James Brown. Legend.

I started playing James Brown Grooves again. This time, I pulled out the bass guitar and put down the lines as best as I could. My favorite of the day is Funky Drummer. It is the most popular groove to be sampled by hip-hop artists in all of history, which basically goes back to the 80s when hip-hop began. My favorites from the weekend are "Funky Women" and "Talkin' Loud and Sayin' Nothing". These grooves are so nasty, that they make my face look like I just smelled something really bad.

This is the wonderful book that helped me learn of the nuances of the JB Rhythm sections. Stories, bass lines, wah-wah patterns, pictures and more! BUT . . .

. . . you won't find this guy, who is also named James Brown. How do I know? I don't, but his name came up in Google images on the second page.

Here is JB getting his mug taken.

Freakin' awesome.

My sister got a pony for Christmas. For a day. Freakin' awesome.

Danny Glover was in my dream last night!!!!!!!!!

I don't know about you, but this just blows my mind. I haven't thought about Danny Glover for at least a year and BOOM--there he is in my dream playing drums with me. Weird but...ok, no buts--just really weird! What really hit me the hardest about DG was the depressing saxophone theme that is played in Lethal Weapon. Check it out.

Iowa is the field of ∞infinite∞ possibilities!!!!!!!!

THIS is what happens when you have a a free Sunday in Iowa during a heat wave (50ºF!!!).

Ryan and Mickey

You are in Iowa . . . you go for a walk in the woods . . . you find some large branches. What do you do?

The British Bulldog

Karen

Cali 2

So, the second week in California was different than the first. Not as many movies--more California. THE SURF WAS UP!!! It was pretty much consistent for three weeks straight, in which I was able to take advantage of two of them. Good enough. I re-realized that I am in love with California and more importantly--surfing. The funniest thing is the lingo that I develop out of necessity. By this I mean survival in the line-up. I was able to have access to a secret spot that was run by crazy, control-freak locals. The only way to be accepted was to smile my smile, and respond to the wonderful language of the surfer; some linguists call it the second hardest language to learn in the world, the first being English. OK, seriously, here is the big news: I GOT A SERIOUS BARREL LAST THURSDAY! I know some of you are laughing at me right now, especially the east coast contingent, but it was awesome! AHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!! I'm freaking out just thinking about it!! Follow me . . .

This is from the car on the way to LAX the other day. AMAZING!

THis is from the plane. Also AMAZING!

Also from the car!

Ok, I don't know this dude but I like this shot. This was taken the afternoon of the serious tube I got in the morning. Then I went to have lunch with Mike Ross and PJ Kelly--two geniuses--and then went back for another session at Gladstones in Malibu. Nobody was surfing this point and I had these waves to myself. Unbelievable. They are kicking me out of the coffee shop where I am right now, so no more about surfing right now.