A Mother’s Love in Haiti.

This is truly a remarkable, and heartbreaking, story of survival:

http://www.cnn.com/2010/HEALTH/01/22/haiti.sonia.flury/index.html#cnnSTCText

Some New Links for OUR HAITI

Here are two organizations I highly support for donations and the sending of supplies, from a dear friend who recently returned from Haiti last month:

1) Immediate and long-term relief PAP www.amurt.us

2) Haitian community organization Jacmel www.konpay.org

Here are links to interviews I did for LationUSA and WQXR in NYC:

1) http://latinousa.kut.org/2010/01/21/haitian-american-musician-dbr/

2) http://www.wqxr.org/articles/wqxr-features/2010/jan/22/wqxrs-arts-file-a-look-at-benefit-concert/

WEBCAST

Hello everyone.

Just wanted to let you know that you can watch my concert tonight at 8pm, ON-LINE, if you go to this link:

http://totalwebcasting.com/live/egg/live.htm

It’s a Haitian Relief Concert and I hope you can join me, live, or on-line.

What One Must Do

you have to challenge yourself.
you have to stretch your imagination.
you have to play as though you will not be able to play tomorrow.

you have to play when it hurts because no one else will.
you have to play until it hurts because no one else can or will dare to.
you have to play until the pain is gone.

you have to think about your mother.
you have to think about your mother murdered.
you have to think about your mother’s murderer and play to him.
all the rage.
all the anger.

you have to think of your first child.
you have to think of her name.
you have to play to her and be as gentle as the mother you might be.
all the tenderness.
all the patience.
all the pride.

you have to beat your instrument.
you have to play your cello like a bass drum.
you have to play your violin like an electric guitar.
you have to play your drum like a flute.
you have to play your flute like a drum kit.

you have to have so much pressure on the bow it all becomes pure noise.

you have to listen with your whole body.

you are way too comfortable with what you think you know.

you have to keep learning.
you have to want to.
you have to go to new places and then you can take me there.

you have to have balls and know when not to.
you have to see with your father’s eyes; no one is blind.

you have to find the beauty in one note and then share it with me.

you have to want to be new.
you have to listen to things you don’t want to listen to.

you have to make NIN a part of your DNA.

you have to play tired and make it beautiful.
you have to be poor and shallow and play rich and deep.

you have to try 1,000 times harder and that is only a start and you have to know that.
you have to count and make it count.
you have to not take it for granted and i think you do.
you have to not become a broken record doing the same things everyday.

everyday do the same thing and see how it feels; tomorrow do one thing
different and see how that feels. pick one and repeat.

ask yourself, “why would i want to listen to you?”
i ask myself, “what am i playing that hasn’t been played before, better?”

are you original?
where does originality exist?
is there anyone in the world like you?
no?
prove it!

you can.
play it!

you have to decide.
you have to make the choice to be a great musician in the hopes that
you might make good music.
you have to be able to make great conversation first.

there is nothing i can teach you that you don’t already know.
don’t you know this?