ROCK THE CLASSROOM
March 29, 2010
Teaching my Spirituality, Science, and the Creative Process course at Otis College of Art and Design has been so inspiring the past weeks, I've recently expanded my work in arts education, joining a stellar organization called Rock the Classroom.
Started by writer/musician Bradley Kesden and Rhino Records founder Richard Foos, Rock the Classroom is a nonprofit dedicated to restoring music education in underserved public elementary schools. I'm spending three mornings a week teaching the fundamentals of songwriting to 4th and 5th graders, infusing their standard literacy curriculum with music and creativity!
Last week the kids wrote their own verse and chorus of lyrics to "Help!" by The Beatles. Songs were written about needing rescue from schoolyard bullies, graveyard ghosts, evil monkeys, and alien abductions!
Needless to say, I'm having a great time. And my students are learning about song structure, storytelling, syllables and accents, rhyme schemes, etc.
I'm thrilled and proud to be introducing an upcoming generation to the craft of songwriting.
In a spare web surfing moment, please check out Rock the Classroom. They're a great organization working in service of the worthiest cause: keeping our kids musical, lyrical, and creative.
NAMM 2010
January 9, 2010
Hello, and happy 2010!
It's that time of year again... NAMM! The National Association of Music Merchants (actually, now it's called the International Music Products Association) convention is January 14-17 in Anaheim, CA and I'm playing four shows as part of the festivities!
First, my alt-country band The Flutterbies is playing NAMM's opening night show, Wednesday January 13 at 8:00 PM at the Hilton stage. We're honored and thrilled to be sponsored by James Trussart Custom Guitars, a boutique company that makes amazing instruments played by Keith Richards, Sheryl Crow, Paul Simon, and, now... me! Thursday, The Flutterbies' singer Maureen and I will also be playing a set at the James Trussart Guitars booth on the convention floor.
Thursday evening at 6:00 PM I'm back at the Hilton stage, playing guitar and singing with classic country chanteuse Lynda Kay. Lynda was half of the renowned rockabilly duo Lonesome Spurs, and her debut solo album Dream My Darling drops in March. Sunday, the last day of the convention, I'm playing with Lynda again at the Gretsch booth! She's proudly endorsed by Gretsch, and I'm delighted to be playing for one of my favorite guitar companies.
If you'd like to attend either Hilton stage show, they're both free and all-ages. The convention floor shows require a NAMM badge. Full information about addresses, badges, etc. is available online at the NAMM website.
Hope to see you there!
SPIRITUALITY, SCIENCE, AND THE CREATIVE PROCESS
November 23, 2009
Here's a description of the course:
Great ideas inspire enduring art. This course explores the grand themes shared by spiritual philosophy and cutting-edge science, using them as source material for artistic creativity. Examining energy, duality, infinity, chaos, evolution, and actualization, students write reflective journals each week about how these and other spiritual and scientific themes can be applied to their creative process, inspiring resonant artwork in any medium.
The course runs 10 weeks, Saturday mornings, and will celebrate creativity in all artistic media: music, writing, dance, visual arts, etc. Here's a link to enroll:
http://www.otis.edu/ce,course.php?crs=539&sem=25
For those of you unfamiliar with my literary/academic work, please visit my website Poetic Interconnections for an introduction... It's my honor and pleasure to write and teach about the creative process—giving back to the artistic community from whom I've received so much support and inspiration.
Looking forward to seeing you in class!
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