j o s h n e l s o n p r o j e c t

Friends and Romans,

So, I fell off the blogging wagon. Things get crazy from time to time, and this has been one of those times…. A wild 6 months of touring, writing, recording, and generally running non-stop. Amidst this craziness, a certain little man is growing in Brooklyn. Right now, he is pulling himself up to his feet (while holding onto whatever he can for balance).  Now, he wants to type. Ladies and Gents, here’s Zachary….

Kuyrcf cx n b bghgvbvjhnjgtjjtjtjtjtjjtjrtyjcd ,iutd vdsbszgzjgfnhgmkrmjcdhfrj gfrghngf90m-vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv

(brilliant… I know. That’s m’boy!)

So amidst the lovely hurricane that’s been this life in recent months, lots of wonderful stuff has happened…

-I had a wonderful time leading high holiday services at the 92^nd St. Y with Rabbi Jen Krause, a fantastic partner and friend. This was the first time that the congregation experienced worship with a live band… and it resulted in a powerful, moving series of services. I’m looking forward to being with them again in 2010.

-We’re finishing up “In These Lights,” a new JNP CD of Hanukkah-themed music. I’m very excited about it, and think you’ll really enjoy it. Look out for an email from us announcing the release date.

-An all new JNP website is about to launch. Included will be the birth of the 12SONGS project. It's taken a while to work out the logistics, but I'm thrilled about this venture... I hope you'll jump in!

-Just spent a bunch of time up in Toronto, CA, music directing the URJ Biennial Convention. It was a great week with some great music and even greater people. Slept for 48 hours after this one, and it was totally worth it.

-I’m heading to Dallas in a couple weeks to being work on a new full-length CD, tentatively scheduled for a spring release. There’s a lot of music floating about around here, and it’s time to put it down on tape. We’ve got an amazing cast of musicians lined up for this project… it’s going to be a wonderful, crazy ride.

-In other (unrelated, but equally exciting) news, my coffee obsession has led to plans for a new hobby. I’m going to start roasting my own beans. Stay tuned for updates…. which I will probably be writing at 4am, typing way too fast, completely wired. 

Big love from the BK,

J

 

It’s very troubling to see the global community in despair… biding time, struggling, falling down. And yet, at the same time, we always seem to find sparks of light.

So, in one of life’s great and unexplainable twists, I’ve become a dad to a new baby boy. Daddy. Abba. Papa. Who knows – he’s not saying much, and I don’t think he’s chosen what to call me as of yet. He is, without a doubt, the most beautiful baby ever born. Apologies to every other human being that has had the pleasure of being born, but you were not this beautiful when you arrived. This kid is GQ, Vanity Fair, Esquire, and Parent & Baby all rolled into one. Not that I’ve yet subscribed to Parent & Baby, but hey… (the writing’s on the wall).

He is also brilliant. I know this because he has spent hours and hours counting the little stuffed sheep that go around and around on the mobile above his bassinet. He is nearing ten thousand sheep. All this counting with no Excel spreadsheet to keep track of his progress. Genius, I tell you. So, to all of you out there on the fence, c’mon and jump into the pool. The water is warm. Or, at least, the diapers are wet.

In other news…

We’re happy to announce that our debut CD, "Lift" has been released to national retail. So, if you haven’t picked up a copy, please trek over to Best Buy, Tower Records, Borders, etc., and pick one up. It rocks hard. Can I say that? I did. It rocks hard. Run, don’t walk. (Or, if you’re stuck on house arrest, Amazon.com or iTunes will do).

It’s intriguing that the birth of this baby and the birth of the new CD coincide with the arrival of Pesach. New beginnings, all marked here in this short period of time... I’ve always taken the great exodus as a metaphor for a “reboot” of sorts. A fresh start. A clean slate. Free from what once was… but nonetheless critically tied to the present.

I’ve never felt this to be true more than I do right now. The freedoms of new beginnings come with incredible responsibilities… but these beginnings are grand, overwhelming, and just plain joyful. We leave one state and enter another, starting new chapters in the paperback novels of our lives.

So, here’s to personal transformation, to what awaits on the other side of a self-realized Red Sea. Here’s to new babies, new CDs, and new beginnings.

Have a sweet Pesach.

-j

Coming to you live from an airport in Milwaukee. These 3:15 AM wake-up calls are not for the meek… We’re just trying to stay conscious until our respective flights take off.

It’s been a real push these last couple weeks… go, go, and go some more. I had a very meaningful holiday with the folks at Sinai Temple in LA, and then headed out to a do a quick show in Oconomowoc, WI. Good times, and nice folks all around.  

(I am, by the way, getting quite skilled at typing Oconomowoc with accuracy and speed. Oconomowoc. Oconomowoc. Oconomowc. Damn.)

Sarah Palin continues to scare the life out of me.  Rob & I had a conversation about her while we were out here... After noticing that most of the political signs in town were of the GOP persuasion, Rob commented that the signage-laden lawns of local republicans were better groomed than those of local democrats.

Me: “Huh? You really think so?”

Rob: “Look. Look at the sign, and look at the lawn. McCain/Palin. It’s a freakin' putting green.”

Of course, this does not take into account the fact that there was only one Obama sign to be seen during our visit to Oconomowoc. (Oconomowoc. Oconomowoc.). The corresponding liberal lawn was, in a turf-oriented defense, mediocre in quality… not Pebble Beach, but also not in an embarrassing state . I can only assume that the owner of this lawn is too busy planting the seeds of progressive thought to spend hours researching Miracle-Gro at the Oconomowoc Home Depot.  This may, in fact, undermine the validity of Rob’s theory. However, he is an ivy-leaguer who plays the drums, so he gets extra credibility points.

Other miscellaneous happenings:

-Keep an eye out for “Lights: Celebrate Chanukah Live in Concert.” I’m taking part in this television special that will air nationally as a PBS pledge drive in December. The soundtrack is actually about to be released – you can check it out here.

-We’ve agreed to do a live show on XM Radio Hanukkah this upcoming season.  More info will be posted as it gets finalized… stay tuned for details.

-Josh recently rapped the entire finale from “Revenge of the Nerds” live in a concert setting. True story.

[Note: the above moment somehow seemed more newsworthy when referred to in 3rd person…. ]

“Clap your hands, everybody… and everybody clap your hands….”

Peace.

So… Seems like I only get to update this blog while sitting in airplanes… que cera cera. I just passed a cloud that looked remarkably like a tin of ginger-flavored Altoids. Tried ‘em? Run (don’t walk) to your local supermarket…

Apologies for the time between posts. It’s been an insane few weeks. However, I have discovered much about life, love and the American way on this particular stretch of tour madness.

John McCain's lack of techno-savvy scares me. I don’t like when they call him “Maverick.” It reminds me of the way they called Tom Cruise “Maverick” in that movie… Top Gun. Talk to me, Goose. Talk to me. Explain this mysterious thing…. The inter-web… world-wide-net… techno-doohickey.

I firmly believe all presidential candidates should be able code basic html.

<body>
OBAMA!
</body>

In other news…

I have been struck lately by the homogenization of America… everything looks the same in every town, or so it seems. It gets to the point where you can show up in an area where you’ve never been before, and you’ll just KNOW where the closest Starbucks is located. Need to find the local generic-brand shopping mall? No map needed, just feel your way there. It’s right after the WalMart. On your left, past the burgerkingwendysmcdonaldstacobellathon.

The bright side of this situation, however, is the fact that out the way places tend to seem even *more* remote. Ten years ago, I wouldn’t have even considered some of these semi-removed-from-urbanesque places to be suburban… at this point, however, any locale with a hotel that doesn’t offer an intricate rewards club qualifies as such.

To this end, I got lost yesterday. We took a mini 3-day road break with extended family to a cozy lake house in Jersey. Morning came, and I drove my sister-in-law to the supermarket to get breakfast food for the hungry attendees. The supermarket was under a mile away.

45 minutes later…

Where are we? We passed this road before. Look. A cow.

She was tired of being lost, and insisted we ask for directions. I however, was *enjoying* being lost. There wasn’t a drop of homogeny-soul-suckingness in sight. Just grass and a never-ending, two-lane back-woods road… We were chatting… kibbitzing like people with nowhere to go (read: somewhere to go, but no idea where this particular “where” might actually be found).

Look a road sign!

That’s not a road sign, that’s an advertisement for tractor repair. Let’s keep going. It’s got to be around here somewhere.

I’m going to miss the men’s 1000m Steeplechase semi’s if we don’t get back soon.

We’re DVR’ing the whole thing…

Yeah, but it’s not the same… I need to experience it live. (read: live, as is on a multi-hour tape delay from a giant bird’s nest in Beijing…).

I succumb. We pull into a gas station for directions. I stay in the car. I am a man. This is my genetic prerogative.

Finally, the supermarket materializes. We’ve got to hurry. Since we’ve been gone for nearly an hour (an hour!), they may almost be catching up to the elusive Steeple. We must shop as quickly as possible. Like the 80s game show… Supermarket Sweep. (Cue Family Guy-style, entirely unrelated yet nostalgic flashback sequence).

And so it is. My break from homogenization (a strange word to type, fyi, not once but twice…) is over. The layout of a typical Stop & Shop/Big Y/Wegmen’s/Whole Foods/Trader Joe’s/Ralph’s (I could go on…) is like a map imprinted on my cerebellum. Milk is here. Bread is here. Ginger flavored Altoids are… are… What? Really? What kind of junky supermarket is this? But you even have the crème de menthe ones that I thought would be good a few months back, so I bought the package, ate one, and threw the rest out in disgust… and no Ginger?

Fine. How about ice? Do you sell ice? Yes? And no Ginger flavored-Altoids? Damn you, Stop & Shop.

Watch out Steeple. They’re coming for you.