It's Not Insomnia If The Dog Wakes You

Up early. The pawps has been getting me up at odd hours to walk. And on Sunday mornings, I simply stay up. Last Sunday, she behaved which was good. That was the first time that I led worship at the main 10:30 service in our church sanctuary. I've been doing the preaching every third Sunday of each month in the small chapel, so it was a double header.

This morning, I decided to stay up. I'm listening to Mozart's Mass No. 6 ("Missa brevis") K. 192 in F Major. I heard a bit of it on NPR driving to the studio yesterday. So I downloaded it at 5 AM. Nothing like instant gratification from iTunes.

I haven't had lots of time to think about blogging. Perhaps I'll change the gist of my postings. There is a new project afoot for me, musically. We'll see where the road takes us. It's a collaborative thing with my compatriot, Mitch. He's performed duets with me on stage the last two shows I've performed. We are formulating a show that will incorporate the rejuvenation of soul music, vintage arrangements with a modern twist. We have been culling our record collections and discussing repertoire. I'll keep you posted.

I've been listening to a lot of the music of David Ruffin. His "Unreleased LP" has been in heavy rotation on my iPod and in the car. It may be the most elegant and danceable R&B statement of its era. I'd put it up against anything contemporary from Marvin Gaye or Stevie Wonder. I also packed the iPod with 4 other disc's worth of Ruffin's solo albums. The 5 albums (the "Unreleased" would have come smack in the middle) are a perfect portrait of the organic growth of 60's R&B becoming Disco, in a good way. Ruffin's disco material was produced by genre genius Van McCoy (The Hustle) and it is always tasteful. Helps to have that gritty voice up against McCoy's orchestral pulse. As you know, I'm a sucker for good disco, Chic especially.

My friends on FaceBook have seen some of my crazier linkages to Ruffin's TV performances from the 1970's. This one for Common Man features a wild battle of the Afros between David and Soul Train's Don Cornelius. For those curious, David was the lead vocalist for the Temptations' smash hits: My Girl, Ain't Too Proud To Beg and I Wish It Would Rain. To name just three. Not being a composer, Ruffin was simply the greatest interpreter of songs Motown ever had.

Back to disco, there are lots of new bands who are successfully bridging the rock/dance gap. One in particular is England's Friendly Fires. Their video for Skeleton Boy is pretty wild. I still can't figure out how they did the effect. Reminds me of early MTV when videos were as impactful as the song. The Skeleton Boy track sounds like my defunct peers Orson. Man, I miss Orson. Their first disc, Bright Idea was in my CD player for a year solid it seemed. Also watch out for Hockey, out of Eugene, Oregon. They are channeling the B-Boy era Clash, which was heavy dance music with clever rhymes.

Been spending my spare afternoons at the Huntington Garden in San Marino. Idyllic, in a word. Last Monday when we went, it was like we had our own oasis. Very few folks; a few Russian and French tourists wandered by us. It's a great place to read and write.

Time to make some coffee and get ready for church! We'll get to talk about football soon. Go Browns! They actually scored a touchdown in a game for the first time since November '08.

Peace