in. The next day all their pages of inventory would be moved over to Amazon.

 Oh well, cookies always crumble.

  I did check it out today and found everything in order and Amazon even seems to have taken care of seting things up with proper samples. In fact, Thoracic Spark and Paint By Thunders also come up in an mp3search for Jose Diaz. I'll surf a bit more...

Clouds In Cathedrals will be released on 9-1-2010. You may find it at CDbaby.com once it becomes available. As is customary with CDbaby, the initial quantity of physical CDs will be very small but digital downloads will be available as well.

 Keep it loud and stay proud of the music you love!

  Jose' Diaz (The Tornado Fingered Texan)

The Rocknauts (epilogue)

  Generals had gathered around a small table in near darkness. Subdued glows from nearby wafted lazy shadows over every face. There were by this time very few of them left.

  “We have thrown out every sensor sweep we have at these boys since they arrived.” General Port was uncharacteristically un-animated as he sat back in a squeaky folding-chair. “Have any of our ‘geeks’ discovered anything useful?”

  “Dr. Starb is on the way down right now.” General Gray informed from Ports’ immediate left.

  They were a full mile below the earth’s surface. Death Valley lay above and intermittent rumblings were not seismic events. Eyes were locked on the senior general and furrowed brows ran all around the table. A small alarm sounded and a door slid open at the far end of the room.

“Dr. Starb, welcome aboard. What can you tell us?” General Port spoke with a defused ‘bark’.

  The frail little scientist walked up the end of the table and adjusted his glasses before speaking. “Ahem!” The dry air down here told him the ventilation system was failing. “The alien’s modes of transportation are very interesting.” Generals adjusted themselves in preparation for a long speech. “All analysis has uncovered very strange things indeed.”

  “We need to know everything, and quickly Doctor. It may already be too late.” General Nickson spoke up from halfway down the table.

  “Of course General,” Dr. Starb dropped a rather thick folder he had been carrying behind his back squarely onto the end of the table. Glasses of water, or whatever, rippled in the mute light. “These boys are ‘heavy’. The space time continuum is distorted ever so slightly in their immediate vicinity. I’ve ran the calculations myself with all known material specs and found a rather interesting curve along the periodic table. Still, I have no idea what they are made of. Scanners freely penetrate the materials and energy shields but all reflections returned are far less energetic than they should be.”

  A few eyes narrowed in their sockets.

  The Doctor went on, “A detailed analysis made from sensor and live video feeds during our initial attacks revealed that some of the electromagnetic and kinetic energies from our weapons were actually absorbed into the discs. With every impact or stand-off detonation a pressure wave of gravity force emanated from each. They got heavier for a fraction of a second with each energy absorption event.”

  General Juarez spoke up. “You mean to tell us that they got stronger, or heavier, the more we attacked?”

Dr. Starb dipped his head slightly in acknowledgement. “Exactly general,” he began, “They didn’t absorb everything but what they did absorb seemed to strengthen them. There were also noticeable sound pressure level increases each time this happened.”

  A particularly violent shockwave sped thru the darkened facility. Dust sifted down thru a small crack in the ceiling.

  “What about their ‘instruments’ appearing and disappearing?” General Port asked.

  “There has to date, been no instance in which any of their ‘tools’ were seen to be used as weapons. As for the way they deploy and store them, it’s either smoke and mirrors or,” he paused for effect, “flat plane technology.”

  A round of ‘guffaws’ and ‘harrumphs’ went across the table in loose unison as another concussion shook the room.

  Starb continued. “The energy bands now circling the earth are some form of very exotic plasma. It cycles randomly thru odd harmonic frequencies and there may be a correlation between frequencies and density. Nothing I’ve tried can lock onto the proprietary frequencies. The Cray in the basement here is even useless in that regard.”

  Hard sighs made rounds at the table.

  Starb went on. “It’s my guess that we got lucky when we thought we’d found an angle thru their shields. Up to that point most of our attacks were simply attritions. The nano-timing of the EMP and fusion blast may have hurt them but, I think it also just made them angry.”

  There was a long pause.

  “Gentlemen,” General Port addressed them all. “We have one option left.” He studied the raised brows all about him. “Doctor Starb here has a few pounds of antimatter stored on site. He informed me of this today and I ordered him to set up a containment breech.” Port motioned to Starb.

  The doctor stepped outside and returned after a few seconds wheeling a cumbersome metal box that barley fit thru the door. He entered a code on a small outside panel and all four walls silently slid upwards. Inside was a crystal canister about a meter long. It held a snowstorm of what looked to be multicolored cotton-balls that danced to some unknown rhythm.

  As all eyes zeroed in on the spectacle every other light was extinguished suddenly as another shockwave rippled thru. Several sets of lungs inhaled sharply yet no one said a word until Starb spoke up.

  “General Port,” He began. “With your permission?” His hand fell onto a simple valve on one end of the cylinder.

  The general nodded slowly, and then put his head into his hands on the table top.

  Not one man present noticed the electric taste in the air as the doctor pulled the valve open. Only afterwards did that unique flavor become apparent. It also was quickly obvious that they were all still very much alive. The antimatter in the containment vessel should have annihilated everything out to the ohrt-cloud.

  Mouths were forming words but long before any synapses could initiate the actions another ominous glow superseded the anti-matter. With a low frequency crackle a thin loop of blue energy leapt from opposite corners of the door. It wrapped itself around the open bottle of anti-matter and dipped a portion of itself inside. As it did so the sound of a rock band plowing thru an epic tune seemed to rain down from the desert far above. The anti-matter began to fade from the jar. All eyes darted to and from about the room. Looks of frustration and panic, dismay and confusion, all cycled across faces. Everyone present became aware that their atoms were being deconstructed and the hiss of loosed quantum foam was the last thing they heard.

Now that really felt good to do. I’m talking about the eleven chapter story I just finished. “The Rocknauts” developed from an idea I had back in high school. When Legasys and I were just forming up we went thru a ton of names before we settled on “Legasys”. Rocknauts was one of them that didn’t make the grade.

Back then, as the idea was forming I would daydream scenarios where the flying stages would go thru various maneuvers. One had the stage rider keeping his body in one spot while the stage bobbed up and down and twisted from side to side. The stage only moved as much as he could bend at the knees. Of course a dazzling light show emanating from the stage added to the imagery.

  I imagined all sorts of ‘powers’ for the stages and even had a keyboardist platform with semi-circular piano-boards. The speakers on the bottom of each saucer were loud enough to be used as weapons. The musicians could materialize instruments at will of various types. When I started “The Rocknauts” tale back in June of 2010, it was just a blog post titled “There Were Four…”. Many of the displays of abilities that followed simply flowed out of my hyper-active imagination.

  You can probably read a lot of my exposure to science fiction, both vintage and modern, in the story. In any case I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. Maybe I’ll publish it in book form, or in “E-book” format.

By the way, music was the ‘muse’, and most of the lyrics are mine. The exception is “If Rock Is What You Need”. That gem was penned by Joel Lopez.

  Having finished ten songs, and being currently at work on an albun cover, I still have music in the back of my mind pestering me to let it out. There is one unfinished tune in the studio that only needs a polished vocal, mixdown and mastering. I might add it to the qeue of album #9. The jury is still out on that. Who knows? Maybe I'll do a few more tunes as well for it.

  I've ran all the wiring for the new gear and labeled everything so I don't muck up a mic with 'phantom-power'. It's going to be fun figuring out all the bells and whistles of these pre-amps and discovering which mics sound best with which boxes. Then again, if you've heard me sing...

  I bought the new Jeff Beck CD yesterday. It's a bit laid back but it is a blast to listen to. "Emotions and Comotions"  Proves he still has it and that his talent is unique. His style has no equal and his sound is like no other. The notes he plays seem to extrude from his very soul with effortless yet powerfully apparent emotion. My words cannot do justice to his talent and he humbles me with every note.

Nothing new to report for now. Still trying to keep cool and finish the artwork. Wish me luck please.

  I have been able to save very little from the days of Legasys. What I have discovered are 6 tracks. Some are of the first life performance and others are simply recorded practice sessions. I'll be tasked with trying to clean up the sound on them as much as possible. (That will take a lot of work.) Look for a release in the not too distant future. The artwork for "Clouds In Cathedrals" is coming along fine. That release will be coming soon!

Looks like JOSE DIAZ is the #1 rock artist in Victoria on...

http://www.reverbnation.com/page_object/page_object_fans/artist_3774#/main/bes_chart?artist_id=3774&genre=Rock&genre_geo=Local

Now how on earth could that have happened?(humor)

  The grindstone can become red hot at times. Such hypothetical radiation keeps us on our toes. Customers come at us from many different angles with many different problems and they all seem to need something as early as yesterday. It’s not unusual for the phone to start ringing long before sunrise. It’s equally not unusual for the phone to keep ringing long after sunset. Into each task we throw our combined years of expertise. We are the ‘team’ to beat. Few have found the resources to match our level of service and commitment.

  We are proud of the people we have worked with, and have had the honor of working with, over the years. There are more than a handful of heroes who have left their marks of wisdom on us. Many are gone from this earth but will never be forgotten.

  The oil and gas industry lends momentum to many aspects of the tireless engine that we call America. Despite pitfalls and bloodied noses, the products elicited from the earth are still the fodder for the relentless march of progress. Successes, and failures alike, pave the roads of history with individuals of extremely unique character and unmatched fortitude and unwavering resolve.

  When it’s time, (and trust me, it rarely is ever time), for me to come up for air, life, love, and music are the things I first breath in. Sitting on the couch or walking thru a mall with Glenda is always time well spent. She has her favorite shows and they always seem to grow on me. She has her favorite stores and I like to watch her shop. I got the life part down I think. The love part falls into place because of the life part, and rather easily. A smile a day makes life worth the effort.

  Music is a free range across which my spirit longs to take flight. With music my soul can gallop across infinite plains. With music I can fly to any time or place in the universe. Wherever music takes me, I will always take as much of ‘me’ as I can along. Whatever fits into the mental baggage is always allowed. Life and love compliment the carry-on very well.

  There is a feeling of being kindred in the world of music. Whether you’re a super-world-class-act, or a humble near-silent-do-it-yourself-er, music binds people together across race, gender, beliefs, morals, and time. The hallowed halls of super-stardom rang hollow recently with the passing of Ronnie James Dio. In his wake are timeless treasures of music. His fantasy styled lyrics and uniquely powerful voice will live on forever. No one before him ever shook the firmament the way he could with a scream. My breath of music that day was bittersweet. My CD collection has a few good memorial spins waiting my next breath of ‘music’. My focus is sharp. I know exactly where to start. There are ‘muses’ there too.

  Saturday afternoon I was watching a Five Finger Death Punch DVD. I paused it in the middle of a tattoo slideshow and brought out a little amp and guitar. The amp is a small low-power affair. Nice tone, though I’m just now trying to find ‘my tone’ with it. I tweaked the sound a bit and then laid down a few good licks and tweaked a bit more. I was able to get a good crunchy sound that I could dial back with the controls on the guitar to a nice clean one. That saw me turn loose with a few more good licks.

  ‘And then, the phone rang.’

  It was someone I had not heard from for over forty years. I don’t remember his voice but I could tell it was him. My Father had called me from Panama. We talked for quite a while and it actually felt good to finally hear from him. For many years I contemplated how I would react. I honestly did not know what my reaction would be. So there it is now. I’ve welcomed him back into my life. There are many questions I have but not all of them are as important as getting to know him. The ‘why-did-things-happen-like-they-did’, and the ‘where-have-you-been’, and even the ‘what’s your poison’ can all wait. I’ve found my father is easy to talk to even though his accent has a thick Central American flair to it. We touched on a few memories and along the way, with each instance, I was more and more convinced that he actually misses his children. He was directed to my main website (legasyssongs) by my older brother and related congratulations to me for some of the things he found there. I’m not sure if he listened to any music, but he did say that my half-sister is a singer there in Panama. He knows that I’ve given him two grandchildren and one step-grandchild but we didn’t get to the great-grandchildren yet. He said that he felt it was time to get in touch before it was too late. I can understand where he was coming from. I could feel the fathers love for his son thru the phone line. I hope he felt a sons love for his father as well.

  So here I am armed with a phone number and few good tears of happiness. I can’t wait to see what these new ‘muses’ can guide me to.

Signed: Jose’ Luis Diaz - Second Son Of: Elvin Augustus Diaz II  

There are many young people today who are finding their way into the wonderful world of music one way or another. Some have found band class in school to be the perfect learning experience while others have found a pickup situation after school more to their liking. Theirs, one and all, is a future that beckons with new technologies that probably didn’t even exist when they were born. These future hit-makers and moguls are forging their way thru the situations of their everyday lives and music will see them to adulthood one way or another.

 

  The inspiration to make music can come from many different people, places, or situations. It can even simply appear out of the blue. Our minds are hardwired genetically to calculate and be drawn to the ratios of resonance in melodies. We know what notes and combinations of notes sound right and which ones are dissonant. Emotions from one end of the spectrum to the other are tied to the music we hear in our brains. We write music with those emotions. Without emotion, music is only, sound.

 

The spirit of youth is powered by an attentive tenacity locked onto the jugular of fun. If there is no enjoyment in what they are doing, kids move on in search of joy elsewhere. With music, a diverse collection of instruments is only the tip of the berg that can cause creative juices to flow.  We are blessed to have a cornucopia of musical genres to shuffle through and deal out in any mixture our imaginations can muster. (The sound of Linkin Park easily comes to mind.) Making music is like dreaming but with full control over the outcome. Finishing a song is like waking up from a deep sleep more or less.

 

Adding to instruments and musical styles, newer technologies bring the ability to record and publish to levels unthinkable a generation ago. Physical CDs are slowly fading away. MP3s are gaining like wildfire even thought the sound quality leaves much to be desired (to my old ears at least). PR is only a few keystrokes away on social networking websites where slick graphics and widgets can make an unknown artist or band shine like a supernova literally overnight. Distribution with little budget to work with, or speak of, is still a no brainer with places like CDbaby.com, Discmakers, Oasis, AimeSt, Reverbnation, Mioko Records, and the list goes on throughout the web and around the world many times over! Today the young and upcoming musical hopefuls have an almost infinite array of variables to work across.

 

Budgeting, which is probably the farthest thing from a young mind has fallen from its lofty alabaster tower of yesteryear. Great places to find great deals abound. The world of DIY has exploded with a tidal wave of new music that easily dwarfs the mainstream. Not only are prices falling on excellent gear, but the knowledge base for said gear is growing exponentially. If the cards are played right the youth of today may well become the audio engineers of tomorrow with no formal training and coffers full of prestigious awards. That is, as long as they have fun getting there. I think they will without a doubt. Having fun is the perfect muse.

  All of the emotion with which Legasys made music back in the day is still entrenched deep within the recesses of my soul. The camaraderie and fervor is still as bright a light as it has ever been. We composed with youthful angst and abandon. We played with conviction and undeniable satisfaction. We got the vibe from audiences that what we were doing mattered then, and that it would still matter far into the future no matter what happened.

  We did not disband in any sense of the word. Rather, we went our ways one by one. The core of the group held on for as long as possible but the winds of the future gained strength and blew the final splinters away like so many bull-thistle seeds. Despite the final strenuous gasps, not one of us went away without looking back. To this day any former band mates I have talked to still have that spark in their voices and that high from the music is still perpetuating itself.

  I have recorded a handful or more of that old material and completed some songs the band never had the chance to. I’m still looking thru my collection for some old practice sessions we’d captured on cassette tape with an assortment of boom-boxes. Some are full band sessions and some are just guitars and bass with vocals. I once wired a walkman (cassette) up and feed it into a digital studio. It turned out rather noisy but it did do the job of preserving what I wanted to save from analog recordings. Now all I have to do is find those data discs.

  Revisiting what to me is historically the birth of Legasys brings all that emotion back up and into sharp focus. The way we interacted to create music was a blessing to each and every one of us. Even secondary band members took an active part in the structuring of our songs and wrote for us as well. Friends from other groups would drop in on practices to jam with us and we never shut anybody out for any reason. We were brothers in song and within us, the legend lives on.

This past Saturday night Herman Cardona, (Bassist for LEGASYS back in the day), dropped by out of the blue and I threw a little jam for him. We talked about old times and old friends. He blew my mind when he told me he still had a reel of the studio work we'd done way back in the early 80s! If we can save those tracks and digitize them we will surly bring this stuff to you the way we meant it to be heard. With a little luck you will get the full on force attack of who LEGASYS was. I'm crossing my fingers and holding my breath!

I just added two new tracks to the player on myspace. Enjoy!

 I'm still working on the album cover. It's a bit hard for me to get to the hobby store right now.

I've put "Forever Wont Stand By" up on myspace. It's on my new album, CLOUDS IN CATHEDRALS.

Enjoy.

htp://www.myspace.com/legasyssong

 

 

 

Contact: Jose’ Diaz                     FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Tel. 361/575-4154

Email: joseexist@legasyssongs.com

   

          CD: “CLOUDS IN CATHEDRALS”

 

  The latest release from the “Tornado-Fingered-Texan” Jose’ Diaz will soon be          

 

available on CDbaby.com. “CLOUDS IN CATHEDRALS” contains ten all new

 

tracks from the gulf coast solo studio artist and multi-collaborationalist. It will

 

mark the 9^th release of all original material by Jose’ as it joins the other 8 albums at

 

CDbaby as well as other multiple websites. The album art is fully conceived and the

 

execution of the image(s) is all that remains to be completed.

 

  Diaz continues to contribute to the compilation series released through Victoria,

 

Texas based A.O.G.MEDIA. That entity also continues to collaborate with Jose’ on

 

several fronts. His guest guitar work can be found on several releases from Jesse De

 

La O, the head of A.O.G.MEDIA and an unknown artist or two are working on

 

covers of Jose’s music as well. Get more info on A.O.G.MEDIA here:

 

http://www.myspace.com/jessedelao1.

 

  In his own words:

 

     “I make music as freely as I choose to live my life. Fame, fortune, and accolades

of glory are never my targets to achieve. Whatever blessings God will bestow on me

are his to give. Whatever travails assault me because of my music, I accept without

shame.”

 

       Jose’ Diaz

                                                               # # #

   

    For more information: http://www.legasyssongs.com.

 

You may contact Mr. Diaz by E-mail at: joseexist@legasyssongs.com.

CLOUDS IN CATHEDRALS

Ten all new tracks from the tornado fingered Texan!

(This is not the album cover)

1.) I think I've started to write a book. 2.) The concept for the next album cover is becoming clearer each day. 3.) The blog here works for me. (check it out.) 4.) (Stick around. I'll come up with something else really soon!)

No need to go to the "news" page if you are looking for my blogs. The tab is just above the "news" tab! Enjoy!!! 9 songs done and the album cover is taking shape! Stay LOUD!!!

(Pt. IV) At the fringes of my imagination I am punching holes in clouds with my air-bike. The tinted visor is down and I am listening to an old song on the radio. At mach two I’m pulling heavy gees with loops and spiral dives. The wind tugs at my suite but the suit won’t let it tear me away. It dampens the g-forces as well. I drop down onto the deck and go to mach three. Desert sands rooster-tail far behind me as I turn up the volume. FM compression sweetens every note. I dart over ocean and the rooster-tail turns to liquid. The sun glints softly off the blurred chop of the water. A hurricane lies ahead and I plunge into its heart. I go to mach four and surf the eye-wall. I pick up unbalanced electrical charge and arcs of lightening fire off in every direction. I add a bit more throttle and hit mach five. One more “nudge” and I’m at mach six. I look down and flip the readout screen to an old familiar picture. I add a bit more volume, leave the picture there and take the throttle to full. I catch up with my shockwave, pass it, and catch up to it again. The hurricane disintegrates and I fly off thru the residual sheets of rain. Each impact registers like an ordinance hit but the suit cancels the inertia. At my current speed a bulge forms on the oceans surface far behind me. This far out it will create an immense tidal wave when it reaches land. I kick in the after burner look at the screen and remember the way her hair smelled. One slight course correction and I’m headed to the stars. At the fringes of my imagination I ignore the “de’javu” of greeting myself on the street. The other “me” comes to realize he will have to repeat my actions in his future. My warning is quick and to the point. Get back in the car and drive east as fast as you can. Drive until you run out of gas. Do not stop to eat or sleep. When you stop look for the cave on the right side of the highway. It will be behind the greenest bush on the rock face. Go inside before sunset. I watch myself climb back into my car and speed away. I pull the controller from my jacket and push forward. Time shifts me back to where I came from. I pull the gold encased circuit block from the device and throw it into the smelter. I make a note. “Move lab farther away next time.” Back at my workbench I begin to assemble the next time-ingot. I hope this one works. This loop is starting to wear me down. Once the “guts” are all in place I take the smelter and pour its liquid contents into the mold. A shot of compressed air quickly cools it and I pop it into place. I push stop and that eerie silence creeps coldly into my bones. I sit and think for millennia maybe. I know the shockwave of time is still traveling outward from the earth. It will pass countless worlds and none will ever notice it. I’m not aging and nothing else is either, nothing at all. This time around I will give myself a little more time to get familiar with the device. Then I will go back and meet myself again. Maybe two brains will be better than one. I, “we”, will have to find a way to divert and asteroid, stop three missile launchers from receiving false commands from transmitters I found out about after the exchange two hours from now, and try to find the “me” that sent me to this lab here in the city in the first place. He gave me the address and just enough time to get here and this crudely scribbled note which reads: “If I can’t find you again you must try to find me.” Yesterday I found out about “me” from the future. Today I found “me” of the past and delivered a crucial message. Tomorrow I will have to find “me” from the future, but first things first for tomorrow. My past self and I must save the world. I get up and go over to the cot. I lie down, push “play”, and set the alarm just before I doze off into fitful dreams. At the fringes of my imagination I am just getting out of my car to go in a store to pick up a new multi-meter for my lab. Just as I slam the door I am taken by utter surprise as the spitting image of “me” walks up, introduces “myself”, and mutters something about a time loop. My memory quickly replays the results of a brainstorming session from years ago when I came up with a way to capture dark matter and incorporate it into normal matter. The first circuits I built did strange things to the devices I tried to use them in. I finally shelved the whole lot after designing a “time control device” that looked to have “potential”. There was a multi-piston engine that took precedent over time manipulation. The world needed fuel efficiency more than a time machine. In any case “I” delivered a rapid succession of simple instructions to myself, adding that the multi-meter I was picking up was already in the cave I would find on the side of the road after I ran out of gas. Even though I was extremely taken aback, I immediately jumped into my car and sped away. Time is nothing to joke about and I quickly came to my senses and made the pedal meet the floor. Approximately 800 miles later I ran out of fuel and pulled over to the shoulder. The sun was just coming up and I looked up at a small green bush on the side of the mountain I had been driving thru. After a strenuous climb I soon found my self at the back of a small tunnel cut out of the rock. A metal door with a retinal scanner stood before me. What else to do? I applied my eye into the scanner field and the door opened. Lights came on automatically and I found myself wandering thru a lab. I soon came to a familiar workbench and in the center was the very device I had designed all those years ago. I deduced that I must have built it sometime in the future. The perplexing thing though, was what on earth was “I” doing with it then? Why did I bring it back to myself? What mistake(s) could I have made that warranted this action? I sat about re-familiarizing myself with a device I was yet to build. Later, I found a huge store of food, water, and many other supplies. I hoped I had not stolen any of it from the future. After a nice thick rib-eye with a side of vegetable in a great cheese sauce and an awesome bottle of wine, I found a familiar cot and began to muse about stealing some of my own things for and from myself. What was I up to? I set the alarm and dozed off to a fitful dream. I was looking at two atomic clocks with different dates and times on them. I soon realized that I was sitting on a third clock. Just as soon as I did Two of “me” popped up from behind each of the other two clocks and began a confusing tirade about putting all out heads together to synchronize all three clocks. The scene looped around for a second time and we actually began to discuss it all more clearly. The third time about we almost had a plan. The fourth time we all commented on what we had for dinner. With the fifth round, we formed and agreed upon “our” plan. Before we could initiate it though, an alarm sounded and I was snatched from the brink of eureka! I sat up just in time to hear the main entrance slam shut and immediately thereafter, hear myself calling out my own name. (Pt.V) At the fringes of my imagination my stomach is tied into knots as I try to get my head around the fact that I have the power to save the world from itself and almost anything else. My little time control device helped me to use several of “my-selves” from the not too distant past to achieve wonderful things. The trick was to get my “selves” to utilize the device in synchronicity at different points along the time-stream. I went back and told myself to go to a special place where I, the real me, had constructed a lab complete with everything I would need there in the past to do great things. That “me”, in the past, would have to do the same to a previous “me”, and so on for as long as the forced loop could possibly be perpetuated back across time. I have no idea how many devices were created along the stream of time but we have done wonders. I have no idea how many times we, “I”, have saved the earth. From my own experience I remember replanting a lot of the rainforest in South America. I also remember doing it at several different “times” in my life. I remember turning a large portion of the Sahara into glass. Try as “we” could, there was no way to shut down a false signal aimed at several missile silos. What solved that problem was using another device to hijack the missiles in flight. Out of the thirty-eight launched weapons, all but one were; shut down and crashed, sent careening into space, or exploded in “misfire-mode”. That lone agent of death was steered over the desert and went off at low altitude. The resulting lake of glass reflected enough sunlight back into space to cool the planet down and bring about a small ice age that was not all that uncomfortable. The “asteroid” was a totally different story. Three or four of “us” had to stop time in three or four places along the time stream and hitch a ride on missile launches. We had to build maneuvering suites and after steering our missiles into precise orbits we waited for the right time when all three would come together in the right vicinity. The trip back home was a bit of a terror as if one of “me” had burned up on re-entry, “I” might not be telling you this right now. In any case we all got the spatial and the time coordinates just right. Four days after the “Sahara” incident, a bright flare filled the skies over the great lakes and the world watched as a 7 mile wide asteroid skipped off the upper atmosphere ever so slowly and headed for the sun. The whole “skipping-stone” looked great from the I.S.S. as it passed over the Sahara and many photos were snapped of the flaming underside reflected in the “mirror”. I don’t think I need to tell you how many of those original photos made it into my private collection. Some of my earlier selves, with a bit more hair and much less grey, actually had to destroy and rebuild their time devices. Dark matter is a fickle thing to work with. They put their solid-gold-circuit-blocks into smelters and then built new dark-matter circuits in the customary mold. The entire molten contents of the former ingots, circuitry and all, was then poured over the dark-matter and quickly cooled. New control features were added and the upgrades have filtered all the way up to me. Instead of the old “stop”, “play”, “rewind”, and “fast forward”, we now have a fine-speed control as well as a memory suite to get to specific times more quickly. The kicker though was when one of my “selves” added the “polarizer”. Now I can use that to live forever. It works a little slowly but I can see my hairline marching forward day by day!

At the fringes of my imagination I am pushing my little spaceships engines to the limit. A large pirate ship is trying to catch me. They want the meager amount of ore in the hold. I duck behind a small energized nebula, and they fall into my trap. They can see me and I can see them thru the deadly clouds. They try to accelerate around the obstruction and I tap my hand-held calculator using sensor read-outs for the numbers information I desperately need. In fifteen seconds I plug it into the claim launcher and let it clean up my hastily done math. “SOLUTION CONFIRMED” flashes on the secondary view-screen. I hit the plunger and my last claim marker leaves its tube under the left engine fairing. It flits away just outside of 186,000 miles per second leaving a bright arc that stabs into the beautifully colored clouds. I maintain my course and speed and watch as they do the same, gaining on me from thirty degrees back around the gas ball. The only thing I touch is the zoom button. The antagonist suddenly vents all atmosphere, and liquids. She relinquishes her arc and begins to cartwheel into the void. The claim marker did its job perfectly and skewered the Pirate ship dead center. The beacon begins to ping at me. I’ll have to get that thing back. There’s a ball of compressed carbon nearby that I need to plant it on. At the fringes of my imagination I wipe my plate off and set it on the ground next to the warm embers. Here, near the edge of the mesa, there is a weathered crack 5 yards away to my slight left. I turn on my collapsible stool 12 degrees left and pick up my hard-beam plasma rifle. I hear the unmistakable rumble of a terra-bike echoing up from the valley between the mesas. He’s headed north. When I came thru last night I put my calling card right on the center line just beyond the last monuments of these “table-top-mountains”. I pull the multi-bolt back, twist it 90 degrees clockwise, push it forward, 90 degrees anti-clockwise, pull it back, and release it. As I level it the bi-pod pops out automatically and I hold the adjust button down until I find my angle of comfort. Rifle-butt settles into shoulder and the ear-piece in my right ear hisses to life. The transmitter is down there near my “card”. The bike clears the foot hills of the mesa and then the last monument. I hear the rpms drop. I slowly spell my last name just like it is in bright red spray paint down there. Then, right on queue, the dual-piston spiral-spinner engine roars to maximum power. He has seen my card. I have pulled the trigger. My goggles dampen down the glare that erupts just beyond the dry-sites as a plasma bolt 4 feet long and 4 inches wide heads to target. With a shower of sparks a black fan is burnt into the asphalt. The concussion of the bolt and blast knock boulders from the nearby monument. I hear them hit the ground with cracks and thuds. The last outlaw is gone. In his wake a lizard skitters across black, hot, snow. At the fringes of my imagination I am watching the “Titanium Swan” from the cool sandy beach. She sits just this side of the horizon. Her light show has dulled from the pre-dawn extravagance that it was half an hour ago. The neck reticulates. “S-curving” back over the main fuselage. Metal-feathered wings stab up into the sky. The whine of her engines ripples across the calm surface of the bay startling bait fish. The body tilts back at 45 degrees. In one massive motion the neck stabs forward whistling the bridgehead skyward. The wings twist forward and sweep down squeezing water from the very air. The engines ignite thrusters boiling almost 4 million gallons of seawater to steam instantly. The tips of the wings almost touch the sea as the most beautiful launch one can ever witness happens before my eyes. Rainbows dance thru the steam-clouds as her lights surge on her engines exertions. They mix with the suns rainbow and they shake like timpani and koto membranes. The landing gear push off from the submerged pad and tickle back into the exhaust plumes just enough to tip the body slightly upward for the second bite of the wings into fresh air. The fuel mixture adjusts to a clean blue flame and she levels out into a flight path. The wings will not have to beat a third time today. She picks up speed and just before going over the horizon turns nose up and heads for the stars.

In 1981 I bought a cassette. Remember those? It was Van Halen, Fair Warning. It was chock full of awesome tracks. It still is. Track number five was “Unchained”. The intro to that song has withstood the test of time with me. When I get tired of listening to that track, I will stop listening to it. “Unchained” is one of those tunes that I learned mere parts of. The intro was such a part. Punching the flanger effect in and out was the hardest part. Just that intro was infectious to the point of being a drug of sonic mayhem that no substance could ever match. I used to buy guitar magazines just to look at the hands on guitar necks in the pictures. I wanted to glean new chords from the masters of rock and metal. Of course that never got me much of anywhere. I did however create my own stretching exercises for my hands. The muscles have memorized a lot so I rarely have to do them these days. I used to hate guitars tuned flat and down away from concert pitch or standard tuning. I learned to play in standard tuning. I dreaded having to try to “loosen” the strings to reach a “D” down on the “E” string. Nowadays I keep one 24 fret axe tuned down to “D”. It’s just the one and all my others are tuned “standard”. The truth is that “de-tuning” makes it easier to sing to the music. Still, it does nothing for my horrid vox. I’m still wrestling with trying to formulate a concept for the album I’m working on. Track number nine is almost done. I’m afraid I might break a vocal chord trying to do the vocals for it. If I do, so be it. The lyrics crave such energy. I aim to oblige my inspiration. It’s a version of alien contact and by all probability not whatever you might be thinking. Ask me for the lyrics some day. Here is a tidbit you might like. When I record an album of music I have a loose interpretation of whatever I am feeling, when I start, as I create the songs, and as I finish the last track. The continuity of the album, for the most part, is dictated by the order in which the digital studio I use stacks the songs up. I may have made and intentional track progression on a past album but, if it was really that important, I’m defiantly not the man for the job. I just want to convey my inspiration. I handle an album by pushing play. That’s all I do and then, I listen to it. That’s what I do with any CD I buy. I have to do it with my own just to make sure what I felt is still there. Sales mean nothing to me. Emotion is my focus. If I can make you feel something then I have succeeded. If I cannot then I have failed.

At the fringes of my imagination I am on a stage. The wind at my back is a result of the dance my fingers are doing on six steel strings. The heat on my face is a result of the ocean of faces I confront. The balance between the two forces pitches back and forth in a powerful tide. We are all locked in a loop of energy that feeds back and forth between us. This is a sonic mud-wrestle. At the fringes of my imagination I am in the first balcony with an unobstructed view. The stage glows and hard sonic winds buffet everyone. The floor hums as the ceiling flies away. The smoke will never go down. This will last forever. I came for the guitar solos and my eyes burn towards the stage. At the fringes of my imagination I am using lightening bolts as an energy source for billion watt amplifiers. Tectonic plates are cracking and soil is becoming airborne. I am louder than the thrum of the sun. The core of the earth begins to “ping-pong” about within the mantle. The “beat” turns everything to vapor. The “rest” is when everything freezes. Yin and Yang are locked into the perfection of creation and destruction. The undeniable consummation wrinkles the fabric of space and time. At the fringes of my imagination I am strolling on a pathway of floating stones. Water falls from an ocean far above on my left and disappears into a cloud of steam miles below. A citadel sits atop a floating mountain to my right and the sparse dispersion of stones gives way to solid ground that leads to the main gate. Three suns refract multiple rainbows everywhere in the mist. Wispy, ballooned, jellyfish, and four winged birds drift by. Stars twinkle from behind the mountain. The galactic plane slices thru the background. At the fringes of my imagination I am beating my feathered wings with no afterthought. I am swinging my crucifix-sword with conviction. I am slicing thru leather-wing and horn. Cloven hooves kick at my shield in futility. I climb the mountain of the vanquished at the same time that I construct it. The horn-blast is still getting louder. As far as the eye can see, my companions and I are building mountains. We are constructing heavens parking lot. We are right on schedule. At the fringes of my imagination I am aware of many things. I have traveled the greatest distances by remaining motionless. I have gained multiple lifetimes of knowledge in the smallest fractions of instances. The wisdom I discover is always there, circling in ether I create with infinite ignorance. The love I feel fills oceans with tears and there is more than enough left over to build uncountable salty comets. At the fringes of my imagination I am not alone. There is no baggage. There is no class separation. There is no launch. There is no landing. There is only what you allow me to inspire, what you inspire, and, what you create.

I extend my deepest of thanks to all veterans who sacrificed so much for the freedoms I enjoy today. May God Bless them for what they have done, are doing, and may well do in the future. Thank you! At the fringes of my imagination I am one-hundred-sixty-five-million years in the past, looking up from the surface of the moon. A lone pebble falls silently towards the earth. My eyes zoom in as it touches down. The flash becomes a bright red fireball. I watch the shockwave race across the oceans and thru the atmosphere. Ejectum billows out in a deadly rosette. Fingers of soot tipped with ember arc gracefully and return to the surface. Fires spread to even the dark side. The blue marble becomes black. At the fringes of my imagination I am one-hundred-sixty-five-million years in the future. I move in parallel with the voyager-1 spacecraft, half a light year away from its dead hulk. A light zips into view but seems to be moving in reverse. A ship re-enters normal space and the hull cools from dull red to a royal metallic blue. A docking bay opens on its side and a mechanical arm juts out. The Voyager is deftly plucked from its lonely free-fall course and drawn inside. They will have to invent the phonograph. At the fringes of my imagination I am at the galactic core. The torus surrounding a super-massive black hole screams with energy. Nothing is falling in at the moment but a few wisps of dust. A gentle wind of gamma and X-rays materializes above and below. The warp of space bends my soul and I reach out to cup my hands around the anomaly. Beads of light fall away from my eyes and into the depths. These are the last winks of long dead stars. Their death throes preserved in the tracks of frozen light they left behind as they made their final journey. At the fringes of my imagination I am swimming on the sun. I body surf the shockwaves from massive eruptions for thousands of miles. I slalom thru cathedrals of magnetic force lines. I watch wave after wave of coronal mass flying away as lines snap with megatonic force. The thrum of the sun is drowned out by the hiss of energy rejoicing in new freedom. I dive down deep and find the core. I tickle the hydrogen atoms just before fusion and blow the photons about like dandelion seeds. At the fringes of my imagination roses rain down on crowded streets. The soldier kisses the girl. Everyone smiles. The celebration is not for the end of a war. It is for the fact that there will never be another war, ever again. At the fringes of my imagination I am motionless yet moving beyond the speed of light. At the fringes of my imagination, in a fraction of any given moment, I, am, everywhere.

“You don’t have to be old to be wise.” I snatched that anthem up, for a time, when I was young. It was a fitting treatise in the form of a song that fueled my teen angst and powered the engines of my rebellious nature. That wisdom burned its’ candle wax out long ago and now that I’m older, I can still hear it reverberating deep in my memory. The smoke that never settles and the soot that cannot be washed away flavor my personality. We gain many pearls of wisdom growing up but most just fizzle out after so long. “Live fast and die young” was one. “Age before beauty” was another. Bravado has got to be one of the most fun-to-use mindsets there is. True or false, it can glide your heart and soul right through any situation practically unscathed. Many years later, if you but look back, you will see the trail of your own blood left by scars you never noticed. The scabs are probably so faint that they are hard to locate. Still, though seemingly useless today, such was and is the crux of many an anthem. God knows how strongly I believed in many anecdotes in my youth. Each generation will interpret its own anthems and they will stand out. The young will never be lacking any conviction or originality when it comes to their “pearls”. I respect the young for many of their actions, even the questionably motivated ones. Words and phrases will be twisted out of normal language into “pop culture” or “fads” of pronunciation and definitions non-standardized. By methods of madness that will forever escape grown-ups the code of the young will forever be just beyond cracking. They are resourceful and I think they deserve to run the world for a year or two just so we can give them a chance to prove themselves. Who knows? We might just be surprised. Seas of faces and pumping fists greeted the heroes of youth who catered to the bravado of the young. I once dreamed of being such a hero but of course fate had other ideas. I’m actually kind of glad she left me alone. I believed in dying young while famous in order to stay famous. In many a drunken stupor I probably asked people to “take care of it” while I was on stage and in the bright spotlight. Such hindsight must be something like 80/80, or 8/8. Fame has a sweet taste indeed, but I’d rather just be me these days. I’m no Bon Scott, Phil Lynott, or Jimi Hendrix. The shelves in the halls of fame may creak under the weight of egos. The air in there is ripe with energy too. Few can listen to Stevie Ray Vaughn and not want to move some part of their body. Few can hear Mozart without their mind leaping and bounding with both powerfully serious and powerfully playful emotion. The dead-and-famous have cemented their image into society. They can forever be enjoyed without having to embellish any extra imagination onto their legacies. But we the fan and listener can always exercise that prerogative. The living-and-famous are still pouring their forms. How everything sets up will be determined by the weight of their actions and the mettle of their “product”. Some are literally dying to elevate their status. Some are just “being themselves”. An artist’s harshest critic, after themselves of course, is the general public. They will be the end-determinate of the staying power of an artist and their work. Close friends and family are biased. Professional critics are simply ramrods for attention and cannon fodder for the gun barrels of fame. Good reviews as well as bad reviews work great for the simple fact that they can get attention. A fan that makes the effort to “find out for themselves” is truly priceless. I run all my new material by Glenda. Her honesty is invaluable in that she hates Hard–Rock and Heavy-Metal music. If the guitars give her a headache then, I must be on the right track! I’ll write something softer to impress her and, if she likes it, then that is a bonus for me in and of itself. I change what I can after she makes a review. It’s always hit or miss but as long as I’m having fun, not much is left untried. Still, I can’t seem to convince her to let me record her singing a soft composition. She has a beautiful voice. I’ll keep trying. She sounds far more famous than I ever will.

Life pours in as time pours out. Memories make ripples that go on forever. The sand-mound builds inexorably towards the bottleneck it will never reach. The hourglass is fixed and will never be flipped. Our souls are but targets for the arrows of life. Hit or miss, experiences are always complete. Complete at least in the fact that they each produce a tangible memory. Over time the “tangible” fades for some. For others it lingers brightly or even intensifies. Some memories are best forgotten, others can never be. Emotions weld themselves to memories and try as we might to burn them off, they are bonded fast. We throw ourselves on those tempered blades over, and over with each reminiscence. Intentional or accidental, we know the pain too well. At times we welcome it as a pry between reality and what we want. At other times we shun it as a prickly thicket we cannot avoid falling into. The “here and now” is but a shallow thing. No matter how much it means to you, it is fast approaching, here a moment, and then on its way. What you do with it will determine what memories it creates. Live it wisely, or live it wildly, here and now, there you are. Tomorrow is a hope un-spoken. Words only cloud our view of the future. Those who think they can spell out the future are simply illiterate. Those with the gift to actually see it are never taken as seriously as they should be. Those who worry about it must take proper care not to damage today. A damaged today is difficult to match up to any tomorrow. Yesterday is many things remembered, forgotten, and much, much more than either combined. A parade of faces fades into the infinity behind us. Wisdoms bricks are mortared into place. Wisdoms plates are beaded together with welds great and small. Wisdoms windows and doors and gates complete the fortress of our intellect. Yesterdays’ tears are the lazy ocean we drift upon in good weather. Storms are always just beyond the horizon, logged on pages past. We cannot fix the past but we can fix tomorrow by adjusting today. Trial and error will gladly show us the way but if we don’t listen to it, we will repeat ourselves endlessly. Trial and error has built a rather large library with walls that bulge under the weight of the knowledge contained therein. It’s a great place to do research. Everybody should be eager to go there first, before they visit the putrid halls of conflict.

RAGE ON DISPLAY By: JOSE’ LUIS DIAZ-4/9/2007-2:35PM-2:50PM (V-1) How long did you hold it in? Do you remember when it began? Which straw was the one that breaks? Do you realize your last mistake? Of rage! We can’t see it in your eyes So how long were you in disguise? We saw the path you painted red Now we want to see what’s in your head (Chorus) Rage! , on display That rage! , from yesterday That rage! , our blood ran cold Rage! , within your soul (V-2) Tell us did you think it wrong Did you feel remorse in the end? Some wept seeing what you did If we turn you loose will you strike again? Comfort do you feel it now Show us your scars inside and out Open let us look inside Do you realize how many died? (Lead) (Chorus) (Lead)

When the studio door closes and I’m cut off from the outside world physically, (so to speak), ideas that had been smoldering can auto-ignite. At the least, that’s what I hope will happen. I pour every thought I can imagine into my “stew of contemplation” and set the heat as high as it will go. The thought or thoughts that prompted me into this sequestration sometimes jump out of the pot, but most often they develop into some part of the binding for the entire session. I might pick up an acoustic guitar and strum a bit, rifle through a stack of lyrics, scribble editing notes into, or even pen a new batch of words. Eventually, cords will be plugged in, buttons will be pushed, switches thrown, instruments tuned, microphones selected, soundproofing arranged, and somewhere along the way I’ll be praying a silent little plea for magic to occur. When chords and words coalesce into a song my spirit breathes deeply. There is a wisdom that music imparts to me that I can only explain through music. Some days it all comes together like I’ve described above, or in some jumbled order totally dissimilar. On other days it’s like the action of a prized Swiss timepiece. I’ll sometimes just end up in the studio without even the merest tinge of a plan. Going thru the “process” or not, the end result is always me hoping I’ve captured some wisp of an original dream. There are days when what I end up with is a boost for my ego, and days when I have to ask myself, “what was I thinking?” The frustration of creation is the crux of my consolation. Like I said, ‘what was I thinking’? The conceptualization of an album, for me at least, is a task that’s almost always more difficult than any other process. I have based album names on singular songs as well as conglomerations complete, or with “filler-tunes”. I’ve coined titles with little or no relation to the tracks contained on the album. The “concept” is a detail that can either matter the most, or not at all. It can suggest little to nothing or it can suggest everything. The album title is important in that it must generate some form of attention. The album cover is another equally important facet. Over the history of eight albums I have personally executed the complete design of all but one. The last was executed by a good friend in Massachusetts. Number nine is in the works and I have a couple of pages of sketches, a title, and seven songs along with a ton of other ideas. The title is already chosen and it seems to beg for a “title-track”. Time will tell. I’ve used pc-camera shots, disposable camera shots, digital camera shots, as well as my own original hand drawings and drawings made in computer programs. Some have turned out simple, some have been controversial, but as an artist I stand by them, one and all. Liner notes include anything “inside” the package that list songs or give any other type of information. I’ve put original quotes, thanks, and more artwork and anecdotes than I can remember in such places. The top face of the CDR is also another little “billboard” and more artwork or fancy text ends up there. Going it alone presents many challenges across many fields of operation that must be addressed at the proper time, and with the proper tact. Besides being the dreamer who comes up with the music and words, I have to be the graphics guru, the recording engineer, the mixing engineer, the mastering engineer, the studio technician, the key grip, the caterer (one of the few jobs I can defer to someone else), studio security, production and post production manager, PR manager, website manager (the one job I really wish I could defer away even though it is extremely fun), warehousing manager (deferred partially to CDbaby and digital download sites), distribution manager (deferred once my packages hit UPS, FedEx, or the USPS), and most importantly the guitarist, drummer, bassist, keyboardist, vocalist(s)(deferrable during collaborations), and first line reviewer. With all the ground I have to cover, how do you think that makes me feel? Honestly? The reality is that I can only do so much but, I simply move forward with a “no sweat” state of mind. If I can accomplish a task then great, if I fail it’s not the end of my world. I’ll never grab a bull by the horns unless I can honestly laugh long, hard, and loudly in its face. There’s a small sticker on the door that reads, “SHUT UP WE’RE RECORDING!” Translation: “Sssshhhhhhhh! I’m having fun.”

You can actively seek fame, or you can patiently wait for it to arrive. There are those who have an overabundance of the drive required to “beat the pavement”, and those who lack it altogether. Some can keep infinite aspects of the steps it takes to attempt fame in clear focus at all times. Others either stumble through the process with confident incompetence or never even lift a finger to attempt to achieve any higher aspirations. You can do everything you need to do, or you can do as little as you want to. The more you do the more you increase your chances of success. The less you do might change little to nothing in that regard or, you could get “lucky”. Fame has its own fickleness that nothing else can even come close to. It’s an epitomization of eccentricity, a pillar of communities, a bastion of platitudinous rhetoric, and a domain of ivory towers, glass houses, and cardboard mansions. It changes individuals from private citizens into paparazzi targets. Some even allow it to change their personalities. Some can handle it well while others flame out spectacularly or simply flicker out of existence. Some hoard their earnings greedily while others share their wealth with the world. While some recluse themselves away from the bright lights others stand tall and actually try to change the world for better or worse. Everyone from tycoons drowning in extravagance to the long dead, rich or destitute, even the dead, can rub shoulders in the “halls” of fame. There are those who study for years to gain the knowledge in their chosen field. The arts are no different from the medical and law professions. There are college courses for everything under the sun. You can learn whatever you want to and the only danger will be that you might well lose some or all of “your” originality. Little Billy dissected lizards in his backyard as a child. He became an expert on the anatomy of those reptiles. After becoming archeologist, he noticed some structures in the fossil impressions of a dinosaur. He remembered all the reptiles he had disemboweled when he was young and realized that the answer was back there in the past. When he was discovering the innards of four-legged-slitherers certain shapes and textures caught his eye. He solved the mystery of the structures in the fossils with something he had taught himself originally. The college-knowledge took a shot-gun seat to that and Billy’s originality of thought and memory saved the day. This is a fictitious account by all means. I just wanted to make an example of how we as a species can and do learn many things from many sources. Proper education has no usurper except for common sense. An aspirin will always be an aspirin. If you’re a good doctor you will know when where and how to use that medicine. Every doctor like you will know and there will be little room for deviation until the medical profession as a whole scientifically discovers a new use for this stuff. Then you will find yourself in need of the remedial study to bring you up to par on the “new” use. Some artists never get to attend school or go to college. Still, if they are unique and good enough, they might be discovered. Their works are usually unclouded by the limitations some knowledge might impart upon their creative process. They might be influenced by experiencing the art of others but then they can more readily enjoy others works by not having the knowledge to “pick things apart”. The ceiling of the Sistine Chapel was meant to be looked at and admired. If you go there and spend the day looking up and only thinking of how Michelangelo got this or that color, or what size brush he used, then you have missed the intended experience. Long ago I read a story in a magazine that is no longer published. The story was called “Unaccompanied Sonata”. The name of the author escapes me. The magazine was called “OMNI”. The story was about a piano player who wowed the masses with his solo act. He painted the most perfect pictures of nature with his hands on the ivories. His “managers”, or “wranglers”, kept him isolated from the world. He saw no television, listened to no radio, and thus never heard a single note of any other music in the world. One fateful day someone was able to sneak into his perfect little world and let him hear someone else’s music. From that moment on he lost the gift of picturesque performance. His playing was forever influenced by the notes he had heard and his career was ruined. The state of mind that he was in before he was “tainted” by music from the outside world is one I have always tried to reach when composing. It is an impossibly daunting nirvana. In a thousand years I might get there. (the author is Orson Scott Card) Fame is never guaranteed. You might work yourself to death all your life and never even come close to it. On the other hand there are those who have it fall unceremoniously right into their laps. It can be a direct or even indirect result of pure luck, or it can be the result of hard work and perseverance. If you ever catch some of that “elusive” stuff, be very careful. It can put you in an ivory tower, or beat you down like nothing else can, straight into the grave. I had that burning desire to be famous almost half a lifetime ago. I don’t know how far I ever got with the dream but I do know how much fun I had flying it thru my teen years. The few gigs Legasys performed and the many parties we played are the legendary memories I will always carry inside. The blood and sweat were more than worth it. Looking back from today I fully realize that we had far more fun than any teenagers ever should have. I hope there are still kids growing up today having as much fun. We broke a lot of rules but we never hurt anyone. I pulled the flame from the candle of “The Desire for Fame”, and placed it on the candle of “Have Fun Doing What You Love to Do”. I no longer reach for the stars. I just flick a few CDR up at them from time to time. If one sticks in the right place great. If that never happens I’m ok with that too. I get stung by one line of questions more than any other. “Why do you want to do this now, at this point in your life?” and, “Why didn’t you do this when you were young?” I’m even slapped with, “You’ve had your chance.” And, “You’ve had your time.” The insensitivity some people are capable of is just another sad truth of the human condition. I take the salt-to-wound like a trooper though. The truth is that I’ve never really stopped making music. The feelings and emotions I put into my songs when I was a teen is the same feelings and emotions I put into them today. Life has simply deepened my feelings and emotions so; hurl your stones as hard as you can you insensitive hoards! You haven’t killed me yet but you certainly have made me stronger.

When I look into her eyes, everything is alright. The damage life inflicts upon me heals into cool reminders that I am only human. The flame of pain is drenched by even her slightest of attention to me. The screaming in my mind that tries too hard to justify and reason away every situation and circumstance is silenced by the softest whisper of her voice. She shrouds me away from the world with a blanket of angel-feathers. The ice in my heart melts into a river of solace that etches one more layer from the stone canyon of my soul. The evaporate billows into the sunlight to become cool, slow boiling Cumulonimbus. The weight of the world leaves my shoulders like rainfall. Each drop is a “byte” of wisdom. Her smile pulls the sun across the sky. Shadows walk on eggshells and trip as they tremble violently, afraid to dim the light that is her heart. I have longed to capture that light in words, but I know the futility of the endeavor immediately. Fleeting glimmers are all I can manage to trap long enough to form a paragraph or a song. My hands once sketched an image of her reclining on the couch. I think I did capture something from within her that time. That glow I saw then is still there as constant as the luster of gold and as strong as diamond. It can never be owned or controlled. Its freedom is like a baby’s laughter, contagious and perfect. With her hand in mine I can lean into the wind of life without fear. She is my even keel and my steady rudder. She is the compass that dances on the chart that is my heart. She is the thrum and whistle of the wind thru the rigging that is my soul. She is the only port where I shelter from the storm called life

10-22-2009 Anarchists observe no laws unless those laws are the object(s) of their rebellion. From mildly spoken protest to suicidal murder, they stir the winds of revolution. Anarchy can sometimes be the cornerstone or the inroad(s) for democracy. In other times, it can be the same thing(s) for other forms of government. Fascism, socialism, communism, and I can’t leave out capitalism; all these things in the context of the “running” of a country are usually preceded by anarchists in some form or fashion. Many things can spark the flames of anarchy and many fires of anarchy have been extinguished before the world even smelled the smoke. Powerful dictators have whipped their fellow countrymen into riot and witch-hunt many times. Our presidents are bestowed with the same power. Speeches and other forms of public comment are things supporters love to hear and read while detractors either glean over with a microscope for chinks, or turn a deaf ear and blind eye to. In any case populations can number in the billions and still be lead to slaughter by one. We live in a “faction-ed” society where the powerful few control the weak many either by law, or a lack thereof. Deep are the furrows of this dissection of our world. From the world stage of politics where countries wielding the means to sterilize this planet joust like knights in armor, and with as much chivalry as impoliteness and narcissism, to the two geeks holed up in a room full of electronics arguing about PC versus Mac. There are those who expound the virtues of their questionable leaders, and there are those who expound the virtues of cloth over paper or plastic. The canyons we dig and the walls we build excise us from one another more and more each day. From the tower of Babel all the way to the present, we seem to be moving in one direction, away from each other. The sword is double-edged. Put too many people in one room and there is a guarantee of violence. Isolate everyone physically and stagnation, rancidity, and decay either glaciate or avalanche everything. We don’t seem to be able to work together for the propagation of our species, but we do seem to work together all too well on our destruction. I know I’m not alone in getting a kick out of dreaming things up. I can hear songs I’ve yet to write. I can see the house I’d love to build. I can smell my favorite wine before the bottle is opened. I can see Glenda smiling when I get home. I can taste the dish before it’s ready to serve. I also know I’m not alone in dreaming about a better world. Many are the dreamers and fewer are those who birth dreams into reality. Anarchy is a demon to dreams and a muse for them as well. It melts, bends, knots, chips, breaks, and shatters the rules for its own ends. The dreamer finds the end of their dream(s) bifurcated into “something else”. The dreamer “didn’t see that one coming”. The dreamer was “too busy dreaming”. Slings are always twirling, catapults are always pulled back and trip-hammers set, and bows are always drawn and creaking, ready to attack a dreamer. Better to dream with one eye open I guess. I think all teenagers evolve thru an “anarchy” phase. I know I did. Some of it even made it into the music I created with LEGASYS. We didn’t change the world so much as we related to people how changes occur within themselves. We maybe even showed a bit of how changing “yourself” can make at the least, a small change in the world. Every now and then someone comes along that shows me that in some small way, I changed their life for the better. The halls of anarchy are full of fire but all the smoke makes things very hard to see. There are plenty of combustibles everywhere but not much of a plan except for, “anarchy”. Love it or hate it, anarchy seems to “muse” many. 10-22-2009-B Different individuals might ascribe different meanings to the same song. For example, I wrote a love song about two separate souls. The storyteller had high hopes of reuniting with the object of affection on “the other side” of the line that divides the living and the dead. My lyric, though fictitious, was written in somewhat of a matter of fact style. Some could identify with it, having lost a loved one while others saw it as a lament of hope for returning to a path that was abandoned at some time in the past. In any case I respect any individuals’ ability to glean more out of a song than what was ever actually meant to be put there. That imaginative ability speaks volumes for those enchanted of heart enough to dream with such eloquence. The two aforementioned scenarios are by no means the only possible deductions that can be made by anyone willing to read between the lines. When songwriters are inspired enough to leave a large amount of interpretation up to the listener, songs that are deeply suggestive usually are the end result. Pop-music and adult contemporary are replete with lyrics which play about the crux of things taboo without actually saying them. Rock and country do the same. Hip-hop, the most prevalent genre of today, I don’t really listen too much to so I’ll leave that one alone for now. Suffice it to say that all genres of music have good qualities and bad. I loathe the “genre” system as it tries to make music and musicians conform to a field of “fences”. I’m “metal” but not speed-core, or death-metal. I might be a little thrash, but I’m not death-thrash-speed-core-nu-metal-country-rap-jazz. It’s not very hard to see labeling music gets out of hand oh so quickly today. The genre matters for many but, for me the songwriting is what sets the individual apart from the crowd. The artist who hits it big with their own words and music are a far cry above those who do so with the words and music of others. Even though that train of thought is just another way to lob the “bias-grenade” about, as well as start countless bicker-sessions disguised as “debate”, my reasoning is simple. Granted, there are artist talented enough to make a hit out of someone else’s material and I can easily respect them for that because they can make something I consider very difficult look easy. The mystique of creating something that people will want to perform far outweighs my need or urges to cover someone else’s music. I freely admit that I lack the talent to be a “cover artist”. My accolades for artistic expression lean heaviest towards those who actually do the fewest covers, if any. I love a lot of the newer music of today. I also love a lot of the older stuff from yesterday. Basically, I love what I “feel” is good music. The kinds that move me inside, or make me think of something in a new and unique way. There are tons of songs I wish I had written. In the same regard, there are many great songs that came along at the perfect moment in my life when such a song was something I really needed. There are also others that, when I hear them today, rip the scabs off old wounds and drown my nerve endings in salt. Those are the gems that punched me in the soul and made me who I am today more than anyone who ever tried to destroy me ever did. As I age and life fills my experience-files, new songs come along that fit perfectly within the context of a past memory. New experiences happen that are best preserved along with the memory of an old song from long ago. Our experiences are reflected in our personalities. The cult of music draws inspiration from us and we just as easily draw inspiration from it. 10-23-2009 “Heroes”, what does it take to become one? I think I know but, I know no matter what I do, I would still come up short. As a parent I want oh so badly to be a “hero” to my children. As a grandfather, I want to be a “hero” to my grandchildren as well. As a son I want to make my parents proud of me. As a friend I want to be there for those I call “friend”. As a south Texan I want to show everyone here, and the world over, that I have the mettle to “be somebody. My aspirations have always been high. My successes have always been mediocre. These are “trying times” that we live in. Many things happen that test us up to and far, far beyond the limit of what any human should have top endure. I state this clearly for and to the entire world and not just for the local populace. When reality hits home there is no “pause”, “reverse”, or “replay”. The comprehension of the world and how it works from one human being to the next is the proverbial drop in the ocean of experience. We all want to stand tall and “live up” to the platitudes and accolades that are admonished upon those who make the ultimate sacrifice for beliefs. We “want to”, but reality always has a way of twisting things into nothing we could have ever considered. When I first read the story about SGT. Anthony Green I tried to come up with something that would be fitting and honorable to say. I sadly could not at the time. This meager post is what I eventually could muster. There goes a hero few will admonish but many will owe much to. The ultimate sacrifice, he has made. May his memory live on forever in the short time of his life that he was able to live, with those who knew him personally. I pray to God that the sacrifice he has made, along with all whom have paid that ultimate price in defense of freedom, forever burns brightly in the memories of all who respect what it takes to insure freedom survives. In memory of people like “Gabe”, it should always rain roses. (If I could, I would certainly place a song here.) 10-24-2009 Do you believe? There are many things you will be given the opportunity to believe in throughout your life. Whether you do or not will inevitably be up to you and you alone. Many people may flit through your life and try to persuade you to decide one way or the other but you will be the sole maker of all your end choices. What “do” you believe in? Is the human race infallible? Is there life anywhere else out in the universe? Are we given, or do we have, or do we get just this one and only life to live? No one can ever answer any of those questions for anyone else but themselves. And, those few questions are but the tip of the berg of questions that mankind has been asking for most of its existence. Religion is a question in and of itself as well as an enigma. Go ahead and count every life that stands on every side of all the religions of the world. Whatever number you come up with rest assured that at some point in history all those souls will be at one another’s throats because of what each selectively believes in. Soldiers scream into battle and clergy scream out platitudes and influence leader’s attitudes and the laypersons bend to whims of people they will never meet. It all ferments like a good wine and blood spills. All this happens in the name of deity, and with no discernable sign of it ever ending, everyday. Christianity, Judaism, and Islam have all invaded Jerusalem nearly “en masse”. These three religions comprised of so many have deferred to fighting one another for centuries instead of seeking answers for the world’s ills together. In light of such perpetual conflict a question of “beliefs” must be lobbed grenade style into their midst. Hence, do you believe that God wants you to carry on fighting, maiming, killing, and torturing the world with fear in his name? Have you been divinely instructed to wage war? Has God ordered you to claim a land as your own because it was written down in a set of specific instructions that cannot be denied or ignored? Can you prove your right to the convictions you impose on others? Can you prove unequivocally that you have any right to impose what you believe on others? Believing in something has always been an underlying rudimentary function of the human condition. If we had nothing to believe in then, our lives might have felt like something less than what they should have been. Early on our minds begin to form the synaptic puzzles that give rise to our “character”. Religion is one of the “affecters” that digs deep from the onset and leaves lasting impressions that force the steerage of our lives into lineages that we would otherwise never even acknowledge existed. Great tumults sometimes befall us and the cornerstones of our beliefs can crack, shatter and crumble to dust before our eyes. Faith might preserve what we believe in, or faith itself might die. Remember this though; you have to have faith in the first place, in order to lose it. Some of the greatest stories of mankind come straight from religion. Do you know the stories of, Cain and Abel, Noah, Samson and Delilah, Moses, Ezekiel, Jesus, Adam and Eve, The creation, and of course the Revelation? I use these Christian ones because I am Christian and have no endeavor to disrespect any religion the world over. All religions have heroes in their histories. Protagonists, antagonists, the meek, the prophets, savior(s), and kings, nobles, warriors, the unlikely, the big, small, well known, unknown, and anything else you can laud onto a human as a descriptive title. What a triumph it was when David slew Goliath. What a tragedy it was when Jesus was crucified. What melancholy wafted from the pages when Moses could not enter the Promised Land? The Revelation tolled out its’ story like a bell lamenting and warning of the things to come. All religions have their books of stories. Many are similar in execution of the tales of religious history that they tell. Several stories in the press last week undoubtedly angered many who believe in God. The factions of the human race who choose not to believe in God or a higher being had their say and their media explosion for the day so to speak. I heard pundits call God a “Lie” and discount his existence with stellar amounts of conviction. I was taken aback more by the tone of their voices than anything though. Almost every voice that denied the existence of God did so with a completely false feeling to their words. Was it just me, or did it sound like they were afraid on some level that God would hear them? It was like they were admitting to being taken up in a UFO and whisked off to mercury’s sunny side for medical tests. The phony sound of it all was both whimsical and we-need-to-keep-our-eyes-on-these-people-ish. God obviously got a big kick out of it all I’m sure. I he had no sense of humor he would surely have destroyed the world that very day. Hey! Religion is one of the few types of ballast on this ship of life that actually works. Unfortunately there are those who change the very definition of how it works by re-interpreting the teachings into their own twisted, sick, and demented conglomerations of actions married with false translations of guidelines handed down to us over centuries. Just because Samson slew the philistines does not mean anyone today must “slay” their enemies. Just because Moses led the Israelites out of Egypt does not mean that people of today need to be lead out of society and onto spaceships arriving in the tips of comets. A wee bit of common sense would go a long way these days if only it would be used. Statically the majority of the world’s population won’t run off with the first cult that swings thru town. They have lives to lead and happiness to discover. The hapless few who cave in to the mind games of over zealous dogmatic purveyors of salvation are many when scrutinized but few when quantified in comparison to the entire world. Still, one death in the name of religion is one death too many on any given day. 10-24-2009-B How do we quantify tragedy? When it strikes we have to measure it no matter what. We rifle through our past as soon as we regain our composure. We search for something to compare it to. We must line up all the similarities if any to anything else even remotely the same. Failing in that endeavor we break down and admit the setting of a precedent. Our world changes though it stays the same. We vow this shall never happen again. We beat our chests and scream for a time in a crazed cacophonous chorus of camaraderie like never before. The song inevitably turns into one not heard since its debut. Tragedies have a way of inspiring art in every imaginable form. Symphonies have been composed and wondrous images have been committed to canvas, all instigated by tragic events. The gamut run by tragedy is rarely an unknown path. We know all too well what has been, what is happening today, and what may well happen tomorrow. The winds of chance blow the dust deep into all of our eyes. Artists blend that dust into tempera, acrylic, oil, pencil, ink, clay, stone, bronze, metal, plastic, glass, rubber, paper, words, sound, and even pixels. The more “tragic” the inspirational circumstance, the more powerful the work of art. Tears refuse to let the paint dry too soon, the molten to cool too quickly, the words to stand still on the page, the voice to whisper what should only be screamed, the volume to be turned down, or the image to blur. Every moment of tragedy is like fistfuls of uranium on the ends of a great bola. Tragedy strikes and the balls are destined to spiral their way to the center. Their speed increases all the way up to the inevitable conclusion. The shockwave propagates with lamentation and tumult. Worlds cave in on individuals and stop abruptly. Questions never before contemplated are born along with questions we are tired of having to ask. We have no choice but to pray that we understand the “why” sometime in the future. Today will remain a screaming memory for a very long time. Time will carry us away from today at its own pace. It will never seem to be fast enough. Strangers will share “shoulders” on their way out no matter which path that egress might take. No words will be able to console but the silence of all eyes will speak volumes never before attained. The steps of the lucky will be away from today and towards a better tomorrow, no matter what direction they take. Somewhere along the way to tomorrow fists will clench. Conviction will set a deep hook and the pole of retaliation will flex without breaking. Revenge is Gods’ but many will pray to be blessed with a drop of that bittersweet wine. Nature can bring tragedy and humans can easily move on to tomorrow. When humans beget tragedy upon humans, killing is usually repaid in kind. Tears for an act of God flow freely, but tears for an act of man rack our souls with spasms theretofore unfathomable

Your first breath of the day: It sharpens the focus of your first thought of the day. That thought is the springboard for the next thought. As thoughts build up and begin to joust along your synapses, one of them provides the boost for you to stir your body and get out of bed. Sensations from all over sharpen and they too “joust” for quality time within your nervous system. Depending on how hard your life has been thus far, pain migrates into your cathedral of thoughts. What will you need to help you make it thru this day? Maybe intestinal fortitude will be enough, maybe not, but with any luck, no more than an aspirin. Which joints or old injuries are screaming about the changing seasons today? You wait your turn for the bathroom applying under-arm deodorant. Once you’re there you stare into your own eyes a short spell. You look worse than yesterday. The flames of time will never relinquish you. You brush your teeth humbly. An errant thought derails all the other trains and you almost laugh behind a mouthful of toothpaste. If you let loose you’ll have to clean the mirror as well as nurse a rib-cramp. The thought is of the current race that is going on. Who’ll be the first to leave? Will it be your hair, or, your teeth? You smile a medium sized “clown-smile”. This just might turn into a good day after all, if this kind of thing keeps up. You get into your clothing systematically as always. Then, once dressed, you add your personal accoutrements. Cell phone, pocket-knife, keys (both sets), and writing utensils (you never know when inspiration will strike). One glance in the mirror and the fear of that part of the ritual leading to narcissism chases you out the front door. Hair and teeth are doing a good job of keeping you smiling inside from ear to ear and then some. The newspaper is there and you contemplate the attitude of the delivery person. Their aim is almost always good. The monotony of where it lands every morning is always a good thing to break ever so slightly. This rolled up messenger represents a respectably sized group of people who pay attention to the world and share what they see with anyone who wants to know. You see it as the undeniable cornerstone of your day. The fundamental mentality in its pages is the pulses and the tones of the crossroads symphony of day to day life. The extra sprinkles on top are from the world at large. Good or bad, it’s the news you need. You subscribe gladly. Every morning on your way to work you know how unpredictable the day will be. The nature of the industry you work in has been imbedded in your psyche for a long time. Come whatever may on any given day you will meet the challenge with every fiber of your being. You also know you can’t wait to get back home. Someone special will be waiting for you. They too are unpredictable but no matter what they throw your way you will meet it head on with every fiber of your soul. There are many things that make you smile. They are scattered far and wide and so, your smiles are infrequent. The world is a lesser place without all the extra smiles so you try your best to make smiles happen whenever, and wherever you can. The smile you make in someone today will make you smile in some tomorrow. Smiles can kill frowns. I hope you felt that. Right there in a corner or two of your mouth. Better a well provoked smile, than an ill advised frown. A summer full of bull-nettle seeds flying on the wind, dandelion seeds as well, the call of the cicada, a night full of lightning bugs, That little song-bird outside the window just before dawn, The stars as they twinkle on at sunset, dolphin and whale-speak, Spanish moss, Rainbows, moon-bows, halos in the sky, The pillars of creation, the voyager spacecraft, Huge libraries, good comic books, snickers bars, cheeseburgers, ice-cream, screaming guitars, and of course laughter and smiles, are just a few of the things that make you smile. It’s a shame you don’t write more “happy” music. But of course if you had to, you’d have to stop being happy just long enough to compose. Happiness for you is far too fleeting and intermittent to sacrifice its tickle. The best you can do is to try and re-capture that feeling later. That’s far easier said than done. You will try. Inside you can poke about and stir the coals of memory. One good breathe is all it might take to flare up a smile again. You ask yourself the same question once postulated to you by someone long ago; “what would Jesus want to hear?” Your faith is what it is. You are neither hyper-orthodoxy nor a staunch agnostic. Jesus is your savior and God is omnipotent and omnipresent. You rein in your critical judgments of others and simply take notes. Your wisdom is matter-of-fact. The Alpha and Omega knows everything you have done in your life. His final judgment will be the final task for your soul to bear. You may even be tapping these keys now because you know; even all this will be replayed there in the end. Good things in life are meant to be enjoyed. They can and do inspire many great artistic works of wonder. They leave their marks on your heart and soul. Many mark their bodies to commemorate “the good things”. But, you have no tattoos, yet. The bad things in life leave their mark as well. The yin and yang of existing is the thrust and parry of your days. The scars run deep and the scabs are always weak. Calcium-Chloride rains down forever and the rivulets can’t wait to find an opening. These are the moods and emotions that have formed the basis for way too much of your music. You struggle to change the man in the mirror. In the evening you stare long and hard into your own eyes. What have you done for the day? What have you given, or taken away from it? What wisdoms have you gained, or lost? What must you carry into tomorrow? What must you burry in yesterday? You now have a clearer idea for the new album cover. You just have to flesh out the design. You know there are chances it will be far too provocative, and that certain institutions will likely “pass judgments” on you. Your convictions are honest and, you have already forgiven them for transgressions they have yet to make. You must move forward with your ideas. The muses are smiling. Malevolent, or benign, there are many “smiles” for now. Canines are glistening. Sunset approaches, and with it, more dreams.

Technology has grown in expansive leaps and bounds over the past few years. The volume of information as well as ways to collate and disseminate it has been on the increase exponentially. We have at our fingertips, ears, and pupils, more ready information in a day than a collection of “War and Peace” translated into every language known to our species. We could probably also add to that coffer any and all languages created by science fiction writers, television shows, and movies. The berg of information plows into the shores of our minds and we regard it as nonchalantly as we can, or at the least, the greater part of it all. Gallant minds, when confronted daily with such a mass of information, take in as much as possible. The apathetic could care less. Opportunists look for the profit and probably find quite a bit. The wise take what they can, use what they want, and commit the unknown yet interest provoking portions to a memory corner. Every bit extracted remains where it is created, where it is uploaded, where it is found, where it is “downloaded” to, on hard drives, in cell phones, PDAs, and on paper. (Please extend my apologies to the trees.) It will last until it is “deleted”, “erased”, “corrupted”, faded, drowned, or burned. Where do artist exist on that “berg”? All over it dear reader! From the basic conception of and to the final pixilation of each page, artists create websites. I have a deep respect for any and every person who can design and execute the creation of a website. The language of computers is something I may probably never learn well enough to do me much good in life but, just being able to enjoy the things people can create with that language is awe-inspiring. They are limited only by mathematics and their own imaginations, and the worlds they take us to can easily take our breath away. Those who create “art” have been given the tools with which to communicate to the world, their creations. Put that berg under a microscope and reel in the sheer volume of possible ways artists can “come to you”. I’m sure there’s a collection of masters Paintings somewhere, digitized for future posterity or a private collection. Look how much music and video gets downloaded every day. Look how much our television viewing has changed. The daily bombardment of news, weather, sports, infomercials, commercials (in which the only redeeming quality is usually the music), sitcoms, made for TV movies, DIY, How To, Documentaries, senate coverage, House of Commons coverage, TMI! We have to push the “off” button to get away from it all. Our brains need to breathe. Re-runs, over-runs, and failures to run; there is no shortage for problematic situations during our day. One glitch and those too connected to it all fall straight into brain-lock. The sudden vacuum, where information was once the sole barometric force, sucks the immediate world in with a hard reality slap. Then there’s nothing to do but curl up “fetal”, or, if we’re resourceful, find a great book to read. I have plenty for just such an occasion. I don’t really own a lot of the newest gadgets of the tech-revolution. The few pieces of hi-tech that I do own serve me very well though. The features are still offering me new “toys” with which to manipulate sounds and thanks to the march of progress being what it is, everything in my studio should serve me for years to come. There are upgrades I want but, if I never become able to afford them, no problem, the ease with which I can record and release music right now is sufficient. When it comes time to move one-hundred-thousand CDs or cash a million dollar check, I’ll be glad to try and upgrade everything then. (With the prevalence of so much information in today’s society I wonder if anyone will really catch that humor.) Most if not all of my lyrics are handwritten first. I could never step away from the feeling of pen or pencil scribing paper. In the past I have used a typewriter as well as a word processor, but that was mainly for short stories and some scientific theories. Nowadays, after my mixtures of wrist wrecking scribbles are done, I do go to the PC and flesh them into a file. One copy is printed out, with a thoughtful apology to the trees, and I use it when I start recording as a “compositional guide”. On a good writing run I can go thru quite a few reams of paper. Each set of lyrics is always sized for a single page though. I hate waste and I rarely if ever print any lyrics sheet out more than twice. Getting back to the tech stuff, I have an effects processor that I am very fond of. As I have no endorsement deal with the manufacturer, I will not plug them here. This tool was worth every penny. It has hundreds of sounds and thousands of possibilities of combinations. I have settled into my “choice tone” for now but the palette is thus far very under-utilized. The same box that gives me the sounds I love for my guitar tones also gives me a wide variety of sounds for bass guitar. Since I don’t own a bass guitar, it is invaluable to me in that regard. From my first album, all the way thru to my current, and, on all the new songs as of yet unreleased, there is no actual bass guitar that you will hear. It’s all only one of my electric guitars, or a keyboard from, (Ok, one plug) Radio Shack. The same “unmentioned” company also makes a neat little box that, along with the keyboard from the “plugged” chain store corporation, is responsible for the drums and other percussion instruments you hear. They even produce 99.0% of all the other effects you hear like explosions, and thunder. The fun is in discovering what these “toys” can do and then using them in the context of a song for added emotional content. I like the way technology has changed our lives for the better more than anything. There are however, a good many situations where it has only done us harm. Of course, the previous sentence can be taken with or without bias, but hydrogen bombs and cyber terrorists are banes we could all do without. The rest on what is without a doubt a long torturous list you can easily fill in with your own imagination. I believe every child should be given a laptop at birth. Hospitals charge enough to bring us into this world so they should provide each addition to the human race with the ability to learn. As much as parents should be responsible for teaching their children, hospitals should be responsible for giving the child the means to begin as early as possible. There’s a lot of information out there and one lifetime is nowhere near enough time for learning. These should have the most advanced hard drives available and as the advances are made upgrades should be free. They would have to be tough as well and tied to each individual by genetic profile. I know its utopian dreaming but, if no one dreamt we’d still be eating raw meat and fighting over fetid watering holes. I like to dream. Whenever technology can do some of the dreaming for me, then what I dream can let me soar even higher, farther, and faster beyond the bounds of human imagination. In what realm did you find this blog? With any luck, it will still be here tomorrow. Now, let your imagination take you higher, farther, faster, and, beyond.

I don’t care much for politics. Politicians will do what politicians do. Our leaders will never satisfy everyone. Therefore, there will probably always be an element of disenchantment and a section of the populace that is disgruntled. Government has an important job to do but too many times personal agendas get in the way. I’m sure there are good politicians that exist somewhere. People who make promises they can and do keep. People who stand in for us when they say they will and make sure we have ample opportunity to enhance the quality of our lives. I think these good people are simply outnumbered by those who give themselves raises long before they think about making any decisions for us. Not hard to see is it? I’m disenchanted and disgruntled. I could rant on about what’s wrong and dole out my ways of fixing things but what politician would pay heed? I might have your attention for now but when you stop reading this you still have a life to live. When I’m finished typing I still have a life, to live. Wisdom’s exponential growth inflates the inner, silent part of our ego. Over time our confidence for what we believe in grows alongside it. Common sense intertwines with the two and we solve many problems in our own minds. All the while, life is getting more and more complicated. Many of our solutions sprout innumerable dendrites of extra considerations. Much like any bill introduced into congress. We the people look up the mountain to where we want our idea to have a voice. Our outer ego will either fly us there, or silence us for another day. Walk to the mailbox and send a letter off to that mountaintop and it will join every other voice of democracy that today is mixed in amongst anarchists, racists, agnostics, and any other groups detrimental to society. All are guaranteed a voice just as you are. To silence any with censorship or by force would stain our countries morality. Feel free, because you are, to say what you mean. Agree with anyone you agree with and let it be known why. Disagree and let the reason or reasons be known as well. Interaction between all constituents on any level is a right. Keeping it as civil as possible is a trick few seem eager to pull off. There are social wolves everywhere, waiting for us to open our mouths so they can bait us into a conflict disguised as a “debate”. All the while they lick their lips savoring the taste of our “displeasure” at their insinuations. Our reactions are their sustenance and the more foolish we look, the fatter their egos swell. The less emotion you show them however, the sooner they’ll roll up their tongues and move on to hunt elsewhere. Art is influenced by government as much as anything else, probably more so than anything else. Good or bad, the upper echelon of those who dictate our rights and freedoms, or lack thereof, leave their mark on society one way or another. Either in full public view, or hidden away, art is a statement about the world from the artists’ point of view. Volumes can be conveyed about one corner of the world or the entire world. Paintings, songs, books, poems, sculpture; all forms of art are voices that speak to us from within ourselves. The artist has put in the mental blood, sweat, and tears for us along with the physical acuities. All we need to do is devote a modicum of attention. A stroll thru a gallery, or a candle lit perusal away from prying eyes, and we can discover. Whether we live in a country where we are free to pursue art, or one in which we risk death by enjoying it, art will always be there for us. Even a simple memory of any form of art, is art. Were all forms of art destroyed tomorrow, I would still remember Beethoven’s 5th symphony. I would still remember the Mona Lisa’s smile. I would still remember the words to many of my favorite songs and, the melodies that go with them. You can take art away from the world in general but the way it affects people can never be rescinded after the fact. I don’t care much for politics but you know what, politicians are artists too. They speak with tongues of sugar, gold, silver, and thorns. They tell the truth, and they lie. They are respectable, and despicable. It takes true talent to pull off the job the way they do it. Politics, I must hate those bastions surely to some extent. I could easily regard them with apathy, however; I keep my eyes and ears on the arenas in which politicians spar. It is every artist’s duty to maintain a thorough knowledge of the laws that affect, art. The loss of freedom of expression probably hurts the most when it arrives as a surprise.

Style can make an artist stand out. Standing out can be done in a “sore thumb” kind of way, or in a “eureka” or “Nail-on-the-head” fashion. Some stand out with a slight vagueness while others are totally over the top. Of course there are many variances possible when something or someone begins to stand out. Great songs have been written that “stand out” far and above all other songs. Bob Dylans’ “All Along The Watchtower” is one. Bob had his “style” of doing it and his version, to me at least, is great. Along came Jimi Hendrix, and a bit of history was made. He did the song in his “style”. His version is great. U2 has done it as well, and their version is great. Many songs have been “covered” by many artists but few can actually entrench themselves into our memory. Each artist’s interpretation can take away from or add to the song in some way. Hendrix’s version painted a storyboard of crystal clear scenes in my mind. As it unfolded I saw the two horsemen in slow motion, approaching thru a windstorm complete with dead leaves and dust, all blowing sideways. Definitely, he added something. U2 did it a bit mellower but still added their undeniable touch of uniqueness. The words still powered my mental scenery. It’s hard to take any affect away from that song. “I don’t do covers”, I’ve stated before. I can say though, that some songs I hear leave me no choice other than to entertain my brain by trying to learn them. It just feels way too cool to play many of the parts I hear in my favorite tunes. The opening bars of Alice In Chains “Man In The Box”, Black Sabbath’s “The Mob Rules”, Iron Maiden’s “Stranger In A Strange Land”, Ratt’s “Lay It Down”, and “Way Cool Junior”, Dokken’s “In My Dreams”, and “Breaking The Chains”, Rhandy Rhodes’s “Dee”, “You Can’t Kill Rock And Roll”, and of course, “Crazy Train”, all of these and many more are the songs that caught my mind’s eye in some awesome way. Some I learned in their entirety, others I just learned bits and pieces that were the “coolest” to me. The first cover I ever did on guitar was Francis Scott Key’s “The Star Spangled Banner”. Yes I was young and impressionable when I saw Hendrix’s obituary on TV. They played a bit of that and years later I saw the Woodstock film. I learned it though, from Roy Clarks “Big Note Guitar Song Book”. I had to decipher the sheet music and it was a single note line rendition. The hook was set deep and I could hardly wait to pump it “out loud” thru a big amp. That was still a few years down the road though. I still enjoy my “freedom of expression” when I play it today. It and “Amazing Grace” are two tunes I think every hard rock guitarist likes to “lose their minds” in. Flattery is one thing. Doing the music just like the original is hard work. I have a certain respect for those musicians talented enough to put out a perfect sonic mirror copy of a hit song. I could never exercise that kind of discipline. I play guitar for “hard fun”. I’m a legend in my own mind who “just can’t find the sound”. Let me end this paragraph because I’m starting to write in KISS lyrics. (My deepest apologies to Peter Chris.) To modify a song by putting your own “spin” on it is a way of taking a chance to the extreme. There is no formula that dictates whether or not people will like what you’ve done to it. The most unlikely of versions might become a number one hit, or it might just as well be a “career ender”. Either way, the outcome will remain unknown until the world hears. Take any hit song, from any genre of music, and flop it over into the style of any other genre. Make it something as far away from the original genre as possible. Take a Lawrence Welk tune and do it like Ozzy Osborne. Take an old Van Halen tune and do it like Herbie Hancock would. Take Beethoven’s 5th and, well, you get the picture. In most cases, and if the original artist has an open mind, your “new-fangled” version will show them a side of their song they never knew existed. Weird Al took this to the best of all extremes with his entire career. There is a breed of artists who are so proficient with music that they can take a song and preserve its basic structure but come up with a whole different tune. The tempo and basic plot of all the chord changes and maybe even the key are the same, the words are different but just like the music, and they’re a sonic and cacophonous match to the original. A friend told me about this and says it works great and keeps lawyers away. (Hmmm?) I’m not musically inclined enough to do this but I am on the lookout for songs composed in such a way. “Style”, born with it or not, artists develop it. It may be one measure of one song that defines it and everything else is just “re-hash”. It can also be ever-apparent in everything they do. Every member of the “Rat Pack” had it. Jerry Lewis, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr. Frank Sinatra, and please, correct me for any I’ve left out I was just a kid in front of the television. Style captures our imaginations on a level all its own. We identify it quickly and our souls lift off for a spin around the farthest stars! The music stirs a storm in our heads and our feet stomp the ground into earthquakes. Roofs fly away and everyone present is “getting along”. Style, true style, knows no barriers.

Detractors abound in this world. They are the ones who stymie creative minds more than any government can. They are the sole voice that grab an artist by the shoulders too tightly and shake teeth out of skulls. They travel in packs as well as solo and their judgment is biased by their affiliation with the human race. They afflict many and the world is a lesser place to live, because of them. The creative process is something that can and should be enjoyed. The end results might not please the whole world, but on the off chance it might please even one person, justification is an attainable goal. One good word of criticism can silence a novel’s length of harsh words and the creative are most likely to have the patience to wait for it. We make our way thru life and at different times different people come and go. Some we want to hold onto forever but the truth of life is that nothing last forever. In some instances we try to hold on harder and end up destroying the lifestyle we are trying to build. Other times what we are trying so hard to retain becomes the thing that wreaks the bulk of the havoc. Any artist can level enumerable anecdotes they have had to endure. “Nobody likes that?” “That’ll never get you anywhere in life.” “What on earth made you write that?” “I don’t get it. I don’t like it either.” “Save us the torture and stick with dreaming.” “Honestly? (Insert any derogatory phrase here)” We run the gauntlet of critical attentions that attempt to slough off huge slabs of our souls. Our hearts bear the brunt of fist-like words and our minds re-wire to eventually absorb the damage. We contemplate all possible reasons for what we must endure and rarely get any concrete answer. Talent is subjective. I in no way consider myself to have any “talent”. If something I do is well received then sure, that makes me happy. But even if it is not, I can still be happy with the fact that I had fun doing it. Those who are the end recipients of an individual’s art become “impressed” by it. They form an opinion and, good or bad, they feel some motivation to share that opine. What irks me the most about such opinions is that I can easily see where some other person, trying their best to create something they believe in, can get discouraged by “detractors”. They may have some reason to keep these critics in their lives but they are denying themselves the true opportunity to shine and denying the world the best of what they are capable of producing. Accomplished or not, creating without any level of enjoyment is like stealing from your self. Commissioned artists have to have a joy for their craft too. Songs for movies, family portraits, original conceptual paintings, movie post production, there are as many situations as there are forms of art and paycheck producing or not, if enjoyment had no part then, to me at least, it was nowhere worth the effort. I watch album sales and downloads, hit counts and guestbook posts, comments and believe it or not, lots and lots of e-mails. The sales are the things I look at the least. I’m not getting any younger and the volume of my catalogue is what I enjoy watching grow. From 2004 to the present, eight albums of enjoyment have leapt from my mind and onto plastic. That does not include another body of work that is almost an albums worth that I have yet to properly record and release. Then there’s the material I’ve done as collaborations. It’s not a large body of work but each song is something I consider with pride. If it were not so much fun I’d be happy to sit behind my desk and slowly fade away from this life. As it is, I hope to keep the musical juice flowing for years to come. With artistic tastes as varied as mine it saddens me to no end when I see some one whose dreams are being stifled. It may be a simple, small, comment, but I know how words can hit. Even what can easily be dismissed as innocent rambling can deflate even the limpest of egos and the art that could have existed, can be silenced forever. Take care you critics, just because you don’t like it does not mean someone else will not.

On a clear day she makes beautiful sense. Her every word becomes a gentle breeze that stretches my sails and keeps me on course. She sings the waves into a gentle pitch and the sun does not burn my skin. The hold is full of fresh supplies and the world beckons me to the bow for a long lasting look ahead. The keel thrums inaudibly as it breaks new water in each moment and a soft cool spray strokes my face. On a clear day, she makes beautiful sense. Her voice is a sweet soliloquy tugging at the wheel. The course does not matter, nor the destination for today. I will get there, when I get there. For now, every note echoes the creation of a good memory. My mind is a cathedral reverberating with her song, of her life, and the love she sends my way. The masts creak gently and the soft breeze whistles softly thru the rigging. Her voice is a sweet soliloquy, tugging at the wheel. Her eyes are the clouds thru which the sunlight breaks. Mottling the sea with curious shadows and telling me a thousand tales with a single glance. They are the two other oceans that hold worlds I cannot help myself but to dream of. They are the windows to her soul and far more magical than those of the Medusa. I freeze when they blink, and thaw when they re-open. They weather my soul and bash my shores with waves of whim and fancy. Her eyes are the clouds, thru which, the sunlight breaks. Her smile is the moon in my hands pulling the tides around my heart. She makes me feel young. I am the hawk silhouetted against her face. I am the cry of the eagle, from a million miles away. I am the happiness in whale-song, and everything unknown in the sub-sonic words of elephants. I am the laugh of the dolphin and the cry of the wolf, the pulse of the jellyfish, and the “I see” in the eyes of the gorilla. She makes it easy for me to be all these things and I soar between the stars on her wings. Her smile is the moon, in my hands, pulling the tides, around my heart. On a cloudy day Glenda can always change the weather. On a cloudy day, Glenda, can always, change, the weather. (Inspired undoubtedly by the muse I can never refuse, Glenda.) Jose’ Diaz

An inevitable effect of being human is that at some point in your life you will be pulled in more than one direction at the same time. As a species we form groups in which all members feel they identify with one another on some level. Be it politics or religion, arts or the metaphysical, these hoards are the armies we align ourselves with. We “sign up” and raise the flag, draw our sword and stand proudly. Many years ago, one man saw the opportunity to create an army. He took it and made history. His soapbox swelled to epic proportions and his silvery tongue hypnotized the masses. Although many of the world’s nations stood against him, millions lost their lives. His snares of words are still in use today and the ideals he stood for and initiated are still carrying out predation. It’s easy for some to be blinded by words and back then many were. The human race came together to defeat him but, we never defeated his ideologies. Is it our right or our duty to remove such cancers from existence? We are all created equal. But then, ego steps in and delusions of grandeur soon make us abrasive to one another. Intellect can sometimes have the nasty little side effect of distancing people from one another through incomprehension. The better individuals among us stave this off by being patient. Those who cannot understand have to be tolerated with true honesty and diligent attention. Simply shunting them aside in pursuit of a goal is one of the lowest forms of ignorance there is. This journey we call life is more bridge-spans than roadways. The burning of even one bridge can easily become the burning of too many. Let others do the burning, save what you can and learn from the experience. A young child finds himself at a huge theme park. A small town youth organization has taken a handful of him and his friends there. It’s a wonderful day and the kids are left to wander the rides and attractions at will with a specified time to regroup at the entrance. This child has a wonderful day and circumnavigates the park many times. At one point he is alone and making his way to where a few of his friends said they would meet him. The crowds are not too heavy and he is happy. Then, just ahead, three older teens in cowboy hats walk by. They have mischievous grins on their faces. One leans to and shouts a racial epithet. The “N” word hits him like a fist out of nowhere. The three teens march away and the child looks after them for a few confused moments. The frown that has creased his face so deeply slowly cuts into his awareness. The incident will live on sharply in his memory for all his life. As he matures he will ask himself such things as; “why did they do that?”, “what kind of parents raise such children?”, “what did I do to deserve that?”. And all along he will have great questions without any words to them forming in his mind. Most will never be “filled in”. The truth he will come to understand, is that people form groups and those groups sometimes develop the hive mentalities that cause social abrasion. The web is full of groups. Where do you belong? Are you a facebooker, myspacer, twitter-er, (tweeter?), or do you have a site name after yourself that has a large loyal following of friends, fans, or family? It’s possible to belong to any one, or more, of what are probably millions, if not more, sites populating the World Wide Web. There are good sites that promote the entire human race, and there are sites devoted to culling our species down to a single “race”. All aspects of the human condition are represented and everything is pretty much “on the table”. All religions can be found as well as all none religions. Those three boys in the previous paragraph are people I often wonder about. What have they become today? Who else might they have “hurt”? If the world is in any luck, they never got educated enough to become truly dangerous to anyone but themselves. On the other hand, if they became web-savvy, and maintained their ideological course,,, the point is moot. Hatred for any reason is a muse with brass knuckles. Artist may or may not find it hard to express themselves in the aftermath of it. But the end product will almost always be ripe with darkness and brooding. It’s almost impossible to keep from reflecting at least some of the hatred back at society. A conscious effort has to be made, and it’s the artists’ dubious obligation to rein it in as much as possible. Just look at what hatred has done to us already. It sickens us. It kills us. It laughs in our faces and we laugh back at it. It hits us. We might strike back but, all too often we only hurt innocent bystanders. Hatred blinds us all, too easily. It is a capacity that, sadly, we are all born with. Hatred makes us scream and smashes dreams. Hatred furrows our brow and melts our plow. Hatred burns our hearts and tears us apart. Hatred knots our souls and turns us cold. Hatred steals our smarts and clouds our art. I hate “Hatred”! And so, the human race is splintered into many diversified groups. Some coexist in peace and respect while others exist only to rip existence apart until it fits their utopian nightmare. They all want “you” in some way. They may want you to join them. They may want to keep you out. They may not even care if you’re in or out but rest assured, they want “something”. Hatred has bred a conflict that will easily see this species to its last days on Earth. The crowds are thick today and the kindling is very dry. It’s snowing a light gunpowder of words and everybody has a match.

If God would have kept the heaven and earth a secret, where would he have put us? If Leonardo had never made the Mona Lisa smile, would we have been as fascinated with it? When you hear a new song do you realize what someone has gone thru to create it? What if they had decided to keep it a secret? What if the record company decided it wasn’t the right time for such a song? Many things we experience today could just as well have never made it out of the realm of thought. The vestibules of electrochemical processes can easily create ideas from sensory input as well as from random thoughts, or even the lack thereof. When ideas take shape and we commit them to reality, the distances we are prepared to go with them should never be considered lightly. Where would we be today if God had kept it all to himself? Some people are afraid of certain concepts. I’m sure more than a few bibles are in hand right now, drawn back and secured with a trip hammer. I don’t question God. Not ever. My “what if”, was one of many “unanswerables” we are all free to consider. We as a species want to know how things work. It fits well into that category. As close as I can come to an answer is to say that I’m glad he chose to share his great idea. The point I’m trying to make here is one about what creative persons sometimes do with a great idea. They don’t always share it with the world. How many great works of art were only found after the artist had died. The world discovered a trove of treasures that had been stored away from our eyes in the hope that we would probably never see them. Leonardo Da Vincis’ many sketches of inventions and anatomy, war machines and more, complete with handwritten and secretly coded notes deciphered by mirror, are among these things. How many musicians are still releasing music long after their death? Hendrix is still my favorite in that category. We may think we know everything there is to know about someone like, Albert Einstein, Michelangelo, Neil Pert, or even our best friend, but the truth is we know only what is above the surface. So how much “stuff” is there, hidden away in some dark corner of a closet or safety deposit box? How much creativity have we been deprived of from dreamers throughout time? All other art forms aside, when a songwriter writes a new tune they sometimes hold it back for fear of someone “stealing” it. Indeed, and I will name none of the ones I know, there are some top selling artists without an original song in their discography. You probably have them in your collection. The original creators of those songs trusted someone to get a demo into an executive’s hand. In the end, without a copyright or any concrete way to prove it was theirs, they were hit with the brick, so to speak, when they realized their song was a number one hit by the same artist they had entrusted with their creation. To get your music or other artistically expressed idea copy written, there is a process, and fees to go along with it. The last time I checked, most unknown artists could not realistically afford to do this. Sure, the big dogs have a lot of money and time to do it with but when they do it they usually copy write things for themselves. Successful artist can afford it as well. It’s an “operating cost” that looks good on the books and also lends credence to that slick packaging they can also afford to use. The undiscovered have to make do by other means. Sometimes that means keeping everything super-secret for as long as possible. Sometimes that veil is never lifted. We won’t feel it, but the world becomes something a little less when that happens. Now that you know this, will you try to “feel” it? What did the first music sound like? Did Neanderthal man bang sticks and bones together? Was it a clapping of hands? Was it a rhythmic grunting? Come forward in time. What were the first notes to fly from the fingertips of Beethoven? What were the last notes he ever heard? Come forward again. What did Hendrix see when he threw his head back and pushed that note thru the clouds and into outer space? What did Janis see when she closed her eyes and whispered that rare soft section of words straight from her heart? There’s enough music in the world for us to be able to hear a new song each day for probably more than a lifetime, but there is still a lot that has never survived the ravages of time or the swords of oppression. The extinction of artistic creations whether known or not, still leaves a void. Some we can easily know about, others, we just know something is missing and not what it exactly is.

Collaborating with other artists can be a bag full of doorways. You can find new opportunities to soar, or you can make a humble introspective journey into yourself and find new ways to look at things you are, or, are not doing. With the ability to share ideas in many ways thanks to technology, we no longer have to go to a big fancy studio to “get things done”. Small home studios are everywhere and the artists that populate them cover every genre imaginable. With collaboration the number of doors is infinite and the possibilities as well. That old reliable, eighties-metal will never die. Thanks to the die-hard fans and the “never-say-die” attitude of musicians who keep the guitars loud and the bravado “wild”. Success could be found by branching out into pop, hip-hop, country, rap, R & B, soul, or any number of genre’ that are enjoying the spoils of notoriety, but hard rock and metal have grown to feel so much like home that the peace it gives can never be replaced by any other style of music. Granted, success in the music industry these days is due to perseverance and diversification, lack of it in no way means an artist is not talented. Talent is an objective term. These days almost every big name records in a huge high end studio and they all end up using the same high end tools and techniques to get what has turned into the “cookie-cutter” sound of today’s hits. I’m not knocking any other styles of music; I just have an undeniable love for HEAVY METAL! The music of today is so muddied up with genre and sub-genre, sub-sub-sub-genre, ad-infinitum. Any true focus on the “music” itself is near impossible. Making repeated subdivisions to established styles detracts too much from what makes music what it is. That’s just my opinion about that. Music was made to be enjoyed by the listener. The scientific quantization of it, though very useful when composing pieces, is the farthest thing from the minds of music aficionados. What does a song do to you? Where does it take you? Can you resist its pull? How far will you let it, “fly you”? I’m truly keen on metal and hard rock but I do listen to other styles. When I collaborate it’s usually with artist in genre removed more or less from my own favorites. I have to find the way to fit what I can do into their compositions. They can tell me what they want from me, or ask me to dive down the stairs so to speak and see how the landing turns out. There’s a great drummer in Chandler, Arizona, Terry Daun, who has released a number of solo projects. When I first became aware of him and his music, I heard a great keyboard player who had the technical fineness to program intricate and engaging drum tracks. The fact that he was such a great trap-set player was a new discovery I made after I’d known him for a year or so. I did a bit of collaborating with him on a couple of his tunes and it was a lot of fun. My lead tracks were there in a video he shot while on vacation in Hawaii, strolling through smoking volcanic calderas. If I ever have an idea that his drums or keyboards might fit into, I will definitely give him a call. He just might be too busy as he has a new band with a former guitarist of Alice Coopers’. Another great artist to collaborate with is none other than the local man with the best business plan, Jesse De La O. Having worked on many tunes with him and had a few of my own worked on by other artists by way of his endeavors; I can honestly say that working with him on music is always a great learning experience. It’s not just the music, but it’s also the insight he has about how to handle the music business climate. Not all people can be trusted and watching him learn this by trial and error, I have learned that being able to accurately judge people is no perfect science. It can however, save you a lot of time dealing with those who have no real focus. Another aspect of working with Mr. De La O is the way his compositions and his direction for what he needs on a particular track are communicated clearly. It can be to the point or, in some of the most amazing sessions, you can see his mind at work molding the music at hand into a new form in an “on the fly” way that’s rare but always an honor to be witness to. I’m sure he would rather I not put him on a pedestal but in my eyes, he is the most under acknowledged artist in the area. If you let him steer and have no fear, he can make you famous. Lastly and by no means the least of my favorite collaborators, Roy Coston, lead guitarist of the Oneida, New York rock band, Lovebone. My work with him has been minimal thus far but, being the stickler for detail that he is, and thanks to a few new programs in his digital audio workstation, there is a tune or two in the wings. He’d sent the first file to me a year or so ago. When I first started working on it I just went all out and made a full production of it. I was not aware that all I needed to do were some guitars. I added bass, drums, and vocals. Jesse (De La O) was supposed to do the vocals and lovebone has a bass player and drummer. In the end we all had a good laugh and just moved on. Though Terry and Roy are artists I have yet to meet in person, having talked a bit on the phone with both, I can honestly say that their personalities are not the “nose turned up” rock stars that a lot of artists become with a taste of fame. I can relate to and identify with their humility. We all share a passion for music and that passion is what binds us together as friends. Who knows, maybe my collaborators and I will form a band someday. That would be a cool band to play in! When someone approaches out of the fog of life with an idea, you should pay attention. It just might be a worthwhile muse inspiring you to open, and then step thru a brand new door. There’s only one way to find out what’s on the other side.

World affairs have a way of embellishing themselves onto the world of the arts. The political battlefields and the chest-beating posturing that goes with them burn their collective way into the products of any and all people with the power of imagination. As artist wandering the cyclonic playgrounds of the human race, we glean unique ways to express what we see. The same old “same old” is always there. Boring rhetoric and endless speeches fill our senses with platitudinous overtures of epic proportions. The constant barrage of opposing views and clashing beliefs numb us more than any drug ever can. Try to comprehend it all and one might well end up in a fetal position, sweating, shaking, or worse. Lies abound. Leaping from every podium to snatch our hearts, minds, and wallets, they compete in a game we wish would end. It never does. We watch elections the world over and wince at the violence of oppression that is clear and present. Not all nations are democracies but, that doesn’t mean we are by any means living in a utopia. Who was the last president that kept his promises? I wish I knew. That’s an interesting research to undertake. File the idea under “to do”. History teaches us to remember it for the sake of not having to repeat the pains it has taken us through. Not learned, that lesson is guaranteed to teach itself again and again. From the highest of human leadership, to the lowest malicious cult leaders, we find ourselves all too easily navigating a minefield of infinite emotional sandpaper. Tongues spit fire towards us and we react by reflecting the flames. Beware the feedback loop with a liar in it. Hurricanes of words are difficult to escape from once they inhale the fuel of your soul. Many old masters who were forbidden to paint certain themes got past the oppression by hiding their work in plain sight. Small scenes buried within scenes, the flow of a blouse like water revealing more than what the eye initially sees. Forbidden words hidden in the ruffles of collars and tiny stabs at authority, deftly brushed into buttons, rings, sword hilts, and brooches. The inquisition could crush free thinkers and their beliefs but not the spirits of those who understood what was at stake. Mozart gave us great symphonies and operas with suggestive emotional content. The beauty of many of his pieces was in the way they acknowledged even the darkest side of human nature. Even as some hated him for his actions in the public eye, he transcended the political state of the world he existed in, with his music. Today artists lay their hearts and souls on the block with each release of their wares just as much as those of the past have done before them. The only difference is the arena in which they have to compete. The political climate in some countries can stymie the expression of the arts and many have been arrested or even put to death for expressing themselves by artistic means. In other places long standing old world systems embrace the arts and let them become the voice of the people. They are free to protest their leaders or praise them. Either way what is expressed is an almost direct derivative of the known political climate. Half a world away an artist can sing about an injustice and be heard while another half a world away another artist doing the same thing simply and suddenly disappears. Nothing can ever give the human race more hope than when a group of artist come together to express themselves on behalf of some part of the world filled with people who cannot. The underlying cause usually has a political underpinning that fostered the situation and many deaths have probably already occurred before the first fully fledged breath of the idea has been exhaled. The urgency becomes palpable with each new breath and the momentum quickens to mercurial speed. Good intentions inspire greater and greater components that all seem to be malleable enough to be fitted together to build the vehicle that will convey the dream of everyone to fruition. In the end the accomplishment becomes the vindication that the dream was worth the time and sweat that was required and given by all involved. The world, or at least a larger part of it, heard the voice of a few crying out for the voices of the many that were trapped in the silence of distance and out of sight. A difference was made! Artists inspirations became the inspirations of the people!

Apathy, now there’s a dirty trait to possess. It’s the bane of intellectuals and the repository for slackers. Its walls hem in many who would otherwise rise above and excel in life. It’s a gateway to ignorance and depression. Allow it to take root in your life and failure becomes one of many bitter fruits its asphyxiating vines will bear. All we need do is to sit back, relax, and let it, “sneak around amuck”. As parents we are bestowed the honor or raising our young. The breakneck pace of today’s world threatens our sanity in every instant. It becomes, though it never should, easy to slip into an apathetic state of mind. Throw your hands up and admit defeat to no one in particular. Such faltering can curse the futures of our children. As apathy is contagious, they can catch it all too easily. Anyone can catch it from any source imaginable. The reasons for apathy are as many and varied as there are reasons to hate it. Lack of concern allows problems to fester into larger and larger behemoths. Lethargy buries us away from the world and we feel ourselves fade away. The dishes pile up in the sink, clothes spill from hampers, dust collects everywhere, homework goes unfinished, and we just droop ourselves past each scene of the detritus we have allowed to accumulate. What about the world outside? You remember that one don’t you? That place where we once met friends, watched sunrises, and full moons in the night. It’s the place where we have to go, reluctantly, to survive somehow. Bills can’t be paid if we don’t make the journey out amongst all the things we could care less about. If by chance we can pull ourselves out of the fog, the discoveries we will make will surely slam us head first into reality. We will find that our children have turned into teenagers. Their impressionability has outpaced their age and they have contracted a severe case of “apathy”. How do we know? That’s easy, just look into their rooms. How much floor can you see? What sights and smells are assaulting your senses? How can our children compete with the world when they are so afflicted with indifference to their own situation? We can see the students in other countries outpacing our kids. They go on to higher learning while ours go straight to grindstone jobs that they just barely get with a diploma or GED. Our new generation of backbreaking workers with low pay and few skills become the patients of kids from other countries that went on to be doctors. Our children’s failed marriages are argued in courts by foreign born lawyers who learned in the colleges they should have attended. Call to have your cable serviced and strain to understand the accent on the other end of the line. Why don’t our children have these positions in society? Apathy. These paragraphs have been written with the most extreme situation in mind. Granted, it may not be this bad yet. Do we know how bad it really is though? The statement, “we should have seen this coming.” is the culmination of ennui. If we allow it to get that far away from us and deep into the fog of life, it may be too late. There are many aspects of our day to day lives we have no control over but, there are still plenty of things we do. Are we so weary of our existence that we languish in a fashion that allows things to simply continue along the same path? It takes two people to make a change, one to instigate or inspire the change, and another to be forced or inspired to change. Without the actions of either, nothing will ever change. I was lucky to have many great teachers over the years and from each of them I learned something unique. It wasn’t always the curriculum that was dictated by law to be taught. There were plenty of wisdoms I picked up on. One such fundamental lesson was to keep learning at all cost for as long as you live. You get to go to school for only so long without having to pay tuition. Even though college may be out of reach, learning never is. The breadth and scope of your intelligence will always be something you can add to. Your mind and what you put into it will always be something no one in the world can take away from you. Right and wrong may not always be clear cut in life but, useful knowledge will always be the clearest of bells that tolls loudly and shouts, “Whether class was in session or not, I was learning!” When I see apathy take root and spread like the vicious little weed that it is, I am infuriated. As a muse though, it stirs my mind into a whirling frenzy of mental retaliatory contemplation. No matter what it inspires I will never give it the credit it is due. Apathy deserves only to be treated the same way it causes us to treat our own lives. It might illicit a song or two from me but I could care less which ones they are. At all cost adults must quash it in both themselves and in their children. Apathy’s loss is always the worlds gain.

It's everywhere. Conflict has the power to draw us into itself whether we resist it or not. There are those who take pleasure in sticking their dirty little spoons into whosever pot is closest or undefended, or especially public and un-defendable except by direct engagement. Instigators measure their success by many standards. There's the initial reaction they get a "kick" out of. I'm sure their endorphins can only be released when they engage in masochisms against their fellow human beings. Their feisty little minds eternally search for the right moment and place to take a stab at. Even after the battle is over residual damages can surface. These “re-saltings” only nourish their jovial candor and our reactions this far down the road have the same effect on their brain chemistry once again. Ignorance is the only place bliss can reign freely in the light of underhanded, backstabbing attacks many of us have to endure. If we ignore it, it might go away. “Might” is just way too hopeful for my mediocre tastes. I have to address the issues in some way and resolve it to the best of my abilities. A stovetop with too many problem pots on the boil is just like baking a gunpowder soufflé. The truly meek and humble can let it slide off of them selves but I am only so “meek and humble”. There’s an old iron stove way in the back of my mind and it has one rather large pot on. I know at all times what’s in it, and which ingredients are about to burn. I can pull anything out in an instant and know full well what the changes will be to the other ingredients. Whatever is in that pot is in a comfortable queue so I know what to address first and what to ignore for a certain amount of time. These are my choices to make and were I to lay them out for all to see I’m sure there would be substantial criticisms. Feel free to taste the dish but use a clean spoon and don’t make any suggestions over that stove. It’s a huge pot and I’ll slap you with my giant paddle if you try to throw something in. I know what need to go in there at any given time. Some people live to see your reaction to their abrasive stimuli. When we give credence to their twisted philosophies by reaction we empower and motivate them to continue. The other side of that coin can be just as dangerous. In other words, “we” will dictate the future by what we do in lieu of what has been done to us. If we ignore it then it just may go away. When it does not, we stand to suffer damage to our public image which in and of itself is the least of what we should worry about. Far more important is the fortitude of our character in the eyes of our immediate family and friends. If we allow ourselves to be “baited” into a confrontation, then win or lose we have guided out future, albeit hap-hazardously. Standing up in the face of instigation is not always the right thing to do but being a pacifist isn’t always the right path to take either. We as the “civil” in an otherwise uncivilized world have to make the judgment call about what course is the correct road to use. Wisdom certainly comes into play here. I’m am wise enough to know that even if I win a knock-down-drag-out, I will still feel the pain come tomorrow morning. So, even in winning, there is some loss to be expected. My wisdom says to deal with a physical attack as quickly as possible and with a force, dictated by the attacker, and being just enough above what you perceive their intentions. Wisdoms idea of force runs from the lowly dirty look all the way up to deadly force. Common sense rides piggy-back with wisdom to help out in your corner. All this is certainly in the realm of pretentiousness so to round out the subject I have to add that in the face of anything less than physical attacks, which are the types that “instigated” this writing, such as, silent, verbal, or written, wisdom and common sense should always do the coaching. No matter what circumstance you find yourself gravitationally locked into, strive to become the most civil denominator but keep your guns locked and loaded and one finger on the safety, and one on the trigger. I hate violence. I hate it because of how much I have been exposed to during my life. It numbs me and confounds me with pain at every convenience I give it. It wrecks its way into my thoughts and I have no choice but to answer its attack. It lures me into the darkest corners of my mind. It’s one of those conundrums I cannot quite get to fall into the pot on the stove back there. I hold it against the wall with the paddle and hot drippings burn it and anger it. I stoke the fire with my free hand and gloat just so much in my subtle turning of the tables. I know I’ll never get it into the pot so; I flick it into the air and take a home-run swing at it. Better to paint the walls with its unique color than to simply let I run free back in here. As the new coat will never dry I resolve to add a bit of it here and there into my music. Just a “dabble” will do. Eventually violence pulls itself together and leaves. I know he’ll be back. I’ll always be ready. The drop I’ve put into a song will never dry so that canvas can always be “re-worked” to fit some other situation. Violence can inspire or destroy. The choice is ours. If we don’t decide then fate can easily decide for us. We may not be able to keep violence out but what we do after it “gets in” can always make a difference. If we don’t properly acknowledge it, it will sneak up from behind and smite us. Its first blow is always to our civility. When we let that attribute fall, all other redeeming qualities are never far behind. For my brothers, friends, and acquaintances who have served in the military and witnessed how violent our species can be, and who have taken the time to share their stories of battle with me and any one else, thank you. Whether you realized or not, you have given me the wisdom to be a person in whom is contained the ability to be more civilized. I am grateful for your sacrifices as well as for those who gave everything they could to defend freedom. We the free and civilized can never thank all of you enough.

Just a note to you all, I'm working on some leads for Jesse De La O right now and on more new material for my own music. Keep the ears peeled and you'll hear it soon. All the tracks on FINAL THOUGHTS can now be heard in their entirety here now. Look for some free downloads too across all listed albums! Below is a blog about muses I'm doing as well. It's a sort of showcase for things that inspire people like you, me, or everybody. I hope you like and after that, go listen to some tunes! Keep it LOUD!!!! Jose' Battles, great and small, take place every day. They are often lopsided affairs where one or a few are against many. The numbers can be anywhere from dead even, to billions against one, but each side is determined to win. Many times the combatants meet on the battlefield, but there are times when they never meet at all. It’s a fact easy to understand that, not all wars are fought with body counts. Passing new laws, rules, and regulations can be equally as tenacious endeavors. Maybe there won’t be much bloodshed, but it’s still a fight. Taking a stand for something you truly believe in will often result in anything from a small philosophical “skirmish”, to a full blown act of genocide. Now, study that sentence and read between the lines. Don’t by any means forget to add anything you can between the opposite ends of the spectrum I’ve just given you. If any of you cherished readers can come up with something outside of either end then please enlighten us all. There is speech here, and I’ll keep it as free as I can. Some battles have beginnings and ends. Some have no known beginning and still others, it seems, will never end. Casualties can pile up over mountaintops, or never even occur. Some sides will fight to the death and others will surrender. Some sides will fight on even after they’ve won and other sides will feint retreat or surrender and then regroup for a renewed attack. As with all things in this world, the possibilities are endless. History may or may not record the exact start of a war; it may even forget the middle and end. History can afford to be so easily fickle in that regard. After all, it’s got only itself to lose. We on the other hand will be condemned to repeat any of it that we “forget”. The mistakes that lead us into conflict should never be treated with frivolity. Sadly, that’s the case far too many times and such actions lead us to doubt the future we desperately strive to create for our progeny. Half a lifetime ago someone asked me; “don’t you believe in yourself?” to this day I’m not too sure I even gave an answer that was in a publishable language. I wasted a considerable amount of breath in my youth on bravado. With a pinch of wisdom under my larger-than-I-wish-it-was belt by now, my answer today is; “I believe in myself when I’m having fun.”, and right now I’m having a lot of fun. The conflicts are light and bearable. Keeping my eyes and ears open to the world around me keeps paying off. The dividends are usually small but in my case anything coming in at all far outweighs what I have to put out on a daily basis. “My defenses are still holding strong”. Battles won or lost can be profundities. There’s no inspiration like a good fight. Mental jousts as well as physical matches can set the creative mind into a meteoric re-entry back to a basic yet powerful form of creativity. On the other hand, and just as powerfully, they can send one outward, bound towards new horizons and even new universes. When such muses hit us with their sparks, “fun” becomes a lowly term to describe how we feel. We don’t think in terms of feelings, we just ride the awesome wave of what we are creating. All the way, we understand our emotions and languish for as long as possible in a realm it seems we have been seeking desperately all along. When I’m creative, I am having fun. It will be easier to answer your questions when I’m done with all this fun. Winning, or losing, neither can be regarded as having the ability to send you off in any particular creative direction. Few can predict what will be born in the aftermath of any conflict. A great classical composer might well have spent the remainder of his years jotting down love sonnets after a blood drenched war. A master painter might give us canvas after canvas of peaceful still life. The flavor of the battle will have an influence but that influence will not always be apparent. One person might accidentally bump into a stranger on the street and a quick battle of glances might ensue. Emotions can be quickly traded with facial expressions, words, or even gestures. Either protagonist may judge the other on intelligence, race, and even social acclimation. If one of them is creative then at the earliest possible moment the muse will be realized and something will be “created”. What could it be; An angst ridden punk rockers anarchic gut-spill; A love poem by a pit trader who bumped into a beautiful woman on the way home but was quickly heartbroken by the way she looked at him; Maybe a chaotically rendered canvas with a central soft spot interpreted as the “person I bumped into today”; Or, a cacophonous barrage of synthesizer laden techno punk with an amazingly lucid central bridge. As always, the human imagination can take any inspiration and use it to turn out any number of infinite creations. Win or lose, as long as we survive, we can create.

Life is a day to day struggle. We all make our way as best we can and the efforts we put forth never seem to be enough. In that regard, we push our mental and physical limits to the breaking point and then beyond. A lot can be learned by watching someone “try”. When they fail, and if you were really paying attention, the lesson may be obvious as to why. Whether it is or not, the wisdom not to make the same mistake, or mistakes, is what we really need to glean from failure. It may be someone else, or it may be us. If we do not learn from our mistakes we will repeat them. As the average person sets out for a goal they do so with as much preparation as they can muster. They hope any research they have done will pay off. The endeavor may be small or immense, but in their eyes it is something they seek to accomplish. Any knowledge beforehand is set into a corner of memory and it is lashed down with strands of hope that it will be there and ready to use at the appropriate moment in time. How many times in life have we watched someone embarked on an endeavor? How many times have we seen them reach a certain point where we can see that what approaches is a bottleneck where they might get dashed on the rocks of failure? Did they have a good plan to start with? Were they able to convince us of the high probability for success that they had calculated? Did we watch them with anticipation and did we support them mentally with encouragement? When it all turned into a flight of Icarus, how deeply did our hearts sink as the wax and feathers rained down? We don’t have to keep our attention riveted on someone as they fail, but if we look away too soon, then it will be all too easy for us to make the same mistakes in our own endeavors. There is no joy in seeing failure, and defiantly none in being the one who fails. I don’t even enjoy seeing an enemy fail. Failure is one of the domains where pain cavorts about smashing things. Dreams are splintered at odd speeds and the shards ricochet back and forth without a set cadence. Wounds open and heal, only to open again. Each time, they fill with salt eliciting silent screams inside. Without, there may be tears, sobbing, or just whimpering, and we have to go on. Pride may blind us into blaming the world for our failure but it will never blind the world to the truth. We were wrong in the execution of our endeavor. Somewhere in our great plan, we made a mistake. After failure has dashed a dream we the spectator might try to concoct a way to ease the pains of that goal-deprived-individual. Initiated or not, our plan is our way of trying to glaze over the pain we experienced as a mere spectator. Granted, not everyone will sympathize, but then again not everyone can be meek. Whether those who fail know it or not, even a nano amount of sympathy is still, “sympathy”. It’s better to have such emotions and to use them than to lock them away so they rot your soul from the inside. In your final days you will realize what was important and why. What you could have felt, should have felt, and what did feel, are all things that you have to line up to the best of your abilities so regrets don’t have to line them up for you. To see someone fail time and time again is a hard pill to swallow. To look away in disgust after the first few times is insensitive. To keep watching and to see them get back up and try again, is to acknowledge the true spirit of the human condition. The “never say die”, “never give up”, and the “I think I can” attitude has been a part our psyche from before recorded history. Every time we see it in action the reaffirmation; that we can make our dreams come true if we just keep trying, makes us proud of who and what we are. I see a friend fall all too often, but I also see them get back up and it makes me proud to know them, to be their friend. Likewise, with strangers, when they rise from the ashes so to speak, I am moved to keep trying to bring my own dreams to fruition. The witnesses to failure are silent muses that cheer the loudest for the human condition. The failure is the muse that screams the loudest at every witness and that muses message is either side of a sword. The one is sharp enough to cut again. The other is to dull to even think about picking fingernails with. Like comedy and tragedy, failure is an extreme. The emotions it can evoke from us can also be extreme. When you go to bed tonight think this phrase; Caution, dreams in progress. See if it’s still there when you awake.

I've set FINAL THOUGHTS complete set of tracks to full length listen mode. You can hear samples or the whole songs. There is even a free download if you want it! Enjoy!

We’ll all have our feathers ruffled at some time. Life is full of inevitabilities and that one is no exception. Our reaction to whatever “ruffles” us will set the tone of our character that the rest of the world, and don’t ever forget that they ARE watching, will see. You will make mistakes. Skirting the issues will only hurt you more, so stay to the point and be as precise as possible in your rebuttals. It’s easy for you, the reader, to bend both the meaning and the intent of my words as you wish. Some may read an entertaining piece of work while others can only read a narcissistic rant. The beauty of the written word is that unless the entire population that reads it is on the same grammatical page many different meanings can be arrived at by many different people. As things stand, every reader can take a little something different from the same set of written words. Each readers own personality adjust the inflections to suit their taste. When a writer becomes stale and unimaginative and there is no longer any way for a reader to make comprehensive adjustments to what the words are saying, then the words quickly become an exercise in futility. The reader loses interest and the writer loses a reader. I can’t always get every detail tuned to perfection so I can easily come across as vague. Once that happens I am open to all sorts of typographical abuse. I welcome any and all critical attacks at anything I have ever written. I will never delete any public comments made to any post on any website I use. The bad and the good have to battle for balance and freedom of speech must always battle censorship. That war will rage on forever and I will remain the chivalrous soldier that I am in that regard. I’m sure there are parents out there who would never let their children listen my music nor even read my lyrics. They have that right and obligation to control what their kids are exposed to. I don’t try to intentionally write things to offend but sometimes that’s just the way things turn out. When I know I’m wrong I can and will apologize. When I know I’m right I simply will not. I will listen to critics from all along the wall, end to end, and look deeply into what they say. If I am convinced enough I will make a change. So, the naysayers and warmongering voices had better keep their game faces true and their pencils sharp. If they can’t do that then I’ve already won half the battle. Winning easily is no fun, so allow me to entice you and egg you on to a fevered pitch. Say whatever you want about me, my music, my short stories, or my poems. Lump any combination of those things together for an attack on me or a compliment. I’m not a private person here online so half of your move is guaranteed. You will be read with attention and as an individual with an opinion worthy of hearing. If I did not regard all comments equally, then I would be a censor. I can assure you that I am not. Music is about emotion. That emotion must tell a story. It must also paint as clear a picture as possible in the mind of the listener. Since songs are “created things”, the limit to what they can express is near infinite. I’ve written songs from the darkest, saddest side of love and all the way to communicating with extraterrestrial civilizations. I’ve written about everything from partying all night to standing in the longest line ever on judgment day. War, crime, technology, and even futuristic excursions are the places I love to let my mind play. My feet remain firmly in reality but my heart and mind fly much farther than mere physics allow. No matter how far I can fly into my dreams, when I arrive at my destination I still retain a touch of the physics that govern the real world. Sights and sensations are a must. They have to be molded properly to convey the sharpest detail to the listener. In my imagined worlds physics and the theoretical blend together into new realities. Complex and simple become intertwined into the fabric of a new existence. Melodies erupt and rhythm explodes and all the while I can still feel reality under my feet. I’m walking in the Victoria mall and on a distant star at the same time. I’m piloting a small ship around a nebula and fishing on the banks of the Guadalupe. A songbird is waking me up on a cool Saturday morning and Eta Carinae is ripping itself apart before my eyes. I’m in a small room with a guitar slung over my shoulder and a good set of headphones on, and just as easily, I’m on a football field sized stage with a 50 billion watt sound system churning up the ground and vaporizing a flock of errant pigeons. Imagination is my idea of fun. Reality is an innocent driver careening towards me and the group of illegal aliens that had rear ended her almost making a clean getaway. Reality is me still tasting the seat cushion today. Reality is an accidental offense. Reality is my apology. Reality is me screaming with my eyes at a few silly comments. Reality is a few good friends welcomed objectivity. Reality is a damaged vehicle someone now has. Reality is “God I hope they didn’t get hurt”. Reality is two people might have been killed. Reality is a group of people who don’t belong here ruining somebody’s day. Reality is extremely soft and very abrasive. Reality is always more than what we want it to be. Reality is that I can only hope you understand. Reality is knowing that you’ve read this. Can you make it any more real than that?

Can wanting to be a muse be a justifiable endeavor? Before you answer that, make doubly sure you don’t blind yourself with enthusiasm. The answer will depend on your state of mind as well as the situation and the object of your “muse-ment”. When we want to “bemuse”, nothing can inflate the ego like a successful musing campaign. On the other hand failure can have an equally deflationary result. Ego aside, since its blinding abilities can easily cloud things up in most situations, being inspirational is a trait that can blossom forth from any person as well as any object, place, situation, act of God, and etcetera. Love songs have been inspired by many a beautiful face but just as many crooning have been inspired by sunsets, full moons, and even a little table in front of a bistro. Many “muse” in ignorance without ever knowing they’re muses. Those in the know, cover a broader spectrum of the population than can readily be realized. Those who endeavor to inspire can be both bane and blessing. The downside of a stalkers action towards one person can be the catalyst for anthers creations. Some people have to seek law enforcement help to “persuade” a stalker to find another object of affection while others bask in the attention and even encourage it. In stalking situations the “stalk-ee” is the muse for the stalkers actions and the “stalker” is the muse for the “Stalk-ees” actions. Participation by reaction or even a lack of on the targets part is a moot point. The loop is in place and the feedback has the potential to scream the situation into a monster of headline grabbing proportions. It should never be said that being a muse is something that should be thought out in advance. If that were the protocol used to “muse” I’m not so sure much would be inspired. Maybe it’s best that we just throw that device into the box along with every other instruction and blank paper thought on how to muse. Musing is something better left to both chance and circumstance. Teachers are great muses. They inspire us to learn and they reward our learning with grades and accolades, hopefully. They have to stick to the agenda of the lesson and follow laws that tell them exactly what to teach and how, but, with the proper personality, they can remain inspirations for us for all our lives. We may let their names fade as we age but their lessons will always be a part of our character. All good teachers teach because they want to. I’ve been blessed with many good teachers who, as I look back, were awesome muses! When we get an idea that lies along a path we cannot for some reason take ourselves then, we should do our best to get it to someone who can take it and run with it. How long have scientist been searching for the energy grail of fusion? Huge magnetic containment chambers have popped on for mere seconds or less but that’s as far as we’ve been. That “cold-fusion” fiasco looked good at the outset but flopped. Nuclear fusion could well bring about world peace but weaponization will probably wrench that dream from our hands once again. Life and the universe can inspire our scientist but in the end someone who obviously has no meekness in their bones will mess up the dream. When scientific inspiration hits me I’ll jot the resulting mustard seeds down in the same book that I write my lyrics in. I wrote one down last night after watching the millisecond burn of fusion in a magnetically contained cloud of plasma. Valiant efforts nonetheless, but I think there is a far more efficient way. (I am now inserting the shameless plug here.) If any of you know a physics professor at Victoria college please ask him to answer a few key questions for me. 1. How many atoms are required for a single event of fusion to take place in a star? (I saw a graphic and it seemed to use four.) 2. What are all the possible isotopes of the atoms required for a single event of fusion to take place and what are all possible combinations of these isotopes? 3. How much of the original mass used for a single event of fusion is converted into energy? 4. How close can we come to manipulating plasma in a ___-___________ _____? I can’t put words in there that would give away the idea so you have three blanks to fill. I know, I should just go to the library and look all this up. I just want to inspire a scientist to think outside of the box for a few seconds. My reasoning that fusion is being chased after in the wrong direction is rooted in the reality of what we are trying to replicate and the environment that that reaction actually takes place in. I’m not so sure we can ever duplicate those conditions properly. My idea is supposed address that problem by reconfiguring one key element. There are many ideas that have blossomed from my imagination, fallen onto a proper train of thought, and then been drawn on paper and stored in a large three-ring binder. There’s a big hazmat sticker and “hazardous” on it as well, my humor. My hidden inventions share the pages with small works of my art, guitar body designs, short stories, and even some covers from work folders that I drew on in high school. I know they may never see the light of day but I still have an insatiable desire to think this stuff up. As the muses inspire it, I will try to inspire with it. So, you want to be a “muse”. Think about it, or, just let it happen. It’s always good to want to be something. What can you inspire? Find the artist around you and set your sights on influencing them in some way. You never know. What they come up with just might flatter you. Whoever you are just remember, you are already a muse by just being you.

(I know this is disjointed but here goes any way,,,) It was a fog and drizzly painted morning today. To the best of my knowledge it was the first heavy fog for the season. The air was cool and summer seemed the distant memory it deserves to be. Deluges are more than welcome but even the soft pitter that greeted me at 6:30 AM was comforting. Yesterday found me driving down south to Alice. A severe weather alert hit Nueces County just as I pulled into that lively little town. With massive showers behind me in Goliad and Beeville, I was confronted by an even more ominous grey and green wall of this approaching storm. With the help of three of my co-workers I was quickly offloaded and re-loaded with items bound for Victoria. Just as I attempted to pull out of the Alice shops yard, the leading edge hit. I felt the temperature drop and watched the rain wall move off in the direction I had to take. Huge fist sized drops crashed all around. I was enjoying it nonetheless. Turning back towards the middle of town and getting up to speed I soon drove out of the rain. It was a pleasure to have better driving conditions and I watched the storm in relative safety as I made my way thru Alfred, Orange Grove, Sandia, Mathis, Tynan, and Skidmore. No more rain hit me until Beeville. From there to Goliad it sprinkled on and off. I got home with a strange lack of appetite. From 7:45 PM until about 11:30 PM I mixed down guitars, laid drum and bass tracks, and even a new lead track for a new song. Nothing left now but a keeper vocal and final mix and mastering. When the music feels good to work on I will find the time. Yesterday and today have ended up with something in common; they both are full of new ideas. Grand soundscapes are trying to take shape in my minds eye. They build themselves up like ponderous thunderheads heavy with moisture. Flashes of insight give birth to bombastic rumblings that seek out harmonic resolve. A song is conceived and gestates within. It lives, long before it sees the light of day. Some may well incubate for years, others simply will not wait. Some ideas hit like a fighter jet with full afterburners on. They scream forward scrambling for attention and to deny them would be both foolish and blasphemous. Who knows what the origins of our ideas are? We can freely speculate but in the aftermath of their self presentation, what we do with them is in our hands. They are clays of infinite densities. We can mold them as we please, and mold them we should. Now! getting on to biz-ness! Finished another tune and started on a new one. Thumbing thru lyrics and coming up with evevn more ideas. I'm rushed as usual this morning so I'll be getting on with my day. I hope yours is a pleasant event. Keep the volume up!

9-12-2009 Eight years ago from yesterday, I was starting the first day of a much needed vacation. I was attempting to “sleep in” but, as fate would have it, not many Americans would be able to do that on “that day”. Glenda’s sister-in-law called and woke us up with the news of one of the twin towers burning. I turned on the TV and there it was, far too high for ladder trucks and people, many people, hanging out of windows above the smoke and flames. Many thoughts races thru my head as I tried to form a hypothesis to explain how this could have happened. That was a useless train of thought though. A part of me went numb as the second plane raced across the screen and delivered the death blow to the other tower. Indeed, a dark muse was born into us all on 9-11-2001. There is a rather large archive of video and pictures from that day. Several cable channels lined them up this past anniversary and I watched until I once again became numb. The fireballs, smoke, and the snow of paper, the jumpers, some hand in hand, and those trapped on the upper floors hit me like a sledgehammer. The images are the flame and I the moth. I will never forget and I will never let myself forget! Many of the faces I watched are no longer with us. There’s the parade of the 288th fire battalion, headed into harms way, ambulance paramedics, and police officers, security guards, and of course, ordinary people. 60 countries were represented in that tragedy. How many have joined us in our war against terror? We were deer in headlights that morning. Flight 93 was one place were we fought back, albeit, not soon enough. As each year passes the infamous date, I find my resolve unshaken by those who say they are tired of hearing about it and refuse to look at the images and sounds in the archival footage. Investigations can study the event with a microscope but that will never change the facts of what happened. Insane and suicidal zealots hijacked commercial airliners and used them as weapons. Three-thousand-plus were murdered. Those we deem accountable are still on the run. The simple minded want to forget while the nostalgic want resolution and verily I say, “revenge”. The unnerving silence of the skies in the weeks after the attacks forced many into introspection. The only contrails aloft were from patrolling military craft. We slowly returned to something but it was and never will be the normalcy we once enjoyed. Here is my battle scar Osama. I promise you, yours will be greater than mine. Your legs will give out and the generator for your dialyses machine shall fail. Keep your head down. I’m a good shot. I may not pull the trigger but my heart will surly be putting those who do on the proper pedestal.

All work and no play? Far from it. These days it's work or play, your choice! Reality can sneak about all it wants to, we will enjoy this thing called life as much as we can! As long as we got a little cash for food and bills, we can get thru anything. Here are a few thoughts along that line of thinking: We won't get thru this, but we will go through this. we may not go hand in hand, but we will not go alone. We may not take the same steps, but we will cover the same ground. We may not be able to keep every eye dry, but dry eyes will lead those blinded by tears. We may not be able to hear every voice, but every word will be what we need to hear. We will not be able to ease every pain, but we will share every pain equally. We may not be able to explain everything, but every one of us will fully understand. Our bodies may stumble, but our spirits will never fall. We may lose everything along the way, but when we arrive we will have far more than what we started with. We may easily become lost in the crowd, but we will just as easily find ourselves. Many memories will fade along the way, but what is most important will never be forgotten. We may not get to take every breath we want to, but the breathes we do take will take us far. We may not all stand shoulder to shoulder, but we will all stand as tall as we can. We may not hear much from the stars, but the stars will hear a lot from us. Not all will succeed, but all will have mattered. We may not finish everything we start, but starting is what makes all the difference. No one returns from this endeavor called life, so make every single step count. Life is the price you are paying for wisdom so, don't waste what you are buying. Wisdom can buy back the peace of mind you accidentally spent on fun. Fun is the price you pay for happiness. Happiness is what you pay for fond memories. Memories are priceless so, don't trade trhem for anything. smiles are free so, trade them as often as possible with the best of intentions. When you open a big box of memories be very careful, those things are stuffed tightly with smiles. Life, wisdom, peace of mind, fun, happiness, memories, never forget that laughter is the best oil for all these gears. No one can tell you how much to use.

Love has got to be the most twisted muse of them all. (I know, OUCH!). It’s something I’ve always jumped into with all my might, body and soul. The goal, at least for me, was to find someone to spend my life with. Well, it took me almost half a lifetime to do that. Now the little details God leaves out began to perk up and attack. In case you missed it, these bodies we were given age. Woman and man are beset with inherent problems that will manifest themselves sooner or later along the tick of our biological clocks. Hormone levels wax and wane, joints stiffen, minds dull, and we make our way thru the quagmire that is sure to come to one and all. The young have their reasons and their ways to enjoy life while the old have to employ tactical wisdom to do so. In either case, current actions will affect future health in many ways unforeseen. Mentally, and physically, we are machines that wear out. When two people are in love it’s like they’re artists painting the same canvases together. We are all born with a handful of brushes and an infinite pallet of colors to mix and use as we choose. The canvases we mix the colors of love onto can be our greatest works. That’s what we want them to be. In the end, they are among the best and brightest memories we have created. For as long as we can, we keep the paint wet on that section of our pallet. The easel groans under the weight of our brushstrokes. Vivid things populate our thoughts and we pray they remain that vivid forever. At some point, she has to put away her brush. She leaves it loaded with half-mixed colors. Instead of going down into the brush-can, it probably ended up in the back of a cupboard, stuck into a corner when the paint dried. Now it’s lost behind a jar of pickles, or box of fideo. The patches where the colors of love were once mixed have dried and are peeling off. Tempera, acrylic, and oil have lost all the solvent that kept them flowing. Most of the other brushes work fine but the loss of the sound that the brush of love made on the canvas is painful for both. Memories, particularly his, begin to fade over time. He longs to renew them with new painting but she refuses to find that brush. His longing words fall, it seems, on deaf ears. He begins to try and mix those hues again and she just ignores the spots where he struggles to blend them into the canvases they still paint. Rarely, he gets the tone right and fills in a small corner. He knows she sees it but she remains stoic. He sighs inside. He keeps trying for the rest of his days. The moon turns blue, once every long while. He pays close attention to her. His heart flutters whenever she appears to be headed for the “lost brush”. It then of course sinks when she passes the cupboard of limbo. Did she hesitate for the slightest of moments there? Did some faded memory flash thru her mind? Hope fills his heart for a few moments. It flashes those longed for mixes of vibrant tones and for a while, the residual echoes of past masterpieces claw away at his heart. The human brain creates lattices of neurons for long term memories. The things we can recall with the most vivaciousness are stored in said lattices. Our most precious recollections, collected over a lifetime, stack up and await the spark of remembrance. Over time as we pile more and more into these electro-chemical libraries, older parts begin to break down. Little by little, brushstroke by brushstroke, masterpieces fade. Recent events stored away here start to settle down with their full weight, pushing things into distortion ever so slightly, but more and more each day. I picked up a brush that made great mixes of powerful colors. It was like the brush I used to use with her. She has one like it as well but yet, uses it very sparingly. She’s a minimalist with it. I mixed a bit and found the colors to be closely similar to the ones I was longing for so deeply. I got in a rush to capture the memories before they were faded too far out of tone to be recognizable. I soon found myself digging to the very bottom of my memory pool. What I found were many canvases we had done together as well as a few I’d done before we met. Each one was something to be proud of, something that should never fade no matter what happened. Still, I could see where the brightest pigments were already bleeding out. Luster upon taught cloth, how long could it last? Love is a masterpiece that looks like cool rainfall in the summer, warm rainfall in the winter, and the winds of love are always sweet. What better to fill our sails with? What better waters to drown in? Remember the past, or blindly repeat it. But at all cost, remember love.

Rationalizing inspiration and whatever it may produce can be extremely daunting at times. Some things light wildfires of ideas that burn so out of control that every step of the way is fraught with uncertainty. You end up asking yourself what the point of it all is. You question your own integrity, how what you do will be perceived, and most of all your sanity. If artists just let sleeping dogs lie there would be a huge black hole in the center of all things entertainment. Unsettling subjects for the most part will produce negatively toned art and music, by all means, is more the rule than the exception. Things we are comfortable with like having fun are the seeds of good art. There is a time and place for all art and without the darkness there is no light. The eternal struggle of both against each other is the backbone of the essence of life itself. I never intend to write songs about evil and I’m no devil worshiper. Many people have accused me of such things but in every instance they have been totally wrong. I weigh the impact of everything I write before it’s released. I’ve often had doubts of immense proportions about certain phrases and imagery that I’d included on album covers and in songs. If I let it get to me and block my progress then there would be not a single album released. I stand always ready to defend what I’ve produced in any way I need to. If I do not stand for the art I create then I will never stand for anything. Stand fast or become the proverbial meek, docile to the ignorant end. The state of world affairs, and I mean the world as a whole, is prevalent in every newscast, newspaper, and many a blog. Few if any countries are not drowning in problems of one sort or another. Weapons of mass destruction are like sweet candy to “crazy” leaders who are the bane of countries that already have them. The cold war is long over but the specter of destruction it seems has never really left us. Economies are reeling this way and that and for the most part the rich are still getting richer and the poor are still getting poorer. Terrorist are still terrorizing and soldiers are still dying. Someone has stuck a dirty stick in the beans and has stirred everything into a putrid froth. Dark lyrics have no choice but to be born and I’ll not deny them the right to flow from my fingertips. Some people profess to be strong in these times of adversity. I’m often related stories by those who are not. My advice is always simple. “Defend yourself”. I believe everyone capable enough should at the least carry a can of mace. Furthermore I stand by the right to bear arms and that right should never be infringed upon. A population that can protect itself has a better chance against a foe that recognizes no law. Putting ownership in a database is just giving our enemies one more weapon to use against you. We have been beaten into the mindset that we will never be invaded. I’m sure many countries around the world used to think that way. These times are frightening in the way that the leaders we’ve elected are writing laws against us while criminals and terrorist simply ignore those same laws and edge closer and closer to our throats. Such are a few of my own fears and rest assured, they inspire me in many ways. I keep my gun clean. I try to keep up with the daily news. The Advocate is a great source and just one of many I enjoy. It is inevitable though, that after mentally ingesting so much of what is going on in the world that dreams come. Nightmares do happen and when they do, they are usually very vivid. My imagination is replete with detail that’s scientifically accurate. It’s a blessing wrapped up in a curse, or vice-versa. The worst are the recurring ones. Those will make a story in and of themselves. Sounds, colors, textures, and emotions coalesce into life-like scenes of disaster. Final thoughts and final breaths coexist as life is extinguished one way or another. I rarely wake up in a cold sweat these days, rather, I just awaken and think about the experience for the remainder of the morning. Whatever words or music may come, I will not know until my mind has had time to absorb everything and apply it in context to the days news. Sometimes the notes or words are already there and I jump out of bed to write them down. I’ve never tried to write a hit, I could really care less. I just want to tell stories. Life is full of stories. Weaving a train of thoughts into words and music is fun no matter what the subject of the story is. In my case, even dreaming one up can be both frightening and fun.

Friends are things treasured by all. They are our confidants and our interactions with them run the emotional gamut fully. In this day and age it is possible to have friends that you may never meet. Social networking websites have created worlds in the electronic ether. Though physically detached, we still have a palpable experience. Our days are brightened, our minds are expanded, we are informed, we gossip, we enjoy sharing hopes and dreams. We inspire one another to create. There’s one friend of mine on MySpace that writes incredible, dark horror stories. With every new post I am transported into a dark world with vivid imagery that leaps out from his prose. I was never a fan of written horror, but his stuff makes Stephen King look like pre-K. (Sorry S.K.) Ronald, from Massachusetts, Is one of many long-time friends of mine that I have a kinship with that is repeated on many other websites. Whenever he publishes a book you can bet I’ll be buying it! He’s also thrown a few story-ideas at me to compose songs around. We even kicked around the idea of a multi-media type of release. It would be comprised of my instrumentals, dark and foreboding, along with his book, released as a package. Another very important friend is Jesse De La O. I’ve known him for many years and had the pleasure of working with him both in studio and on stage. His professional approach is second to none. Were it not for his hard work I would not be enjoying the spread of my music around the world. His contracts are clear-cut and the results of being affiliated with him are great. As far as knowing the music business, I for one am very limited in that respect. Jesse on the other hand, has a finger on the pulse and pushes himself in many directions at once. He wears many hats and they all fit. His company, A.O.G. Media, has been the platform from which he sets goals and then strives to achieve them. When something has to change he is there first to inform all of A.O.G Medias’ affiliates. I have written exclusive material for A.O.G. and done lead guitar work for Jesse as well as other affiliates and the professionalism with which Jesse operates is top notch. I recently released FINAL THOUGHTS. It’s my 8th album to date and the second track was inspired by a friend on MySpace. His story of how one of his longtime friends dumped him turned into a lyric sheet he wrote. He wanted me to compose the tune and I had to really tone down his words. In the end I still had to put a sticker on the cover, but I also preserved a great portion of the initial anger he conveyed with his first lyrics. The cover of the album was also a creation of one of my MySpace friends. Once again Ronald stepped forward and designed several images. I finally choose the cover for the front and back as well as a medusa type image for the inside song-list panel. It was the first time I had ever used an outside source and my thanks go to Ronald for his hard work. He captured the essence of the concept very well! Without friends life would be boring and empty. Excitement would not exist in any recognizable form. When we listen to music we become a friend to the artist for a few minutes. If we like what we hear we become a fan, which is also a friend. The same goes for whenever we read a book or conduct business on good terms. There should never be a strong side/weak side to a friendship. Two friends should always hold each other up equally. They should fly together and they should fall together. They should land together and they should get back up together. Above all, they should communicate. Lack of communication inspires negatively. Have you inspired a friend lately? I have to tip my hat to 24-7! Congratulations on a gig well deserved! Knock ‘em dead kids! Great job Mario! Please record the performance. This is a gig well worth capturing!

Inspiration comes from everywhere. We go through our lives deluged by creative possibilities. When the stars align, or when we can get it together, a muse coalesces out of the ether. From that point on we create new things. Images, words, music, science, dreams, and any combination of all these things are birthed into existence. We realize that something has given us the mental fortitude to build a dream into some reality we can enjoy. We hope with conviction that others might enjoy our creation as well. I was blessed with the ability to imagine great things. I wholeheartedly owe my imagination and intellect to the greatest human being I ever knew, Mrs. Charlotte Dement. We called her “Den”. She not only raised me from diapers, but she was also my first kindergarten teacher at Palestine Baptist church in Victoria. From her I learned to read, write, and grasp math. At one point in grade school I was at a loss to comprehend multiplication. She stayed up all night with me until I memorized the equations and answers. Math was always my weakest subject. Without her I would have never learned it at all. Imaginations seed was planted deeply every Sunday. My Brothers and I would walk around the block from church to a small convenience store. I would buy a candy bar, soda, chips, and a comic book. Over the years I amassed a large collection. A few friends even helped out with issues from before I was born. My heroes were Spiderman, Superman, Batman, Ironman, and many more. I taught myself to draw by tracing out of an Ironman comic book. After doing it so many times I was able to reproduce the pose free-hand. From there I created many of my own new heroes with flamboyantly outrageous costumes. When anatomy became an issue I went to a staple resource that was never in short supply. Two sets of encyclopedias, the Book of Knowledge, and the Encyclopedia of Science were always available. I learned about bone structure, muscle layers, organ location, cells, senses, and more. To this day I have a few pieces of my artwork on the bedroom wall. There are a few pieces I’ve given away that I regret losing. I have a photograph of a twenty foot dragon I did as the backdrop for a prom at Bloomington High in the late 80s. The paint was too heavy and the day after the prom it fell to the floor torn. We threw it out behind the school in a burning area. A chemistry accident we had to move out of the lab self-combusted after we threw its contents in the same cage. At least I have pictures of it as well. When I look back on my life it is a simple leap to make. My minds eye fills with the sounds and scenery of then. My carefree innocence smoothed out the rough edges of the cruelties of life. Den sheltered my brothers and I from the worst of the world and raised us as if we were her own. She left us with a priceless legacy. We learned to keep our minds hungry for knowledge. We learned to keep our dreams vibrant and powerful. We learned that anything is possible if you simply put your mind to it. I appreciate the smell of a fresh baked lemon meringue pie, or the epiphany of new scars from impacts on Jupiter. The simple and the complex share an equal footing in my thoughts. There once was a piano in the house. It’s gone now but I played it a wee bit as a child. Den played piano and organ in church. I was never allowed to touch the instruments at Palestine, but that only fueled my curiosity for music. I still vividly remember the first melody I played to this day, just some chromatic arpeggios. It’s translated well to synthesizer these days. At 13 I discovered guitar. Now at 44 I still play keyboards as well. I soak up everything I can about anything, every day of my life. I leave nothing behind as all things under the sun are not new except for that which we create. Dream big or small dreams, to see people discover your dreams is rewarding. Inspiration comes from, everywhere! Knowledge is freedom. Respect your muses and they will always return to you. I know mine always do. Great music inspires new music. The discovery of great music will always lead a musician to create new music. Some of my creations were directly influenced by great artists that I discovered. The futuristic escapades perpetrated by the Canadian trio called RUSH had an unmistakable influence on my imagination. “Xanadu” was the first song of theirs I ever heard. I then heard the album 2112 and quickly bought the 8-track. Over the years I replaced it with the LP, cassette, and finally the CD. The music empowered my mind to follow it on a journey like no other ever did. I got my hands on each new album as fast as I could. The music of RUSH is a complicated, well thought-out affair. The sound-scapes are rich with texture and the lyrics are deep yet easy to identify with. This was especially true for a young impressionable me. My own material began to dip into the pools of futurism. Dark tales of post apocalyptic Earth and space travel came easily from my pen. Sadly these days, after all the material I wrote down that burst forth from my experiences with the music of RUSH, only one song ever got recorded. I did “FREE” as a solo artist. It’s an energetic rock tune from the perspective of the rider on an air-bike. That would be like a motorcycle without wheels. The rider hints at lost love but obviously is enjoying the ride. He listens to the radio and says “They still play that song we love”. It’s track number four on SCRAMING WITH MY EYES. That mindset and focused perspective that I garnered from listening to RUSH has stayed with me to this day. On my last release I expounded upon the inevitable end of the human race. Melancholy runs rampant on many of the tracks. Yes, they are still a favorite muse of mine. Next time I think I’ll relate a dark muse to you. It will remain nameless as it is something I hate to admonish. At some point in our lives we all lose. We all end up having something we hold near and dear to us gouged out of our lives suddenly and inexorably forever. Artists are in the unique position to share that pain in a flamboyant way. We tend to put our hearts on our sleeves. Never mind the ridicule or embarrassment we stand to become the targets of. When we lose, we often times take it much harder than those without our humbling gifts of creation. Look at the tortured yet genius canvases of Van Gogh. He lost his sanity and no one could help him find it. So, he went looking for it in the countryside with an easel. He found his peace at the end of a barrel. Listen to the sadness of the strings in “Adagio”. The Victoria Symphony did that arrangement for strings after 9-11. Their rendition moved me as it was the most fitting piece of music I could identify my sadness with. To have things you love in your life is much like catching the perfect wave on a good surfboard. But, as the saying goes, all good things come to an end. The wave crashes onto shore and we must relinquish it back to the sea. We are left with memories that will haunt us to the day we die. Good or bad we can always replay those memories in our mind and feel those feeling once again. No matter how much it hurts and no matter how much we might try to promise ourselves we’ll forget about it, we will push replay whenever the moment is right. That will usually be when we see someone doing something we once did. We tie our heart-strings in a knot to keep the tears at bay. They just fill us up on the inside anyway and the movie inside runs again. The cellophane inside will never blur, burn, or break. I went into this wanting to divulge to you something I had to go thru in the past. I think in all my composing of music thus far I have allowed on muse in particular to keep working me, so to speak, for way too long. Many years ago I let go as best I could. The feelings lingered on along with the pain and I let myself suffer. I got it out of my system long ago but doing so, as well as “going thru it”, left me with an ever-present drive to particular songs. There are many ways to tell the tale and I want to tell it from every angle. In the end, I don’t much care if that muse ever hears one note of all that has been elicited from me on their account. I’ll leave you this time with the first line from the first song this unnamed muse was the antagonist for. “If I never see you again, it will be too soon.” I have considerable trouble getting to sleep sometimes. This morning in fact I had reached a rare nirvana. It was like floating on a smooth ocean with gentle two-inch swells. Small fish were exfoliating my back. One of them surfaced and whispered into my ear, “Roll over.” As I did so a mermaid made me a pillow with her tail and began massaging my neck and shoulders. My tan felt cool with nary a hint of burn. Of course it was 4am. The phone rang! For the next hour or so, I was engrossed in trying to locate a qualified person to send out into the Gulf of Mexico. I was unsuccessful. I hate it when I fail! Now you know one of the many sources of the anger in my music. No matter what you are capable of doing, you will be called upon to do things you can only hope you can accomplish. When you reach this point in your life you will have to draw heavily upon your past experiences. Those situations you learned from become important, finally. If you are smart you will have brought along wisdom, thus far, unused. When people start looking up to you for guidance it doesn’t just mean you are getting old. It means they were paying attention when you showed them that you knew what you were doing. Never let them down. They will watch you forever and learn from you. There future is in your hands. Teach them the wrong way and you will regret it later when you look back. You’ll regret it even more if what you taught them gets them killed. Teach them well and they will take your place when the time is right. Choose your successors carefully. Your fine-toothed-comb should always be your guide. I’ve learned much from many in my life. All along this journey I have had the honor to know many great mentors. Teachers, co-workers, bosses, friends, and even enemies have been my inspiration to forge ahead in this endeavor called life. The music died the other day. It was 94. Every note Les Paul effortlessly played carried with it the strength of happiness and the convictions of truth. He changed the guitar into the icon it is today and few if any additions to the technology have been so profound and simple. The same can be said of his gifts to the recording industry. My meager rig still owes much to him, as well as the shape of my first electric guitar. Les Paul shaped the future of music and will always be remembered with a smile. Seek his music out and I promise you, your heart will fly! There is a rich history lost to much of the youth of today. It is replete with emotional music of the most fun nature. Even sad passages have a way of picking you up and cheering you up, no matter what! The first time I ever heard Les’ music was when he was honored by some of my heroes. (E.Van Halen was one of them.) There was this old master of the guitar belting out the happiest sounding licks I had ever heard. The toys he was using were awesome as well. Emotion is something all musicians want to inject into their crafted compositions. Les was like a skyscraper piercing the clouds. There is an oceans worth and more of his music out there still. You will be hard pressed to find any of it that will let you down. I hear there’s a huge concert happening tonight in heaven. I bet the sound even seeps down to earth. Aint gonna be a foot standin still up there! With the passing of great human beings we are left to contemplate our own lives. We do so alongside of their legacy. We compare their lives to our own on some level and try to justify ourselves in some way. We rationalize what they accomplished while alive and wonder if they felt “accomplished”. We eventually sink down into the depths of contemplating our own existence. Death is a doorway we will all have to go thru eventually. The looming specter of the finality of what we are inspires us to “accomplish” something with the time we have left. Some wish to live forever. Others accept the time they are given. Death inspires many an artist to expunge their souls of the most powerful symbolizations they can rip from the depths of their minds. The products they create illicit a myriad of responses from the populace. Ridicule, praise, and indifference are all symptoms of what is fired back from those who experience the “artwork” inspired by death. Some songwriters find a comfort in locking themselves into the “death-niche” and stay there for the duration of their careers. Others just dip into those dark depths when their lives dictate it appropriate. The death of a family member, friend, or hero can easily be the catalyst. Any of these tragedies can either inspire artists to create, or inspire them not to. At the end of the day the only thing that matters to most fans is not the inspiration for a new song, but rather the way it relates to them in their everyday lives. How it moves them is the key to the whole ritual. Whatever reaction is produced in their hearts and minds is what takes precedence over whatever may have been the inspirational spark. The composer may suffer endlessly, but the fans must be entertained! Exotic places can easily become the muses for new music. I’ve been to very few such places but still, locations have inspired me. To name a few; the pine-Forrest of Louisiana, the mountains of Oklahoma, the deserts of west Texas and New Mexico, and I once had a grand view of the Gulf Of California. In my early teen years I moved to Natchitoches, LA. There was a small trailer park atop Pine Ridge where we stayed. The tall pines surrounded us and when winter came the snow would weigh the branches down. The silence of the mornings was the most peaceful I have ever experienced. It was broken by my crunching footfalls in the snow and if I clapped, the sound wave would become the straw that broke the camels back so to speak. A sound much like a gunshot would ring out as a branch high up in the pines would snap under the weight of the snow. My baby brother and I would ride our big-wheels down the hill behind our trailer. When the thaw came that run would be devoid of grass. In such instances I learned the weight a sound could carry with it if produced in the proper silence. These days the hiss of a loud amplifier has a deep meaning for me. Long before I hit the guitar strings, that hiss will set my mood. Then I lose myself in the sound. My first trip to McAllister, OK was job related. I was in my early twenties and drove from Victoria to Houston in one truck. From there, I drove another truck all the way. The scenery along the way was spectacular and my first drive thru Dallas was actually enjoyable. A soon as I crossed the state line that night I began to see the eyes of many small creatures along the side of the road in the brush. Winter had just set in and that morning was overcast. That was pretty much all I can say about the view for the next few days. I drove up into the mountains and along narrow winding roads to several locations. Well sites and drilling rigs were all up there. On one drilling rig I put my tools together and waited for the wire line crew to complete the calibration of theirs. It started to snow. It was mixed with sleet and soon there were icicles hanging off of everything. I had not packed for winter so there I was with only a t-shirt under my coveralls. It was cold but I kept moving and never got more than cold fingers. We picked up the tools that night and began to “log” the well bore. Somewhere near 35,000 feet deep the wire line that held a very expensive string of sensors broke. The well then began to kick. It pushed all the wire line out of the hole and up through all 60 feet of my tools in the derrick. Now we had a mess of ½” inch cable to clean up. As luck would have it, I was called back to Texas. It was Halloween night. I got relieved and drove down the mountain to another location where the local manager for my company picked me up. He then drove me to Tulsa where I caught a flight back home. As the plane waited to taxi ground service personnel walked thru the cabin in full Halloween costumes. Death was last. The cabin was filled with nervous laughter. Dallas was just a beautiful from the air. The long drives out west across Texas were things I always looked forward to. I’d go as early as possible. What I loved about it so much was the fact that I could get to the lease gate early and either sleep in the truck or hang my heads out the window and with my binoculars, see the stars like nowhere else. Nebulae and dark clouds, the Hose-head, and even the moons of Jupiter and Saturn were all easy to see far from city light pollution. The work days were hot and sandy, but it was all worth it to catch the stars at night. You look up and feel small but at the same time you realize you are a part of something really huge. I used to try to visualize the distances between the stars when I was very young. I could contemplate such things for hours on end. When I first got out to west Texas and discovered the view, it gave me an even greater grasp of what I was imagining. I have not been back in years but I know the stars are still there. My first trip into New Mexico found me in Hobbs. I checked into a motel room a day early and that night in the desert, it snowed. I woke up to 2’ feet of snow on the truck and trailer. The customer called to say stay put as roads were closed. I think that lasted until noon and then I drove across town to their shop. The snow was a dry snow. The wind had blown up 4’ to 5’ foot drifts everywhere. A few hours were spent sipping coffee before we headed out to location about 50 miles away. When we arrived we rigged up and started the well service job. I took a few pictures and even built a snowman. Here I was in the middle of a desert surrounded by snow! The juxtaposition was profound. Getting back to my childhood, I once took a flight out to Los Angeles to visit my paternal Grandmother. The 747 cruised at 30,000 feet or so and on the return trip I looked out the right side of the plane and saw the entire length of the Baja Peninsula. The pacific was on one side and the Gulf of California was on the other. That was the best view of the Earth I have had so far in my life. I can’t say that I have been to too many exotic places but, I have friends and family who have been. Terry Daun, a fellow musician and collaborator from Chandler, AZ recently went to Hawaii. He took hours of video that he then used to produce music videos with. One was a tune He asked me to play lead guitar on. “TAX” is what it’s called. The scenes are from his walk down into a live volcano. I may not have been there but I’m glad my guitar work was used as a part of the soundtrack for what looks like it was quite an adventure. Mom’s been to the Bahamas and two of my brothers have seen the world during military service. In all my limited travels the people I’ve met and the places I’ve seen have all left their mark on my personality. For now I can honestly say, “there’s more good out there than bad”, “there’s something new to see around every bend”, and, “when a view leaves you speechless, be prepared for a flood of creative juices!” Fear can be a powerful motivator. When composers allow it to become the muse of their creations grand epics can well up like a tidal wave and inundate the mind. Dark movements replete with portents of disaster and pain rush forward to assault the sensibilities. “All is lost” is an easy theme to find. We must remember that there are more stories to tell other than what may lie on the surface of situations. The fear of losing something can wreak havoc upon the mind, body, and the soul. Many a composer sat down to a blank page and proceeded to cover it with scenario after scenario of myriad outcomes to a bad situation they happened to be in, or went thru at some point in their life. There can be little doubt that a single page soon turned into a stack of “disaster-pieces”. How many ways can you lose the one you love the most? How long will you wallow in the pain until you move on? It’s not the actual act of the disaster, but rather the road that leads inexorably to the tragedy. After that, the road that leads away from said occurrence or occurrences is usually one we loathe to be on. Once the fear is realized and the crest of the situation has passed, there lingers the cloud of detritus. The leftovers of a relationship tend to hang around the longest. Places, objects, and all manner of sensory input can jar memories of better times to the front of the mind like a well placed baseball bat. The fear that one may never get over it looms just behind like the reaper in mid-swing. The icy glint off his blade holds a high note into infinity. Jimi Hendrix looks at his watch. We lose count of the days and the people around us blur into “things”. We replay the events that lead us up to this moment where we seem to be lost in time. With each spin of the loop we try to change the daydream into what we wanted reality to be. Even after we run out of tears we still struggle there in the mud, so far down from the ladder we once climbed so high upon. Some allow their minds to morph the memories. Reality takes a back seat to insanity and we rationalize to our own mental benefit. No one can realize that once we are down in the mud we had better stop struggling first of all. That hypothetical place is just like quicksand. We have to let it take its course though. Down there is part of the circuit we must complete in order to begin our new climb. I can still clearly remember the very moment I stopped struggling. I was trying so hard to save something that was lost long, long ago. I was out of touch with reality. But, reality has a way of knocking on your door just right. For me it was the lack of sound in the room, save for one little ringing noise. It was a spent shell casing and the only thing I could not do was count the times it bounced around on all four walls. It came to rest at my feet. My hearing came back and the smell of gunpowder finally registered in my brain. There was no hole in my head, but, there was a hole in the wall. The slug had escaped and reality poured thru the tiny hole it had left on its way out. I put my eye to the small portal and discovered that there was still a world outside. It was still spinning and moving around the sun. The mud was deep and dark but not too long after I relaxed and let it all go, I opened my eyes and saw the bottom rung. It’s been a great climb so far. A few tattered remnants of my “disaster-piece” still linger, but I carry them with the strength of new wisdoms and the conviction of renewed common sense. The world lives in fear. You can in no way convince me otherwise. September Eleventh looms forever at the edge of our minds periphery. Nuclear proliferation is bringing a sort of cold war back into play on the world stage. I’m sure that specter has always been on the political table, now that our enemies are trying to sneak or even muscle their way into the “star-blood-club”, the ugly head of annihilation is rearing again. The long war on terror is sending us heroes in boxes and shattered bodies that refused to die. Jane or Joe may never walk again but we are still proud of them. They gave far more of themselves than any human being should ever have to. Fear resides just off a back burner, idle and ready to pounce. We keep it close but regard it as little as possible. We have days to get thru. A fistfight is usually won by the individual who holds the most fear in his or her mind about losing or getting injured beyond repair. An attacker blinded by rage usually makes many mistakes from the start. The individual full of fear is running on more adrenaline and reacting to the situation. The attacker sees it all at speed due to the lack of stimulating adrenaline. The defender sees it all in slow motion. Granted, the larger and stronger person may win, but the little “scaredy- cat” may well do a lot of damage before it’s all over. What do you fear the most? How does that fear affect you? You can sit there comfortably and just read on, or you can search your mind for the answers. Take a moment to look inside. I do this often. It ‘s my way of facing things that I have little or no control over. Once we recognize fear for what it is, then we can turn the tables on it. Taking control of our fears is as easy as thinking them into a corner closet of our mind. Lock them all inside and peek thru the key-hole from time to time. Let one out occasionally and allow it to run around. They need exercise too. Keep your willow switch handy though, because getting them back in can sometimes be a little tricky. “Fear”, is a small four letter word that carries with it the seeds of destruction. Keep dry at all times. If they sprout you’ll have a lot of weeding to do. Keep them out of the light as well. In that regard I mean the light of other minds. When it comes to fear those other psyche can germinate everything in your little closet and the ensuing sprouts will splinter the door into toothpicks. Large or small, people can use your own fears against you. Keep the door locked and hide that key as well. My dearest muse these days is Glenda. There is a biography worth writing some day. I bounce most if not all of my new music off of her ears. Her life has gifted her with brutal honesty and suffering her scrutiny is part of the mortar of my character. She has inspired me to write page after page of lyrics and there is a small part of her in everything I do. She suffers valiantly thru those days when I’m holed up in the studio writing and recording. Eventually, she wrenches me out for dinner. When we first got together she lied to me. She said she didn’t know how to cook. The weight I’ve put on these past few years proves that I have every right to beg to differ. When she misses me enough she’ll move right in and cuddle. When she’s had enough of me she’ll tell me to go play music. The push and tug of our relationship is like a slight chop on an ocean. We are the ship tossed about with sails morphing to meet every situation. Onward together we go. Glenda will be the first to tell you that I make good music but my voice really sucks. I believe her too. I could outsource the vocals but as it is I’m always strapped for time. I’m not getting any younger so I want to make as much music as possible and put it all out there. I harbor no illusions of grandeur and success is never a goal when it comes to my music. I make music because it feels good to create it. If I ever write a hit it will be an accident in the purest sense of the word. I played her a new song just last night. She listened all the way thru with and unsettlingly blank expression. At the end as the last chord faded, her face lit up. Now I think I’m onto something. An approving nod from her and then she was off to drop off her future son-in-law. I stayed in the studio and practiced the vocal a few times to work on the melodies. The scratch vocal, no pun intended, will be discarded and I still have not chosen the microphone for a keeper vocal. When she likes something I’ve recorded I soar for a moment and bask in the limelight. That fleeting feeling of accomplishment washes away self doubt for a little while and inside I smile from ear to ear. I bounce off the ceiling and back to the ground feet first. I thank God for everyday with her. She loves a good garage sale. The treasures that she finds are the decorations that populate the rooms of our house. She has a thing for angels, mostly cherubs. Don’t get me started on her wardrobe! That’s a whole novel the likes of “War and Peace”! There are also picture frames, vases, and even artwork she has found. She’ll get on a color kick and decorate, say the kitchen, with all red appliances, all black utensils, and all wooden accent furniture. The dining room has a huge round glass table as the centerpiece. It’s one of many glass tables she rotates in and out of use. There is an endless collection of tablecloths, candles, and place settings as well. I can tell what came from a department store and what came from a garage sale. She has a fine eye for good deals and can haggle like a pro. Getting back to her wardrobe, she comes up with infinite color combination and will rarely ever leave the house without doing her hair and makeup. I feel like a schlep next to her even when I am dressed up. Me dressed up is something she makes sure I get right most of the time. So there you have it, just the tip of the iceberg that is my personal life. Glenda and I are two souls left over from destroyed relationships. Two fish in the sea that found each other. We are worlds apart in our views of the world at large, yet in tune on some level of the functionality of our reality. When she hurts, I hurt with her. When I hurt, she hurts with me. Are we each other’s crutch? Who cares? We are in love. We can lean on each other when we have to. She’s the muse I can never refuse.

The Victoria Advocate put me up as the "spotlight blogger" in the Sunday paper this week (8-21-2009). I wallowed in the vindication that people are watching. Here you go: http://www.victoriaadvocate.com/weblogs/musings-on-muses/ Be nice now. My A.O.G. MEDIA affiliates got a great review recently from ZOMBIE RITUAL. In a rough translation I can tell they liked us! TERRY DAUN, HELLRAZER, STORM OF DAMNATION, Myself, and JESSE DE LA O reaped the accolades! I put a new tune I'm working on into Glendas ear and she seemed to perk up at it! Still have to finish it though. It's called SET. (as in surfing; a set of waves, tubular.) It's a love song. You my fans, are LOUD, and I like what I hear!

I have a pretty much full plate right now. I'm being tugged in a lot of different directions and time is a rare commodity. My bones ache but my heart is light with the winds of vigor! My muses are battering me and show no signs of relenting. But then again, that's what I like. Keep it loud and share some tunes with a few friends. I'll be setting up the myspace player with a few free downloads in the near future. Keep an ear out for that. You can get free music for a limited time only. I'll let you know excatly when it starts and what tunes you can get. If you have a favorite why not shoot me a request. I'd be happy to oblige'. If it's too loud, get ear plugs! Crank It!!!!!

    The music died the other day. It was 94. Every note Les Paul effortlessly played carried with it the strength of happiness and the convictions of truth. He changed the guitar into the icon it is today and few if any additions to the technology have been so profound and simple. The same can be said of his gifts to the recording industry. My meager rig still owes much to him, as well as the shape of my first electric guitar. Les Paul shaped the future of music and will always be remembered with a smile. Seek his music out and I promise you, your heart will fly!

Or, "THIS BLOG". How should I say it? Anyhow, I'm relating my muses in this blog. Check it out if you really want to know where my ideas come from. http://www.victoriaadvocate.com/weblogs/musings-on-muses/ STAY LOUD!!!

I'm battling it out with my sinuses but still hard at work on music. As long as you keep listening I will keep making music! Stay LOUD!!!!

Man is it hot this year! Seems like the temps go up higher every year. You know what? They do! Global warming? Maybe,,, I'm still working on new stuff so for the time being feel free to browse about and try some of those links on the links page here. If you land on something that does not work, please let me know so I can take it down. I want to lead you somewhere, not nowhere. Keep it loud and keep shaking the stars!!!!

For all you CDbaby patrons, CDBABY is undergoing a massive upgrade. Everything is still up, but the look is all new and fresh. I have to hand it to Tony for keeping Dereks dream going in the right direction. SALUTE! As for me, I'm ard at it as usual in everything I do. No theme for the next album but there are incredible amounts of ideas flowing from within. There are also many hard hitting thoughts being provoked by the times we live in. Keep your fists in the air and the wind in your hair! Keep It LOUD!!!

I think I'm melting! Man is it hot here in Texas! I'm hard at it and working on new stuff. The theme is yet to develop but I want to do something a bit more "over the edge" this time around. I have no idea what might come out of the old digits but I have a feeling it will be fun. That's all that matters right now. Having fun with it takes precedent over everything else. If it's not fun, then I refuse do do it! I will say that I am starting to lean more towards instrumentals. Some day, everything I do may be instrumentals. Then those of you who hate my voice with a passion as much as I do will be more inclined to listen to a tune or two. (Now, off you go! Carpe' Diem!)(Keep laughing Too!!!!)(LOL LOL LOL LOL!!!)

http://www.randrworld.com/JOSE_DIAZ/ That's a new site that I just signed onto. I like it and I bet you will too! I'll be putting more tunes there soon. Hard at work on new stuff. I gotta get an FX pedal over to Jesse De La O. I found a working a/c adapter and printed out the manual. DOD has a really helpful site with quite a few manuals available for free! PUSH BACK THE CLOUDS AND KEEP IT LOUD!

You've drowned yourself in sweat, blood, and tears. Now you have a demo or album in your hand. What now? If you're not already doing shows it's way past time to think about that. The public needs to see you! (I should speak, I don't do shows, go figure,,,) There are many ways to "spread the word". You need to use as many of them as possible. With thousands, perhaps millions of website out there, the task of picking a good one is just a pipe dream. I say pick as many as you can! Use a main website to which all your notifications go to. That way if you happen to be signed onto a few hundred sites you can filter your update taske by activity. It works like this. I have one main website, LEGASYSSONGS. All the other social and music sites are signed on with that address. Therefore, all e-mails, stats reports, friends/fans requests, sales(!), and anything else you elect to be kept up to date on, will land in one single e-mail box. Then it's up to you to wade thru and respond to them at leisure. You end up assigning importance to each message and your actions from there on will move you forward in relation to thejob you have to do where your PR is concerned. I'm only up to about 108 sites so far. These include the perverbial myspace "artist" and "personal" profiles. Facebook , Reverbnation, Aimest, and many others are a must. The beauty of centralising alerts from all your sites is that no news from any site tells you that your page there is seeing little or no activity. Still, no news is a good thing too. Just because a page of yours is dead in the water does not mean it is not useful. Leave it up forever. At least it will be there. You never know when a total stranger will accidentally land on that desolate corner of the net and discover you! Spread it on as thick as you can. You deserve the exposure. You deserve to be seen, heard, reviewed, bought, sold, exaulted, applauded, screamed for, etc, etc,,, Stay Loud! Stay Proud! Keep Pushing Back The

Here's a link to THE YAARS myspace page. Not much communication coming out of Iran these days. These dudes ROCK! http://www.myspace.com/theyaars

I spent my sunday morning in the local ER. I have asthma induced by severe allergies. I'm still alive and kicking though so don't worry one bit about my rockin/metal predilections. I now carry a pack of smokes that's down to 10 sticks, with a lighter, with me at all times. It's like a grenade around a soldiers neck. My next smoke will be on the last day of the world, if I have the time to get it lit! LOL!!! Yes, if the whole world must know, I have quit smoking. It's just something i picked up around seven years old. I've smoke the good. I've smoked the bad. I've smoked the green, the blue, and everything in between. In the end, each puff was all I had. When I was low it picked me up. When I was hot it cooled me off. I enjoyed every breath of death I ever inhaled, even the ones you have to hold for a long, long time. (Those are the ones I've missed the most over the years. I quit the green a long time ago.) Now the only vices I have left are alcohol, sex, and music! Enough is enough! Let's take stock. Given up: smokes, bars, marriage, frequent sex, hanging out with friends, political incorrectness, coke, infidelity, (I'll think of more eventually. That's just the tip of the berg.) Holding on to: Beer, wine, whiskey, guitars, amps, effects, lyrics I believe in, heavy metal, rock n roll, blues, classical, progressive stuff, The image of a beautiful woman, Enjoying a beautiful woman!, finding a reason to smile everyday, giving out reasons to smile everyday, my own original music, all the original music from bands off the beaten (paid for by deep pocketed record companies) path, My friends and fellow affiliates with A.O.G.MEDIA!, family, Glenda Jean!, my 8 albums, the local scene (there are some pretty awesome characters right here in victoria!), and most of all you the loyal reader and fans! The best is yet to come. Let's see what happens. I can take a deeper breath now! You have my applause, you must take a bow. I love you all! Thank You! (Dang! Did I just rip off the Ozz?) anyhow, THANX!

Ronnie (BoBo) Ortega Jr. was my first boss when I entered the oilfield. He taught me a lot about how hard work pays off, no matter how hard is is top accomplish. He worked hard and played hard. I guess his philosophy was that life can only hold you back as much as you let it. Ronnie colapsed the other day at work and could not be revived at the hospital. I raised a cold one to my friend that evening and said a few somber words. My prayers go out to the Ortega family and all those who knew BoBo. He will be missed. "Vaya con Dios, Amigo."

This past Sunday the Victoria Advocate did a nice piece that brought attention to the musicians in the crossroads area that don't follow the "cover tune" train. Though very few artists were mentioned it did prove that the area is not dead when it come to music. I hope the Advocate continues to make an effort to bring attention to artist here in Victoria that are working hard to bring new and original music to the people of not only the local scene but the world. When artists shell out bucks to play and people show up to listen, then whatever the artist has had to deal with in getting their music to that point when it cascades from the stage to the people, was well worth it. Bring us more Vic-ad! Keep it diversified, and keep it real! All you artists out there, let the world know. They can have my dreams when they pry them from my cold dead heart! Jose'

Wow! Twice as many of you stopped by in May compared to April! You keep dropping by and I'll keep making music! Deal? KEEP IT LOUD! Jose'

You gave your lives for the freedoms that I enjoy. For that I am forever grateful and in your debt. "IT RAINED ROSES", "OUR HEROES", and "WE REMEMBER", were written with all of you in mind. Thank You! Thank You! Thank You!

For those of you who have been using the indilink site, it is now at a new location and the workover is complete. The new site is here: http://indielink.org/home/site-map It is user-friendly, easy to navigate, and knocks my socks off!!

The worms are slain! I am back to full speed! Watch out web! Here I come again! OK nuff posturing. A.O.G.MEDIA affiliates and I are getting some great airplay all across Europe. My thanks to all those great DJs and show host who pick us out of the piles of submissions! Keep It LOUD! Look for new sounds from me in the future as I am expierementing with new equipment. I'm also still having fun with all the old stuff and spilling lyrics out of my veins like so much blood! Where are my manners? HAPPY BELATED MOTHERS DAY MOM! (I know, I called you. I just wanted the world to know.) I think I woke you up at 8:00am. I did my burgers on the pit as usual and the day was a blast! I relaxed for a change. Time to get back to work now. Keep It Loud everyone! LOUD AND PROUD!!!!

I've been trying to keep up with e-mails and networking. You fans are awesome and I promise to keep doing my best to keep you updated. The weeding of sites has begun! If you land on a website and I have not updated recently, then dash off to another. (That does not include this one!)(lol!) There are plenty of links to other websites I use under the links tab here. If I feel a site is not working out for me, I will update it on a "when there's nothing else to do" basis. If you e-mail me and I don't answer for more than a month, worry! On a sour note I was doing my best to clean out a mailbox when I opened up a piece of spam. Glenda just happened to walk in a few moments after i relised what I had opened. I fumbled like a twix commercial to delete the message but that just got me into the doghouse. Oh well, damned if I do damned if I don't. She doesn't use the web, I do all her online shopping for her, she just picks what she wants from the pictures. I'll be glad when my alpo runs out! Imagine that, her, jelouse over an old fat fart like me! I gotta start composing before I start to decompose!

This review just in for A.O.G.MEDIAs COMPILATION #9!!! The translation is rough but the point gets across very well!! My thanks are in order for sure!!! at http://www.metalundergroundwebzine.com Great page. Please drop by their myspace page and thank them - NETWORKING WORKS BABY! Volume: AOG Media Compilation VOL. 9 Label: AOG Media New from Texas is to be registered via AOG Media Compilation. Our good, old friend Jese De Lao has us its compilation the volume which he promotet in the form of AOG Media Compilation VOL. 9 to come leaves. There one is nevertheless more than strained which it this time for volume ready has. Straight over the globe those of volume are not scattered and also the style directions are like them to be different could. The rule of Abstract Enemy, originating from Prereira Colombia, make on the Silberling their beginning. Wow very impressing by which force it one in the form of „Love is A Disease" around the ears pfeffern. After a calm contemplative introduction ballern Julian Berrio (guit & voc), Gustavo Berrrio (guit), Fabio Alvarez (voc), Jhon Londoño (bass) and Alejandro Castrillon (drums) in a very modern variant and/or mixture from decaying and core Metal from there. The clear Vocals changes itself again and again very well with core Shouts, whereby however the Shouts dominates the battlefield. Superbe mixture those turns up properly and to please knows. Finished to the Raufen? One gets exactly selbiges now with „Ice into the Desert". The troop rotates here a further times properly, although around points/teeth more hantiger and more harshly than with the first contribution on the Rundling. The One one originating from Texas Project Jose Diaz is now in turn. A clear advancement crossed Bur since the last Compilation. It complains also further the world in the form of „Vox OF the Worl" on, however he celebrates now a loose, easily digestible skirt, which he läst loosely with sawing skirt reef on us. Good material abzushaken over properly. „2 the Sound" now a typical Jose song is with many Hymnenhaften sounds in the calmer style from the boxes schallt. Somewhat more clearly it goes here to the thing, what one can hear also at the gentle guitar lines. Over the next representatives S.O.D one could not find much information in the net. Their modern variation skirt with many punkigen, and some Stoner elements is to be quite nicely listened to, even if one does not tear me thereby particularly from the stool. The troop changes again and again with „Something in Dreams" between quicker outliers and returns to these unabatedly to some longer, more deliberated parts. Kama lime trees from the Bronx New York is the next in the federation. The pretty new Yorkerin has with „Drink" an enormous contribution supplied, with which it processes some elements. Classical Streicherarrangements gives itself with erdigem skirt the hands and with some quicker parts saws the guitars properly here and offers thereby the certain increasing measure of hardness. Additionally it merged still some radio-more suited elements, which lend certain the something to the song. So now we leave once the country of the unlimited possibilities and turn to Europe back in southern Serbia. After the calm predecessors now zero Damge crash rau and properly dirty with quick rhythms from there which were enriched with some groovenden parts. „Familiy Defect" tingelt somewhere between traditional Metal, melancholy influences back and forth and additionally Cile (guit) added Caki (guit) Cule (voc) Sarke (drums) and Srki (bass) a due shot at core. The mixture which one thereby created is like it be more alternating could not. The boss of AOG Media did not have itself taken it also this time its own contributions to contribute. Jesse De La O celebrates also further erdigen hard skirt with many driving elements. Its melancholy voice comes also with „hard Times" again in the best way to the validity. Erdiges reef and Soligewitter he releases us throughout in the change always. Very much rau it sat down this time in scene, marvelously can only say one there. By the very much suffering Vocals one created and/or sprays still additionally the certain Malocher Feeling one so many things the one at the everyday life quite often ankotzen. „I Pray for Ya" now the second contribution of Jesse, with that is it somewhat calmer, even if more accusing happens. Going electronic Synthyklänge the happening determined far. Ricky Ralph processes now with „I at a Soldier" exactly the Feeling which one as a soldier quite often has, before one goes into an employment. All the same whether it added now here American pathos in addition, because the fears and feelings remain resembling with all. Rauskommen quite suffering piece of skirt with dirty guitar lines those repeatedly much rau. Again and again the turning march rhythms loosen up the whole some more and complete thereby the total sound of Ricky. Enough gerockt? O.k. now is it time for Czaar from Rijeka Croatia. „Velik" properly bretterndes force fodder is to please exactly white. The additionally used Croatian Lyrics lends still the certain note. Gargamel aka Danko (voc), Bojan aka Dirgloch (guit), Ivan poznat kao Jeremija (bass) and Dalibor aka Insanus (drums) gallop properly dirty and rau from there. One seized some influences from the Death range, and some Thrash Metal of elements here to a modern mixture together. With this one knows to convince properly and confirms further times that Metal of volume condemned tighte from Croatia comes. Christian Death Metal with much Gothic influence Megilloth call their mixture. They have a calm Gothic skirt number with acoustic play with „Heaven' s Light" first for us ready. Gentle rhythms around the ears blow here like a laues Lüftchen and to the relaxed hearing benefit lead. Kamar (Vyacheslav Kamarzaev) (bass & voc), Frankie (Piotr Varlamov) (guit) and Dan (Dennis Goncharov) (drums) change however by their second contribution with „far-wave: A False Paradise" into the harder corner. Good mixture from Death rhythms, melancholy and much Gothic flair is ordered here. The old skirt hare Gypsy Carns is likewise again also of the portion and without it would go it probably not. The veteran Rocker sprays once more much Southern skirt Feeling which it with „The Long Count" flow has leave. Several, harder elements it inserted nevertheless clearly this time, which arouse properly the TRACKs and drive thus additionally to the Shakingfeeling somewhat more. Clearly more clearly now with „Shout his Name" are; further. Much acoustics offer us the Altrocker here and with a very good way to please know. Result: Once more has to make Jesse De La O of volume made straight over the globe place over also. With me personally Abstract Enemy and Czaar a clear leading position and also Gypsy Carns erspielt themselves should remain not unmentioned here. But also know remaining volume in their way been assigned, but the front runners mentioned by me sting thereby properly raus.

Got a full plate. Stepping back for a moment. Thanks go out to GOTHICA for playing Vox Of The World back on the 29th! They put me in a very sweet spot and I do owe them!

All A.O.G.MEDIA affiliates are encouraged to join the A.O.G.MEDIA NEWSLETTER website! It's the best place to keep up on the latest A.O.G. MEDIA news!!!! Here is the link! http://aognews.webs.com/ I'm taking a break for a bit but still writing and recording in spurts. The last two albums wore me out but I'll be back to my old self soon! Meanwhile, check out that link and catch up on what A.O.G.MEDIA is up to. Great things are happening!!!!

I finally put up all the proper links in the store here. There's on to the CD BABY page with all 8 releases, as well as a section with each individual release directly linked. Remember, all the music you can find at CD BABY, is way more music than you can listen to in a lifetime. Have fun and enjoy all the music you can!

Clips are all up and the lyrics as well. There are more instrumentals this time around so something for everybody is presented. I look forward to feedback when you the fans get time. Digital dowloads should be available in a lot of places soon. Keep the wind in your hair and your fists in the air!

Samples from FINAL THOUGHTS will soon be up for you to check out. Even though this is #8, I'm still churning out tunes. Stay tuned for more new stuff!

I'll get the samples and such up as soon as possible. This ones got quite a few instrumentals so the task should move along a bit faster this time. I know downloads are all the rave these days, but, I'll be putting in my first 2-page (4 panel) booklet this time around. It will have a "THANKS:" page, a bit more of Mr's Stanleys' art, and a list of all 8 of my releases. I can feel the wind you generate as you beat the air with your fists! Keep it up! It looks good on you! Push PLAY.

The worls truly never sleeps these days. Here's a great bit of good news from A.O.G.MEDIA!: Tune in to SUN OF THE SLEEPLESS tonight for 2 hours of proper METAL. 23:00 - 1:00 CET / 10pm - midnight GMT at: 107.5 or 97. 3 FM or http://radiofabrik. at/rafab_stream_low. m3u (WinAmp only!) Featuring tonight: Tygers of Pan Tang, Jesse de la O, Jose Diaz, Burning Saviours, The Hidden Hand, Earthride, Revelation, Wicked Rich, Lethal, Extorian, Doomshine, Akercocke, Soulfracture, At The Gates, Count Raven, Centurions Ghost, Reino ermitano, Isole, Paradise Lost, Candlemass, Augrimmer, Czar, The Austrasian Goat, etc. (subject to change) SUN OF THE SLEEPLESS - Heavy Metal, insanity, and a blend of Literature with your host BernHard every other Thursday 11pm - 1am CET on 107.5 fm or 97. 3 fm, or at http://www. radiofabrik. at ("MP3-Live-Stream") - WINAMP ONLY!!! http://www. myspace. com/sunofthesleepless SunOfTheSleepless@gmx.at -------------------------------------------------------------------- Don't forget to check out Power Metal Radio broadcasting from The Netherlands. We are getting alot of play there too! Thanks for playing us Bernhard! Hope we can return the favor someday and come to see you! Keep all the knobs on 10!!!! Jose'

Just a note to let you all know I've put a couple of the instrumentals up from FINAL THOUGHTS on myspace. http://www.myspace.com/legasyssong Keep all the knobs on 10!

Fans, Family, Friends, Enemies, Here it is. Eleven tracks of gloom and doom. Let the melancholy wash over you and toss you to and fro on the sea of sadness. All things come to an end. We all fall into the same long line eventually. Portents of what lays ahead filters back as we step forward inch by grueling inch. The glows of our eventual salvation, or destruction, are the only sure things now. We are naked in the snow yet we do not shiver. Take a good look around you at the world we’ve inherited. Light the other end of your candle and enjoy what is left of our time here. Intentions are something I choose not to start out with when I embarked upon the making of these songs. I let the pieces fall where they did. Whatever mood I was in predominated what I produced in the studio. What came out were of course, my darkest fears, and my deepest sorrows. As an artist I always want to take you on a journey. Hold on tight this time and stay close. THORACIC SPARK may have been the ignition to something I may well have very little control over. If you get lost, press “STOP”, and save yourself. I’m still doing what I do and having much fun at it. The economic situation has taken its toll on my pocketbook as well. A studio expansion will in all probability not happen any time soon. I guess it’s all just as well. The lyrics keep coming in waves and the dreams continue to cascade. I cherish all the new friends I’ve made and the fans are blowin’ me away! I’m already looking forward to the next project and have no “plan” to speak of. I throw caution to the wind and I never pretend that things are “peachy keen”. The brutal honesty of life is simple. The brutality of the future is assured. There is nothing I can tell you that you haven’t been told. There is nothing I can sell you that you haven’t been sold. The emotions aren’t new and the story is very old. It’s up to you, what you do with your soul. Insert disc and push play. Tell your ego to go outside and play. Forget about time and slip away. FINAL THOUGHTS will be available shortly on cdbaby.com. I dare you to think about it. Jose’ Diaz JOSE DIAZ-FINAL THOUGHTS 2009

I gotta give a hefty shout out to Ronald Stanley Jr.! He's working on designs for the next album cover and his first sketches are blowin my mind! His art is not the dark and terribly realistic type but, there's definatly a lot going on in the works I've seen so far. I threw him an idea and he came back with a "hit the nail on the head"-"Thors' blow"! I can't wait to see what he comes up with next. We're collaborating via the net but that's not slowing us down in the least. I gotta tell you something else about my Broski! He writes some of the darkest, most eriee, most haunting, soul-toasting horror I have ever read. Check him out on myspace please! (http://www.myspace.com/soulofanaxe) He's on my friends list too as "RSJ DYSTROYER HALO 3!!!..." His stories are all in his blog and I really think he should be given a sweet book deal! Once I start reading one of his chapters, I can't stop! Keep the wind in your hair and your fists in the air!

Got a great deal done this past weekend in the studio. The new album will so far be comprised of eleven tracks. there are yet a few re-mixes and artwork to be completed but all is on track. Gloom and doom seem to have injected themselves into these tunes from the outset. There's loss of love, life, and even the looming spectre of "soul-death". Feast your ears on the destruction and damnation of the human race. We've don this to ourselves and to the Earth. We will answer for all our deeds! Oops! That little thought got away for a moment there. It will be back though. It will be the main vein running thru the next CDr I release. Keep your ears peeled for some new DEATH ROCK!!!! (brought to you by the tornado-fingered-texan.)

The juices are flowwing rapidly and I'm moving forward on the next project. Things are going so well I may release sooner than I expected. Ten tracks are done and aside fom a few re-mixes to do on a song or two, the theme is pretty much set in stone. This as of yet unamed offering will be focused on the end of things. Love, life, the human race, and all time. I've finaly recorded something I worked on with LEGASYS back in the day and it still seems current to the times we live in today. That piece is one on which I let the recorder run from here to the end of the emotional trail. It will never see airplay or podcaste I'm sure, but the 900-plus seconds I put into it are the cement and sentiment of my convictions. Another track, done for a great friend and fellow myspacer comes with a bit of expletive. My apologies to the younger fans but the next release from me will have an "R" rating, or "M" for mature. I'll take you, (if you allow it), thru disaster, heartbreak, desolation, condemnation, and right up and into the very face of soul-death. There's a line we will all stand in. Nowhere else in our existence will we be so alone. The Stars Will Shake!

Get it here before it catches a price tag! http://amiestreet.com/music/jose-diaz-legasys/thoracic-spark/ Amiestreet is a great place to get music because all releases are 100% free until they move a few units. Check it out and you will not be dissappointed!!! (I know. Kinda shamless of me.) It's about the music. Not the money!

PART 4 TRACK 14: FARWELL: A FALSE PARADISE. RUSSIAs’ MEGILLOTH, ( http://www.myspace.com/megilloth ), send chills down my spine with their intro here, like Rush did when I first heard them in high school. But this tune goes much farther than that. There is a lot of almost feeling what influence this section or that as I listen to this. But in the end it is truly a great piece that’s all MEGILLOTH, 100%! They’ve done an incredible job with the arrangement as far as time changes, guttural and clean vocals, and the dynamics are wide ranging and covered with amazing tonal changes that would challenge any band. These guys are defiantly one with their instruments, vocals included, and it shows extremely well on this amazing track! http://www.myspace.com/megilloth TRACK 15: SHOUT HIS NAME. USAs’ GYPSY CARNS ( http://www.gypsycarns.com ), takes us out of this wonderful excursion on a wave of rejoice with a great refrain that could set any crowd on their toes with lifted voices singing along! Gypsy is one of those rare artists that I love to listen to and love more and more every time I get to hear any of his tunes. My spirits lift and fly far and wide. I hope I get to meet him someday so I can thank him for the gifts of music he has given. This cat can wail with the best of them! Thumbs-up Bro! Thumbs-up! http://www.gypsycarns.com Well, that concludes my four part review of A.O.G.MEDIA PRESENTS: COMPILATION VOLUME 9. I hope I’ve enlightened and intrigued you with my take on some of the best artist from around the world that you may or may not have had a chance to hear yet. I encourage you to visit their web sites and take a listen for yourself. I can promise you that you’ll defiantly find it worth the time. A lot of the bands in this review are working on new music and will surly have some tasty new morsels for you this year. The mainstream music is full of talent but it’s all metered out to you in a trickle. If you want the real music in all its diversity, you’ll need to seek out bands that are not signed, do not have major backing, and in all probability you have never even heard of. That’s the category more than 90% of all music in the world falls into so you have your work cut out for you. Dive in and take a long swim. The waters are hot, cold, and everything in between. The best thing of all is, you chart the course. We just point the way! PUSH BACK THE CLOUDS AND SHAKE THE STARS! Jose Diaz

PART 3: TRACK 9: HEAVENS LIGHT. RUSSIAs’ MEGILLOTH, ( http://www.myspace.com/megilloth ), gives us this beautifully executed intro that sets up a powerfully emotional performance. The mix is wide sounding and immaculately clean. I have to call this what it is. It’s a great orchestral epic of a tune that gets the job of entertaining done like nothing else I have ever heard! At the end I really felt like I had taken a true journey. This is so much one of those rare songs that would easily have a crowd holding their lighters high and singing along! I love this one! Great writing! Great musicianship! Great composing and arranging! Great vocals and a great trip!!!! http://www.myspace.com/megilloth TRACK 10: THE LONG COUNT. USAs’ GYPSY CARNS, ( http://www.gypsycarns.com ), is an iconic figure in my eyes! This messianic blues master pulls a great tune out that’s up to par easily with the state of world affairs. His skills as a songwriter and performer are awesomely displayed on this one. The story told here is informative, eye opening, and hooky as any #1 hit but a far better song to listen to! I have to hand it to Gypsy for the way his fingers pull the emotion and sheer power out of his guitars. There’s no overplaying and the whole composition fits together like a match made in heaven. This is one awesome listen! http://www.gypsycarns.com TRACK 11: I PRAY FOR YA. USAs’ JESSE DE LA O, ( http://www.myspace.com/jessedelao1 ), serves up this funky, way cool ditty that is downright catchy and informative! It states a lot of truths about a lot of what’s wrong with this world today and when the chorus kicks in justification and conviction team up to push it all over the top. It reaches another higher notch when the vocals break into a multipart call and answer style. This one is concrete proof that Jesse has still got it! I think this is just the tip of the iceberg of what he has in store for us! The clear mix is great and the arrangement and execution is fresh and attention grabbing! This one has a groove that just won’t quit! Good, no, GREAT JOB! http://www.myspace.com/jessedelao1 TRACK 12: 2 THE SOUND. USAs’ JOSE DIAZ. ( http://www.myspace.com/legasyssong ). Sorry, I’m not narcissistic enough to review myself. (Hee, hee.) TRACK 13: ICE IN THE DESERT. COLUMBIAs’ ABSTRACT ENEMY, ( http://www.myspace.com/habstract ), really knows how to set the stage for an awesome display of raw and raging metal. Their guitar heavy intro leads the way to an incredibly heavy piece of primordial rage! The synthesizer is an added touch that does nothing to take away from the song. There’s a lot going on here but nothing is hidden in the mix and all parts are in your face clear and kicking! You can never say too much about a band with this much raw power in their delivery. Unless of course they leave you speechless like this tune easily does! AWESOME! http://www.myspace.com/habstract The final installment is up next! I can't resist starting over from the beginning every time I push play!

PART 2: TRACK 5: FAMILY DEFECT. SERBIAs’ ZERO DAMAGE, ( http://www.myspace.com/zerodamagear ), offers up this amazingly diverse tune that goes from an awesome guitar heavy harmonic intro to pile-driving frenzy then into a very interesting bridge section and outro. The guttural vocals are spot on and intelligible. This is a moshers dream tune! The performance is tight and dare I say electrifying! The way it is composed is nothing less than genius. A true anthem! http://www.myspace.com/zerodamagear Make sure you check these guys out! TRACK 6: HARD TIMES. USAs’ JESSE DE LA O, ( http://www.myspace.com/jessedelao1 ), is not only the mastermind of this incomparable series, he’s a true artist as well. Having worked with him on many occasions I may be biased towards his music but I will always be honest when I review any music, no matter the source. This song is a dark lament that fits well with the present state of affairs the world over. The composition is well done and each instrument is well placed in the mix. The time changes keep it fresh throughout as Jesse serves up his unique style of informative yet entertaining vocals. The story told by this tune is hard to miss. God has given this guy talent and he puts it to great use here. Mr. De La O has a new album coming out soon and I can’t wait to hear it! I will always be a loyal listener and fan of this great artist and human being! http://www.myspace.com/jesedelao1 TRACK 7: I AM A SOLDIER. USAs’ RICHARD DODSON, ( http://www.richerddodson ), Throws an epic sounding track at us with this one. The liberal and yet judicious use of sound effects and commentary weave a web of intriguing emotions. The chorus chants the title and the conviction it’s all delivered with is thick and tasty! Richard vocals are unique in sound and matter-of-factly in your face with the truth of war. I hear a well executed metal march that begs a salute! http://www.richarddodson.com TRACK 8: VELIK. CROATIAs’ CZAAR, ( http://www.myspace.com/bandcazaar ), kick out a searing wall of music on this tune! I really want to get my hands on a translation of the lyrics but for now I am content to kick the volume up to 10! The bass lead breaks are excellently done before the tune goes into some great guitar leads! This is head banging music at its brutal best! The performance is tight and the all around sound is one I am always comfortable with. The tune as a whole is a great one to pump your fists to! http://www.myspace.com/bandcazaar This disc is shaking the stars!!!! Stay tuned for part 3!!!!

PART 1 I'm going to go down the list and hit every tune with this multi-part review. First off I have to tip my hat with enthusiasm to Jesse De La O, the mastermind behind the A.O.G.MEDIA PRESENTS COMPILATION series. He manages to pull together bands from around the world and diligently weeds through the roughage to get at the best of the best. He has final say on who gets on and who does not. You won't find satanic or vulgarism on anything he has his hand in and that amounts to good clean fun and then some! Volume #9 is comprised of 15 scorchers from artists from such divers places as RUSSIA, CROATIA, SERBIA, ITALY, COLOMBIA, and the USA. Track one: "LOVE IS A DISEASE". Colombias' ABSTRACT ENEMY,(myspace.com/habstract), hits the opening slot with an infectiously grooving piece of hard hitting grinding metal. The vocals dance between gutteral and great singing in a way few acts can actually accomplish. It's pulled off here very well and the band not only backs it up with an awesome job but the tune as a whole begs to be spun again and again. I wanted to just pass the day away just listening to this tune alone! The guitar work is fantastic! These guys know how to take a tune and turn it into neuclear detonation! Catch them on myspace as soon as you can! ( http://www.myspace.com/habstract ) TRACK TWO: VOX OF THE WORLD. USAs' JOSE DIAZ,,, You didn't seriously think I'd review myself did you? Try this instead: ( http://www.myspace.com/legasyssong ) TRACK THREE: SOMETHING IN DREAMS. ITALYs' STORM OF DAMNATION, ( http://www.stormofdamnation.com ), hits us with this awesome piece of introspection. I love the way it starts out softly with a dreamlike first verse. The mood is set for a great adventure in music and they deliver! At one point the vocals almost sound Jamaican but these Italians would probably kick my but for even suggesting that! That they have chosen to do this tune in English is a testament to their determination to succeed. When he sings the word "Fantasy", is what I'm talking about. It pushes the tune up to another level. Overal great musicianship and arrangment make this a gem worthy of any ears! At the end of this trip I felt like I had truly been somewhere and that I hoped to go there again soon. TRACK FOUR: DRINK. USAs' KAMA LINDEN, ( kamalinden.com ), is an awesome pop-rock diva! This offering leans toward the harder edge of rock with great guitar work. Kama lets her voice loose on this track with an amazing range and immaculately accurate delivery. I'm not a dancer but she had me seriously thinking about it! The tune is masterfully arranged and the full effect of a hit is prevailent for the duration. This moved me like few songs can and I thank her for her persistance and never be a quiter attitude. AWESOME JOB KAMA! ( http://www.kamalinden.com ) Stay tuned for the next batch of tracks I'll be reviewing in part two!!!!

I just got my mittens on an advance copy of A.O.G.MEDIA PRESENTS: COMPILATION VOLUME 9. Here's my first impression of it: This thing takes off like the perfect shot out of a giant cannon! I'm not finished listening yet, but pause and stop no longer exist! The only thing that pulled me away was a call from Jesse De La O, the mastermind of A.O.G. MEDIA who pulled together this awesome collection of show stoppers from around the world. I got as far as track 13 and enjoyed myself like a kid in a candy store the whole time! This volume includes artists from Russia, Italy, Serbia, Columbia, Croatia, and the USA. The world as a whole knows how to kick up an awesome dust-cloud of begs-to-be-heard music and this collection is more the rule than the exception. This doesn't just breach the cloud-deck, it shakes the stars like nothing else I've ever heard! Veterans of past compilations dutifully prove that they are taking their music forward boldly with intense conviction. Dear reader, I say to you, "set aside a day in your 2009 to get your hands on a copy of this one!" Check the links page on this site and check out A.O.G.MEDIA on their myspace page and other sites listed there. You can get CDs and CDr from past, present, (and future!) COMPILATION artists thru A.O.G.MEDIA at an awesome price! I gotta get back to the headphones! The weekend is almost over and I want to enjoy every bit of what's left by listening to this preciouse gem fate has delivered. PUSH BACK THE CLOUDS AND SHAKE THE STARS!!!!!!

Many thanks are extended to all the fans who've listened to and downloaded tunes from my catalogue. If not for you I'd have no reason to carry on making music. My glass is raised high for all of you and may 2009 bring fruition to your wishes, hopes, and dreams! MAY WE ALL SHINE IN 2009!

My next release will feature more instrumental pieces. I have been slowed down a bit but nothing I can't handle. The theme will be apocalyptic, world ends, everybody dies, etc. Here's wishing a joyful transition into 2009 to all my fans, friends, and family! THANK YOU FOR CHASING THIS TORNADO!!!!

Well, there went another Christmas. It was far less than the Christmases of past years but still it was a celebration of the birth of the most important individual ever born. This year small gifts were all that went around. They are the ones that let everyone know you thought of them and even the meager presents warmed hearts. The news brought us its continuous barrage of the stories of people who lost everything. Houses burned down, there were hunting accidents, car wrecks, and more. There’s nothing like someone else’s loss to make you realize how much you have. Thus far, the sadness of the news and the faces of most people on the street reflect the bitter truth of the failing economy. That gets plastered in our faces steadily. An ounce of prevention is priceless. Politicians are learned lawyers one and all. If they could shelve their greed for a while then they could actually have a chance of fixing things. President Bush’s’ economic stimulus package helped pay a few small bills, but that was about it. Given more, we all would have given the economy exactly what it needed. The power of consumers is always underestimated by lawmakers. My sentiments flow pretty much the same concerning the bail-out packages too. Billions of dollars to companies and institutions makes little or no sense. Especially when those entities can’t even tell us how they’re spending it. If you and I had “our” “cut” of that money it would be a far different story. I know it sounds bad to say but better you and I fail for our mistakes than the entire economy. I refused to vote for him but this new president has a lot to do before he can convince me that he’s the right person for the job. The world arena is a lattice he must climb with as few foot-slips as possible. He wants to change a lot of things but his ways of affecting those changes is pretty questionable in my eyes. I’d really like to see him do something “for the people”. Most of our leaders have been excellent at doing things “for themselves”. I keep falling into that realm of angst! I work hard and expect politicians to work hard for me. When they show me nothing that helps me, I put a foot on the soapbox. Am I wrong to want results? Isn’t that why they want to be our leaders? Or is it just for the fat paycheck and platitudes? Haughty pomp and circumstance aside, they are still human. We still expect much of them. Their acknowledgment of us has become a weak and feeble thing. Screaming it at the top of their lungs, changes nothing. Bailing us out of this horrid economic crises by making us as rich as they are for one year would be the greatest thing they could do for us. We, the people, put them in place to do a job. These days it’s easier to place them than to remove them. They get to bend and even outright change laws to keep office. We keep to the grindstone rubbing off skin and chipping off bone to appease their taxations. What would things be like if dreams were taxed? The reverend Martin Luther King would probably have written a much different speech. In closing this moment, I will tell you to dream. Dream as hard as you can! Never surrender those dreams for any reason, not ever! If you allow your dreams to be taken, then by all means you are already defeated. Don’t be afraid to dream!

A.O.G. MEDIA is getting ready for a couple of major releases! Their first ever DVD COMPILATION will be released soon and I'm chomping at the bit to get my hands on it. As soon as I can I will get a roster posted of all the participating artists. The ongoing saga of the awseome A.O.G.MEDIA PRESENTS COMPILATION series will soon see its' 9th great release! The finishing touches are going into it and you can expect to see bands you may never have heard of but you can rest assured you will want to hear more from after you catch what they do on the COMPILATION! The video of "2 THE OTHER SIDE" is now up and running on youtube! Jesse De La O did a great job on it and even has a cameo scene or two! Check it out along with all the other A.O.G.MEDIA affiliates at: http://www.youtube.com/aogmedia The new stuff is still getting recorded and the lyrics are pouring out of my deep. dark, and twisted mind! My material is not for the faint of heart, nor is it for the "in" crowd. It's for the lonly tortured souls who think their dreams are all they have. I'm such a soul and all I want to do is share my dreams with others just like me. Maybe someday we'll all get together in one place and become the "VOX OF THE WORLD"! KEEP PUSHING BACK THE CLOUDS!!!! HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!!!

It is done! Check it out at the link below! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=99PnJGOK0SQ

A.O.G. MEDIA has posted some great videos from it's supreme cadre of affiliated artists. Even yours truly has a new one recently completed. "2 THE OTHER SIDE", from, "CAUTION,DREAMS IN PROGRESS", along with, "B.O.N.E.", from the awesome band "LOVEBONE", "12 RAINBOWS", from the hard-rockin' blues icon, "GYPSY CARNS", "ANOTHER ME", from the best of the Bronx,"KAMA LINDEN", "DRESSED TO KILL", "DEATH ANGEL", and "EVERYTHING IS ROSIE", from my good friend and collaborator, video producer, and media mastermind, "JESSE DE LA O". All these and more can be found on youtube.com. Just follow this link: http://www.youtube.com/user/aogmedia As always, have fun, and push back the clouds!

I accomplished nothing this weekend. I never made it into the studio. One song I've been working on just is not panning out mix-wise. I never got the ink for the printer, nor extra strings for my guitars. People started fights around me. Stuff got broken. My girlfriends 1300.00 table, along with some angels she loved very much were amongst the casualties. Suffice it to say that certain individuals are no longer welcome and may well never be welcomed again. You cannot mix alcohol, philosophy, and religon. You cannot make people think, act, nor believe things the way you do. Opinions are suggestions. Forcing them on others is no way to act.

I'll be spinning up the old grindstone in the morning. This vacation was one I needed badly, but as usual, one that ends way too early. I've not really accomplished as much as I wanted to. But the wheels of life stop for none. Feeling laid-back this sunday, I thought I'd give you a breakdown of "Thoracic Spark". Specifically, what each song means, or means to me. #1. "IT RAINED ROSES" I had a fleeting thought and image of an after war celebration. Troops strolled thru a steady rain of roses. Wether on the winning side or not, there may well be mutual feelings in everyone. I tried to maintain those emotions that seemed so fleeting in my original daydream. The first lyric draft was meant to convey a time-line-like sense of history passing by. The world wars one and two, Viet Nam, and of course the Gulf-War. Do you know anyone who served in any of those wars? My Grandfather fought Rommel in Africa during WW-II. My older Brother fought insurgents in the first Gulf-War. My Brother below me fought drug trafficers/producers in South America. My Father (whom I've never met), was in the USAF. Any day that sees a rain of roses has to be a good day no matter what perspective you see it from. #2 "MORE THAN I AM" Yeah, I write love songs. Who doesn't or can't? Kerry King could write one as well as any other human on the face of the earth. This one was inspired by my beautiful muse, Glenda. I simply looked at what am and realized that without her I'd easily be far less than what I see in the mirror. #3 "OUR HEROES" This is another dedicated to those who came home on a box, or less. If you've recently lost someone over there, please do not listen to this song. If you know some one who has lost someone over there, then give this one a spin to see things a bit more from their perspective. This should be a free download in most places as an mp3. The platitudes I write for our military personnel are the one thing I have no desire to gain from. Be wary that there are some sites where it is for sale. I do urge you wholheartedly to seek out the free downloads first and foremost. #4 "BRUTAL INNOCENCE" I did a long blog not long ago titled "DEEP THOUGHTS ?". This song was right along that line of reasoning. What were your teen years like? What music was the soundtrack for it. What dangers did you get yourself into? How many of your friends did'nt manage to escape those dangers? We always operated on the assumption that our parents failed miserably to understand us. The truth was more likely that they understood us all too well. #5 "BREAKING ME" I've been told to my face more than enough times to see the truth of a lie in all its' glory. "I don't want your money". "Your Son needs it". "The last thing I want to do is hurt you". BULLSHIT! Having to mind-wrestle with the attorney-general easily puts one in a "thousand-yard-stare" state of mind. Trying to be the "nice-guy" in any situation where money is involved along with the state of Texas, is pretty much a stupid waste of time. In the end, the party with the least amount of expressed feelings, and their shit together the tightest, wins. I've won several times over the years but it has cost me a huge portion of my 401K. The economy will probably cost me the rest of that feeble nest-egg. The next time I grab that bull by the horns I will not be able to afford that great lawyer I've used so effectivly in the past. Wish me luck. Spin this one again! #6 "VOX OF THE WORLD" The world wants to be heard. The young are the voice of the future. When they speak, the powers that be tend to not listen until it's far too late. The establishment reacts after the fact. The young see the world political arena for what it is, what it does, and what it can never do. The world over, the young will always be unified in their focus on the present and the future. It will after all be their world when the old are gone. #7 "2 THE SOUND" This track is simply straightforward in its' meaning. We can have these live shows pretty much anywhere in the world these days, but the constraints of government can affect the overall expierence of the crowd. This would be an awesome tune to do live as the singer pulls the crowd in and makes them feel at home. Security wants them all to "sit down and behave". At some point the tension must break and the crowd should explode into celebration. Anthemic never gets old. I tried to capture an older nostalgic guitar tone on this one. How did I do? #8 "YOUR INHERITANCE" This is directed with full force at the youth of the world. I'm emploring them to study the past and not make the same mistakes as those before them have. This is of course a moot point as most already know what terrible shape things are in right now. They have but one chance to "get it right". I hope they make the most of it. #9 "RAIN ON THE FLOOR" Here are three short "scenes". The protagonists in each have pushed living aside and are teetering on the edge of death. The ters are flowing and if they survive, one memory burned into their minds will be the sound of their own sweat and tears hitting the floor. Can you guess which scene is Mine? #10 "NOODLE FDGb" I know. I really need to do more instrumentals. Fear not My loyal Fans! More are on the way! #11 "FOREVER NEVER" The future will never arrive if the human race fails to get along. One race. One world. One future. Using religion to bully people into behavioral changes is not only degrading, but blasphemous. There are aspects of all religious beliefs that push the fringes of decency. Killing in the name of what you believe in crosses the line. Unfortunatly there are so many religions that the line is now extremely blurred. As long as we have our dreams, and as long as we strive to bring them to fruition, this planet of human beings may just have a chance. #12 "BELIEF" I give all I can everyday of my life. I know not what effect any of my actions will have on people. But here I am, open hearted, open minded, and watching the world go around intently. So, tell me what You believe in. #13 "YOU WILL ATONE" This is firmly directed at all those who have attacke me in many varied ways, shapes, and forms all through my life. Especially in the last 20 years. I'm no saint, but I was raised not to hate. Unfortunatly some people have a way of boiling my meager cup of hate over and into the fire. My list is short and very precise. Those on it, know they are. All in all, hate leaves the most disdainful of taste in my mouth, and of course, scars on my soul. Ehat does hate do to you? So, there you have it. A deeper look into that darkest of places I call my mind. What did you think you would find? What did you really find? Few can listen with their hearts. What are you listening with? PUSH BACK THE CLOUDS

Jesse De La O of A.O.G.MEDIA, and I set out last night to shoot some scenes for "2 THE OTHER SIDE". We shot in Riverside Park, down a dark and dusty road, and along a lonly highway. He had a very clear picture of what he wanted and as always I was inpressed by his directing skills. Glenda came along for the ride and I think she had enough fun to get her mind off Tristen. We also shot some plug material for upcoming projects. Be on the lookout for the next awesome offerings of Compilation albums, and Video Compilations from A.O.G.MEDIA! PUSH BACK THE CLOUDS!!!!

Last night Tristen went to heaven. He was ill with an unknown ailment that Dr. Chavez, his vet could not determine. I always said I'd never dig his grave but last night I did. Friends came by to say farewell and many tears did flow. His body is now in the backyard he loved so much. His toys are still and his water bowl is dry. We will deeply miss the wonderful, playful companionship he gave so generously and the way he always greeted us at the door when we returned home. Tristen came from a litter of beautiful pups birthed by a Katrina refugee. He was the smallest of them and the only male. He would dog-paddle over a glass of water. He loved his teddy bears and his bed and played vigorously with all his toys. He is at peace now and we will never forget him.

Just so you'll know, I'm working on new music for my next release. After all these years it's still very much a fun process to record and record and record! THORACIC SPARK is well on its way to a digital outlet near you, no matter where you are! KEEP PUSHING BACK THE CLOUDS!

http://joseexist.cycast.de

The entire playlist is at the above link with a few free suprises! Enjoy! Jose'

Prices go up, hurricanes blow by, jerks run for office, and time eats away at everything. Through all of this, the things we cannot control loom overhead. They are never larger than life, but always on the verge of pushing our dreams out of the way. Life can and may well pulverize you no matter what you do to defend yourself. The brutality of existence is never forgiving. The caress of dreams held deep within is the best defense against the onslaught of life. We can be beaten down, trodden underfoot, and kicked over the edge into the abyss, but even the most microscopic spark of a dream can never be extinguished. One tiny spark can smolder for more than a lifetime. In the perfect moment, it meets the fuel it's needed all along. The ignition can be subtle, or extreme. That burning is undeniable proof that dreams never really die. So, dream if you wish. Or, ignore your dreams. The choice is yours. Either way there will always be a small, easily unnoticed spark, there at the center of your soul, at the center of your mind, and at the center of your heart. Just Push Back The Clouds.

Young angst, and rebellion, people are always taken aback by it. Where does it come from? Who cares? When we were young we had plenty of it to spare. Those emotions and actions, reactions and convictions, grew. They grew strongly with all of the new wisdoms that we learned about the world and life. Things we wanted from the future always seemed to evaporate from our grasp just before we reached them. That happened more and more as we grew older. From our vantage point we saw grown-ups appearing to have it easy. When reality set in and we saw the truth for what it was, we were emboldened to disrespect anything that presented itself as “established”. Our resentments multiplied and our attitudes evolved into our “established” adult personalities.

In retrospect we’ve learned to look back across the years with an understanding of why we are who we are. Regrets and satisfactions are things we’ve had to learn the hard way. Few of us can easily embrace them equally, but all of us know them well for what they are. They are the wisdom we’ve gained. Our parents tried to tell us many things. We let them in one ear and out the other all too often. Slowly, their advice dawned on us and settled into the memes of our minds. Mom and Dad (for those of us lucky enough to have both) were right. We still did a lot of things they told us not to and many of us paid for our mistakes with our lives, freedom, or our prides. Maturing is a bittersweet endeavor. The taste never improves unless all your spoons are made of gold.

At the time, wasting time never crossed our synapses. We watched the world proceed and did our best to run circles around it. Each circuit we completed was a badge of honor we wore with high platitude. Each badge was a fresh link in the armor we body checked one another with. We jostled feverishly to develop and maintain the pecking order of our micro-society. The sands blasted their way through our hourglass and desolation amongst the grains was the only future we could see. Our shielding tarnished away, transmogrifying into our adult facades. We now hold tightly our last fistful of sand, yet we know the grains still flit away faster than ever before. The less we have, the faster we lose it.

The future looms nearer and nearer. The closer it gets the more at ease we become with our mortality. Though few and far between, we take every opportunity to spit-shine our shielding to a blinding shine. With each brush of polish the tarnish returns even quicker than before. We assure ourselves that the approaching end will be well met. We will polish our facades one final time and raise our eyes to scan the distance with furrowed brow. Our toes will grip the edge and we will smile reverently as we leap into the final arc of the final circuit. We will know that we lived the best lives we could with what we were given to live them with. Our “re-entry” into the great unknown will conclude with the ablation of our armor as our souls bare to the universe and all its’ mystery. Will we peer into the hearts of stars? Will we walk on black holes, neutron stars, or other worlds? Will we find the edge of the very fabric of our universe? We’ve already asked ourselves all these questions, and many, many more. We know those who never made it through this many years already have all those answers. We are also content to believe they have many, many more. In the end it’s obvious that’s all we ever really wanted. We just really wanted answers. We had to find our own and were too stubborn listen to those who had gone before us into adulthood.

We gave death a run for the money. Some of us lost early on. The triumph for us lies in the years we spent frolicking on the bow-wave of death. Like dolphins at play we threaded our way with intricacy. We formed our little pods and re-formed them over and over again, laughing at death as he struggled to run us down. That must be why death can be so painful. It’s his revenge for our disrespect of him. In old age we accept the pain, if death comes that way. It’s the least we can do. Or we ask ourselves what on earth we could have done to deserve to die painlessly. The morphine that might be administered does more for our partners and prodigy than respite for our battered bodies. We breathe one last breath. Our hearts make one final beat. Our thought cascades inward furiously like the collapse of a star forming a black hole. Nothing escapes but life, pun intended. Now we are out of the way for those after us to forge their armor, run their circuits, and discover much the same wisdoms as we did. They will know us by the trails we left. Graffiti carved into trees and park benches, and painted under bridges. Ropes tied high in trees over swimming holes, and urban legends bearing our names. We live forever in their eyes, and now it is their turn to become immortal.

Finito:10/29/2008 JOSE DIAZ (Pe’pe’)

All the tracks on "THORACIC SPARK" are active here now. Clips, downloads, and full listens are available. I hope you like what you hear. Jose'

I'll get the full load of samples up soon!!!! PUSH BACK THE CLOUDS AND BURN THE SKY!

I've finally got the package off in the mail. There are a few sites you can find the tunes on already. As soon as the tunes are encoded by the awesome staff at CDBABY, I'll get a full album of samples and a full tune or two up on the music page here. I hope you like!

Prices go up, hurricanes blow by, jerks run for office, and time eats away at everything. Through all of this, the things we cannot control loom overhead. Never larger than life, but always on the verge of pushing our dreams out of the way. Life can and may well pulverize you no matter what you do to defend yourself. The brutality of existance is never forgiving. The caress of dreams held deep within is the best defense against the onslaught of life. We can be beaten down, trodden underfoot, and kicked over the edge into the abyss, but even the most microscopic spark of a dream can never be extinguished. One tiny spark can smoulder for more than a lifetime. In the perfect moment, it meets the fuel it's needed all along. The ignition can be subtle, or extreme. That burning is undeniable proof that dreams never really die. So dream if you wish, or ignore your dreams. The choice is yours. Either way there will always be a small, easily unoticed spark, there at the center of your soul, at the center of your mind, and at the center of your heart. Just Push Back The Clouds.

Thanks to all you fans who visited in September. Your hits give my self esteem a much needed boost. Thoracic Spark is now available on a few sites such as, MUSICFORTE, BETARECORDS, and a few tracks are up on many others. The full digital swath of sites will not be filled in until I can get the 5 hardcopies to CDBABY. Death And Decay is currently out of stock but I'll be sending CDBABY more along with Thoracic Spark. Check the links page for a long list of websites where you can find most if not all of the tunes I've released. You will even find quite a few tracks that are FREE DOWNLOADS! I've been neglecting the mainstream music for too long. I gave DOWN and METALLICA a spin in the walkman last night and felt a surge of inspiration. After that I hit the studio and piddled about for a while. It took that music to push me up off the couch. Well, that and the TV is on the fritz! LOL!!! I think I'll step off to make one of the new tunes on the myspace page (myspace.com/legasyssong) a freebie! PUSH BACK THE CLOUDS!

We all breathed a big sigh here. Not so fortunate for others up north. My heart goes out to everyone in the path of IKE. In a last ditch effort I set up THORACIC SPARK with CDbaby. I also put mp3s on betarecords.com. The studio is back up and running and I'm starting to compose more music. I wanted to at least have the tunes uploaded in case the storm wiped me out. All in all you should be able to hear all the tracks as well as get a few FREE ones there. I helped A.O.G.MEDIA move to new digs and by chance they have a HEAVY METAL keyboardist in the neighborhood. Look for some very interesting collaborations soon! Thanks and many congrats to my daughter Kimberley Ann and here new hubby, Lewis! The guitar they gave me in response to my blessings and wishes for a happy new life together sounds AWESOME thru my rig and studio boards!!!! as always, I hope you can lose yourself in a song or two and, KEEP PUSHING BACK THE CLOUDS!!!

It's almost time to duck folks. Too bad I can't afford to evacuate. I've been thru hurricanes before. Didn't like them back then. Thanks to global warming I like them even less in this day and age. On another note!, "DEATH AND DECAY" sold out at cdbaby! Thanks to those fans who've added it to their music collections! I'll burn more copies (yep, that's my responsibility) as soon as possible and let you all know when I send them in. POWER METAL RADIO in the netherlands (http://www.pmr.demon.nl/) played "DEFENSES" last week! THANKS AGAIN!!!! They sandwiched the tune between some heavy hitters too! They do a great show and I urge you to give 'em a listen! THORACIC SPARK may well be delayed by IKE as well. Time-wise, all forces are seem to be against me, but then again, that's just the way life is. Throw tomatoes, I'll make a pizza. Throw bricks, I'll make a house. Throw fireballs, I'll keep warm and dry. Throw ice, I won't sweat. Throw a catagory 4-5 hurricane, I'll cringe a bit, wince a bit, but my DEFENSES will still hold strong.

JOSE’ DIAZ Contact: Jose’ Diaz FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Tel. 361/575-4154 Email: joseexist@legasyssongs.com CD RELEASE OF: “THORACIC SPARK” “THORACIC SPARK”, the latest release from the tornado-fingered-Texan, JOSE DIAZ is soon To Debut on Cdbaby.Com. This time around fans can expect even more of Mr. Diaz’s’ blazing guitar work as well as more complex song structures. As his previous release, “CAUTION, DREAMS IN PROGRESS”, showed us an emerging evolution in his songwriting, “THORACIC SPARK” sees that evolution catching another gear. 13 all new tracks churn out a wide range of new sounds and burning emotions. This album promises to please with the dynamics of lyrics and sounds balanced on the very edge of control and abandon. You’ll find simple yet powerful anthems, rebellious loneliness, mind wrenching introspection, and as usual, thundering guitars. Mr. Diaz’s affiliation with A.O.G. MEDIA continues along smoothly with more of the COMPILATION series due out soon. Independent music knows no bounds and A.O.G. MEDIA is no exception. Look for tracks from “THORACIC SPARK” to be on future COMPILATIONS as well as other “exclusives” recorded for A.O.G.MEDIA. # # # For more information Jose’ Diaz can be found on the World Wide Web at: http://www.legasyssongs.com http://www.myspace.com/legasyssong

Be on the lookout for a press release concerning the upcoming release of the next album from JOSE DIAZ. The tracks are completed and the graphic is being tweaked. A couple of tunes have leaked out and you'll soon be able to get your ears on the whole deal. PUSH BACK THE CLOUDS!

Hi guys, Thought this might be of interest to you and your fellow American artists.... Date sent: Mon, 4 Aug 2008 08:48:40 UT From: "Moses Avalon's Musicians List II" Subject: Urgent! Its Time to Get Paid IT'S TIME FOR ARTISTS TO GET PAID ================================ New Law Will Put Billions Into Artists' Pockets, If Big Brother Doesn't Stop it. By Moses Avalon There is a chapter of Confessions of a Record Producer which I would really like to retire. But even after ten years on the bookshelf and four Editions, I can't do it. It's the chapter on why US artists do not get paid for radio play. I get many emails on this. It's blatantly unfair that songwriters get a performance fee when their composition is broadcast on the radio but the artist gets zilch. The reasons why this law evolved in this cock-eyed way are irrelevant at this time. Satellite Radio pays artists fees for the Master as does internet radio. Regardless, terrestrial radio (that's AM and FM) refuses. But a reckoning is coming. In fact, it's here and your participation is needed. An important Bill just passed the first milestone. A sub-committee in the US House of Representatives approved a law that would create a performance fee for the sound recording, putting between $500 and $800 Million A YEAR, in new revenue into the music business. We should be sending out party invitations, except that there is serous opposition to crush the Bill when it gets to the next level, the Senate Judiciary Committee in September. The NAB (National Association of Broadcasters) are doing whatever they can to stop their wallets from getting thinner. We expected this, but then, there are some surprise guests on the opposition dance card: ASCAP and BMI. They feel that it might (emphasis on "might") carve a small dent in their $2 Billion a year "non-profit" revenue streams, because radio paying artists for the first time might mean it pays songwriters less. (Even though many of their members are both. Hummm.) The reality is, if it carves into a publishing revenue stream it won't be in any significant way. So ASCAP will throw one less party next year to make up the difference. Or each CEO will have to take $200,000 less as a bonus for their "non-profit" efforts. C'mon, guys, see the greater good. And certainly ASCAP has. They've backed off a bit. But their competitor, BMI has a conflict: Jack Sander, Chairman of BMI's board…. is also the Chairman of NAB's Board!! How in the Sam Hell does this happen?!!! The guy who is supposed to make sure that broadcasters are paying every dime to publishers is also the guy who works for the broadcasters. (And some people think I'm paranoid.) Source: http://www.bmi.com/news/entry/535481 It's hard enough to fight the corporate raiders without having to deal with Civil War and subterfuge within our own industry. WHAT YOU ARE GOING TO DO The next step for the Bill is the Senate Judiciary Committee in September. We MUST win there and here's how we do it: I want you to write a simple letter to your representative, TODAY. I've made it very easy for you. Below is a list of the ones we need to reach and I've pasted a letter to follow. You may copy the letter or do your own version with something personalized. Do this TODAY. Get it done so we can join the ranks of the rest of the civilized world and get artists paid for radio play. We Will Never Have This Chance To Correct This Long Standing Wrong Again! Please Get Involved! If you don't, then forever stop complaining to me that it's hard to make a living as a musician. We know it is, let's not let the NAB make it even harder. NOT ME! NO WAY! Now I know there are a few anarchists on this list who think, "Screw this. Let the music business burn." Often I agree, but thinking like that now, would be the wrong application of the right idea. With retail sales shifting, this is money artists could really use to weather the transition. And it's money that artists would actually see, not some phantom check for some weird class action BS that only goes to super stars. Everyone would be eligible for a piece of the pie if you're getting spins on FM or AM radio. And even if you're not, the trickle down effect of this new revenue would single-handedly rejuvenate investment opportunities in the record biz. More money for labels/artists means more money spent on development and more new artists getting a chance. It means more studios and more producers making more recordings, more managers making commissions, and more lawyers facilitating transactions. So this effects EVERYBODY. SAMPLE LETTER =============== Dear Senator _____ I am one of your constituents who derives a significant part of my living from musical recordings. I am not a superstar, so, unlike the minority of recording artists who tour, sell merchandise and do national commercials, the only money I can make from my music is the sale and licensing of the recording. Commercial radio earns billions every year selling advertising, but people rarely listen to radio for the commercials. It's the music that draws them in and radio stations are well aware of this fact. But right now, the artists who create that music and the labels who invest in creating the music aren't compensated for this commercial use of their product. Not having this right puts us in company with North Korea, China and Iran. We are the only free-market democratic country without this right. The Bill before you, S. 2500 Performance Right Act means keeping the US consistent with other nations when it comes to compensating people like me for their work when it's played on commercial radio. Please show your support for fairness to musicians by co-sponsoring S. 2500, the Performance Rights Act. H.R. S. 2500 is balanced legislation that deserves your careful consideration and enthusiastic support. Thank you, Your signature WHO WE NEED TO GET TO The Senators we need to contact are: Alabama - Jeff Sessions-R Arizona - Jon Kyl-R Delaware - Joseph Biden-D Illinois - Richard Durbin-D Iowa - Charles Grassley-R Kansas - Sam Brownback-R Maryland - Ben Cardin-D Massachusetts - Ted Kennedy-D New York - Chuck Schumer-D Pennsylvania - Arlen Specter-R Rhode Island - Sheldon Whitehouse-D South Carolina - Lindsey Graham-R Texas - John Cornyn-R Wisconsin - Herb Kohl-D Wisconsin - Russell Feingold-D If you live or work in any of the states above please get this done ASAP. Ask them to support S. 2500 Performance Right Act. You can CALL their office as well as write. Phone calls work sometimes better than letters. Emails are also fine. Just get it done one way or another. If you don't see the names or contact information for your legislators, Google them or go to www.musicfirstcoalition.org for help. Also Once you are at www.musicfirstcoalition.org, click on the "Take Action" button. Type in your zip code number, and follow the prompts to send your message. More info: http://www.grammy.com/GRAMMY_Foundation/News/Default.aspx?newsID=2918&newsCatego ryID=13 Moses -- Pos Nado - Fentanyl posnado@gmail.com or pos@fentanyl.nl http://www.fentanyl.nl/ http://www.myspace.com/c22h28n2o

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I've reached a point where the amount of music I have will fill a single CDr, but I am still recording new material. I intend to have a good long list to cull the next project from. I will keep slipping out a tune here and there. You keep listening and I'll keep makingh music for you! LOUD AND PROUD!!!

http://explore.ichooz.tv/joseexist try it!

My heart goes out to the people of the valley and Mexico. Dolly went cat:2 just before landfall. So far only one injury report. Hopefully that will be all. I hear people in V town were buying up non-perishables and such like crazy. Fear of hurricanes runs deep I guess. I've lived in the same house for many years and weathered many storms. I have a good grasp of geography and can understand a radar screen. I guess what I'm getting at is that I know where I am on this little blue marble and I keep a descent stock of water and cereals, canned foods and fresh batteries year-round. The stores that make a sudden profit from storm-phobia probably don't want to hear it, but that's how I was taught to remain prepared 365. Stepping off the soapbox now,,,,,, One of the great guys in FENTANYL recently gave me a few great studio tips and I'm itching to try them out. The studio has been powered down for the storm (What? not one stroke of lightning!){I love watching it as well as listening to the thunder!!!}. I should be back up and recording by friday. On call the weekend so no fun there. So much to do and so little time. So many friends it boggles the mind! KEEP PUSHING BACK THE FEAR! RAWK!

Way too much going on right now so I'll keep this short. E-mail boxes are filling up faster than I can read and reply! (Yes, that's GREAT!!!!) Alfred Diaz is beginning to bring me lyrics and I'm starting to compose music for said lyrics. The next release will most likley will have to have a "PARENTAL ADVISORY" sticker. We'll see what happens there. Thanks for listening and,,,, KEEP PUSHING BACK THE CLOUDS!!

As I forge ahead in my many endeavors my resolve hardens and my wisdom expands exponentially. I’ve been lucky to have gotten a newspaper interview and quite a few legitimate reviews. Were it not for A.O.G.MEDIA a lot of the exposure I’ve had would surly never have happened. I take the good and the bad on equal terms. I know that for every person out there who can freely lose themselves in a song or two there are three or four who cannot. If I had the time to research the numbers of fans by genre I know I’d probably find a disproportionate amount in the rap and hip-hop crowd. Feels like about 96% of the sites out there have an unusually large amount of traffic in those genres. My music may never touch them but that won’t make me stop making it. Music has always been an escape for me. Each song is an adventure. The intricate weavings of the sonic landscape are the wind that pushes my ship of dreams onward. That goes for all the music that I love to listen to. I’m a connoisseur of sound quality. In that respect I do not own nor do I want an MP3 player. I have a few LPs and an extensive CD collection. My interest on the internet, as far as music goes, far outweigh my at home music collection. I do however intend to keep putting my original tunes out in the MP3 format. CD is a great media, but I will always try my best to give the people what they want. MP3 seems to be the #1 choice these days. In my surfing of the www I have made many new friends. Each individual is unique and talented. There is no end to the tips and advice one can glean from good friends, even ones you have yet to meet personally. I’m even getting tips from a PR firm that I do not employ. The web is worldwide and I intend to keep myself and my music “WORLDWIDE”. If you find me on any of your favorite sites and the blog or bulletins seem a bit old, please shoot me a message and let me know. Right now I’m in the studio and rarely have time to get around to all the pages to do updates. Here is a list of the sites I currently use:(not all names are links) (Radioindy.com)-(login) - ZOOMOOZIK.COM - 15secondpitch.com Market yourself effectively in 15 seconds 5GB of free space to upload and share your files, photos, videos and music - eSnips.com A.O.G. MEDIA NEWSLETTER provided by Bravenet.com Airplay Direct - Submit Your Music to the Radio Industry airspun Music promotion for bands. New music discovery for fans. Amie Street - Music Lives Here ArtistFirst.com Internet Radio - The Best New Music You've Never Heard Band For The Day home - Can you win it BandSpace.com - your music online BlastMyMusic - Sell Your Music Now Broadjam.com - Connect to Independent Music CD Baby - news, ideas, opinions, tips, announcements, and more. CD Baby - SNOCAP FAQ CD Baby DIY Musician Podcast cdpulse The Pulse of Independent Music CommunityX Creative Commons Cyqo Music Free Music Downloads, Independent Artsts and Unsigned Bands. 100% Free Mp3s! http://www.cycast.com DirtBag Music » DirtBag Music DMusic.com for indie musicians and fans Free MP3 music downloads Download Music, Upload Music, Listen to Music Free JukeBoxAlive.com earBuzz.com - supporting independent artists 100% earBuzz.com - where artists earn 100% Find Bands, Musicians, DJs, Other Live Performers, Gigs & Live Entertainment. GarageBand.com Hostbaby Webmail - Login http--www.musicianwar.com-login.mw https--members.cdbaby.com-accounting Hyves.net - Always in touch with your friends IACmusic.com presented by Independent Artists Company and KIAC iLike™ - Home Indaba Music Index Independent Bands - Artists Independent Unsigned Artists and Bands - Unsigned.com Indie911 My Dashboard http://www.indiecharts.com Indieglobal - Music outlet to the World indiesolo Please log-in Infa-Redinc.com - Home Internet Archive iSOUND.COM Live Life Loud isynx - The Revolution is Here. http://www.ilike.com Jose' Diaz(LEGASYS) Main iSOUND.COM joseexist - Victoria Texas Musicians Wanted - Search Local Musician Classifieds BandMix.com KOMPOZ legasyssongs.com - LOG IN Login - PayPal Login LUNATIC PRODUCTIONS Lysten.com MadeMusic.com - Official website of Coppatone Productions Main Page @ aogmedia.bravehost.com - A Bravenet.com Hosted Site Main Page @ jessedelao.bravehost.com - A Bravenet.com Hosted Site http://www.meermusic.com MIXPOSURE - Music promotion - Indie music - Mp3 hosting MOG - Discover people through music and music through people MonsterGiG For Musicians By Musicians MotionBeatz - Social Musical Portal MP3 Music Dowloads - Free & Paid Boost Independent Music Music Community - News Music Forte - Band Promotion for Independent Musicians MUSIC NATION Musicane - Home Musicians Wanted - Search Local Musician Classifieds BandMix.com MusicTX.com http://www.musictrax.com My Music Contest http://www.mymusicsite.com MyNuMo Create, Buy & Sell Ringtones, Images, Videos & Music. Show & Share with Everyone! MyRealBroadcast Media Works - YOURSPACE RADIO #31 NetMusicMakers.com Network Music UK New Music Label.com New Talent Singers Musicians Bands Record Labels Producers Talent Scouts NewMuz Internet radio for unsigned and independent artists. Nobody Wins!!!! - Jose' Luis Diaz - Song Listings Noisehead Ourmedia Homepage Ourmedia http://www.ourstage.com PayPlay.FM - world’s largest MP3 music download store $0.88-MP3 $0.77-WMA Phoenix Music. Local Bands and Music. Power Metal Radio Official Homepage Project Playlist Myspace Playlist Create, Share Music Playlists Music Playlist Promote My Song(tm) Index Pulse Now Radio purevolume™ We're Listening To You Randy Rhoads 25th Memorial ravetrade.com Free MP3 Upload Video Advertising Video Classifieds ReverbNation Ringtones, Mobile Games, Wallpaper, Cell Phone Content -- PhonePimp.com Rizing Bandz Radio - Home of Unsigned Artists ROCKBAND.COM New Music Now! rockbandlounge.com New Music Now! ScreamOtionaL wE Are thE nOisE http://www.slicethepie.com SeeqPod Music beta - Playable Search - Find. Discover. Watch. Listen. Share. SNOCAP » Overview SNOCAP http://www.songvault.com SoundClick - Free MP3 music download and much, much more. SoundProvider Streaming the Best Independent Music SongVault studiotraxx A Global Musician-For-Hire Collaboration Portal http://www.tagged.com Texas Music - MyTexasMusic.com - The Online Texas Music Resource Texas Radio 1 Free Music, Get a Music Space - - Home http://www.top40charts.com http://www.twitter.com The Dirt - You're source for music culture - Free Online E-Magazine - Advertise Now - Independence - Original The Groove Mine's Music eSnips Folder Tzomé is a Garden of Music Unsigned Music 24 Hours A Day Unsigned Music Talents UNSIGNED.COM Let your voice be heard. Unsigned.com - Let Your Voice be Heard Unsung Hero Revolution dot Com Welcome to Your Record Label™ Untapped Fury User Login OnSeeker http://www.ustrendy.com Verdge.com VIRB° Welcome to Bayou Underground! Welcome to DiscoverOurMUSIC.com, the new website for future stars! Welcome to DiscoverOurMusic.com Welcome to MirusMusic.com! Welcome to Mixed Mind Studios! Welcome to MyRealTalent.com! WeMusicStore.com - a social music store - home www.bebo.com www.myspace.com-legasyssong www.progbase.com XND Hangout Meet New Friends... and MORE! XND Radio - New Shows. New Music. No Limits. http://www.yippi.com You Bring The Talent - Uber login You Bring The Talent - Uber YouLicense - The Online Music Licensing Marketplace YouTube - Broadcast Yourself. zigzag Ourmedia That list is as up to date as possible for now. I keep finding new site and I keep signing up to those that seem to have something good to offer. It all about exposure but even though I need it the music will always come first. I have way too much fun making it. Keep the song in your sails, your face to the sun, and a smile in your hearts, and above all else, KEEP PUSHING BACK THE CLOUDS!

You can hear "MORE THAN I AM" and "BRUTAL INNOCENCE" at :http://www.myspace.com/legasyssong or:http://www.myspace.com/legasyssongs Leave a comment and let me know what you think. KEEP PUSHING BACK THE CLOUDS!

Thanks once again to all of you fans across the globe. You've given me another record month in visits. Your patience will be well rewarded when I finally finish all the new tunes I'm working on. YOU ARE ALL PUSHING BACK THE CLOUDS!!!!

They caught the killer and I hope he gets the death penalty. APRIL ANN REPKA had a life of music ahead of her. I had the privledge to audition for her. She had a friendly warm personality and could play a mean guitar. Some bozo went and drug her down south to Jim Wells county and took her life. It was a cold case for many years, but now, justice is in the process of being served. If he gets the ultimate penalty the state will do the job humanely. If I got to do it he'd get no such compassion from me.

Hi Friends, I just started selling my music on AmieStreet.com, and to kick things off they are giving my fans $5 to download my music. All you have to do is click on the link below to get $5 to download my music or songs from tens of thousands of other great independent artists. Just click the link below and you'll be all set! http://amiestreet.com/_l/cdbabygift KEEP PUSHING BACK THE CLOUDS, Jose' Diaz

This just in from Jesse De La O of A.O.G.MEDIA! RE: From fabrik radio; I'm gonna play Gypsy Carns, José Diaz and 3rd Room on my show tonight, more of yor bands next time. www. radiofabrik. at -> "mp3-live-stream" (opens with WinAmp only) 11pm - 1am central european summer time www.myspace.com/sunofthesleepless Cheers, BernHard Many Thanks Bernhard!!!! KEEP ROCKIN!!!!!!!!

(from top 40.com) Well, 12 tracks are almost complete. There's just a bit of polishing left to do, like maybe a re-mix or re-take of a part here and there. I don't cut and paste. That works for some but for me it makes it all less real. I'm a slight bit the simple guy. Guitar, cord, amp, and volume was how I did it most of the time. Today I do use effects but sometimes I yearn for the sound of an old tube amp right before it explodes! Last month I got an amazing 31,000 hits at legasyssongs.com! Thanks as always to those who seem to be losing themselves in a song or two. I owe it to great websites like this one and others. Many are much the same but this is one that really stands out in it's originality and awesome look! I'm so swamped with e-mail I have to use three addresses. I'm lucky if I get thru one page as most have me not just replying but checking a links also. There's an enormouse amount of great talent out there and I always find great pleasure in seeking it out to "lose myself in a song or two". One of my first friends here, MelliniumX, is just such an artist. His musical excursions are flavorful and always moving. His work exemplifies the pure essence of talent. It's focused and leaves you with a sense of great discovery after you've listened. Not bad. Not bad at all! Mario Pompetti and Lil LuLu, are two friends I've met on many sites that are also here. They do some really great avante-gard stuff. Video effects and thecno-beats that are in my opinion, a great deal ahead of the cutting edge. They are prolific and at times artistically mezmerizing! Art and form complete in one package. I raise my glass high to them as well! I'm about to (hopefully) start working with LEGASYSs' vocalist Joel Lopez once again. If we can get our scheduals synched up we may record 3 or 4 tunes. I may well drop a tune or 2 from my current track list as I would like to include some of his work on my next release. The lyrics he comes up with are usually natural and very story-telling. My day job has been in high gear and studio time suffers due to it as well as honey-dos. Please don't think just because I work in the oil-field that the high gas prices are my fault. I just work in the service sector. We provide high pressure saftey equipment and highly trained personell. Look closer at where each penny of your taxes on fuel goes and you will be suprised, trust me on that sunscreen. The big companies spend a huge amount on finding oil and gas. Their bottom line does not take that expenditure into account just so the numbers look good. You'll find the actual winners in the current market by following the taxes. What % goes to whom. You will be suprised! It aint me or the company I work for. It aint the companies My company and I work for. Take a step back from your everyday routine and follow the pennies. There are billions being made. The reapers of the profits are not who you think they are. Think about that when you have your ballot in hand. Think about who you really want to trust with launch codes. Remember 9-11. Remember all the sacrifices it took to make this country what it is. Remember why our ancestors came here. Remember that tune playing in the back of your mind right now. Remember why it's there. I do. KEEP PUSHING BACK THE CLOUDS!!!!

I know this will peak sooner or later. Thanks to all of you who helped put the counter over 30k for May 08' !!!! I'm flattered and have a renewed resolve to keep making music for each and every one of you! The elbow is pretty close to being back to normal and I'm sweating blood in the studio every chance I get. The next release will be later this year and as always you will sit in judgment of what I have done. KEEP PUSHING BACK THE CLOUDS!!!

Metal-Underground webzine gave A.O.G.MEDIAs 8th Compilation a great review! Check it out. (Fire up your translator though!) http://www.myspace.com/metalundergroundwebzine

Ladies and Gentlmen, Bo Diddley has left the building. He may be gone but his music will live on! His influence will forever be a part of Rock and Roll! Go Bo Diddley! Go Bo Diddley! Listen and you will hear the foot-stompin' good time goin' on in heaven tonight! God Bless You Bo!

Just wanted to let you all know that Jesses' set in the park was awesome! He ruled the stage like the pro he is! He threw T-shirts and the crowd loved him! Kudos to Ya Bro!!!! (the elbow is coming back on line so I'll be working on the new stuff soon!) KEEP PUSHING BACK THE CLOUDS!!!!

I'll be in Riverside Park today. Jesse De La O will be performing at the special events area between 3 and 4 O'clock. Drop on by and lend him your support! The elbow is slowly healing. Still hurts. KEEP PUSHING BACK THE CLOUDS!!!

Hey Fans, On Tuesday, May 27th, you can get all of my music for half price on AmieStreet.com It's a store wide 50% off sale for one day only, just click on the link below: AmieStreet.com/josediazlegasys Thanks!

I'm out for a while with an inflamed ulnar nerve(The one to the funny bone-LOL!) I'll be taking it easy and missing mu guitars for however long it takes. Thanks to all of you for taking the time out of your busy lives to listen. KEEP PUSHING BACK THE CLOUDS!!!!

PART I Derek sent me an e-mail the other day. He showed me to a set of writings he's been working on. I was intrigued and felt much like those who followed Forest Gump across the nation on his "Jog". After reading, what I found was that I had been enlightened in several ways. I left a few notes to Derek hopeful that he'd catch them in his spare time. That is, after all, how I caught his message. Twitter was a lead he gave me. Now I have added it to the long list if websites I use. Feedback from friends who were already there is begining to come in. I'm up to 126 sites but only have been updating on the ones that actually show activity. Some have turned into fly-by-nights but I leave the page up because any exposure is still exposure. There was a great place a lyricist could take inspiration from Derek told me about. I added it to my favorites yesterday morning but a slight glitch erased it along with his e-mail. The site had to do with key words. They scrolled on the left and short quotes and other notes scrolled in the middle. The words were along the lines of;LOVE,HATE,WANT,LISTEN,,,Just put "WHAT DO YOU" in front and there you have the jist of the page. Truly an amazing place to find inspiration when writers block sets in. I'll have to keep looking but in due time. I'm a raging madman in the studio, but in here and out in the world, I'm a bit more laid back. A man of patience and focus, and wisdom I glean from great aquaintances like Derek. PART II My day starts at about 6:00 am. The alarm goes off. If I've had an idea wake me before then I may have been up an hour or two already. I clean up and log on. Check e-mails, reply, write a few new messages. Check certain sites due to activity. Maybe make an update here and there. This easily takes up two hours. After getting my digital freak out of the way it's nose to the grind-stone. 8:00 am to noon, 1:00pm to 5:00pm. Usually the hours are just 24 in a row. My day job is 24 hr call. It's a good enough one to pay bills and such. I've been there almost 30 years. Yes, you can laugh at this old man now! After 5:00pm or so, I may log back on to finish something I started that morning. this second visit can take anywhere from 30 min. to 4 hrs. I try to keep it short but when you're on a roll, hang ten! All day and all night, inspiration is floating about. It hangs nearby straining itself to turn into something almost tangible. It can be a fleeting memory or a silent shriek of eureka. Either way I must catch it when it coalesces. The evenings off-call are when I can sometimes spend a few hours in the studio. Tracking, mixing, mastering, I have to do it all. But I love the processes. If I'm not in the studio, I've got one of several sets of headphones glued on. I listen intently to the current line-up of songs very few people have yet heard. There is no album name, no artwork, no bar-code, no ISN#. The order I listen to the songs in is the order they come off the hardrive. I make no attempt to conform to any simillance of continuity whatsoever. The sun has gone down and so has dinner. If I'm lucky a cold beer or two. If I'm even luckier, the phone won't ring. It's too bad my number is so close to a pizza delivery place that I get calls from people trying to order pizza all day. When I order it I sometimes give the delivery driver a CDr. Having such a phone number does have it's perks. You get to talk to new people every day. You also get to see how people are all so different. Some hang up quickly, some chastise a person in the background for giving them the wrong number. Then there are those who lightly laugh at themselves and apologize for disturbing me. Still some others seem to hang on to my voice for some reason. Maybe I should write some talking pieces. Me do something along the lines of Barry White? Hmmm,,, Something like that, but my way. I know! I know! "SHUT UP AND PLAY!" We all have a story to tell and I'm no exception. I've always tried to tell my side thru the music. There may be a lot of pain and saddness, anger and defiance, but that's my life. I may have a decent job that Mom's proud of, but I have had some extreme hard times. I know many of you have as well. I'm just here to let you know your pain is understood, your anger is witnessed, and your tears aren't just evaporating into nothing. The salt that's left behind, from yours, and from mine, is what tempers the words of songs. It's what colors the notes and burns home the facts of the wounds we have. Nobody wins. Look at me. I'm stilll screaming with my eyes. The square root of love is what two people have done to each other along the way. Cupid shoots to kill. Caution, dreams are in progress and I'm not leaving until my body's in the ground! PUSH BACK THE CLOUDS!

Thank you all again for a record month! I hope the music continues to stay with you and I will make every effort to bring you even more! If you ever need a TV repaired call Orion Services here in Victoria.(361-574-9280) They do house calls and the prices are awesomely low! What actually happened was that a small can of Martha Stewart paint, (God only knows it got in my house!), wound up behind the TV and when Glenda moved it a bit the connector pin for the cable got broken off. Orion Services came by and had the TV back up in no time! Trust me, they know what they're doing! Well my Friends, 9 tunes are just about done. I'm not getting to work on themas often as I want to but I am making the most of the time I do find. I bounce them all of Glenda and go with what she feels. So far I have'nt worn her ears out! Looking at a few new sites right now so check the links page if your an artist who need places to shout out to the world from. I'll update when they pass my screening. Kenny The Gardener and LUNATICS ON PAROLE were set to do a house of blues gig but it fell through. I feel for them but I also believe LOP is of a caliber of talent far above THOB. Put Rob Zombie, Ozzy, a bottle of Jack, and a big green loogie in a blender, turn that sucker on and drop a match in. You'll be getting warmer. Kenney has a vox that levels mountains! LOP rules!!!! Lots going on that I'd like to go on about here, but it's late. The past few days have been a bit of hell. Long hours at the day job and it's hard for me to sleep at night. (Nothing new there) I had a lucid dream this morning that I really enjoyed. Behave! Not that kind. Felling comfortable these days is so rare that when we dream we are, well,,,,it can make us stop and think. Here it is 9:42PM and I'm still feeling comfortable. I ned another BEER! Keep pushing back the clouds. I'll keep bringing it to you,LOUD AND PROUD!

Greetings Rockers! I figured it was way past time for me to at least write something here. I'm still as hard at it as I can be writing new music and trying my best to keep up with all the new websites. Some are panning out while others I shall not name look like eye poking failures. But nontheless, ONWARD!!!! Thanks to all you fans who gave me another record month of visits. That you drop in from time to time is the very wind that lifts my spirits from day to day. Right now I'm flying on the fact that you seem to be headed straight towards another record month! I owe all of you big-time! Thank you all for spreading the word to friends, family, strangers, and enemies alike! LOUD AND PROUD! A.O.G.MEDIA has kicked off the next round of submissions request! This time around they are looking for videos as well as music. These two compilations will be another fine offering of great music you won't find in the mainstream. These are unsighned artists with talent to spare. Most of what I've heard over the years from A.O.G.MEDIA's compilations has blown me away in more ways than commercial music ever has. It's always fresh, original, and undeniably good to listen to! One of the truths of it is also the fact that these artists are from all over the world. Talent is out there. You only have to look beyond the playlists made by those who get paid more to play advertisments than to play music. Sympathies go out to the VT victims famillies belatedly for the recent anniversary of that tragedy. Sympathies also to my own famillia for the recent loss of Mildred Harvey White. I had not seen her in years and by the time I heard, it was too late. It's the worst way to gain the wisdom of "KEEPING IN TOUCH". If you have a family member or friend you have not contacted or visited recently I urge you to do so before you lose that option. The new project I'm currently recording is as of yet untitled. Nine tracks are fleshed out so far and I am having a lot of fun with a couple of new mics. Look for a few departures from the "same 'ol" this time around. I'll keep you posted on that. Jesyflowers signed the guestbook here with a link to a youtube vid. It shows some realistic and cool looking floral arrangments. They look like well known mixxed-drinks! Thanks Jesy! Until next time, KEEP PUSHING BACK THE CLOUDS!!!!!

DEATH AND DECAY is at #3 and moving up the HARD-ROCK charts at MY REAL TALENT.COM! Here is the link to the chart: http://www.myrealtalent.com/chart.php?chart_days=7&pagebreak=10&genre=Hard+Rock&replace[]=Audio+Plays+Weekly+Chart+for+Hard+Rock Check it out!

The previouse news item is more interesting than this one. Six tunes written for the next project. Still a lot of mix and re-takes to do though. Feels good, and I'm having fun! Unsteady Freddy will be spinning a tune or two from me soon. Stay tuned to his show.

Here is the low-down on what's happening with A.O.G.MEDIA. You can bet your bottom dollar that I'm in on it too! THIS IS LOUD AND PROUD!!! Hello, God bless you for taking the time to learn more about A.O.G. Media’s Promotional Compilation Projects. We are a family oriented business. WE DO NOT ACCEPT VULGAR, PROFANE OR SANTANIC MATERIALS. Our objective is to provide a network base for you to work from, to help you reach your promotional goals. How far you can go is determined by how much you want to spend on promoting yourself. You set the goals and budget, we’ll help you reach them. Our fees are extremely affordable for any solo artist or band on a budget. CD PARTICIPATION - requires: 1. $50 fee for song under 4 minutes- $15 additional fee required for the first 45 seconds and for each minute afterwards. 2. CD(R) 3. short bio, 4. lyric sheet (in English) 5. Photo(s) 6. Contact information DVD PARTICIPATION - requires 1. $100 fee for a song up to 5 minutes 2. DVD video of your song 3. Short bio 4. Lyric sheet (in English) 5. Photo(s) 6. Contact information A.O.G. MEDIA will: 1. Offer a 12 month promotional contract. 2. Place your song on a compilation featuring artist from around the world in the fields of Pop, Blues, Rock, Punk, Metal, Core, and in between. 3. Produce1000 bulk media - CD and DVD package will contain: • Printed media with track list. • Jewel case (media - retail outlets) or paper sleeve (bands - promotion). • Include color cover front insert with black and white back. • Cover back features track list and band contact information. • 5 promotional inserts. 4. Provide 1 CD/DVD per member (= $20 in production/postage!!) 5. List artist in the A.O.G. MEDIA Newsletter www.aogmedianewsletter.bravehost.com 6. Mail out to 40 media (= $120 production and over $160 in postage = $280 total spent on band) 7. Produce showcases to allow club patrons to hear your music (area or touring artist will be given the opportunity to perform). ($100 snacks, flyers, A.O.G. merchandise) 8. Accept your current cd on consignment and will consider licensing other demos/releases. 9. DVD participants who sign up before April 15,will also have the opportunity to be aired at least once on A.O.G. TV. DVD deadline to have your video placed on A.O.G. TV is April 15th. Deadline for Compilation Volume 9 and DVD Volume I is August 1, 2008 or AS SOON ALL SLOTS ARE FILLED. To see a contract, please respond to jessedelaojr@yahoo.com with “CONTRACT REQUEST” in the subject line. This will not obligate you. Visit www.myspace.com/aogmedia for audio or visual samples A.O.G. MEDIA, P.O. BOX 3652, VICTORIA, TEXAS 77903-3652

Hey all you rockers! Check out what A.O.G.MEDIA is up to! "A.O.G. TV Category: Music Howdy Folks, I pray you are well. The A.O.G. MEDIA SHOWCASE tv show is closer to becoming a reality. For starters it will be a 30 minute show on cable, starting in May. I'm looking at the 10:30 pm to 11:00 pm, Friday or Saturday time slot. Please spread the word. All the info is in the blogs at www.myspace.com/aogmedia. Have a blessed day. Jesse A.O.G. MEDIA exposing you to the world!" This is way cool too! "COMPILATION DVD Hows does getting airplay on a Victoria, Texas T.V. station sound? Let's add being placed on a DVD where you can earn royalties? Then there's promotion through THE A.O.G. MEDIA NEWSLETTER for 12 months. Then, let's add promotion to the media. For a limited time, I am offering all this, for up to a 5 minute song; for only $100. Submit your song before February, 2008, and I will also add your song to Compilation Volume 9 ABSOLUTLY FREE!! Send for your contract now! jessedelaojr@yahoo.com Still not convinced? Call your t.v. station and ask how much 5 minutes of time will cost you. Then add all the goodies I offer. A.O.G. MEDIA exposing you to the world!" Jesse is really getting the ball rolling on a lot of fronts. If you're in a band or even a solo artist like myself, check out those blogs and see what A.O.G.MEDIA is offering. As the world of independent music expands every possible avenue of getting "your" music out to the masses need to be taken advantage of. I'm haveing to take a break from a lot of things for a while. My left paw is beggining to feel like it's catching the carpal thing. It's too much typing. The pain goes away when I play guitar or keyboard. So, you know where I'll be if I'm not online! Do you remember My song, "RAGE"? Front page news today is why I asked. A gunman shot and killed 5 and wounded 16 at NORTHERN ILLINOIS UNIVERSITY. Once again suicide has prevented us from having a culprit to intterrogate. Sad the way things never seem to change. But then again, these individuals are so twisted to begin with that they are impossible to see. Impossible to see until after the fact. So much for the news! Get back out there and support your local music scene any and every way that you can! Steer your favorite bands wherever they may be to me or direcxtly to A.O.G.MEDIA. Victoria may be getting big names to come to town, (Thanks Homer!), but there is still an enormouse amount of talent already here! LOUD AND PROUD!!!

As you may well be aware, A.O.G. MEDIA is now in the video field! I have shot two music videos with them and am in the process of editing them for release. "CAUTION" is now up on myspace and youtube. I have also been playing around with the windows movie maker and have a slideshow for "WE REMEMBER" up as well as Terry Dauns' production of my introductory slideshow featuring "BLUE FUSE". Jesse De La O has been all over the place getting reviews and more! I can't stress the point enough that working with and for him is always a rewarding expierence. Roy Coston of LOVEBONE has asked me to collaborate once again and I am really looking forward to working with him again. Hold on to your ears, this is gonna be AWESOME!

Tonight at 8:00pm Jesse De La O of A.O.G.MEDIA will be spinning COMPILATION #8 at FANELLI'S in Victoria! Get out there and support A.O.G.MEDIA as they bring you the best in music both locally and worldwide!!!

The entire original lyrics for "Caution, Dreams In Progress" are now available to you on the music page here. As these are the originals they may differ from the recorded versions in some cases. You will also notice that most have the date and time for when they were written. If you have a favorite tune from any other release of mine feel free to e-mail me here and request the lyrics. I'll happily post for fans or other interested persons. Great stuff is in the works as I am recording new material and signing onto new websites. The songs are coming along fine but some of the websites are a bit glitchy. There are format problems and speed problems with a couple of them. I'll throw up links when i get the bugs worked out of that stuff. Remember, I listen to my fans!!! joseexist@legasyssongs.com LOUD AND PROUD!!!!! Jose'

The response to CAUTION, DREAMS IN PROGRESS is building nicely. Thank you for listening! The tracks are making their way throughout the digital domain. I have put them on numerous sites so you won’t have to dig too deeply into the net to find them. Jesse De La O is hard at work on many fronts. He tells me the video he shot for “CAUTION” is being well received at his showcases. I will be packaging it in special circumstances with the audio CDr. He’s also hard at work on tunes for his next release. This great friend of mine has been hard at it with his brainchild, A.O.G.MEDIA! The COMPILATION series are continuing to circumnavigate the globe. Thanks to his efforts, many of us unsigned artists are being played worldwide on the airwaves, net-radio, and podcasts! Get your hands on a COMPILATION! I promise you, you will not be disappointed! As always, THANK YOU JESSE!!!!!! I’ve been recording new material lately. I’ve also been approached by several musicians for jam sessions and collaborations. I’m grateful to be noticed by those talented individuals and bands, but time is a luxury I really don’t have much of these days. My best advice to all of them is to “hold your breath a bit”. I may not be able to work with you, but I can defiantly steer you towards someone who could use your talents! Remember to call your local radio stations, (just until they issue a restraining order!), and request your favorite unsigned artist! If you know anyone who does a podcast featuring music, give ‘em a nudge about us! E-mail friends and enemies about your favorite artists and get them interested. If you’ve found a song you like latch onto it and see where it can lead you. Most every unsigned artist has multiple websites. There are many sites that cater to unknown and unsigned artists exclusively. It usually free for the listener to sign up. Some even allow you to create your own net radio station or channel! Digital downloads are the way to go and the prices vary by site. Dig in and enjoy the best in undiscovered talent! It’s always, LOUD AND PROUD! Jose’ Diaz

http://www.unsigned.com/josediaz A few of the new tunes are in the player on UNSIGNED.COM. If you use the site as a fan look me up. I'll approve any fan request!

I'm liscensing music out these days and I now have a couple of tunes in the top ten on youliscense.com! Check the links page for the url! LOUD AND PROUD!

I've put up a few new links to music site pages. One even has the entire "CAUTION DREAMS IN PROGRESS" up for your listening pleasure as well as "RAGE" for free download. They are 3rd thru sixth on the "LINKS" tab under more sites for Jose' Diaz/LEGASYS music. Enjoy. Jose'

“CAUTION, DREAMS IN PROGRESS” will become available on cdbaby.com on January, 3rd, 2008. There are samples up and running at legasyssongs.com. A few websites already have the tracks available for download. I have already begun work on another batch of songs for another release for late 2008 or 2009. If you find a favorite tune on any of my albums please feel free to make repeated request to your favorite radio stations. FM, XM, AM, Podcast, Net-Radio, and any other such stations are always looking for new music, but it will boil down to you the fans actually requesting songs repeatedly. Get your friends involved. The more people that call in to request certain artists music, the more likely the station will be to play them. If you love searching the web for new music try my friends list on MySpace. (myspace.com/legasyssong). I have many bands on that list from all over the world. Many have appeared along with me on the A.O.G.MEDIA compilation releases. The 8th release is now out and Jesse De La O is moving it around the world with a vengeance. His hard work and diligence is without a doubt intense. The artists he does all this for reap the benefits of added exposure and airplay. Check out A.O.G.MEDIA on MySpace and you will find all the bands Jesse promotes. I am always looking for new places from which I can provide mp3s. The list of sites is nearing the 100 mark and new sites are beginning to invite me to join. One such invitation came from the only digital record label in the world. Time will tell if it holds on to that title for very long. (More on this subject at a later date.) Offers from PR firms and other entities continue to pour in. I have to say that at this point I am not ready to pay for something I have had so much success doing with my own efforts as well as those of A.O.G.MEDIA. Still, I really do appreciate the offers. They let me know I have their attention. You may have noticed the sign-up for fanbridge.com on the MySpace page. I’m not sure I want to keep it as I have no official newsletter. I place bulletins and news items, blogs and notices on many sites and don’t really have the time to lock myself into any one website. If you find me anywhere on the web please e-mail me there or leave a comment. On my semi-appointed rounds I try to reply to every visitor that makes their presence known. If you’re a meticulous browser the links page on legasyssongs.com will lead you to most of my pages web-wide. You’ll also find links to many of my favorite artists there. I’m planning to expand my studio sometime in 2008. I’ll be adding a few more tracks to my set-up via another BOSS BR series recorder. If all goes as planned I will also be purchasing a batch of used gear from an acquaintance. I’ve seen it all and there are several pieces I really need. Like I said, if all goes well. The day job pays the bills. The music makes me feel good! Remember to support the artists that give you music you love. That small amount you shell out for an mp3 may not be much, but it means a lot to the artists. It tells them they’ve done something right when they wrote that song. You keep listening and we’ll keep making music. VERY LOUD! AND, VERY PROUD! Jose’ Diaz

CAUTION, DREAMS IN PROGRESS will be available to you in January. I have already began work on my next project and the new lyrics are still pouring out quickly! On another note, I'd like to take the much needed time to congratulate all the artists on A.O.G.MEDIAs 8th COMPILATION! I also extend my deepest gratitude to the reviewers, DJs, webzines, podcasters, and listeners for the positive feedback on it! It does ROCK!!!! I wish everyone HAPPY HOLIDAYS! Bring on the Turkey! Let it snow! LOUD AND PROUD!!!!

Contact: Jose’ Diaz FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Tel. 361/575-4154 Email: joseexist@legasyssongs.com Web: http://www.legasyssongs.com CD RELEASE OF: “CAUTION, DREAMS ON PROGRESS” “Caution, dreams in progress” Set To Release On Cdbaby.Com “CAUTION, DREAMS IN PROGRESS”, The latest from unsigned Victoria, Texas, singer-songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist, Jose’ Diaz, will be released on January 3rd, 2008. The CD will consist of 13 heavy-metal and hard-rock tracks steeped in blazing guitar-work and thought provoking vocals. It will debut to the public by way of cdbaby.com. Soon after, it will become available through many other online digital stores. This 6th release will mark a return by Jose’ to the form of heavier rock he feels at home with. As always the subject matter will be thought provoking and the guitars on the verge of exploding. # # # For more information, Jose’ Diaz can be found on the World Wide Web at http://www.legasyssongs.com. You may contact Mr. Diaz by E-mail at joseexist@legasyssongs.com. Or by phone at 361/575-4154

And so, it is done. All the hard work, blood, sweat, and tears have culminated into something I can now offer to you all. “CAUTION, DREAMS IN PROGRESS”, is the 6th conglomeration of things from the depths of my mind. My wishes, fears, hopes, and dreams, have finally congealed into a collection of 13 separate points of view. I dug down deep and found myself going in new directions. The subject matter, as always, remains to my liking. I’ve experimented more with tones and musical nuances. If I offend you then so be it. Ignore me. An apologetic artist is only a selfish opportunist. Still, those offended are still a “reacting” group. On the other hand, if you like this journey thru my mind, I hope you invite friends to take the ride with you. The more the merrier. Fans in Australia will already be able to hear most of these tracks thanks to 2ccr and 90.5FM. My gratitude and deep thanks go out to Lord Pig and crew for playing my tunes. I also extend my thanks to all the air and net radio stations, podcasts, and DJs, juke-box-fillers, and digital download stores for being so helpful to me by keeping my tunes on their lists thereby keeping me available to the masses. A.O.G.MEDIA is also very deserving of my thanks for the inclusion of my music as well as the music of others on their COMPLATION series of releases. The 8th volume just came out and I can vouch that it is chock full of the best of the best! Get your hands on a copy if you can. You will in no way be disappointed! Jesse De La O, my good friend and mentor, God bless you for all the hard work you do for all of us! Here I extend many thanks for being there to all the fantastic web sites I am now using to promote my music. I cannot list them all here but suffice it to say THANKS to the 90th power! To name a few; CDBABY.COM, MYSPACE.COM,HI5.COM, VIRB.COM, INDABAMUSIC.COM, INDIE911.COM, ISOUND.COM, MONSTERGIG.COM, REVERBNATION.COM, MUSICFORTE.COM, INDIETITAN.COM, XND.COM, SCREAMOTIONAL, PROGBASE, N.A.R., AIRPLAYDIRECT, COMMUNITYX, and the list goes on and on! At this time I am shooting for an early January release date. Logistics of the release are of the few remaining tasks I need to complete. The graphics are just about done and pre-release mailings are being readied. A press release will indeed go out soon. As always, the creative process leaves me drained of energy and deeply lethargic. My goal is set and I have much to do yet before I can rest. I use two to three e-mails mainly and will check them from time to time and do my best to keep up with fan mail. If you need me, or just want to talk, check me out on myspace.com, or here on legasyssongs.com. I enjoy communicating with everyone very much! Don’t be disenchanted if I do not reply quickly. I have a day job to hold down and can’t always get away from it. I’m not a starving artist, but if the rich get richer and the poor get poorer, then I must be getting poorer. Oh well, as long as I have a guitar to tickle, I’ll be alright. These paragraphs were meant to be liner notes but, lacking the proper template and knowledge to make an insert-booklet for the cds, I’ve done thusly with it. I look forward to the coming holidays and New Year, and wish you all the very best. Stay loud and proud and keep pushing back the clouds! Jose’ Diaz

Did you notice what was on the splash page? Hmmmm,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

This week has been awesome so far! The release of A.O.G.MEDIAs COMPILATION #8 has my brain all fired up! The tunes on it are an awesome homage to the talent of all the artists involved! I've been enjoying some much needed time in the studio and I may be able to move up the release date for my upcoming project. It may be ready as early as December, or even earlier! If you're down in Austraila you may be able to hear some of the tunes on 2ccr or 90.5FM. Lord Pig has a few already(shhhh, it's a secret!). Well, thanks for visiting here again! I see there are a lot of you dropping by. If you see sign-up areas on some of my web pages, please don't rush onto them. I've yet to get that aspect of my music career lined up properly. Stay Loud and Proud! Jose'

I got tunes headed for that great place Down Unda' as well as to the Best Rock Online!. So if your Austrailian, or Texan, you have some ear candy coming! A.O.G. MEDIAs COMPILATION #8 has been ringing in my ears all night! It's my last set of batteries for my walkman but it's worth it and then some!!! Kenny and crew of LUNATICS ON PAROLE kick it all off with "THIS IS". My brain began to happily melt into it all right then and there. Luckily I was able to hang on to my brain long enough to hear the rest. Kenny, you've raised the bar and then some! Rock On Bro! HELLRAZER are 2nd in line with an AWESOME couple a tunes. "HATE SONG" and "UNDERTAKER"! What a ride! OUTLIVE was up next with "MY DEAREST FRIEND". Jesse my man! Where do you find this awesome talent? The G-man himself GYPSY CARNS checked in with "THE BATTLE RAGES ON" and "JERUSALEM IN RUINS". This cat is one of the few who can send chills down my spine with one note! TEARS CATCH FIRE Give us a medly of "NOT RAIN ALL THE TIME-TEARS CATCH FIRE". These two tunes both kept me engaged very well! JESSE DE LA O. My great friend and mentor when it come to the biz and more. His tunes prove he still has it! "DEATH ANGEL"(Featuring Myself on lead guitar) and "WIZARD", (Featuring TERRY DAUN), are truly iconic in my book! TERRY DAUN comes at us again with "SEEDZ"! This cat has the fingers of motzart beat! His compositions flow with power and wide open soundscapes that dare the senses to let go and enjoy the trip! And a great trip His music always turns out to be! Lastly, Your truly finishes off this edition of A.O.G.MEDIAs COMPILATION SERIES with "DEFENSES"and "CAUTION: DREAMS IN PROGRESS. These are two new tunes released first on this CD. If you want to add them to your collection get your hands on COMPILATION #8! They won't be released anywhere else (in the US, hint, hint, hint!) until sometime next year when they share the bill with 10 or 12 other brand new tunes! Well, this digital exertion has felt good to my phlanges but my ears are still HUNGRY! I gotta go back and listen to the COMPILATION again! Its LOUD AND PROUD!!!!!!! Thanx 4 lending me UR EyEs!

Recording and trying without much success to keep up with Friends and Fans via E-mail. My apologies if Your messages go unreplied to for a day or more. I'm keeping my guitar chops(fingers) in shape though with the small dent I am making in my mail-bags! Typing is a great workout! Looking forward to some writing collaboration with a great Friend. We will suprise those who love short stories and poetry. (COMING SOON). LORD PIG, down in Austrailia will be getting first dibs on some new tunes for his audience. The whittle of the list is still being done but if You're reading this down there and you listen to 2ccr or 90.5FM, HERE I COME! I'm also working on some airplay by THEBESTROCKONLINE.COM. Hugh (ARMADILLO RADIO,HOUSTON?) has requested some tunes and I aim to please. SANDY! (I'll get 'em to you this coming week!!!!) A.O.G.MEDIAs COMPILATION #8 is upon us! I got a glimpse of the artwork and liners, and all and I must say it is a slick production! The look and feel is right and the tunes are KICKIN'!!!! Seek it out and get your hands on a copy!!!!! PEACE!

http://www.virb.com/josediaz If you VIRB, you can now VIRB me! I'm still recording but had a few moments to put up a few albums and about 30 tunes. If you hear something you like just ask and I'll be glad to click it over to free download! Jose'

I know you are all waiting for new music from me. I'm as hard at it as I can get. A song demo or two can be found on a couple of sites as of now. More to come soon and a list of said sites. 2ccr FM, 90.5FM down under, had a blast with the pack I sent. Lord Pig says people were begging for CDs! Many thanks to all the new Fans down there in Australia! Due to the demand I'll be sending a special treat their way as soon as I can! Happy Birthday Kimberley! (9-30-2007) 23 and going strong! Happy Birthday Carl(Hotshot)! I wish I lived in Austin!!!! Congrats to Kama Linden on her gigs she's playing in AMPSTERDAM! (She spells it like that and so will I !!) A.0.G.MEDIA ! COMPILATION #8 is about to hit the streets! Seek It Out!!! It's a hot one!!!!! Check out A.O.G.MEDIA on myspace from my friends list (at the top!), and peruse all the other artist they distribute for. You won't be dissappointed!!!! LOUD AND PROUD!!!!

Thanks for showing up for the A.O.G. MEDIA video shoot on Sunday Victoria! You all did an outstanding job of on the spot acting and you kept the atmosphere festive and, YOU ALL ROCKED!!!!!! This was my second time onstage in Victoria and the crowd was larger and the energy was far greater than the last time! Many thanks to FANELLI’s!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Without them this could not have turned out to be the blast that it was. Many thanks to D-N-D NOVELTIES for the Reaper Costume!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Big Robb was an awesome DEATH ANGEL!!!! Many thanks to DANNY DE LA O!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The sickle was the crowning glory and really kicked the Angel of Death up a notch!!!!!! It was a lot of hard work, but this was the most enjoyable weekend I have had in a long time. Other places in town could learn a lesson from Fanelli’s. The place was packed! The bartender stayed busy and the mood was festive all night long. I know there are quite a few bands about town, but this was an artist and his friends doing their own original thing. Crowds get the cookie cutter stuff all day long on the radio and TV. When you hear an artist doing originals you are actually on the tip of an iceberg far larger than the pool of music the big companies force-feed you everyday. If you loaded an unsigned or indie tune into your mp3 player everyday that would be 365 tunes a year. That wouldn’t even be a drop in the bucket towards all that’s available out there. Unsigned and indie music artists far and away outnumber mainstream artists. They may not have the bank accounts of big companies backing them up but they more than make up for it in sheer numbers! The revolution in music is well under way. Get in on it and find the diamonds in the rough that shine like no others!!!! Keep It Loud And Keep It Proud!!!!

I noticed quite a few of you took the time Teusday to listen to WE REMEMBER. Thanks for thinking of our heroes!!!! I just want to say that I'm ITCHIN TA GO FOR THIS SUNDAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! AT FANELLI'S!!!!!!!!!!!

A video shoot for "DEATH ANGEL", the upcoming release from JESSE DE LA O, and featuring yours truly, JOSE' DIAZ, will be on at FANELLI'S Sunday, September 16, from 6:00pm. The public is invited to attend and participate. WE STILL NEED: 4 PEOPLE FOR THESE SHOTS (1) Main character- dressed as the DEATH ANGEL. (1) For the opening shot at the jukebox. (2) Main characters- walking in, haveing a good time, playing pool, then fighting. BAR-B-QUE BOTANA AFTERWARDS!!!! If you would like to donate your time and participate, please leave a message at: jessedelaojr@yahoo.com or visit www.myspace.com/aogmedia and leave your contact information. A.O.G.MEDIA EXPOSING YOU TO THE WORLD! costume provided by D&D NOVELTIES 9501-B N. NAVARRO 576-3717 HALLOWEEN COSTUMES NOW AVAILABLE!!!

Busy, busy, busy!!! I have so much going on right now I can't see straight. It's all good though! The logistics of the video shoot of "DEATH ANGEL" are still being juggled about due to the weather. Mr. DeLa O has some great ideas for each scene he wants. From what he's let me in on, it should be a great vid. The locations are familiar to me and the concept as he has explained is totally clear in my mind. Now if this Texas weather and my own hectic life will permit, we'll get this sucker on tape!!!! The playlist for my upcoming release continues to grow. I still have a few more tunes to write, record, mix, master, and upload to the main files, but all is falling into place nicely. This time around the songs are much heavier and I've really been stretching it with my horrid voice! I've done a bit of preliminary work on the graphics but nothing concrete yet. Malea Joy has given me an idea though. A big warm hello goes out to all my great friends on all the social networks and every website I use these days!!! Without friends, life is empty. FIST IN THE AIR FOR: A.O.G.MEDIA, JESSE DELA O, TERRY DAUN, RALF (UNDER PRESSURE), ROY COSTON (LOVEBONE), GYPSY CARNS, KAMA LINDEN, RECONSIDERATE, RAY, BABY, LEAH, SLIKMETAL, LEIGHANNE, PATRICIA, Z, REVOLUTION UNLEASHED, KENNY THE GARDENER, LES LEWELLYN, UNSTEADY FREDDIE, AND ANY AND EVERY DJ PLAYING THE MUSIC OF MY FRIENDS AND I !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I hope everyones Labor Day was enjoyable! It really rained hard here and the first video shoot for "Death Angel" was cancelled. Oh well, we'll get that sucker shot soon enough! LOUD AND PROUD!!!!

My older Brother, Elvin A. Diaz III, has joined the "gramps-club" with the birth of a new Grandaughter! Congratulations Bro!!!!

I finally got the mix down on a new tune last night. I had to borrow my muses' ears to find out what part of the problem I was missing. These digital studios are loaded with toys that can either enhance or destroy your music. I was destroying all the great takes from last week. I've added the studio monitors into the equation by situating them properly and letting them give me the real feel of what a finished song will sound like. Then again, my mind is always full of little things that need solving. Getting to this ADVICE thing,,,. When someone gives you advice, take it. Stick it into your mind and think about it. Turn it over as many times as you can and then either use it or put it on the farthest back burner you can find in there. If I were to write down all the advice I've been given in the last five years, echo-terrorist would put a price on my head, (I love trees too!). I'm deeply grateful to each and every friend I've made the world over for all the great advice I've gotten from them. My music may come from my soul, but without such great friends it would surly sound different. As I plug away in the studio, should I reach a block and stumble, I have a lifetime of tips to draw upon. You can easily bet that with the knowledge imparted to me by good friends, I will shatter the block and forge ahead! RIZINGBANDZRADIO.COM, is set to launch. Keep your eye on it. I've uploaded some tunes already and still have room for more. There are a lot of great artists there. Go and check it out. You will not be dissappointed! They have a MYSPACE page linked to the mian site for now so hurry and get your feet and ears in the door!!! PUREVOLUME.COM I made a profile there a while back. I forgot about it and just re-discovered it. I'm updating. MIXPOSURE.COM! Great new place! Awesome artist and awesome set-up!!!! A.O.G.MEDIA! With a little help from his friends, Jesse will be shooting scenes for "DEATH ANGEL". Having read the outline for each scene, I have to say that this will bequite a production! Keep your eyes peeleed for this one!!! LOUD AND PROUD SHOUTS GO OUT TO, "SILKMETAL"!"REVOLUTION-UNLEASHED"!"HARAKIRI"!"LOVEBONE"!"RGM"!"GYPSY CARNES"!"FENTANYL"!"SOUND OF RUBY"!"RUNT"!"Z"!"PABLO TRUJILLO"!"TERRY DAUN"! AND EVERY FRIEND AND FAN THE WORLD OVER!!!!!

Nice little roller-coaster this month. New sites I've gotten on and new things happening. I should be working on a video shoot for Mr. DeLaOs' "DEATH ANGEL" this coming sunday. We'll be shooting one of the scenes at a local bar. He has the crew set up for this and all I have to do is show up with my stuff. Lets ROCK!!! I've been getting a lot of new friends from all over the world on myspace. The number of buttikickin bands out there is awesome! The human race has no shortage of talent!!! LOUD AND PROUD!!!!

My mailboxes are all filling up! Bear with me as I tackle the daunting task of replying to one and all!!! Congrats to "Z" and crew on the article in the M3 section of todays Advocate. Aprill Brandon has brought us another look deep into the local music scene. LOUD AND PROUD!!!!

How much do you pay per song for downloads? How about FIFTY CENTS!!! INDIE TITAN is up and running. My ten tracks there are just half a buck each. Get 'em while they're hot! http://www.indietitan.com/joseexist Sign up today and start enjoying the best in new music!!!!

My good friend Ronald on myspace has been putting my tunes to his home videos. There are a couple of these on youtube as well as the LEGASYS myspace profile. Maqny thanks Ronald!!!!! Pe'pe'

I remember a lot of the music from my child-hood and teen years. Nazareth “Hair Of The Dog”, was the first rock album I ever heard. There was Joe Tex with “I Gotcha”. James Brown was wild. Jerry Le Lewis was crazy. Little Richard was wild and crazy. Elvis Presley was listened to mostly when he was doing gospel. There were the odd-ball comedian tunes like “Convoy”, “Along Came Jones”, and a few others I forget. There was Parliament and P-Funk, George Clinton, and Bootsy, the Isley Brothers with “Ride On-O-Rocket”, the Ohio Players with “Brick House” and “Fire”, and B.B. King. It was rare to catch B.B. King on the tube, but whenever he came on I couldn’t help but watch and listen. I’ve learned there was a lot of music going on back then. I discovered much of it in my teen years. Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, Triumph, Rush, April Wine, Hendrix, Cream, Jeff Beck, and more! I like to keep the memories all jumbled together without much regard to when they happened. The truth of the music is its timelessness. That it (the music) happened at all and made it to my ears is the proof of its power. Sitting there on the floor in front of the TV when Hendrix’ obit came on was a pivotal point for me. The burning of his guitar during his first US appearance, and then his “Star Mangled Banner”, (pun intended) set the wheels of my mind in motion. Six years later I was learning to play guitar by teaching myself. The first tune I ever “wrote” is still a favorite though I’ve not ever properly recorded it. From My eager and meager vantage point, I caught snippets of music from TV and radio. I tapped along with commercials every time. I’d pay attention to who ever was on. I heard Albert Collins, man he was smoking! I heard Buddy Guy, powerful! I heard Clarence “Gatemouth” Brown, and an occasional “salvaged” piece of Charlie Christian. Between the 70s and 90s, I listened to more differing styles of music than ever! I was at home listening to classical, blues, rock, country, pop, funk, punk, and heavy metal! Andre’ Segovia had as much of my respect as Carlos Santana. Randy Rhodes swept my mind off its’ proverbial feet with “Crazy Train”. Dokken had a uniqueness all their own. Ratt came “Out Of The Cellar” and raised the bar. Who can forget Twisted Sister? Metal made MTV! Look what “mtv” has become. It’s sad to see it flooded with reality shows. I’ve had enough reality all my life. I choose to escape into the music, no matter what style or genre it comes from. Some inspiring excursions from the past are: RUSH-XANADU, THE TREES, RED BARCHETTA, BY TOR AND THE SNOW DOG, 2112. BLACK SABBATH-THE MOB RULES, SIGN OF THE SOUTHERN CROSS, SLIPPING AWAY, NEON KNIGHTS. RANDY RHODES-CRAZY TRAIN, OVER THE MOUNTAIN, S.A.T.O., DIARY OF A MADMAN, DEE, (and his live cadenza!!!!!) The old BLACK SABATH-IRON MAN, CHILDREN OF THE GRAVE, PARANOID, N.I.B., SWEET LEAF. DOKKEN-PARIS IS BURNING (LIVE), BREAKING THE CHAINS, ALONE AGAIN. RATT-LACK OF COMMUNICATION LAY IT DOWN, BACK FOR MORE, ROUND AND ROUND, WAY COOL JUNIOR. JIMI HENDRIX-HEY JOE, ALL ALONG THE WATCHTOWER, MANIC DEPRESSION, TAX MAN, RED HOUSE, IF SIX WAS NINE, CASTLES MADE OF SAND. VAN HALEN-TORA! TORA! TORA!, ICE CREAM MAN, EVERYBODY WANTS SOME, ERUPTION, AINT TALKIN ‘BOUT LOVE, RUNNING WITH THE DEVIL, I DON’T WANNA HEAR ABOUT IT LATER. IRON MAIDEN-THE LONLYNESS OF THE LONG DISTANCE RUNNER, ALEXANDER THE GREAT, STRANGER IN A STRANGE LAND, RUN TO THE HILLS, ACES HIGH, 2 MINUTS TO MIDNIGHT. I could go on forever and then some, but I hope you get the picture. I love music that takes me somewhere. If it makes me daydream as I listen, it’s good. Music that moves you in some way is what I crave. The act of immersing oneself as deeply as possible is what I live for. I hated to be at parties where people perked up to the “latest” tune when it came on, and then started talking when the guitar solo came around! I was trying to figure out how to play it! I spent a lot of time figuring things out, but eventually got into writing my own songs. I took notice of the crowd whenever I played at a party. People actually seemed to listen when I did a solo. Those parties cemented my mindset into place and I still yearn to “entertain” as much as possible when I solo. The music I write comes from inside of me. There’s some place deep inside that holds all the emotions that make up my personality. Things that happen, have happened, and look like they are about to happen are always pulling these emotions out into the open. Listen to the older stuff I’ve done. If you find something there that affects you (in any way at all, and I mean that honestly), chances are you’ll find something to compare it to in the newer stuff. Being the individual I am, the character with which I write will always be “Me”. Poetry, rhythm, and emotion are a few of my brushes and colors. I’m digging a great deal of the “New Music” out there these days. The Metal scenes are exploding all over again. The Blues, Pop, Country, and a whole host of fusions of many, many different genre are keeping my whistle wet so to speak. Dragonforce, Trivium, Mastadon, Killswitch Engage, and a whole plethora of new acts are crowding in for their close-up. The mainstream of the music industry seems to be reacting to the perceived threat posed by the independents. The music business as a whole is in a flux. When the dust settles, much will be changed. But rest assured the good music will keep coming. Good music is like a freight train. I intend to charge down the tracks with everything I’ve got! LOUD-N-PROUD!!!! Jose’ Diaz Legasyssongs.com

Attention those of you in the crossroads area.(Victoria,TX) On July 11, 2007 Joey Krohn,22, recieved a kidney transplant. His younger sister, Kaleena donated one of her kidneys to her older brother. On August 12, 2007, A benefit will be held to defray medical expenses. An auction will be held begining at 1:00pm. Myself and A.O.G.MEDIA, will donate CDs to the auction. I will donate two complete discographies of all my current releases along with a few "suprises". Bid high! It's for a good cause! Brisket, rice, and beans will go for $5.00 a plate. For more info call : 361-655-9670 or 361-573-6337.

I've added a new folder in the links section. As I read a lot of different newsletters from time to time I will be adding direct links to them here. Check out the first:http://www.aogmedianewsletter.bravehost.com/index.html If you know any artists/bands that might benifit from the info found in this or any newsletter, please let them know!!! It's not just a bands or artists' hard work that pays off, it's also hard work by FANS!!!! Stay LOUD! Stay PROUD!!!!

If you want to hear some really great bands that are out of the ordinary and into the zone of musical satisfaction, just check out the legasyssongs myspace friends list. There's something there for almost everybody! A.O.G. MEDIA is kicking up on a lot of fronts and mastermind Jesse DeLaO is branching out with style and determination. The exposure he's had a hand in with many, many bands is paying off as staying in touch with those he's been promoting is getting more and more difficult. Many of these acts are being courted by labels, managment, and numerouse websites! (Way too many to mention!!!). I for one can attest to the power of a strong network in action!!! Look for upcoming shows from A.O.G.MEDIA and myself in the months to come!!!! There is a demo of "RAGE", a new tune that will be on my next release, on myspace as well as a few other sites. Let me know what you think. I will be hard at work every chance I get doing re-tracks and mixidowns for many of the new tracks I am currently working on. You the fans are a big part of the inspiration for my music as well. I'm proud to have such loyal listeners the world over. This I owe heart and soul to hard work from A.O.G. MEDIA and all of you!!!! STAY LOUD-N-STAY PROUD!!!! Jose'

http://www.geocities.com/ajarlotta/welcome.html The Niche Work site is at the above link. This artist has a tight techno/jazz/ rock/funk thing going on. The sound is fresh and for me a great break from my loud guitars when I want to stop and smell the roses. It's nice to hear artists who put more emphasis on the music than on the money. Reconsiderate accomplishes that very well and I applaude him loudly for it!

E=Mc? By: Jose’ Luis Diaz-7-18-2007-6:20am-8:45am The clock on the wall, will give you the time. The clock in motion, will fall behind. If you’re standing still, use the clock on the wall. The clock in motion, won’t be right at all. If you’re in motion, use the clock in your hand. The clock on the wall, will run out of sand. Once you’re in motion, and want to gain speed, More and more power, is what you will need. The faster you go, the slower you live. The clock on the wall, advances add-lib. The circle complete, it’s time to slow down. Come in for a landing, get back on the ground. New cities have sprouted, there’s no one you know. You are the ancestor, from long long ago. You’ve traveled thru time, no way to go back. So re-set your watch, and face all the facts. You’ve come to the future, what have you to give? A few words of wisdom, that won’t span the bridge. They learned from your wars, crime and disease. Famine and anger, they’ve weeded out these. The world that you come from, their history spurned. How can you teach them, what you never learned? Get back in your ship, and get up to speed. There’s nothing you have, that these people need. Somewhere in the future, mankind will fall down. Then you might help them, get back off the ground.

http://www.myspace.com/soulofanaxe That link is to a good friend of mine on myspace. His blog is chock full of awesome horror stories. He writes stories that are full of deep captivating imagery and as you read I can promise that you will feel the chill go down your spine!!! If you like Stephen King or Clive Barker, you will really like this dudes writings!!! Check him out!!!

It is with a heavy heart that I bid farewell to a great friend and mentor. PETER JACOBUSSE, 70, PASSED AWAY THIS PAST SUNDAY. He taught me a lot about working in the oil field and a lot about life. He was a wonderful friend who was always full of good guidance and good advice. He's the oldest person I know of who actually asked me for cds. (for his grandson). He'll be drawing a huge crowd this weekend as those who knew him well pay last respects. May God Bless And Keep His Family Well In The days To Come. Jose'

"RAGE", one of the new tunes I've been working on, (still in demo stage), has won the rock contest at mymusiccontest.org!!! I entered it at the very end of the month (June) and it won! That's a great site, (and not just because I won either!). It's been re-disigned and I'm still a newbie to all the new features but I urge you to check it out. For all you musicians out there there are contest for just about every genre so feel free to sign up and enter! Here's the link! http://mymusiccontest.org/ That link is also on the "Great Places" section of the links page here. LOUD-N-PROUD!!!

Any and all podcasters who use the PodSafe network can now find a good collection of my tunes there. Just browse for "Jose Diaz" in the "Hard Rock" genre. If there is a tune you want that I don't have up on the site, please feel free to e-mail me about it and I'll gladly either get it up or send it to you on disc. LOUD-N-PROUD!

"RAGE" It's a new song that will appear on my next release. For all you visitors to http://www.communityx.com , it's there in the Metal section of "music on X". The link to the mp3 files is at the top of the main page. Enjoy!!!

Here are the links to me on cdbaby.com and payplay.fm. It's now easier than ever to get your hands on the music! Enjoy! JOSE' LUIS DIAZ: Paint By Thunders 2006 http://cdbaby.com/cd/josediaz http://payplay.fm/josediaz JOSE' LUISDIAZ: ALLOYS OF EMOTION http://cdbaby.com/cd/josediaz2 http://payplay.fm/josediaz2 JOSE' LUIS DIAZ: Nobody Wins!!!! http://cdbaby.com/cd/joseluisdiaz http://payplay.fm/joseluisdiaz JOSE' LUIS DIAZ: Screaming With My Eyes http://cdbaby.com/cd/joseluisdiaz2 http://payplay.fm/joseluisdiaz2 JOSE' LUIS DIAZ: Death And Decay http://cdbaby.com/cd/joseluisdiaz3 http://payplay.fm/joseluisdiaz3

I have a lot on my plate for now Fans! I did have to take a break from my own tunes to let my mind rest, but, I am working on several other music projects. I will be releaseing some of the new tunes with A.O.G.MEDIA! If you can get your hands on VOLUME 8 of the COMPILATION SERIES, you will hear totally new music from me that is due out later this year if all goes well. As I have promised all, I'm am back to my old self. The guitars are plugged in and the volume is turned way up!!!! You can now join my fan mailing list thru fanbridge.com. I have sign-up forms on both of the myspace pages. I don't yet put out a newsletter per-se', but I may start one in the near future. If anyone finds a good contest, let me know. I welcome any chance to put my tunes into competitions. For any and all you mates "down unda", G'day! 2ccr 90.5 FM will soon have a bunch of goodies for lucky listeners!!! Thanks to Steve Boyd and crew for lending their ears! From the looks of their show list, That aint no plain-jane operation they got goin-on!!!! STAY LOUD! STAY PROUD!!!! Pe'pe'(my nickname)

Hey all you great fans! You can now sigh-up to my fan club at... http://josediaz.fanbridge.com!!! There's a link in the links section here too. Lots of stuff happening so stay tuned and stay LOUD-N-PROUD!!!!

"WE REMEMBER" The video slide show for this tune(a version of it so far) is now up and running at music forte'.com. 90.5FM(a great station in Austrailia) will be spinning a tune or two of mine soon. Be sure to tune in and check out all the great shows they have there. My first impression of them is they are populated by friendly, music concious mates! Loud-n-Proud Down Under!!!! The head of A.O.G.MEDIA is still healing up and will soon be back bringing you the latest in and on his COMPILATION SERIES! #8 is now accepting submissions!!! For all you collaborators, I urge you to check out INDABAMUSIC.COM. It is AWESOME!!!!

Thanks to all of you who visited here in May! I appreciate the attention and hope to meet you all on a tour some day soon! Jesse DeLaO of A.O.G.MEDIA, is back in the saddle after a rotator-cup repair for his right shoulder. He's come out with guns ablazin' and is back to doing an amazing job of promoting all the awesome acts affilliated with A.O.G.MEDIA! Check out his myspace pages and you'll easily see what I mean. Les Lewellyn is still spinning the greatest podcasts this side of everywhere! Many genres and stellar talents equal #1 PODCASTS!!!!! I just finished my first attempt at mastering some one elses studio work. I'll let you know who if my touch is good enough for the artist to release his album after what I've done to it. I'll hint to you that it's a grteat piece of techno-jazz with some very unique and original sounds and arrangments! My lyrical floodgates have burst and I'm melting down ink pens trying to keep up with whats flowing out of my mind! With 8 tunes done and more on the way, the next cd I release will be harder, darker, louder, and more proud than anything before. As before, you'll notice that I use no profanity. If you think it's because I'm that clean cut of a guy, I'm sorry. My mouth can be far more foul than the prince of darkness himself. I just need a good enough reason to put such language permanently onto disc. If I ever give a speech on terrorist, taxes, rapist, and murderers, I'll have to pass out ear-plugs before I begin. Words not found in the dictionary are best used for face to face communication. Hell and damn are about the harshest words I'll sing, so far. If you really want my opinion on anything at all, just drop me a line at:joseexist@legasyssongs.com. I'll reply as candidly as you like. LOUD-N-PROUD!!!! Jose'

If anyone caught the recent VH-1 Honors show, did you hear what the guitar slinging sister of HEART said? She said, "LOUD-N-PROUD"! ROCK ON ANN AND NANCY!!!!

Jose' Diaz is now being played in rotation on New Artist Radio www.newartistradio.net and also on demand. http://newartistradio.net/artist%20list/rock/index14.htm#josediaz Jose' Diaz Jose' Diaz - We Remember (7:22) Jose' Diaz - Blue Fuse (3:21) Jose' Diaz - EMPTINESS (5:49) http://www.legasyssongs.com/ Yours Truly TMC New Artist Radio www.newartistradio.net

"BANKING BUTTERFLIES" will be in the rotation of this weeks "INSTRUMENTAL MADDNESS" show on PREYINGLIZARDMUSIC.COM!!! Les has put together another awesome list of tunes that's sure to scratch that itch you have for instrumental tunage! Get there and chack out all the #1 podcasts in the nation!!! http://www.preyinglizardmusic.com Here's a place that could use some fan traffic! http://www.myspace.com/rizingbandz Make sure you put in a request for me if you visit. By making request as often as you can you don't just get your favorite artists songs played, you also give your favorite artists another reason to keep working hard to give you the best music they can make! Here's a review from a site in the Netherlands on A.O.G.MEDIAs COMPILATION #7. Can anyone translate it for us??? A.O.G. Media Presents: Compilation Volume 7 Geschreven door Thanatosti — Saturday, 19 May 2007 Als er een prijs zou bestaan voor het meest gedurfde verzamelalbum ooit dan zou die waarschijnlijk gaan naar A.O.G. Media Presents: Compilation Volume 7. Ik zeg waarschijnlijk want de voorgaande zes delen heb ik nog niet mogen beluisteren. Maar op welke compilatie vind je death metal naast new age, blues gebroederlijk naast grunge en rock-n-roll gecombineerd met gospel rock? Het moge duidelijk zijn dat niet alle artiesten tot de genres behoren waarover NederMetaal een oordeel kan en wil vellen dus laten we ons maar beperken tot de metal. Als eerste horen we een oude bekende van NederMetaal en meteen ook de enige Nederlandse inzending op deze cd: het Rotterdamse Fentanyl. Good old speed metal met een ‘aparte’ zanger maar het rockt wèl. Daarna mag het Saudi Arabische Wasted Land het proberen met death metal en doet dat niet onverdienstelijk Als derde metal band staat er dan Tribu op het programma, wat niet meer is dan een Sepultura goes tribal kloon is, en dan ook nog eens een slechte. Enige verlichting is er dan in de vorm van de meer dan redelijke melodieuze metalcore van het Italiaanse Sown. Het Columbiaanse Obed speelt eens een keer niet botkanker veroorzakende brute death metal zoals vrijwel al hun landgenoten maar gaat ook lichtelijk op de metalcore toer. De progressive rock/metal van Jose’ Diaz heeft een te slechte productie om echt over te oordelen maar de solo’s zijn gaaf. Foxido komt uit Egypte en speelt best wel gave metal met doom elementen; het Amerikaanse Lunatics On Parole tenslotte klinkt alsof ze Gorefest’s Jan-Chris de Koeijer een dag ontvoerd hebben om een mid-tempo hardcore nummer in te zingen, het resultaat is eigenlijk wel grappig. Jesse De La O, de man achter A.O.G media is altijd op zoek naar bands voor een volgende compilatie, check zijn MySpace voor details maar pas op: “NO VULGAR, PROFANE or SATANIC materials will be accepted.” Websites: A.O.G @ MySpace I've been invited to a session on INDABAMISIC.COM. It's a bit new to me but I'll do my best to make the most of it. MONSTERGIG.COM has opened it's store. Check it out! I'm still working on RECONSIDERATEs' 12 tracks. I'm not really into techno jazz but this dude write some infectious stuff! My own recording is still coming along and I still expect to release later this year.(HEAVY tunes this time!!!) SJ(SLAP JESSE), is on the bill for next weekend. If I have the time I will check them out at the Victoria Community Center. I've still yet to hear "Z" sing!!! LOUD-N-PROUD!!! Jose'

Prayers go out to Bo Diddley. The legend recently suffered a stroke and is hospitalized. I hope He can stick around a while longer 'cause the world aint thru listening to him live! Musicane,(a link to the store is here on the "links" page), is re-vamping its site today. Check it soon for these updates. If I hear correct, it should be open to all visitors to purchase music and vids there now instead of members only. Kudos go to DEREK SIVERS, mastermind of CDBABY,and HOSTBABY. Thanks for this site! I also want to direct the reader to the June 2007 issue of RECORDING magazine. Page 61 is where the TAXI A & R INSIDER was run. DEREK, TONY VAN VEEN (DISC MAKERS), STEVE CORN (BIG FISH MEDIA), and MICHAEL COLLEDGE (MERRILL LYNCH), all had a discussion on the independent music industry. This is part 2 and sadly my first issue of RECORDING magazine. This is a must read as is the entire mag for the business enthusiast as well as the recording artist. Today, I must add, we have to be the best we can at both! On RECORDING, I am floored by the amount of helpful info packed into these 96 pages! It's all written very well and as this is a MICROPHONES issue, it could not have landed in my hands at a better time. It's not often I get a mag and want back issues before I even get thru the one in hand! There are a lot of things on my plate right now, but I will endeavor to keep you up to date. The new material is still coming out like playing ping-pong with sledghammers! STAY TUNED!!!! loud-proud YEAH!!!!!

"DEATH ANGEL" has been re-done and turned out to be a far more energetic piece! Jesse DeLaO wrote a great tune to begin with and now the two of us have kicked it up a notch! Look for it on his next release! Indabamusic is a new site that's a boon for high-speed accessed artist who want to collaborate. I'm not able to take full advantage of the site but I do urge those who can to do so. Check the links page here. LOUD-N-PROUD!!!!

I'll be in the A.O.G. MEDIA studio this weekend laying down the guitar leads on "DEATH ANGEL". Jesse is re-doing the tune and this session will likely be video taped! Have a great weekend! Tell a Friend! LOUD-N-PROUD!!! Happy Mothers Day Mom!!!

My deepest thanks of appreciation go out to you who have taken the time out of your busy lives to visit this site. Without you I could not be LOUD-N-PROUD! I realise I need to work on being LOUDER-N-MORE PROUD! Trust me when I say the heavier music is bleeding out of my fingers and onto CD-r. Joel Lopez, the lead vocalist for LEGASYS, dropped by yesterday evening. It seems he's itching to get back into the music. If he does then rest assured, "YOU AINT SEEN NOTHING YET!!!" Jesse DeLaO, of A.O.G. MEDIA, is branching out into the video feild. He's got the rig and cameras to shoot bands live and do music videos as well. Look out South Texas! Here comes a great friend with the business savy to get talent noticed! I've been on a test shoot and his directing talents are amazing!!! He's got an eye for the scene and the imagination to bring music to life! Terry Daun and I will be collaborating in the near future on new music. I'll keep you posted as we lay down my wall of guitar sound and his iceberg shattering keyboards on our next project! Musicnation.com is a site I've been on for a while. Just check it for the first time in a few months. this might get you there. http://josediaz.musicnation.com/ I'll double check the linkage before I put it up. It's a site with a video contest and all music put up by artist is FREE! I've put up 4 tunes so feel FREE to have at 'em!!! Myspaces' SNOCAP stores are up and running. For all you great people on myspace, please remember to help your favorite artists by "SPREADING THE WORD". That button near the top of the SNOCAP store will let you embed the store(s) of your favorite artist anywhere you want to. Well, it's Teusday morning and as much as I really want to, I can't just sit here and typ all day. Do something good and loud today and give an unsighned and independent artist a listen. You just may find a great song the world should know about. SPREAD THE WORD! LOUD-N-PROUD! PUSH BACK THE CLOUDS!

I wrote some lyrics back on 4-9-07. This was one week before the VTech incident. The song is now finished and will be on the next CD. I have no explination for the eriee smillarities between the lyric and the incedent. Then again, maybe it's just coincidence, or, something else. Jose'

http://www.preyinglizardmusic.com/im.htm There's the link. "Banking Butterflies" is once again on the play-list! Yes. It does feel good to be on the #1 pod cast in the nation along with so many other very talented artist!!!! Check out the re-design in progress! You Go Les!!!! LOUD-N-PROUD!!!

Hello, Join me on MotionBeatz! http://www.motionbeatz.com MotionBeatz is a social musical portal where you can upload your own music audio or video or both. You can download music from the superstars of the future, rate their music, find out about upcoming concerts, and much more. My MotionBeatz display name is: Jose' Diaz Don't forget to rate my tunes and leave a comment! Jose' joseexist@legasyssongs.com

THEY NEED TO STOP LOOKING, FOR SOME ONE TO BLAME. IT'S SO CLEAR TO SEE, THAT MAN WENT INSANE. SO FAMILY AND FRIENDS, GATHER AROUND. SAY A FEW WORDS, FOR THOSE SHOT DOWN. THAT DAY. LETS LOOK IN THE EYES, OF THOSE WHO SURVIVED. LOOK IN THEIR HEARTS, DEEP DOWN INSIDE. WE KNOW THIS PAIN, WE CAN'T RE-ARRANGE. LETS GIVE THEM THE TIME, TO TURN AWAY FROM THAT DAY. EVERYDAY, IS A STEP AWAY, FARTHER AWAY, FROM THAT DAY. TOO MANY QUESTIONS, WILL DO THEM NO GOOD. A SHOULDER TO LEAN ON, THE LEAST THAT THEY NEED. FINGERS ARE POINTED, THEY JUST MAKE IT WORSE. HOLD BACK THE PRESS, JUST LET THEM BREATHE. EVERY DAY, IS A STEP AWAY, FARTHER AWAY, FROM THAT DAY. By:Jose' Luis Diaz-5:25pm-4/17/2007-11:10am-4/18/2007

I’m off this weekend but that did not keep me from doing something productive! Saturday was a beautiful day and I spent a good portion of it shooting video for some new songs that will be on the next release. The vids may well be released before the CD. If you’re a fellow Victorian you may recognize the locations. At one place the Texas State Troopers and about 15 other law enforcement vehicles were even berthing a boat. They were dragging the river for bodies. The two they were looking for are still missing. The shots we got look promising. I’m one ugly mutha! (LOL!!!) Jesse DeLaO of A.O.G.MEDIA did the filming. He’s a great guy to work with and for in every aspect. I hope some of the local bands will look him up to shoot videos. I was amazed at the ideas he was throwing at me. He’s got a brain for theatrics! One of the tunes we shot for today was still in the mix-down stage and unfinished. I did however finish it off this evening so that’s 6 tunes done for the next release. I promised to deliver a HARD ROCKER and I have no intention of disappointing you. I see Dimes Bro has a new band. “HELLYEAH”. I like the name and can’t wait to hear what they do! I was going to let my subscription to Guitar World lapse but that pulled me back into reality seeing him coming out with a new band! I’m just ramblin’ on here so I’ll get back to the studio. If you got this far, Here’s a toast to YA!!! The BUD is cold and the night is young!!!! LOUD-N-PROUD!!!!

"ROOM 2 RUN", an instrumental track on "ALLOYS", will be on the playlist of this weeks "INSTRUMENTAL MADNESS" at PREYINGLIZARDMUSIC.COM. Les is doing a great job spinning indie tunes and more from all of his great shows! I hear thru the grapevine a bit of re-vamping is about to happen with that web site. It's got all the #1 podcast already so whatever happens must be BIG!!!! Keep it tuned to the podcast and radio shows at PREYINGLIZARDMUSIC.COM!!!!! LOUD-N-PROUD!!!!

http://www.noisehead.com/mypage/josediazlegasys New site. Nice place. Check it out. Lotta great music!

Just a note to let you know that a few links are not working. unsignedtalents.com mixedminds.com (both) Loud-N-Proud Radio(part of mixedminds) SADIDA.tripod.com If these sites come back up all is fine. If not, I'll remove the links. With so many sites out there there will be sites both created and destroyed on a daily basis. If you really love music surf for it every chance you get! You are,,, LOUD-N-PROUD!!!!

As promised, my next project will be a HARD-ROCKIN, HARD-HITTING one! 5 tunes are done so far and more are in the works. Most of the "soft" stuff has been excercised from my system and my fingers are trying to punch holes thru the guitar neck! New sites are popping up all over for independent music. This is nothing new these days but wadding thru them, I've found a few jewels! I'll get links back to them up here as soon as I can. Jesse DeLaO of A.O.G.MEDIA, has a festival planned for this year. Any and all bands in the area should get in touch with him about it. For now each performer is slated to get about 2hrs of stage time! Can you say "GREAT EXPOSURE!" ? Jesse's also hard at work on the 8th installment of his COMPILATION series. The list of artist to be featured grows and the sky is no where near the limit where talent is concerned. Every band I've heard is AWESOME!!! Catch Ya Later!!!

Man I have been busy!!! Got an EPK (electronic press kit) done by a good friend and I'll be sending it out as soon as I can. I'm still floating on air from last thursdays show and feel the itching to do another. Time will tell as its very difficult for me to get away. The band list for A.O.G. MEDIAs COMPILATION #8 is lookin AWESOME! I'm blown away totally by the talent I've heard so far! LOUD-N-PROUD is becoming an understatment!

This is good news for quite a few reasons. It shows that those with the power to take it away are listening to those who have the power of numbers. 2. Quick Note From Brian on the new Internet Radio Royalty Rates I planned to cover this in more depth, but I just want to let all JPF members know that the hysteria over the new Sound Exchange Internet Royalty rates are no reason to panic. I was initially shocked, but then I had a talk with Jenny Toomey of the Future of Music Coalition and I understood what was going on. This rate is a GOOD thing. Many of you many not realize that in the US, Radio Stations do not pay a Performance Royalty like they do in nearly every other Western Civilization in the world. That means that all the income that ARTISTS make from Radio in other countries for Radio Play isn't paid to US Artists. And because of that, no foreign artists get paid either for US Airplay, so those countries retaliate and don't pay the US Artists for airplay in their countries either! It's unfair but Radio was able to get away with it many years ago and it stuck. If Madonna does a song she didn't write and it goes #1, she doesn't make a dime from airplay. It sucks. But the good news is that as music shifts to Digital/Satellite and Internet Radio, everyone will now get paid who performs on a song or owns the copyright of the recording. (You'll also still get your songwriter royalties from the PRO's). In the next decade, that is going to start becoming a major source of income for every artist who get's airplay. This is setting the foundation for that. So why the panic? Small hobby level or non commercial Internet Radio stations can't possibly pay the new fees. Small commercial operations are also in danger. But Jenny explained to me that it's likely there will be waivers for non commercial stations or at least a small blanket license fee. There may also be options for small broadcasters to share a % of their income so it's affordable to keep going. It's not in anyone's interest to shut down the little guys (except perhaps the major players who want less competition) and fortunately we have a representative on the Board of Sound Exchange from the Future of Music Coalition (and he's a brilliant guy and a good friend of the JPF Organization). I am confident a reasonable resolution will be made and it will allow folks to continue playing music they love, exposing new and developing writers and artists and helping nudge everyone into the next generation of the music industry. So take a deep breath and be a little patient while the details come out. I also strongly suggest you visit Sound Exchange www.soundexchange.com and learn what they do and register in their database if you have any music that you performed on (even as a back up player) released for airplay. ------------------------------------------------------------ Here's the Press Release from the FOMC: Copyright Royalty Board Decision May Mean Fewer Sources for Independent Music Future of Music Coalition responds to CRB’s webcasting rate decision March 13, 2007 On March 4, 2007, the Copyright Royalty Board (CRB) announced new royalty rates for webcasts, effective from 2006 to 2010. The retroactive rate for 2006 was set at $0.0008 per song per user, with rates increasing annually to: $.0011 (2007) per song, per user $.0014 (2008) per song, per user $.0018 (2009) per song, per user $.0019 (2010) per song, per user. The rates set by the CRB are in line with those suggested by SoundExchange, the agency designated by the Copyright Office to collect and distribute digital performance royalties. Critics of these higher royalty rates say that these fees could be equal to or greater than many small internet stations’ total revenues, an untenable position that would force many existing stations offline. In response to this announcement, FMC urges stakeholders – small webcasters, commercial webcasters, artists, SoundExchange – to work together to strike a balance that recognizes the value of webcasting, but also properly compensates artists, performers and labels for uses of their work. While the proposed method of calculating rates based on gross revenue may work for many of the larger commercial webcasters, it’s unlikely there will ever be a “one size fits all” resolution to rate calculations. Nobody benefits if small webcasting stations, those that are the most likely to represent the richest diversity of music available, are forced offline because of an inability to pay the proposed licensing fees. A structure and process that sets reasonable rates for different but clearly defined categories of webcasters would be the best strategy. FMC has participated in the majority of the prior webcasting rate and reporting requirement proceedings.[1] During each prior proceeding we have emphasized the same basic principles: [1] In April 2002, FMC filed comments in the US Copyright Office’s NPRM on reporting requirements: http://www.futureofmusic.org/news/CARPrecordingreqs.cfm We also filed reply comments in this proceeding, underscoring the undue burden that many proposed reporting requirements would have on small webcasters and questioning the feasibility of the proposed “listener logs”. http://www.futureofmusic.org/news/CARPreplycomments.cfm In the same month, responding to widespread confusion about the rulemaking process, FMC published an easy-to-read CARP Fact Sheet that described the webcast license proceedings, as well as royalty and reporting requirements. http://www.futureofmusic.org/CARPfactsheet.cfm In May 2002, FMC’s Executive Director Jenny Toomey participated in the Copyright Office Roundtable. FMC’s testimony underscored the need for multiple licensing levels that recognized the difference between large commercial, small commercial, noncommercial, and hobbyist webcasters. We also called for reasonable reporting requirements and the automation of the reporting process, and we urged the Copyright Office to drop the use of ephemeral copy logs and the threat of perjury for non-reporting. http://www.futureofmusic.org/news/CARProundtable.cfm FMC expanded on this notion and filed testimony in the Senate Commerce Committee May 15 hearing, “Copyright Royalties: Where is the Right Spot On The Dial For Webcasting?” http://www.futureofmusic.org/news/senatejudiciarywebcasting.cfm

I had a true BLAST at the listeners party last night! It was the first time onstage for me in about 25 years! The attendance was a bit low but those there did have a great time. Jesse Proved once again that He's still got it! His performance was stellar in my eyes and the crowd got to see a real pro in action! My warm-up spot was great and Jesse and I worked great together on the tunes he'd written. I felt at home and can't wait to do it again! After the show I got an e-mail address from a couple at the bar but lost it and can't find it. It was on a napkin and I remember putting it in my pocket. If you get to this site please send me an e-mail here and get in touch. LOUD-N-PROUD!!!

THIS TOWN… 3-8-2007 I love Victoria. I’ve spent many a year growing up here and have watched it grow from a small town into a medium sized city. I will always call it home no matter what. Long ago playing on the streets, in the woods, around the creeks and rivers, ponds, there was a sense of forever. You know that feeling when you’re young. You feel as if time is standing still and the days of fun will last an eternity. There certainly were many things to be thankful for back then. The crime rate was fairly low and there were no gangs or rampant drug problems. With hunting, fishing and horseback riding I can honestly say it was heaven. Those tasked with raising me kept me fed and clothed well. My mind was always challenged intellectually and whatever hobbies I gravitated to were encouraged with much enthusiasm. When I eventually picked up the guitar as a hobby the city was well on its way to what it is now and it grows still larger every year. By the early seventies there were small gangs and their skirmishes, drugs were beginning to be a problem. I fell into that seedy world somewhat and languished in my own little dream-world for the next few years. Like the textbooks say, I started with pot. Years later I got into harder things and crashed my life almost into the grave. I look back these days often and remember most of what I went thru. I see now how so much of my problems were my own fault. When you have to re-invent yourself you first try to hold onto a lot of the old “you”. Once you finish with yourself you realize how stupid that attempt was. The things you left behind were worthless to begin with. I miss my kids and that’s about it. Geographically, this city is a true “crossroads”. Lying between Houston and Corpus Christi, it sits in the prime position where people from all over pass thru day to day. I’ve watched tour buses of great bands go by and longed to live a life on the road like they do. Too many artists to name here have appeared in Victoria. Some of my heroes even. It’s sad to say but I’ve only been to one concert my entire life. Ozzy Osbourne and Metallica at the Summit in Houston, (The name of the place has since changed). The Ultimate Sin and Master Of Puppets were the albums they were touring for respectively. Music is a large part of my life. It has always carried me thru both good times and bad times. In the end, it’s the only thing that I feel is a guaranteed constant. I watched many local bands perform in battles and at clubs or dance halls. Most of them however played cover tunes. It was nice to hear my favorite songs done so well live, but I always wanted to hear new and original music from them. Money was the driving force behind what they were doing. In this day and age I understand their reasons for being cover bands. People want to hear the music of big well known names. Original artist stand little or no chance of getting ahead. It’s no fault of the artists. They do what they have to in order to make a living. I don’t write hit songs, I just like to write songs. In the early 80s I got together with high-school friends and formed LEGASYS. We practiced a few cover tunes but wrote mostly originals and played a few parties as well as one large show at the Riverside Convention Center. It was a wedding/birthday party and we went on last. It was great to see the youth of Victoria engaged in a triple looped mosh! The spectacle, which I will never forget was cut short by individuals misunderstanding of what was going on. Two people I will not name here began to toss bodies out of the crowd thinking it was a fight. After we rigged down many of the kids approached us to offer their thanks for a great show and wanted to know where we’d be playing next. I wish we could have ridden that wave into history. As it turned out that was the pinnacle of the career for LEGASYS. The pats on the back and the enthusiastic accolades echo strongly in my mind to this day. It’s been about 25 years since I stood on a stage. Come March 22 of this year I may have that privilege once again. The place will be the Forum Club on Red River. I won’t be with a band but I will be in good company. I’ll be on guitar performing with Jesse DeLAO on an original song of his. I’m eager to do this and feel the power between stage and crowd once more. Wish me luck and come to see us if you can make it. Jesse DeLaO runs A.O.G. MEDIA. He has a series of COMPILATION CDs that he puts out. These amazing discs contain music from artists of several genres and from many countries around the world. In my dealings with these people I have had nothing but respect and friendships that are always worth the time it takes to keep in touch. Networking and swapping ideas, working on music together even at long distances, is a fulfilling part of my experience with A.O.G. MEDIA. Mr. DeLaO is a great and very hardworking friend who in my eyes and heart is nothing less than priceless. Few in this city give him the respect he deserves. That situation has never stopped him from driving his dreams to fruition. In a stint away from LEGASYS I joined BOIS D’ ARK. It was a great learning experience and to this day I regret not being able to stay in that band. The mixture of covers and originals was comfortable to me. That was a great gig even though I could not stay for personal reasons. Times change and so do people. There is a new wave of music from off the beaten-to- death-path of the mainstream. Many are downloading it across all genres all over the world-wide-web. You now reading this may even be one of the fans of many of these artists. 99 cents a song is cheap but the power of the music that moves you is priceless. Seek it and you will find good music. By a song or a CD to let them know their music is being heard. I’m one of them. I don’t want your money but I do crave your ears. If a song moves you or touches you at a critical point in life, don’t let it slip by. Add it to your collection. Share it with friends. Blast it to your enemies. Every song tells a story. Take the time to close your eyes and see the movie. Jesse and I, as well as all the artists we are working with have our many varied stories to tell. We hope you find some time in your hearts to listen. Disappointing you is not an option nor will it ever be our intent. I grew up with this town. I grew up with music. What better way to grow old, enjoying both. Jose’ Diaz

I'm wading thru hack attacks on myspace. Patricia, I know you did not send me that e-mail. It evaproated. The FBI is next in line to be notified. Just to let everyone know, I may well be onstage for a bit at the FORUM CLUB in Victoria on March 22. A.O.G.MEDIA is putting on a listeners party for COMPILATION #7 and Jesse has asked me to do the lead guitar favors for a tune he wrote. I'm all for it and look forward to graceing a stage once again!(25 years???) Where you at "Z"!!!!!! I wanna hear your band!!!!!! Pablo, how'd it go down south? Congrats to Tiffany R. I wish you all the best!!! If I don't make the ceremonies, God Bless! The vids are awesome Terry!!!!! The case was shattered but the discs work fine!!! I need to shoot some footage for you and get a screenplay written up for a video!!! All in all, AWESOME!!!! When the hair stands up on the back of youre neck, it's way too late to,,,,,,,,,,, LOUD-N-PROUD!!!!!

Terry Daun has put together a killer video of "blue fuse"(ALLOYS OF EMOTION). Its up on a few site such as myspace and indie911.com. Look for it on youtube and other sites soon! Many thanks Terry!!! There is a gig in the works this month so all you fans who long to hear me onstage(has it been 30+ years???!!!), stay tuned! The roster for A.O.G.MEDIAs COMPILATION VOLUME #8 is filling up and there are some smokin' acts that I've had the pleasure to hear! The quality of independent music has grown by leaps and bounds over the last few years thanks to technology. The "do-it-yourself" crowd has and edge over the mainstream money hungry moguls. Less stress means better music! LOUD-N-PROUD!!!!

Thanks go out to all of you who have taken the time to listen to Songs from ALLOYS OF EMOTION! The response to its release has been really great! For individual songs feel free to visit pages at myspace and other sites in the links page here. I have songs on players and continue to open pages on new sites. Some sites only allow so many songs so if you have a favorite that’s not in any of the players shoot me an e-mail here and I’ll gladly do some swapping around to accommodate you. MUSICANE, BLAST MY MUSIC, ISOUND and HI5, are some of the players in use. Collaborations with other bands and artist are kicking off well and look for the fruits of these labors soon. Terry Duans’ latest release, “TAKING FLIGHT” contains one such fruit in the form of “TAX”. There are other tunes Terry and I are working on as well. Roy Coston, of LOVEBONE, Jesse DeLaO, of A.0.G. MEDIA and I are also working on material. I’m petitioning several other individuals for collaboration work such as Matt Maddox. Jesse is working towards several listeners’ parties and has a spring break thing in the works as well as working hard to bring bands into the south Texas area. He and I are also kicking around doing something together live! Mario Pompetti sent me a neat multi-media outlet in my comments section on myspace. From it you can get ring-tones, wallpapers and vids! Check it out! I’m just getting into such things and have only a few wallpapers submitted so far. My e-mails are filling up fast so if you hurry you can get a message in before they top out. I’ll gladly reply to each and every one as soon as possible. Until next time, STAY LOUD! STAY PROUD!! AND KEEP PUSHING BACK THE CLOUDS!!!!

WRITING FOR THE SAKE OF WRITING Here I sit with a bit of time on my hands. My mind wants to write something but what that might be, I do not know. Taking a look around these two worlds, (cyber and non-cyber), I see a lot going on as usual. Some people seem to have nothing else to do but write blog after blog after blog. That’s a good thing though. It means there will never be a shortage of things to read. I’ve always been one who loves to read. Mog is a great place to find a lot of great reading. As far as blogging goes, no place on the net can even compete with it. The world is laced together electronically and I’m happy to say that I’ve lost count of friends and countries they are located in. Think about where you are. Where did you come from? Where do you want to go? I’m here in Texas. The mixture of blood in my veins comes from many different places. As far as where I want to go, I’m already headed there. Weather I make it or not matters very little. The joy is all in the journey. The things and people around me have a great impact on my music. The experiences of the past continue to shape what I write. The best of times as well as the worst of times replay their echoes in my mind time and again. The triumphs and tragedies, laughter and tears, screams and whimpers, all melt into notes, chords and words. As long as I live and breathe, I will make every endeavor to express myself with music. I read an interview with Jason Becker the other day. He may be confined to a wheelchair much like Steve Hawking, but he still writes music. My hat tips to him with respect and adoration. His guitar playing was and still is a great symphonic cacophony that pleases my ears! Mr. Becker is proof that nothing on this earth is more powerful than the human spirits desire to go forward in the face of adversity. One of my “echoes” took the time to haunt me yesterday. I let it in as usual. Toyed with it (or it toyed with me), then set the thoughts it provoked into words. “ITS DARK DOWN HERE” was and is a blank-verse style poem. Later that same day I wrote a set of lyrics along the same line. Maybe it’ll be a song someday. I’ll tell you now that, yes, it will be a very dark piece. I seem to have a fascination with “darkness”, I guess. I don’t know where it comes from. I like the early Sabbath music, some Alice Cooper, Type 0 Negative, Ozzy Osbourne, Hendrixs’ “Manic Depression”. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not a satanic thing. I don’t worship the devil or any “other Gods”. I just seem to be drawn to the darker aspects of the human condition. Some of my favorite songs are epitimizations of darkness. “Suicide Solution”, “Diary Of A Madman”, “Eighteen And Life”, Sign Of The Southern Cross”, “I Remember You”, “Corpus Christi”, “The Mob Rules”, “Little Dolls”, Children Of The Grave”, I hope you can see where this is going. I’m drawn to and feel at home writing about the darker things. What hurts us, what ticks us off, what rips us to pieces on the inside and then laughs at us in our damaged state. I take my pain and express it musically. We all have these scars deep down inside from things that have hurt us. Mine percolate and manifest into music from time to time. The end product always means a lot to me. The demons are never slain. They just curl back up and return to that dark place to fester amongst them selves. When I die I’ll probably end up someplace they’ve created. I’ll make a mental note now to thank them for being them selves. The mistakes (?) we make in out youth never relinquish their vise-like grip on the back of our minds. We refuse to look over our shoulder, defiant even to the day we die that whatever we did was worth the pain it caused us. Our rebel yell against conformity and leadership echoes forever within us. My motto “spouts” this angst in its’ simplicity. “LOUD-N-PROUD”. It means the volume should always be high enough to dissolve your problems and your words should always be a reflection of what’s in your heart. “Stay LOUD! Stay PROUD!! And Keep Pushing Back The Clouds!!!!” No matter how the world tries to hold you back, move forward. Let those who will, laugh. When it’s your turn to laugh, they may gain some wisdom. But remember, there is no shadow without light. The shadows are sharpest in the absence of clouds. In the end, if you were true to yourself, you may just realize you have found happiness. Like Yin/Yang, there is a darkness to happiness as well. Let me just sling these six strings over my shoulder Let me just warm up my fingers and wander all over Who knows what notes I’ll find this time in the depths of my mind But I’ll find ‘em and get ‘em entwined with a story whose time Has the taste of a wine in the best of its time. The ice in my soul is a fist full of coal The outside is old the inside is bold The voice is a shadow the mind is a blade The fingers still dance in a maddening way The eye has a light indescribably bright Like a scream that’s denied yet it somehow survived Wearing scars on my shoulder my heart on my sleeve I live what I write I write what I breathe Flows like a rap huh? I don’t listen to rap. It’s art as far as I’m concerned but I’m not into much of it. Give me a molten stack and a good guitar and I’m at home! I have an old picture of myself. I’m in a diaper sitting on the floor trying to turn up a bottle of red wine. My Father must have been around. I have no memories of him. I do have a craving for alcohol to this day. I followed a link from a friend to a code site and found a neat animation of a long haired shredder turning up a wine bottle. I put it in a comment back to my Friend. My earliest memory is of a market-place. It was probably somewhere in Spain. A cobblestone street was lined with awnings and small shops. Garlic and other things hung from everywhere. There was a little music somewhere far off. It may have been strings or a small windblown instrument. I was swaddled up. The temperature was comfortable. Flash forward to the house I live in now but still in the past. An electric race track for Christmas got set up on the kitchen table. It was fun to play with for a couple of weeks. My brothers and I had many great races. Flash, to a train ride to California. Cramped quarters, a little bumpy and lights out. Flash, to a 747 ride to California again. Beautiful view. Two weeks of fun on Hauser Blvd. The park, the zoo, the volcano in the distance smoking. The lights of LA out the bedroom window. There were no helicopters filling the air back then. Disney’s park was shut down because of Charles Manson (or so I was told). Flash, the plane ride home. Looking down the entire length of the Baja Peninsula. I know now I was looking at a breeding ground for whales. Flash, Christmas again, clothes and things. A record player and a Jackson 5 album. More records next year. After those great years came the years of being picked on, left out, and played the fool. Everyone would get together to play football and I’d be odd-man-out. Eventually I resigned to wander off and do my own thing. I picked up plastic model building and basically drowned myself in it. The histories of what I was building were not lost on me. In this phase of life I actually had a pen-pal. We traded tips on model building and such. I got better and better at it and then moved to Louisiana. Up to now I’d lived in an immaculately clean home. Now I had to share space with cockroaches and dogs. They all ate better than I did. I lost a lot of weight, becoming thin as a rail and getting sick easily. Summer colds became the norm. High fever and delirium. The formaldehyde in the trailer-house walls was the culprit. I survived though. In time, I was to pack up what was left of my plastic models and return to Texas. My great comic-book collection never made it back. I’ve seen and lived life from both sides of the tracks. I’ve had everything given to me and had to work hard for everything I’ve gotten. I’ve had everything taken away and have given away everything I’ve had. The Yin/Yang thing has been with me for many years. The seasons “turn, turn, turn”. It’s just like the song says. Flash, I still live in the same old house on Laurent Street. It’s cold in the winter and hot in the summer. I did have a plan to get a better house but for now I’m still trying to get that knife out of my back. Halfway thru, a deal fell thru. The back forty was sold as the first half of the deal. That much went as planned. The rest just evaporated. Look in my eye and smile (EXPLITIVE AS PROPER NOUN). All the while knowing, the only one to benefit would be you. “I don’t want to do business that way when my name’s on the sign.” What a boldfaced lie! What a crappy way to gain wisdom. I trust you to read these words, but as far as trust goes in general, I trust in nothing anymore. Jaded but not deflated. Life has an edge just so serrated. You’re guaranteed to be grated, hated, debated, fated, and graded. That’s just before you’re born. Once you’re here, it just gets worse. “Put back into it, what you get out of life”. Well, I do. That’s why I write the songs that I do. I refuse to write “cookie-cutter”, “radio-friendly”, “happy-happy, joy-joy”, “feel-good” crap because such “crap” just doesn’t seem to happen to me. Here’s my list of “happy”. 1-Glenda Jean and Daisy Yvonne 2-Guitars and amps 3-Small studio 4-5 albums 5-23 years on the job 6-old house My “angry” list I’ll spare you. You wouldn’t ask for it anyway. The sum of a human-being is derived from all the things it has experienced in its lifetime. It can be divided into the sub-parts of reactions, and actions. What we did and how we felt. When were gone those who witnessed us when we were here are left to complete the equation. They way we were in their eyes, is the legacy we leave. The material things mean less by far than whom we were. He or She who dies with the most money, still dies. That angels move our feet and match our heartbeats, and whisper our thoughts to Gods own ear. As mankind debates, beseeches and implores itself, to bring his wars to an end. The children wade thru muck and mire, of hatred, death and sin. The path is set and up they come, gathering their dreams. We’ve paved the way for them to dream, but their dreams just make us scream. (I’ll take a break now)

Phila-funk has changed its name to "WEMUSICSTORE". I have just put up 3 tunes from ALLOYS there. One can even be yours for FREE! ENJOY!!!!

You can now preview tunes off the upcoming ALLOYS OF EMOTION on the music page here.

OLDER, WISER, INSANELY OPTIMISTIC 42 isn’t so bad. I still feel young. I’ve been updating some of my web pages. You should be able to find a few tunes from “ALLOYS” scattered about. In most places you can get single songs and a few will eventually have the entire CD. I’ve also put multiple players on some sites so you will have a choice of which player you are used to using. Blast My Music, Musicane, Isound, etc. A.O.G. Medias’ COMPILATION #7 is on its way to the world and the feedback is already a gratifying wave! Reviews are great! Get your hands on this hot potato ASAP! I’ve been hard at work putting tunes on SOUNDCLICK. I’m still in the process of updating the “station” there. I intend to have my full catalogue up in the near future. The links list is ever growing on legasyssongs (dot-com). One of the newest looks very promising with possibilities. EMUSIC (dot-com), seems to be a wellspring for information across the board industry-wise. I may have to whittle my site down sometime soon. It takes a lot of time to try and update them all. I’ll have to give this some much deeper thought before I make a decision. Dropping sites is not something I take lightly. Any avenue thru which I can get my music to you has a tremendous amount of value to me. For all of you who have “found” me on this site and any of the other 30+, From the bottom of my heart I thank you. I will always endeavor to write music to keep you entertained. I do it not for the money, but for the sake of the music itself. I’ve made many new friends and together we are for the most part collaborating on music. Look for the fruits of this labor in the near future. Roy Costone of LOVEBONE, Matt Maddox of SNATCH, and A.O.G. MEDIAs’ Jesse DeLa O, are great people I am embarking into these collaborations with. The distance between us is no obstacle to the plans we are now making. To any other musicians, bands, lyricist, etc., if you have ideas and don’t want to work on them alone, feel free to get in touch. I’m not always available but when I am I’m here 100% for music. If any of you want to make a submission for A.O.G. MEDIAs COMPILATION #8, let me know. I can provide you with the info or you can go to Mr. DeLa Os’ link from the links page of legasyssongs(dot-com).

Here is an interesting e-mail,,, Hello Dear Friend ! Branimir from Belgrade - SERBIA, overhere. Hope you are personally well. First of all, I want to thank you for your last package of CD's and of course for putting my name in your newsletter and CD's cover inlay as a collaborator. Thank you so much. I really appriciate your cooperation and friendship. All of CD's you have sent are great. Thank you so much one more time. Yes, as a previous time, I also did a review of your "Comp.Vol.7", so you have find my texture in BARIKADA, if you enter in : http://www.barikada.com/bb_lokner/ostala_scena07/2007-01-18_va_vol7.php , and also in : http://www.barikada.com/bb_lokner/metal_scena07/2007-01-18_va_vol7..php In the next few days I will send some other SERBIAN and former YU artists/groups CD's, to you as a present. Now, here is a translation of whole review : V/A "Compilation Volume 7 " ( A.O.G.Media ) Unstoppable Jesse De La O continiously follows his works in the underground. 9 months are gone from realization of previous compilation, and 7th,a new one is ready for distribution and promotion."Compilation Vol.7" are consists of 19 tracks in, and this time also many worldwide groups and artists are include in. In my opinion, this issue more than others previously released sustein an interesting performers and artists with respectable potentials. I would like to mention an interesting tracks of groups Wasted Land from Saudi Arabia and Foxldo from Egypt. The reason doesn' t lay in facts, that they comes from exotic countries for rock culture in general - simply they had offered very interesting vision of untipical metal approach. I would also mention Terry Daun, author from Arizona.In very original way he combine rock with electro/ industrial idioms. There are also an interesting outfit from Spain - named Tribu hardcore oriantation, and also another act from Saudi Arabia -Sound Of Ruby, with their own vision of punk.A band from Latvia S.I.L.S. with modern views tries to explore alter rock with some other musical idioms. An older very well known act to me - Italians Sown, and band from State -Lunatics On Parole, are also introduced with interesting pieces. It's also practically obvious to mention the other performers, as a Skindraft from Ireland, and long-time Jesse's collaborator Jose Diaz, a Dutch act Fentanyl, and Obed from Columbia. Jesse has also offered his tracks from the past, and generally this compilation posses enough elements for researching and exploring.Support compilation and artists ! Rating : 9 / 10 That's all for now Jesse. Keep in contact and take care. Branimir You Da Man Jesse!!!!!!

"WE REMEMBER" is yours for the takeing! It's my dedication to all of our heroes.

WHAT’S IN YOUR HEAD JOSE’? I finally got the chance to sit down with Jose’ Diaz this weekend. As it was I was the only one sitting down. I visited him in the confines of his studio, “The Cave”, and had an in-depth conversation with the mastermind of the music. VOSS: Thank you for allowing me into your workspace today Mr. Diaz JOSE’: You can call me Jose’ and the pleasure’s all mine Vee. VOSS: (He’s found my nickname.) Tell me a bit about yourself if you would, please. JOSE’: Hmm, (slight smile, almost nostalgic). Well, I was born in Madrid, Spain. My Father was in the U.S. Air Force. He lives in Panama and I’ve never met him. I think all I inherited from him was a taste for alcohol. VOSS: Heavy drinker, you? JOSE’: Not quite a fish, but I do like to drown sometimes. (Bigger smile). VOSS: How long did you reside in Madrid? JOSE’: Not long. Maybe a year. My Mom returned to the states with my brothers and me and left my Dad over there. All I can remember is being carried through a market-place with cobblestone streets, a few sounds, music or something, voices. VOSS: Childhood memories? JOSE’: I’d call ‘em infantile memories. VOSS: How much do you remember of your time as an infant? JOSE’: I don’t think there’s enough time in either of our schedules for all the things I remember. (Slight frown. Introspective) Let’s just say I’ve lived a long and sometimes difficult life. I’m just glad to still be alive these days. VOSS: I see. How about telling us about any one moment that stands out above all others. JOSE’: How about a few? VOSS: Sure. JOSE’: A funny one would have to be the way I used to steal the bottle from my older and younger Brothers. I’d take it and drink it all, or try to. I‘d get spanked for it too. But there I’d be, at it again the next minute. Took me a long time to break that habit. (laughs. Then after a pause,) A sad one would have to be the loss of the Grandmother who raised me. She was the greatest human-being I have ever known. She taught me all the core values about what knowledge is and the importance of obtaining as much of it as possible. To this day I want to learn. I want to learn forever. One of the strongest memories would have to be seeing Jimi Hendrix on the tube one day. It was a clip on the news of him playing and smashing and then burning his guitar. The sound caught me first. Then, when I saw what he was doing, I was riveted to the set! That was the “moment”. From then on I was hooked on rock-n-roll. VOSS: The path was set then. When did you first pick up a guitar? JOSE’: My first musical experience was actually stealing a note or two on the piano or organ in church. I was a kid and any and every grown-up would scold or slap my knuckles whenever I tried to play. I did get a few notes in from time to time and still remember the simple little things I did to this day. At church I was “repressed”. (smiles). At home I was encouraged. At 13, my Grandmother bought me a $35.00 acoustic from Navratil Music here in town. She also got me a battery powered strobe tuner for a few more bucks. With that, some picks, and a Roy Clark Big Note Song Guitar Book, I was on my way! (grinning) VOSS: How long did it take for you to learn your first song? JOSE’: Roy Clarks’ book had the “proper” version of the “Star Spangled Banner”. I had it down in about a week. Before that though, I was already putting original stuff together. VOSS: Would you consider yourself a prodigy? JOSE’: Never. I’m no genius. I was raised to not be prideful of anything I achieve in life. I write music to excise my personal demons and to take flights of fancy. If people want to listen they’re more than welcome to. If I were a prodigy this studio would be a hell of a lot bigger! (big smile) VOSS: I detect an absence of lofty goals. Am I correct in that assumption? JOSE’: Absolutely! The higher the goal, the harder the fall. One secret to success is never attempting it in the first place. I know what it takes to reach a certain plateau. I know what I have to do to achieve certain things. Mark Twain got it right. He was lonely. I’m not prepared to be lonely right now is all. VOSS: Could you explain what you mean by that? JOSE’: I usually sleep 4 hours a night. I get up at 6:00 am every morning. My ideal day consist of coffee for breakfast, net surfing for at least 2 hours, then promotional stuff. After that’s done I’d go to the studio to work on music. A late lunch and then back into the studio. After a while I’d re-check the web and then have dinner. There’s still a few hours left in the evening to go back into the studio. VOSS: It sounds like you prefer work over rest. Do you actually keep such a schedule? JOSE’: Naaa! (laughs) Glenda would kill me or just leave. (Glenda is Jose’s Girlfriend of 9 years) I try to explain what it will take for me to be successful at this but I don’t think it sinks in. It drives her crazy when I jump outta bed at 4:00am and start writing lyrics down. I don’t fire up an amp at that time ‘cause Daisys’ got school to get up for.(Glendas’ daughter) VOSS: You try to channel a lot of energy into your music then it seems? JOSE’: I put in as much emotion as I can. Emotions are the building blocks of experience and personality. When I listen to a song, I let my emotions go with it. I think that’s what all artist really want deep down inside. We want the listener to feel what we felt when we made a song. That’s the connection for the energy to flow from artist to fan and back again, over and over. The loop feeds back repeatedly and becomes something more each time. Sometimes the fans will connect on a different level completely and the energy will still be there. Like a song about one thing that people think is about another and it becomes a hit for the wrong reason. Only God knows why. VOSS: That’s an interesting analogy. Where are your religious beliefs situated? JOSE’: In my own mind.(pauses. Smirks. We both laugh!) I’m neither agnostic, nor atheist. I grew up in church and have grown past and out of that. I can see how it is a good thing for what it can do to ones mentality as far as keeping you on an even keel. VOSS: So you no longer attend church? JOSE’: I’ll go on special occasions. Weddings and such, but no, I worship God in my own way. The rituals and emphatics of most religious practices don’t appeal to me much anymore. I know people will say I’ve fallen away but that in itself is judgmental. I’d say I’ve transcended closer towards a better understanding of my own existence. God’s written it all in stone. Man’s made a few typos. VOSS: So, on “existence”. The light or the darkness? (A question not on my list) JOSE’: Yin-Yang. Both. Everything and nothing battle to become something else. We exist at the crux of that battle and nowhere near it at the same time. Light, darkness, good, evil, we bend them to our ends as much as they bend us to theirs. VOSS: That’s deep! JOSE’: Just a scratch Vee. VOSS: You’re divorced now for what, 10 years? JOSE’: I wish! (laughs) It’s about 4 but she left about 10 years ago. VOSS: How long were you married? JOSE’: 15 years too long. It was a waste of My time that I’m still paying for to this day. Nasty and painful. Eew!( shivers) VOSS: Back to your music. I’ve heard a very wide array of subject matter in your songs. I take it the inspiration comes from many sources? JOSE’: My life and how I experience it is what inspires me. I feel at home with almost any subject. Death is a big one. Love another big one. Hatred, anger, resignation, this list may not have an end. Just like Jimi (Hendrix) inspired me, many other musicians have also. Muddy Waters, B.B.King, Miles Davis, Louis Armstrong, Bing Crosby, Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra, Carlos Santana, Rhandy Rhoads, Andres’ Segovia, Mozart, Brahms, Beethoven. Another endless list. VOSS: All music influences you then? JOSE’: Oh yeah. Everything. VOSS: Jose’ can you tell me where this world would be without music? JOSE’: I think mankind would be totally integrated into the machine. All our thoughts would be binary, ones and zeros. We’d be less human. Or extinct. I wouldn’t want to live in a world without music. VOSS: So what do you do when you’re not making music? JOSE”: Beer! (Laughs) I don’t think a day goes by when I don’t do something related to music. I’m constantly thinking up titles and writing lyrics. I don’t pick up the guitar everyday, though I know I really should. Whenever I do finally get in the studio I think My lack of practice makes things happen more off the cuff. Things sound fresher to me that way. Whenever I have time off I spend it with Glenda and Daisy. We usually just lay around watching the tube or DVDs. I try to get in quality time but the music is always there in the back of my mind. Those wheels never seem to stop turning. VOSS: Where are you now, music-wise? JOSE’: My fifth CD is completed and set for release on February 15th. “ALLOYS OF EMOTION” is the title and it’s somewhat of a departure from the norm for me. I guess you could say it’s me being all sensitive. (Smiles) I did a lot of softer style rock songs but the heavy guitar work is still there. I just went into the studio as always with no plan and let whatever wanted to come out. It’s (ALLOYS) actually my 6th CD. The 1st, is still unreleased. VOSS: Why haven’t you released the first one? JOSE’: I didn’t even know about CDBABY back then. That CD has one of the few live takes of me with both my amp stacks blazing into a couple of mics. “BLOODY MUSTANG” is the song and it’s one from my high-school days about a fictitious American Indian legend. VOSS: Will you ever release it? JOSE’: I’d like to re-do it someday. It’s about 13 minutes long. I let the recorder run and just played. VOSS: What can we expect from you in the future? JOSE’: I defiantly want to do an about face from ALLOYS next time around. The hard and heavy stuff is already in the process of being written and recorded. I don’t ever want to stop writing. I’ve been on a writing binge since 2003! I recently did some guitar work for Terry Daun (keyboardist, composer). He lives in Chandler, Arizona and he approached me about putting some guitars onto his song “TAX”. It’s a great instrumental piece and He’s an awesome composer. We’ve never met, but that didn’t stop us from collaborating. VOSS: Never met? How’d you work together? JOSE’: Terry sent me a CD of his tracks and I just made some parallel tracks. Put them on a CD with a couple of test mixes and sent it back. He took that and worked some great magic and put the final product together. The song's on his latest release “TAKING FLIGHT”. I’m being asked onto another similar collaboration along with Jesse DelaO of A.O.G.MEDIA. Roy Costone of LOVE BONE (New York) wants to do pretty much the same thing. I look forward to it. VOSS: What’s your affiliation with A.O.G.MEDIA? JOSE’: I’ve appeared on 3 of their COMPILATION CDs so far and hope to get onto the next. Jesse is an old friend I played for back in the 80s. He’s got loads of business savvy to spare and he’s a great guy to work with and for. I’ve even done some lead work for him recently on a tune he wrote called “DEATH ANGEL”. Heavy stuff. Those COMPILATIONs are a great way to get your music all the way around the world. I may not be a household name, but I am in many countries. (Big smile) VOSS: What thoughts would you like to leave the reader with Jose’? JOSE’: To any one who ever listened to my music I just wanna say, “if I made you mad, happy sad or indifferent that’s just life. I’m not sorry for stirring your emotions. I hope you let me do it again soon”. Stay Loud. Stay Proud. And keep pushing back the clouds! VOSS: Thanks for letting us into your mind today Jose’ JOSE’: Thank you Vee. Anytime Bro! 1-6-2007- Voss Vostoyvich

This relativly new site has enormouse potential!!! I've even created a station there. Right now there's not a lot of rock there so my playlist is short (16-songs). The deep link will not work so you'll have to use one of the two links on the "links" page here. For all you artist and bands out there, this site has a player from which you can sell downloads of your music as well as a profile page, friends/fans/e-mail etc! You owe it to yourself to jump on this one!!!! LOUD-N-PROUD !!!!! Jose' Diaz

My great friend in Chandler ,Arizona, TERRY DAUN deserves a big hand. His latest release "TAKING FLIGHT" is at #6 on the Isound.com chart!!! This ones all instrumental and he lays down the meanest synth soundscapes I've ever heard!! I got to hear the cd and can't seem to put it down!!! If you remember a while back I mentioned working on a lead track for Terry, well it's on "TAKING FLIGHT". The song is "TAX". It shows you that two musicians wanting to work together can do so no matter where in the world they each are located. To this day Terry and I have yet to meet, but I look forward to that day gleefully! Check the links page for Terry and Isound.com. He's also a featured artist on the isound homepage today so get there soon!

http://www.xndradio.com/xndhangout/refer.php?refer=joseexist Cool place like myspace but different and worth the time!!!

Here are the offical results from the latest round of competition on mymusiccontest.com. These are just a few of the winners. There are many catagories and many artist takeing part. Composer .Gold. Silver Bronze Hon M .Total. Pompetti ..2 ..4 ..1 ..2 ..9 Big Ed ..1 ..1 ..4 ..2 ..8 WOTE ..3 ..1 ..2 ... ..6 ymir20mil ..1 ..2 ..1 ... ..4 Jose Diaz ..2 ..1 ... ... ..3 saholiday ..2 ... ... ... ..2 NATE MATTHEWS ..1 ... ... ..1 ..2 djcyber ... ..1 ..1 ... ..2 http://mymusiccontest.org/messages/index.php?topic=56.msg87#msg87

"LET ME FLY" has one 1st place in the rock catagory and "SNAKE EYES" has won 1st place in the blues catagory on mymusiccontest.org. "STAMPEDE" took 2nd in instrumentals!!! Thanks and HAPPY HOLIDAYS !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Here's a link to a place you can hear "WE REMEMBER". It's not up for download on the site yet as I just opened my page there. http://www.mixedmind.com/artists/members/43/ There was a link problem yesterday, but it's been resolved. If by chance you get dropped onto the home page of MIXEDMIND.COM, just put "jose diaz" into the search bar on the upper right. "WE REMEMBER" is not for sale. It's for our heroes. All of our heroes.

Just wanna give out a hearty THANK YOU to all of you who've visited this month. This page seems to be #1 in some search engines. I hope all of your holidays are what you want them to be and look forward to what you'll think of ALLOYS OF EMOTION when it gets released. HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!!

Blast My Music.com brings us a new player I am putting onto any of my websites that will allow. I'll be rotating songs in and out from time to time so check to see if any of your favorites are there. Currently the player is on my personal page at MYSPACE.COM and the LEGASYS page of MUSIC TX.COM. Have you heard the latest COMPILATION cd from A.O.G. MEDIA? #7 is the schorchingest to date!!!

A.O.G. MEDIA has released COMPILATION #7!!!! It's a flaming collection of great music you should get your hands on. Check out the links page here and go to see Jesse De La O on the net!!!! If you'd like a copy of the cd drop a line to me or jesse. I'm sure we can work something out. These cds are for promotional purposes but I hear nothing but good feedback from those who have heard them!!! If you're an artist or band looking for more exposure jump on this wagon and it'll get you exposed around the world. That's not just hype! That's the truth!!! You'll get people visiting your web site from countries you've never heard of.(I'm proof). You'll make great new friends worldwide!(I'm proof!). Your chances of that big break will increase and you may well have to sift carefully through the offers you get!(I'm PROOF!!!) HAPPY HOLIDAYS LOUDLY AND PROUDLY TO ALL!!!

Say, If you'd like to learn a bit more about me in a personal vein, just check out the interview Nick at SCREAMOTIONAL.COM did! The site is an awesome find and as far as I'm concerned, one of the few DIAMONDS IN THE ROUGH!!!! I feel at home there as well as here and for me to ever feel at home is a rare occurance! So, here's me inviting all of you to check out the AWESOME LINKS I've found for you listed here at LEGASYSSONGS.COM!!! Two sites are in the process of getting their radio stations up and running. SCREAMOTIONAL and COMMUNITY X are about to pumel you with great tunes!!!! AND MORE!!!! If your into podcasts, there are none better to date than LES LEWELLYNs'at, PREYINGLIZARDMUSIC.COM!!! As for me, ALLOYS OF EMOTION, is about to be released and I am still recording new stuff!!! I do not know where it may end, but I hope the music world will never be the same!!! APRILL BRANDON, You have been doing great pieces in the local paper! Keep it up!!!!!! I really enjoy the way you bring our community to us!!!!!! You have a gift for holding up the mirror in a very respectfull way!!! Jesse my man!!! The COMPILATION#7 ,,,,,,,,,,,,,"IS AWESOME!!!!!" You've done it again and then some!!(some???? no! MUCH MORE!!!!!!) GOD BLESS YOU!!! The clouds are pushing back!

Nick at SCREAMOTIONAL.COM did an interview of me and it may get put on the site sometime soon. Screamotional is a work in progress that looks great even in it's current state! Check the link out on the "links" page here. I'm gearing up for the holidays and the upcoming release of "ALLOYS OF EMOTION". Ya'll stay LOUD-N-PROUD!!!!!

I now have a few songs up on tzome.com. It's a great site with a fresh look and there are a lot of great artist there. Give it a try. I promise you will not be dissapointed!!! Just search for LEGASYS there.

Les Lewellyn is still spinning "BANKING BUTTERFLIES" on the INSTRUMENTAL MADNESS show! This show is the #1 podcast in the country!!! Check it out by way of the link here on the links page. Thanks for spinning me Les!!!!!!

If you've been looking for "We Remember", you can find it on my BANDSPACE.COM page. It's at the bottom of the songlist. Follow the link from here.

I have had the pleasure of getting my music onto A.O.G.MEDIAs’ COMPILATIONS series. The 7th is coming out as I write this and as usual, features bands and artist from all around the world. These cdr are not sold for money but rather end up going to all the bands and artists countries and more. I have noticed and exponetial increase in traffic to my websites since getting into this. Here comes the 7th release in A.O.G. MEDIAs’ COMPILATION SERIES ! Jesse De La O is geared up and about to give the world another awesome dose of music that come to you from all over the world as only he can do it! Check out his page on myspace.com for more info. http://www.myspace.com/jessedelao1 Here’s the band-list for COMPILATION #7. (1) Terry Daun – “GET UP” – Pop/Rock, – Chandler, Arizona USA (2) FENTANYL “BHOPAL” – Rotterdamn, Netherlands – speed metal. (3) WASTED LAND – “BELLS OF THE FALLING CASTLE ” – Jeddah, Saudi Arabia – death metal (4) SKINDRAFT – “DISCERN” – Ireland (5) TRIBU – “NUNCA” Spain SOWN – “SMILING” Italy – metal (7) S.I.L.S. – “GADALAIKS Riga, Latvia – Alternative Rock . (8/9) GYPSY CARNS – “I’M CALLING YOU ” and “12 RAINBOWS ” -Classic Rock – Nashville, TN USA (10) OBED – “VALLEY OF MOURNER SOULS ” – Christian Death Metal – Bogota, Columbia (11) Jose’ Diaz (Legasys) – “MENTAL IGNITION ” – Victoria, Texas USA (12/13) SOUND OF RUBY – “I FOUND MY KEY ” and “ABU-HADRIAH ROAD ” -Punk Rock-Grunge stylings. (14/15) JESSE DE LA O – “ALONE” and “RUN FOR MY LIFE ” – 70’s style Rock/Heavy Metal. (16) FoxIdo – “THE CONCEPTION WITHIN ” Egypt – Symphonic Metal (17), LUNATICS ON PAROLE – “CORPORATE GOOSESTEP ” – Metal Core A.O.G. MEDIA is now taking submissions for COMPILATION #8 !!!!!!!!! A.O.G. MEDIA knows no bounds when it comes to great music. As you can see the bands come from many countries. This is the fruition of Jesses’ hard work as it brings the world together even as it seems the world wants to tear itself apart. His accomplishments stand as reminders that there is far more to our existence than war, hatred, or insanity. Great things are yet to come. You, reader, are more than welcome to join us. LOUD -N-PROUD!!!!

Jesse handed me a couple of demos for the 7th COMPILATIONS. I listened last night and was blown away! I'm a bit tungue-thiieedd wryt now,,, but I got a ton to say about this release. This cd will ROCK YOU!!!!!

The title has been selected for my next release. "ALLOYS OF EMOTION" will hit the shelf early in 2007. A taste was recently given out on preyinglizardmusic.com. "We Remember" was spun on one of the great podcast shows there. It's also uploaded to a few other websites. A formal press release in in the works and will hopefully find the light of day soon. (This will be the first ever press release for Jose' Diaz.) As always stay tuned, Stay Loud! Stay Proud!! And Keep Pushing Back The Clouds!!!!

I now have a page at mog.com. If you're a moger blogger, check me out. I'm "joseexist" there. Let me know if you can find any of my music there as well. It'll be under tabs such as: Jose' Diaz, Jose' Diaz/LEGASYS, ARTIST, or Jose' Luis Diaz. I don't really know all the nuances yet and would really appreciate some one letting me know. You might even get to hear some new stuff if you look hard enough!

TO ALL INDEPENDENT ARTIST/BANDS This just a reminder to you, that dollar for dollar cdbaby.com is still the best place to debut your original material. For a truly small amount of money you get a place from which to sell your product, upc codes, a website you can customize for a small monthly fee, and the best bar none in advice and tips on how to make the most of every moment you put into your musical endeavors. Cdbaby.com was the stepping stone for my own music and without it I would not be heard by as many people as I am today. My list of friends’ world wide has grown exponentially. I’ve enjoyed music you cannot find in the narrow confines of the mainstream. I have branched out to many other websites, but I still debut all my new stuff from cdbaby.com. (With a few exceptions for pod cast like Les Lewellyns’ preyinglizardmusic.com.) The music industry can be unforgiving. You will only ever get out of it what you put into it. If you expect the world without working for it you will be disappointed. I expect nothing. I’m happy turning out my music to my taste and if the world wants to listen they are all more than welcome. I’d like to acknowledge the help I’ve received from many individuals. Jesse De La O, Les Lewellyn, Robert Cetl, Derek Sivers, Adam West, Kenny the gardener, there are far too many individuals to name them all here but my thanks goes out to them all. Here comes 2007. I’m hard at work on my 5th cd and hope to release it sometime in the early part of next year. The inspiration for it comes from many of the friends I’ve made in the past year. I hope they can see what effect they’ve had on my writing and understand that true friends need never meet to affect each others lives. Although what’s left of my heart is a cold shell filled with darkness, when I tell you “God Bless”, I really mean it. Stay Loud! Stay Proud!! And keep Pushing Back The Clouds!!!! Jose’ Diaz/LEGASYS

http://www.preyinglizardmusic.com/podcast.htm Les Lewellyn is playing this instumental tune on preyinglizardmusic.coms' INSTRUMENTAL MADNESS! Check out the #1 podcaste! His shows hold all the #1 spots. The great music is the reason!!!

"WE REMEMBER" will be on my next release. I felt it needed to be out there due to the subject matter and time of the year. Many thanks to my friend at preyinglizardmusic.com, the ever incredible, LES LEWELLYN!!!!!

THE IMPORTANCE OF PR 11-2-2006-JOSE’ LUIS DIAZ Getting the word out to the world is one of those dreaded tasks that must be done. Not doing it at all will guarantee your career will be a short one. If you at least “get it out”, then you at least have a chance. There are people out there who can do it for you, but for best results, you may want to do it yourself. Many, if not all, PR firms will charge a fee or fees to promote you. If you go this route be sure to tread carefully. They should provide you with all the info you need to know. I say they should. Some may not be trustworthy. Do your homework. The music biz can be unforgiving to the uneducated. If you do it yourself be sure and cover all the bases. You have to have an “image”. The way the world sees you will have a great amount of impact on your future. On the other side of that coin, your music should be presented to the world in the best way possible. Even a weak song can get results if the PR is good. I have to plug a PR company here. It’s A.O.G. MEDIA. It’s run by a very good friend of mine and he can and does get me and all of his clientele results. His COMPILATION series has been distributed all over the world and quite a few of the artist are on the verge of breaking out as huge successes. For $50.00 you get heard and played across the face of the globe. You get newsletters and cdr that you can distribute at will. For the exposure alone Jesse De La O and A.O.G. MEDIA are a priceless port from which to launch you and your music. Once you’re on a COMPILATION cdr does not end there. For the duration of the contract A.O.G. MEDIA will be putting out newsletters with your contact info, distributing cdr, and keeping you updated on the progress of the campaign. Getting the word out is the key to you getting the exposure you need. Jesse De La O is a one man army. He works hard for every band or artist that signs up with him. He may be one man, but from the first time I met him back in the eighties, he has had a concrete grip on the reality of the music industry. If you want honesty (and that’s very hard to find in this industry) he’s the guy with nothing but honesty. He will tell you exactly what he can and cannot do. If you’re not a good listener then you may even be wasting your own time wanting results you may not understand in the first place. I for one can attest to the results this guy can get you. My list of friends has taken on an international aspect I never thought possible. My address book is running over. My main website had another record month in October. I’ve been able to collaborate on works in progress with other artist from afar. You may not have heard of me yet, but I am optimistic that you may soon indeed. A.O.G. MEDIA distributes cdr, newsletters, and flyers over a large area of Texas. These “PR” materials also go to the bands and artist in other countries as well. So you see, the “EXPOSURE” you can achieve with a $50.00 bill is a grand bargain compared to what most PR firms charge. PR. That’s what gets you exposed. It’s not just your music. It’s not just press releases. It’s not just news articles in the local or national papers. It’s not just web site bulletins and blogs. It’s all of these things put together that can make or break a band or artist. Don’t ever be afraid to get outside help in this area. Feel free to ask me anything at all on this subject. If I don’t have the answer, I can sure steer you to some one who does. If all you want to do is sell cds of your music, then you’ve already made a grave mistake. Selling your tunes should always be your job, not the job of anyone handling your PR. On the other hand, if you want to be seen, heard, felt, noticed, looked for, found, and the word spread about you, that’s the job of PR. Promotion is not the selling of your music. It can and will affect the decision making process of prospective fans. If the PR is done right, then they will come. If the music stands up to the PR, then they will buy. If you’ve done all you can to make your “PRODUCT” worth adding to some ones’ collection, then the first step to fame is in the bag. PR is the cornerstone. Without it you’d better be writing some interstellar tunes. Jesse does quite a lot for such a small fee. I thank him dearly for that. But at the same time I know not to look a gift horse in the mouth. I keep my own PR going as well. The www is expanding every moment with new sites from which to promote your self. I’m currently using more than thirty. It takes time to update every blog, bulletin, and read all the mail, but it is worth it to me when I get an e-mail or mp3 or cds in snail mail. I also have to say for the record that a lot of the cds friends send me are better music by far than what I have to listen to on the radio. I have a lot to do today so I’ll let go of your eyes for now. Thanks for reading and God Bless. STAY LOUD! STAY PROUD!! AND KEEP PUSHING BACK THE CLOUDS!!!! www.legasyssongs.com

Les Lewellyn has honored me once again by putting a song of mine on one of his shows. "We Remember", is my tribute to those who became heroes on 9/11. It's for both those who survived and those who did not. It's on the PIRATE RADIO HARD ROCK SHOW. http:/www.preyinglizardmusic.com is the site. The podcasts there are still #1 !!!!! POWER TO YA LES!!!!!!

This is a blog on myspace from Kenney. His band is Lunatics on Parole. Give them a listen and you will not be dissapointed. I Promise you!!! The time for change is NOW! Category: News and Politics The time for change is NOW! Congress is out of touch with the American people. Millions of Americans petitioned Congress to keep the internet open to everybody but Congress voted against Net Neutrality, giving corporations control over the internet. When 70% of Americans supported Clinton during his impeachment proceedings, Congress attacked him. When only 30% of Americans supports GW, Congress backs him. As corporate profits grow and jobs disapear, the disparity between haves and have-nots is growing so Congress voted not to raise the minimum wage but instead gave themselves a big pay raise. Sexual predators, affairs, bribery, corporate payoffs, lies, money laundering, election fraud, etc. Scandals and payoffs seem to be the norm yet some of those involved are running for re-election and might win. Why? Is it because as a society we expect the worst from people, where backstabbing, lieing and violence is the accepted way of doing things, and we expect no better from our leaders? The time for change is NOW! This is not about Republicans and Democrats, right wing vs. left wing, a racial/ethnic/nationality thing or a religious stand. It's about right and wrong, doing the decent thing and it begins with the truth. It starts within you and should extend to your leaders. The time for change is NOW! 5:51 PM - 1 Comments - 2 Kudos - Add Comment

LECTRIC MONKS, an exclusive release with A.O.G.MEDIA, is on the playlist of Les Lewellyns' INSTREMENTAL MADDNESS podcast. Theres a link to the preyinglizard site on the "links" page here. Check out both the podcasts' and the pirate radio shows. There's a very good reason they are all #1 !!!! Les brings unknown music well into the light where it belongs. The playlist are all comprised of links directly to the artist website. Well Gideon, I guess you still don't have much to say to me. I don't blame you. I blame your Mother and Myself. Still in all, I am proud of you for your grades. Keep 'em up. I swear, sometimes, "I DON'T KNOW WHERE I AM" and I don't know where I stand. Jose'

http://discoverourmusic.blogspot.com/search/label/Artist%20Of%20The%20Month That link will take you to discoverourmusic.com. I've won the ARTIST OF THE MONTH THERE!!!!!!! LOUD-N-PROUD!!!!

Morning everyone. Just got some tunes up on "newmusiclabel.com". If you're familliar with this new site gimme a vote. Be honest about it. I just make music I don't write hits.(yet). There's links here for my page there and a link to the main page as well for any of you wanting to register/sighn up. Loud-n-Proud!!!

This is just a blog... 10-14-2006-2:03am There was a time when the love I felt inside was larger than the space between any of the stars you could see on a cold clear night. Then there was the time it felt like the space between a barely parted thumb and forefinger. Then, there was a time when it was only as much as the space between my fingers, but felt like the space between the stars. Now, there’s nothing left to feel big or full. There’s not even anything left to feel empty. I’m a giver. I give until I hurt. Then I keep giving until I have no more to give. I wear my heart on my sleeve so those I give to can see just how much I have to give. I’ve been alive a long time. I can tell you one thing. I care. But who cares. I live in a world of vampires. I’ve been bitten all my life but have yet to turn. I feel like some sacred cow put here to sustain them as long as I can. I let some feed willingly. But, they drain me dry and then blame me for being empty and leave. Others attack and take until there’s no more to take. Then they blame me for being empty and leave. In either case, I pick myself up and continue on. They take. I give (willingly or not). I could be just like them if I wanted to. All it takes, is to “take”. 2:24am I could never forgive myself if I became like them. I can’t ever ask “who wants to live off other peoples’ pain?”. That’s what they do. Not me. They all sink their teeth in and quickly become drunk. I’ve come to ignore the squint in there eye and the change in their voices when they see I’m almost dry. I also ignore the way they symbolically chase the last drops as if they’re making some kind of difference. I can’t help but detest them for the way they disengage without regard to my emotions. But then again, that’s the same way they started to feed in the first place. It never hurts when they start. But it always does when they leave. It’s like a part of me wants to take a part of them for myself , selfishly. But, I’m not a taker. You’d think that after so many years of this I’d change. Yeah, right, me a changer. Jaded, hell yeah. Changed, hell no. I must be content or something. I don’t think being content is a redeeming quality. Redeeming qualities are something others see in you, not something you can see in yourself. God is hip. He stopped sending his angels to talk to people because he saw people had stopped listening. Disrespect like that chaps my ass too. I’d start over from scratch. The world thinks it can work all its problems out without his help. They’ve pushed him back behind rituals and iconoclastic statues, symbols and locations. His son was here. He walked to all four corners. He tried to tell us too. Did anybody listen? Look around. Do you like what you see? Let’s get back to the takers. When they see me, am I half full, or half empty? It doesn’t matter to me. I’m just trying to clear something up for you. I’m not the only giver on earth. What they see is determined by the length of time it’s been since they “took”. It’s also determined by the duration of and quality/quantity of what they last took. If their last “take” was awesome, they’ll hang out at the periphery and study the next “target” with patience. If it was a “bad take”, they’ll swoop right up close and drown you in subtle emotions and false frailties. Givers are suckers. (Not literally!). We fall to our own hearts, or what’s left of them, as easily as comet dust from the sky, and with as much notoriety. Takers are deviously intricate sociopaths. I learned not to fight something you don’t want to be a long time ago. Takers will never learn anything. 3:10am I was looking for a place to start this “tale”. I guess I still am. There’s no one place it could begin, save Madrid, Spain, The place of my birth. I was also looking for an ending, but, I’m sorry I don’t tell the future. That’s for you to find out on your own. So, I guess I’m stuck right here in the middle of all this shit. No way up, nor any way out. Plenty of altitude for a nasty fall though. If I were meek I’d still be down there past the last rung deep under the surface of the mud and slime. That’s where you end up when you fall. You struggle with all your might to get back on the ladder but you never will. Not as long as you keep struggling. Take my advice. When you end up there, treat the situation just like you would a relationship with a taker. Don’t struggle. Cease thought, it makes them twitch which hurts you more. You may think you’ve hit bottom but you may still have a long way to go. As far as how long that might be? I can’t tell you. You just have to leave your situation in a bigger pair of hands. Eventually you’ll regain buoyancy, hopefully. Still, though, stay catatonic, eyes shut, with comatose soul. When, and only when you feel a cool breath of future possibilities upon your face, open your eyes. Look up. Reach up. Grab the bottom rung and start over. Everyone can have their wisdom measured in layers of dried mud/slime. Everyone except takers, they think they have some but are actually totally devoid of it. 3:31am Sorry for the time signatures. I just have this thing about time. There’s never enough and what little there is won’t ever mean much in the long run. Time is omni-lateral. It is affected by mass and speed. It affects the mind in numerous ways. From the brains point of view, it slows to a crawl, flits by in the blink of an eye, or stands still taunting, frozen moments. The latter used to happen to me when I had a heart. Love used to “freeze” time. Now it ticks by and away casting each moment forever into the past. And whatever memories we’ve made fade away into oblivion and beyond. So many thoughts yet so little room for them. Feels like more than enough thoughts in one head to fill the space between all the stars, in the universe and then some. We file them away for remembrance at some time yet to come. Each one tucked into a matrix of cells whose job is to fire in a specific sequence in order to pull a specific memory from the file. Neuro-transmitters and receptors passing and receiving chemical stimuli, propagated by electrical impulses bombarding all our senses and our sentience with echoes we may or may not want to experience. Takers can’t possibly experience things the way givers do. Takers have no remorse (at least none I was ever the object of). Givers have deep rich memories and that’s where whatever feelings are left find shelter. Takers only show feelings when they’re in danger of slipping down a few rungs on the ladder. Then they use the display to pry compassion from givers. It works just about every fucking time too. Givers walk thru life in a balancing act. To one side of the razor, they feel good giving, on the other, they hurt for giving too much. Givers always end up kicked in the groin. Takers make you feel you’re helping by being there and listening to them. What’s really up is they’re just repositioning you for a bigger “slurp”. Takers want you to think they’re falling away in pain so you’ll pull them in closer. Are we born “givers” and “takers”? If some remember being “born”, they’re the ones to pose that question to. Ask the giver though. The taker can’t ever let a crack develop in their fake façade. They’re crude, rude, and live to bruise. I’m a giver. I’m loud, proud, and pushing back the clouds. You may be wondering by now, just where the hell am I going with this. Just laugh out loud because I don’t even know. Will you take this? Will you give this? Who really cares? I hope you find out. Soon… 4:36am

AS THE MIND CHURNS,,,, Just when you think all the effort you’ve put into this endeavor called life is beginning to pay off, something rears its ugly head again and knocks you back down the ladder. Oh well, life goes on. New website features are popping up all over. New sites from which an artist can ply their wares are popping up as well. A.O.G. MEDIA, the brainchild of Jesse De La O, is hard at work on COMPILATION #7. Yours truly will be on it as well as many other very talented artist and bands from all over the world. Terry Daun, musician extraordinaire, has just sent me a sample of his tune,” TAX”. I did some guitar work for him and the preliminaries sound awesome! He’s pulling together musicians as we speak for his next band incarnation there in Chandler, Arizona. Between him and Jesse, I can honestly say that I’ve been blessed to be able to work with great studio minded people. My friend’s lists are growing at an astonishing rate on all the sites I now use. Mario Pompetti has turned me on to an awesome new site where he’s done pod casts and other publishing. Indie911.com has instituted many new upgrades to their site and I’ve made many new and diversified contacts. They now have a unique way for friends to share music easily by adding tunes from each other to their players there. Philafunk.com has a good system as well and I intend to use it more and more in the near future. It is well worth the time for the quality of the artist there! Infa-redinc.com is new and very promising. I need to work on my stuff there a bit more but I love it! Amiest.com is another new site that shows enormous potential. I’m there and intend to My sales are nothing to sneeze at but the digital aspect is my best outlet to date as far as listens and buys of single songs goes. “Hotel Salsa”, is still the best single seller tune from all the outlets that cdbaby.com has put it into. As far as new material goes, I’ve just finished a fourth song. There is no release date as of yet for my next project but I am thinking of leaking a song or two out to some net radio stations and pod casts shows. Preyinglizardmusic.com, Less Lewellyn, still has the #1 pod casts and net radio shows in the country! Go Less!!!!! The shows he does are a virtual nirvana of unknown yet AWESOME TALENT!!!! Soulofanaxe, a good buddy of mine up in Massachusetts, (communityX.net, Myspace, Biyouunderground), and I may have something with a new twist in the works. He writes deep, dark horror and together we are kicking an idea around for a joint project between He and I. The world shrinks and the possibilities grow at an exponential rate. I still haven’t the time to put a band together for live shows. It’s still just a dream I’ve had since high-school. I intend to never let go of the ideal, and, no matter what happens to me under the attorney generals microscope, my dreams will never die. Every sling and arrow only adds to the music I have yet to create! Shouting out to all my friends across the globe, STAY LOUD! STAY PROUD!! AND KEEP PUSHING BACK THE CLOUDS!!!!! Jose’ Luis Diaz P.S.:Remember me my son…

I'm changeing my "LINKS" page up a bit to get it more organized. I don't want to leave anyone out so feel free to drop me a line with your complete link(http://etc,etc.). I want to get as many links as I can for other artist, net radio stations, podcast, record labels,studios,stores and anything else I or you can think of. LOUD-N-PROUD!!!

http://amie.st/home.php This is a new community site that lets artist open a store, publish, and network. It takes a unique approach to selling music in that all songs start out FREE!!! Yes, FREE!!!!!! The price is set by the frequency of buys. It's a great place to make friends and it is simillar to, but with enough differences from, myspace. I'm josediazlegasys there, and joseexist.

http://www.newmusiclabel.com/publiclinksadd.asp That's the link! That site looks very promising. The link is also here in the links section!!!

All four of my cdbaby releases are now up for sale on the link below. They are also up and running on Http://www.infa-redinc.com These are new outlets so I urge you to check them out while they still have the room for new members and the time to do such a fantasic job of getting music to the public. They are both LOUD AND PROUD!!!

Here are the links to my four releases now available at infa-redinc.com PAINT BY THUNDERS http://infa-redinc.com/musicportal/details_album.php?AlbumID=146 DEATH AND DECAY http://infa-redinc.com/musicportal/details_album.php?AlbumID=145 SCREAMING WITH MY EYES http://infa-redinc.com/musicportal/details_album.php?AlbumID=144 NOBODY WINS http://infa-redinc.com/musicportal/details_album.php?AlbumID=143 You can download your favorite songs or entire albums. For all you musicians out there, this is a site worth getting into!!! Loud And Proud!!!!

This site is one for everybody to check out!!! infa-redinc.com Use the link from the links page here and get your music career into a new gear!!!

This is just a paste of a letter from a good friend who recently did and interview with a filmaker. The film which percipitated the interview is called "ELECTRIC PURGATORY". It's a documentary about blacks in the Rock-N-Roll industry. The film looks to be an eye opener from the trailer I've seen. Anyway, I was asked for insights and this is what rolled off the top of my head.: Easily done. My mom would rather I do soft tunes all the time. I respect her for that and do oblige her often. But deep down inside there's a rage that burns like nothing else can to get out and express itself with volume, distortion, and the wildest flesh-melting tones I can come up with. I sometimes catch a glimpse of the pioneers such as Charlie Christian, Clarence Brown, Django R., Jimi H., Segovia, this list has no end,,, and I soak up what they were doing back then and try to emulate it in some way. I don't think I'm ever successful, but nonetheless, I really try to feel it. I've been called many names in my life. From across the spectrum, nigger, black mother fucker, spook, beaner, spic, this list goes on as well. My heritage spans many races, but my soul spans only the human race. I have little or no regard for the racist element on this earth. Racism comes from everywhere and leads to nowhere. Most of my family listens to R&B, soul, funk, rap, etc. But a few listen to Metal, blues, and even classical. I listen to it all. I respect them and everyone else for whatever they listen to. Give me a choice and it will be something loud! These days the music industry is shaking a bit from the threat of indie unsigned and unknowns getting exposure and eating away at the base of their profits. In desperation they now pull out the dirty pool trick of acts they've held back on. These artists are very talented and the music is new and for the most part unheard. I'm sure they would have been bigger long ago without the big companies. I'm not Hendrix. I'm just me. An unknown artist who believes in what he feels inside and tries to share it. I don't expect fame or fortune but it would be nice to have a bathroom I can play baseball in.[;-)] the worst thing anyone can do as an artist is limit their "expression-form" to an ethnic narrow-mindedness. As for myself, I believe that just because light has a visible spectrum, that does not mean that that's all there is to the spectrum. I will always be, LOUD! I will always be, PROUD! And, I will always be, PUSHING BACK THE CLOUDS!!!! Jose' Luis Diaz/LEGASYS

http://www.bandspace.com/JoseDiazLEGASYS That link will take you to my page at Bandspace.com. I've just put up 5 songs from across my discography. Let me know what you think. I'm in the process of vieing for a spot on Infa-redinc.com. It's the latest(AND BY THE LOOK, THE BEST!), thing happening out there for the little guys like me. It may very well give the big dogs the kick in the **** they deserve. Terry Daun has requested my string tickling on an upcoming project. His talent and creativity in what he does is nothing less than interstellar to me. I've already begun to flesh out what he's asked for and I'll gladly keep you posted. Some one (I forget who) offered me (and my band?) a spot on the next Vans Warped Tour. Few years too late I'm afraid. Maybe When I'm 50. Thanks, and yes, I am flattered. A.O.G. MEDIA are still stacking and packing the talent into COMPILATION VOLUME #7. I'll try to get you another in depth update soon. With each volume he puts out, Jesse Delao raises the bar with unrelenting consistancy. The only direction I've ever seen him move in is up! Few human beings that I've met have displayed as much focus and determination. God Bless You My Friend! 'Til next time, STAY LOUD! STAY PROUD!!! Jose' Diaz

This is a cool music store/digital distrobution site/ and they seem to have it going on! I'm in! Check it out!!! COOOOLLLLLL!!!!!!

This is to thank all of you out here in the cyberzone who offered your kindness and supportful sympathies during the loss of my Grandmother, IRENE BROWN. Every E-mail and bulliten posted is deeply appreciated by not only myself, but my entire family as well. Thank You All, Jose'

"Banking Butterflies" is on this weeks episode of HARD ROCK PIRATE RADIO! Less Lewellyn is doing an awesome job of bringing the best of new and unheard artist to you with his many podcaste and net radio shows. I think everyshow of his holds #1 spots nationwide if not world wide! Check out preyinglizardmusic.com and catch the shows. There's somthing for everyone! Got a favorite song you want to request? just e-mail it to: request@preyinglizardmusic.com Loud and Proud!!! Jose'

If any of you know of any rock or metal bands looking for exposure, please steer them my way. A.O.G.MEDIA and I are looking for unsighned and unknown bands or artist. I can set them up with a simple contract and submit songs from them directly to A.O.G. MEDIA. There are spots left on COMPILATION #7, but they will be filled on a first come basis. Drop me a line here or e-mail me at joseexist@aol.com, or, LEGASYS(on myspace.com). As usual, this volume will end up all over the world as it will be sent to e-zines, net radio stations and other places for maximum exposure. The mastermind behind it all is Jesse Delao. (jessedelao1 on myspace.com) Stay Loud! Stay Proud!

Look for great new podcast and more on preyinglizardmusic.com. Less Lewellyns' podcast are the #1 in the nation and one listen will quickly show you why! A.O.G. MEDIA is blanketing the area with flyers hearalding the release of COMPILATION VOLUME #7!!! The cast for this one is a broad mix and sure to take music to new heights in many ways!!! Many thanks to those who read the story on me in the Victoria Advocate. Your greetings and pats on the back are most welcome. If any of you would like a special cdr of your favorite tunes from any of my cdrs, just ask and I;ll be happy to burn one especially just for you! Stay Loud! Stay Proud!!!!

Aprill Brandon, reporter for the Victoria Advocate, interviewed me last week. The story ran today in the "CROSSROADS" section. I thank Aprill deeply for taking the time to do a story on an unknown such as myself. She did an awesome job of capturing my words and conviction! THANKS APRILL!!!!

http://www.bayouunderground.com/ Bayou Underground is a new site I've just opened up on and I'm already featured on the main page. Thank You Bayou Underground!!! I've put a few of the new tunes up there as well. I like the look and feel of the site and will continue to use it as long as it's up and they allow me there. I hope a lot of you have been catching the podcasts and radio shows from Preying Lizard Music.com. The new music of unknowns is a more satisfying mix of genres and talent than you'll find anywhere. Kweevak.com have done a superb job of a make-over to their site! I was, IMPRESSED!!!, by the look it has now! ZDAWG, of communityx.net, has infromed me that he will try to get a tune of mine on COMIX RADIO this weekend. I've only just hit on this site and it is well worth a visit and sign-up. Do check it out!!! LOUD AND PROUD!!! Jose' p.s. (I was just mistaken for Kerry King! Thanks Bro!!!)

I've moved the song-samples list around so you won't have to scroll thru the three previouse albums to get to the new stuff. If you still need to hear a clip of the older songs just go to the bottom and open one of the albums there. If you have not had a chance to I urge you to check out Less Lewellyn and his AWESOME podcast and net radio shows! Go to: preyinglizardmusic.com There are several shows to choos from and I don't think any of you who check them out will be dissappointed in any way whatsoever!!!! A.O.G. MEDIA is shooting for the release of COMPILATION VOLUME 7 in the near future. Jesse Delao is pulling together another thundering line-up of artist/bands from around the world!!! That's one Brotha I wish I'd have partied with more back in the day! I'd like to take a moment to send a THANX!!!!, to all my friends I've found on the many web pages I use to make new friends. Myspace, Hi5, iSOUND, and many others. To that, add a special deep, deep THANX!!!!, to all those whose smiles pull the sun across the sky, and whose eyes I keep falling into! LOUD AND PROUD!!!! Jose'

I just put all the lyrics to "PAINT BY THUNDERS" up in the music section. If anyone wants the story behind any song here, feel free to ask me and I'll gladly tell it and try to put it up here as well. To find the words to my songs, just click on the song title in the music section. That's where you'll also find the answers to the story behind the songs. As you ask me about them, I'll put them up there. The cd title"PAINT BY THUNDERS", has also been added to the music list so you can locate those tracks more easily. They are all grouped by cd. Jose'

http://www.preyinglizardmusic.com/ That link will get you to the PREYING LIZARD web site. Les Lewellyn throws a kickin show with awesome tunes and it's updated daily! Hot Sheet Mon, is the one I like. But I'm sure I'll add to the list of "goodies you crave" from the site! "Disentigrated" made it on todays episode and I extend ten-thousand thanks to Les!!!!!!!! "Your link is here Bro!!!" ,,,and now,,,,I go back to finish listening to the rest of an AWESOME PODCAST!!!!!

Just a not to all that you can catch mp3s of my music on many sites. discoverourmusic.com,myspace.com,musictx.com,iSOUND.com,Hi5.com,and many others. Look for me by name or band. (Jose' Diaz, or LEGASYS). In other news, A.O.G. MEDIA is rolling forward on COMPILATION #7. More bands are being contacted as you read this and if #7 is anything like the releases before it, HOLD ONTO YOUR HATS!!!! Jose'

Here they are! Now hit the music tab and check 'em out. Jose'

http://cdbaby.com/cd/josediaz Read More...