5 AM Wake Up

I'm back on the plane to Philly…I was rudely awakened by my alarm at the ungodly hour of 5:00 am at the Comfort Suites by the airport in Denver, CO.

Last night I gigged with Yonder Mountain String Band at the Fillmore. I played a sick solo acoustic set to a lively and enthusiastic crowd. I always feel I could have done this or that better but it was definitely a good vibe.

I was a bit out of breath at first, I don't know if it is nerves or the altitude or a combination of both but whenever I take the stage in Denver I feel like I'm about to p out. I need more O2! Anyhows, I settled in after 1 or 2 jams and played some delta blues, a real nice Blackbird, slamming versions of my 2 new joints "Peace, Love and Happiness" and "Superhero Brother" and the old skool "Sauce" from Oh Yeah!

I sat in on YMSB set for a rendition of their "Death Trip" into my own "Rapping Blues" from Front Porch Loungin. Those cats can really play! I haven't seen much bluegr in recent years and it was a real treat to see and get down with such amazing pickers. I used to jam bluegr in high school at the Philly Folk Fest and later with Leftover Salmon but it's been too long.

Now, we head back east to meet the Special Sauce and hit the Borgata Casino for a sold out show. Big thanks to Philly and the Jersey Shore! The Roots are playing down the street at the HOB so Philly hiphop is definitely descending on to AC tonight. Let's just hope we don't lose all of our gig money at the blackjack table. See you tonight! One more show in 2007 baaaaaaabbbbbbbyyyyyyy! PEACE

Running to the New Year

Did everybody make it through the holidays alright? I hoped you loved, sang, ate good food, were only slightly annoyed with your family, enjoyed the kids, gave and received, kissed your mom and punched your brother, got a kiss under the mistletoe and prayed a lot to the higher powers for everything that you had to pray and be thankful for, "What a wonderful time of the year!"

Now as I sit in the airport here in Boston I suddenly find myself back in the game. I'm headed to Denver for a huge show tonight at the Fillmore Theatre. I'm supporting Yonder Mountain String Band. The unique aspect of this gig is that I get to play a solo acoustic set. This is always a positive thing and something that I thoroughly enjoy. It's just me, my harps, guitars, a microphone and 45 minutes to make it happen. Playing solo acoustic is an amazing trip because there is nothing to fall back on and a song is truly a song. But don't worry I get my jam on! That's the best thing about a harmonica rack…there's always a jam.

After Denver I'm off to Atlantic City probably almost the opposite gig from mountain loving Colorado to the Borgata Casino! Well , if you want to know the truth I love them both. Even though I sing "I can't go back to Jersey" I truly always (and often) go back to Jersey and I love every stinking minute of it! I travel a lot of places to play my music and honestly, most of them are more beautiful than Philly. Sometimes I wish I would've lived somewhere else but then I think, "yo! What are yous guys thinking, you're freaking crazy. Yous guys can't beat Philly!" (That's me talking to my many personalities...)

After AC its NYC for NYE. I couldn't think of a better spot to rock it…the Blender Theatre on 23rd St. Yeah boyee. Then I'm finishing this record and heading out on tour. The record is almost finished and now is when you take this little baby out into the mean old world and see if it can make it. I think he's gonna be alright because I gave it everything I got and that's my word. Woooooord up. Its feeling hot to me I just have to pick the best tracks and I'm home free. The last 2 songs I recorded are some of my favorites. "Peace, Love and Happiness" and "Superhero Brother". Both of which I plan on playing tonight in Denver.

If you aren't in Denver and you are in Philly. Go check out Mark Boyce (GL keyboards) in Philly at the Green Rock Tavern on Lehigh Ave with his band Kr Brothers. How Philly is that?!? Yo Eagles Mark! Have a real good show tonight down dere!

That's that. Keep on Keeping on. Three days left to ice this cake called 2007

G

Happy Holidays

Happy Holidays

We here at Philadelphonic wish you all a happy and peaceful holidays! It's been an amazing 2007. We thank you all kindly for supporting us and giving us the opportunity to travel this world and play our music.

I've definitely been out of touch so I will give you the quick rundown of some of the highlights of late November and December.

*Overdub sessions in Philadelphia including the recording of a new song "Peace, Love and Happiness"

*watching AJ Feely almost whoop the Patriots

*Jamming at Warren Haynes Xmas jam with Bernie Worell (P funk) and Andy Hess (Gov't Mule) in my band.

*Kicking with Grace Potter at Xmas jam

*Getting Xmas cookies in the mail from Jackson Browne

*Eating at the Reading Terminal market every day on the way to the studio in Philly

*Trying out, hating and returning the Iphone and going back to the Blackberry (sorry Apple…I do love garage band though)

*Reconnecting on stage with my old back ground singers Brodeeva (See it on youtube)

*Surfing with Tristan Prettyman and Philly Frank at Swamis on a gly sunset and being the only 3 peeps out.

*Playing Snoop Dog and Dreamin' for Bradley in da LBC

*Kicking it with Chris D in the studio finishing up this sick record.

Now I'm off to Costa Rica for some well deserved R&R with the family. I'm wishing you all a wonderful holiday and look forward to rocking into the New Year with shows in Denver, AC and NYC. Ho Ho Ho--All I want for Christmas is world peace!

Be good, Santa is watching

G

G. Love’s Fillmore Show - Venue Change

Due to an annual Auto Show event at The Fillmore, the 1/18/08 G Love & Special Sauce concert is being moved to the Royal Oak Music Theatre.

Previously purchased tickets will be honored for the event at the new venue.

Tickets for G Love & Special Sauce 1/18/08 at The Royal Oak Music Theatre are on sale now at www.tickets.com.

G. Love and Special Sauce are heading West!

Check out the hip-hop blues band, G. Love and Special Sauce as they hit the stage with an opening performance by Virgin Records recording artist Tristan Prettyman.

December 10, 2007
Grand @ Regency Center
1300 Van Ness and Sutter
San Francisco, CA 94109
7:30 Doors
8:00 Tristan Prettyman
9:15 G. Love
Buy Tickets

December 11, 2007
4th & B
345 "B" Street
San Diego, CA 92101
7:30 Doors
8:00 Tristan Prettyman
9:15 G. Love
Buy Tickets

December 13, 2007
The Vault 350
350 Pine Ave
Long Beach, CA 90803
8:00 Doors
9:00 Tristan Prettyman
10:15 G. Love
Buy Tickets

Check out G. Love & Yonder Mountain String Band!!

Come check out G. Love solo acoustic with the Yonder Mountain String Band at the Fillmore Auditorium in Denver, CO!! On December 29, 2007 be witness to G. Love and Yonder Mountain String Band. Be sure to get there early as the doors open at 6pm. Click here for tickets.

Viva Atlantic City, Baby!

I got a call from my Mom today, She was driving down the AC expressway from Philly to the Jersey shore and there it was, a shining beacon of commercial brilliance, the great achievement of corporate America, the long arm of Clear Channel, the litter of the sunset view…A billboard! And not just any billboard, there on the side of the 3rd most famous highway in New Jersey, was a giant roadside billboard announcing our December 30th show at the Borgata Casino.

I've made it! I've made the bigtime baby. Next will be Vegas! No seriously, I was pretty siked. Being from Philly and all, Atlantic City has been a big part of my later high school and college drop out years. I've lost so much money down there over the years I'm sure I could probably afford to rent that sign for at least a week!

Well its pretty cool for my parents, at least now all of their friends will have to admit that I do have a job! Anyways thanks to all the people in Philly, Jersey and beyond for helping us achieve this victory against corporate America. But now back to the lab, the war still rages!

Peace in the Middle East!

G

G. Love on Facebook

Hey everyone,

G. Love & Special Sauce have a new home page on Facebook!

To join click HERE!

Thanks Brazil

Its 38 degrees cold, damp and windy. I am back in Boston. , I'm missing that Brazilian vibration right about now!

We had a wonderful tour. The only problem was that we only played 3 shows in 13 days so there were too many days off. Musically, the tour really became unified with both ALO and Matt Costa's band becoming a house band for Donavon and myself. We really had some great jams and there was a real unity amongst all of the musicians. Check out my youtube.com station phillyglove to see some of the jams.

When I look back on the tour and Brazil in general I have a lot of highlights in my mind. However I think the greater purpose of the trip was for me to write this new joint called "Peace, Love and Happiness". I wrote this song the minute I got back to my room after playing for the children of the favella (ghetto). I was both uplifted and ashamed when I went to the favella. To see people living in such squalor in a huge, rich city…I've never seen poverty like this except on TV. Where everything seems so far away. I was uplifted by the undaunted spirit of the youth. I was ashamed that I haven't done enough personally and that our country and their country has allowed so much of the world to exist in such dire poverty. I was impressed to find out that Jack Johnson had donated 10,000 dollars to build the structure where the children have their surf school. I plan to help with a donation as well.

So Brazil really made me think about the condition of the world. So much beauty and so much pain. Ahhhhhhhhh

I want to give a big shout out to the other bands, artists, photographers and film makers who traveled with me. So many memories and without a doubt I will be back to Brazil!

One love,

G

Ready for Rio City of God

4 days in Sao Paulo and we are off to Rio. Sao Paulo was happening. Aside from a real nice acoustic solo show I had, I sat in with Donavon the following night, hit a samba club and drank too many Caiparinhas. Ugh. I'm ready to get to the beach.

This is the full on Brushfire Records tour with Donavon, Matt Costa, ALO and yours truly. There is definitely a lot of camaraderie between all the groups. Our touring party is 35 people which is great except it makes check in at the airports a pain in the . On a high note there are definitely plenty of peeps to hang with....

Donavon is getting ready to record a new record and we are going to sess out today. As a songwriter, I have too many songs that never get put out. A record can only have 10-16 tunes or so and I usually record 20-60 songs per record. I have recorded 24 songs for the new record so I will have 10 slamming tracks left over. Maybe Donavon will like one.

Making records is a crazy thing and sometimes hit songs don't make the record because they just don't seem to fit in at the time. An example is "Milk and Cereal". My A&R guy at the time Michael Caplan refused to put this on the Philadelphonic record. This song is on the Front Porch Loungin' bootleg (unofficial release). That said anytime I can place a song in a good home it's a blessing.

On another note we are off to a Favela (the ghetto) much like City Of God today to try and see some music and possibly video the experience. The Favela's are almost entire cities that are dangerously amazing in Rio. They are sun drenched in, violence, music, and poverty all set to the landscape of the beautiful South American coast. We will be taken to the Favela to see the band AfroReggae who put on shows in the Favela to give back to the community that the musicians came up in. I am hoping that the vibes will be positive and that we will be blessed with an amazing musical and cultural experience. I hope no guns go off (something that happens all the time in the Favela). If anyone has seen the movie "City of God" then you will know where I'm going.

Peace in the Middle East! Bring the troops home

G

Brazil, Day 3, Sao Paulo

Tu tu bene! It's all good. That's what they say here in Brazil. It feels pretty all good to brother G too. Last night I played my show with Matt Costa at the art museum here in Sao Paulo. We played for a lively and intimate crowd. The room was kinda of boomy but the crowd was really enthusiastic and to my surprise, they were singing along with all of my jams. It really blew my mind. My first time playing down here and peeps really know and love the music. Give thanks! My only regret was that I couldn't play every song they wanted to hear because I only had an hour!

At the end of the set I called up Donovan Frankenreiter for a version of Hot Cooking. Then we had Matt Costa and ALO join us for a big jam on "Sympathy for the Devil" too much trouble.

We went out on the town after and had some caparinas and dinner. The food here is amazing. I haven't had one bad bite. Rice and beans, greens, plantains and whatever meat or fish you want. So good.

The Brazilian people are full of life and love and they are very friendly so we are just having a good old time. Just watch out though because though caparinas will kick your !

That's it for now. I've been listening to the tracks we recorded at Longview. I think we have some killer sh*t. I needed to step away from them for a couple days and even these really rough mixes sound nicey nice.

Peace in the Middle East. Bring the troops home.

G

Going to Brazil

o o, I chilling in the plane. United service to DC and continuing on to Sao Paolo, Brazil. It's gonna be a long night but I'm looking forward to seeing a new country tomorrow morning. You see, I've been to Toledo, I've been to Sioux City, I've been to Paris and Lyons but I've never been to South America and I've certainly never been to Brazil.

Honestly, I haven't even had a chance to think about this killer run I'm embarking on because I've been in the studio for the last 10 days. In 9 days of studio tracking we cut 15 new songs with most of the overdubbing done as well. We have been extremely efficient during the 2nd Down and Dirty session. Now we will take a couple weeks off and step away from the session while we let the cream rise to the top. I do believe we have recorded some real gems.

After waiting 4 or 5 days for Chris D to edit drums and rhythm tracks, cut background vocals and various other overdubs. I finally got my chance yesterday to step to the mic. I overdubbed guitar, vocals and harmonica on 10 tracks and basically went straight for 12 hours. Then it was wake up, pack your and hit the road on a dismal New England cold rainy day to make the 5:15 flight on the way to Brazil.

Luckily, I have the day off when I arrive. I need it! I'm pretty excited to play in a new country and see how the vibes are in Brazil. I've heard so much about this magical place. It sounds like a place just full of spirit. I'm going to go represent Philly style and show them what this hip hop blues is all about. I will be performing acoustic solo. Matt Costa will be joining me on the bill so it should be a jolly good time. My thumbs are tired of typing so I will say goodbye!

Peace in the Middle East. Bring the troops home!

Long View Farms Studio

Happy late Halloween! I hope you all got lots of candy!

Well we are hard at work up here at Long View Farm for our second Down and Dirty session. I was feeling super stoked about the Philly session in July but I have to say, I'm feeling like we are in the process of kicking the out of that one. For real this new stuff is sounding large!

We are recording at the studio where we recorded Philadelphonic and Electric Mile. The studio is in a huge red barn on a quiet country road. It definitely took me a day or two to mentally leave the city vibrations and soak into the New England country side. It's just beautiful. The fall foliage is in full effect. The meals are home cooked. Everyday I wake up and go for a jog in the woods before getting some big big breakfast. Then its music all day and night.

We have cut 14 rhythm tracks in 5 days and now we are getting the tracks prepped for lacing. That is we are getting ready to frost the cake. Don't worry it will still be dirty!!

Anyway, fall is here and the Harvest moon shone bright this year.

Take it easy World peace Wiggle like a Worm - G

Brushfire Records Presents: Thank You. Goodnight. Live Tracks from Bonnaroo and Vegoose

On November 6th, Vegoose and Bonnaroo will release "Thank You. Goodnight. Live Tracks from Bonnaroo and Vegoose," a collection of 10 live performances from Jack Johnson, G. Love & Special Sauce, Matt Costa, Money Mark and ALO. The album will be available to purchase at Independent Music Stores in the US, at both Bonnarroo and Vegoose music festivals, as well as at the artist's websites.

A preorder through Musictoday will begin instantly through Bonnarro and Vegoose websites. All preorders will automatically register for a chance to win a grand prize package of Brushfire's full artist catalogue along with two guest VIP tickets for Bonnaroo 2008.

Over the past few years, Brushfire artists have been pleased to be a part of the amazing festival lineups at both Bonnaroo and Vegoose. This compilation captures just a few of the great moments laid to tape in Manchester and Las Vegas, including:
Jack Johnson's "Island Style" a duet with local Hawaiian star John Cruz as well as "Staple it Together", and "Constellations", two tracks from his 2005 triple platinum LP In Between Dreams.
G. Love and Special Sauce's "Take You There" from 1997's Yeah It's That Easy, and "Hot Cookin'" from his latest (and fastest selling) LP Lemonade.
Matt Costa's "Song We Sing" and "These Arms" from his debut album, Songs We Sing.
Money Mark's "Color Of Your Blues", from his debut LP Brand New By Tomorrow.
ALO's "BBQ" and "Wasting Time" from their 2005 release Fly Between Falls.

Carrying on the tradition of great festival appearances, ALO performed at this weekend's Vegoose Festival, held October 27th and 28th at Las Vegas' Sam Boyd Stadium. The lineup for Bonnaroo 2008 will be announced early next year.

For more information:
www.bonnaroo.com
www.vegoose.com
www.thinkindie.com
www. brushfirerecords.com

Back in the Van again

Time to get up, time to rise and shine, time to get---- BACK IN THE VAN. Ahhhhhhhhhhh

This is a shot out to all those traveling musicians, magicians, salesmen, truckers and any other people that are destined to roam the great highways of America and the world beyond.

This week finds me back in the dreaded 12 penger van. The 12 penger van is a van I know so well. I rode in this style van for just about 8 years back and forth, forth and back across this great and God loving nation. We were in those vans so long that sometimes, the opening act would show up with a tour bus and pull up right next to our van.

When we finally made it big enough to travel in a real tour bus I knew in my heart that I would never go back. Well never say never because here I am in the Holiday Inn in Springfield, M about to go take my seat and drive to Ithaca, NY to rock The Haunt tonight.

Luckily for your boys in GL, this is just a 3 day mini run and soon enough we will be back in the bus. For 3 days it's almost fun and we are having a lot of laughs in our cooped up misery. But thank god I paid my dues years ago because I ain't going back!

So, here's a special shout out to all those people on the roads running and traveling. Here's to the musicians trying to make a living from town to town and the truckers running from coast to coast. Good luck out there and please----DRIVE SAFE.

One love! G

G. Love DVD

Hey everyone,

We hope you are all enjoying the new DVD - A Year and a Night with G. Love and Special Sauce ! We were wondering if you could so us a small favor? If you have an Amazon account and could let us know what you think of the DVD by posting a comment in the reviews section that would be great! We really appreciate it!

Here is the link...
http://www.amazon.com/Year-Night-Love-Special-Sauce/dp/B000SQJ282

Thanks!

Monterey Music Summit

I'm on the plane, service San Francisco to Boston. The Red Sox's play for the pennant tonight. Last night we performed at the Monterey Music Summit on a sick nasty bill. Zap Mama, Cake, The Roots and the Special Sauce. We all rocked it. We played a solid hit definitely mixed it up from the Summer Haze tour and besides playing on the backline gear, it was nice vibes.



It just so happened that while I was in Cali there was a swell on the beautiful Central Cali coast. There was a bit of a problem though because I flew Boston-San Fran on the morning of the show, I had no time to surf. I had to find another way. My good friend AP connected me with his friends Chris and Megan and they not only offered to take me to surf with them but let me crash at their spot and drove me to the airport! I was truly blessed. Thanks Chris and Megan.



After the early show, we had a couple beers and crashed early to be ready for a 5:30 am wake up. We got up early and checked a couple spots like Carmel and then cruised up to Santa Cruz. We surfed at one of my favorite spots and caught some solid 4-6 ft surf. What a morning it was, definitely bigger in Monterey, but it was pretty gnarly so I think we made a good call.



After surfing till we were cold and ready, we jumped in the truck and headed up to the SF airport where I met up with Chris D and just like that, the Philly kids are headed back to the east side. Thanks Cali, I would live there if I could. I can't wait till the day when I'll be going back toCali.



Peace in the Middle East

Pittsburgh InspiRAINtion

I'm just leaving Pittsburgh where our show was rained out!!! Rewind

Red Rocks Wrap

We just got to Kansas here and my head is still spinning from last night. Red Rocks was siiiiiick. I can't thank Colorado enough for showing up so large. Both Miles (Slightly Stoopid) and I agreed that there is something special about the way people love music in CO. What a great crowd, It was super hype!

Ozo started off the evening with a killer set and the crowd never stopped jamming. Slightly Stoopid had an amazing set and honestly I knew that was going to be a hard act to follow. But we did and I think we had a pretty hot set. The crowd stayed live and my guitar was singing. Jimmy Jazz pulled off a hot solo in "This Ain't Living", Mark and Jeff crushed as well. For the encore we were blessed with Tristan Prettyman coming out from SD to join us for one of our best renditions of "Beautiful" (thanks to KBCO for blowing it up in Boulder). Mellow Mood had just about every musician on the tour on stage. We closed the set out with Sauce and Jersey and sealed the deal.

Thanks for everyone coming. We will be back!

I gotta go to sound check…tonight Kansas City here I come.

Peace

Rolling to the Rocks

Tonight is actually early Friday morning, August something, 2007 at 2:41 am. I'm lying in my bunk on the back of the bus. The bus is rolling through the deserts of New Mexico on the way to Morrison, Colorado. I can't sleep.

I've just been practicing up all day getting ready for the show at Red Rocks which is now about 18 hours away. I've already written and rewritten the set list about 20 times. I've ran some old tunes, worked on finger exercises and scales, noodled endlessly and worked on a song Jeff and I are writing. It's fair to say I've done my work. This is a good thing as I'm hoping tomorrow I can just get up and flow straight through to the show.

We've got some cool musical surprises planned for what I'm considering to be the biggest show of my career. Jimmy Jazz is telling me to stop thinking and freaking out about it and I think he's right I should. And I'm going to stop thinking and rethinking about it as soon as I stop typing and this old bus rocks me to sleep.

Trying to write this set list has been the hardest thing. I wish I could just play every song I got then it would be easier. It's tough cause maybe I will get to play around 15-20 songs. The thing is I've got hundreds. What should I play??? Anyway, I've picked out 20 of the best plus we've got a special guest. Hmmmmm...Can't tell you who yet it's a surprise. See you when the sun is rising high. That's my word bet, get ready to rock Red Rocks So steady when that sun sinks and the night time rises, sky-high-shooting stars ain't the only thing that shines. Get your shine on tonight

Peace out

G

Red Rocks On My Mind

I gots red rocks on my mind, on my mind, on my mind

I gots red rocks on my mind, I gots red rocks on my mind!

Yeah I'm runnin, running, running to that place in the sky...Mesa sands and New Mexican sunrise fly's by outside the windows of the Blue Bus. As we wind our way down to Colorado, the highway bumps and glides us into moving sleep. It always seems so deep but then you wake up tired right? Go back to sleep, no wake up. Really?!? get up, get out and get something!

Anyways, I'm wandering tonight...getting ready to shed (practice) tomorrow in Albuquerque for the night off. We had a killing set tonight and debuted "Lottery". Slightly Stoopid crushed tonight as well. Kyle is on fire on the guitar. Ozo is killing it on the daily and here we come Colorado so get ready!

Viva Las Vegas

It's Wednesday and we have just rocked the Palms in Vegas. We had a slamming show the other night in Lake Tahoe and it's safe to say that the Summer Haze tour is in full effect.

Two days ago we had off and the entire posse went poolside here at the Palms. I went to take in a show and chose Stomp Out Loud. This show was siiiick. Its all beats, no dialogue. They make beats with everything: lighters, brooms, buckets, boxes, bottles and foam pipes. So funky! What else? We are in AZ tonight and its hooooooot as a cherry burning nug. Seriously, it is blazing hot.

I am back on the Gretsch Corvette after the original prototype was stolen from the hotel in Park City a couple months back...I think a bunch of people from Gretsch are coming to the show tonight. It's a guitar player's dream come true. I have my own Gretsch Corvette signature series guitar coming soon.

I gotta go to sound check

Peace

G

Summer Haaaaaaaze!

I just woke up in Lake Tahoe, another beautiful day out here and my mind is still spinning from last nights show. It was another clic night at the Greek Theater in Berkeley. The last time I was there was for the filming of Jack Johnson's Weekend at the Greek DVD, this time was Summer Haze. We definitely had a hot show last night. We played our new joint "City Livin" and it hit well. The whole set was executed niiiiice and the crowd was niiiiice too. Big shots for everyone that came out. The night before in Eugene was great as well. Definitely a smaller crowd but the whole show, all 3 bands, had amazing energy and it came off. Well, one show tonight at one of my favorite spots here in Lake Tahoe and then on to Vegas. I'm just gonna try not to lose my at the black jack table.

Peace Out

G

Thanks Portland, are you ready Seattle?

Yo yo yo greetings and salutations! Well I'm lying in the bunk getting ready for some big breakfast. Maybe a lil' milk and cereal, maybe a lil' green superfood smoothie. We just pulled into Seattle and the Summer Haze crews are setting up shop.

Portland was definitely off the chain last night. Thanks to everyone for coming out! We had a great show and now I think we are finding our groove plus it's just going to keep getting better and better. Seattle has been one of those amazing towns for us since the beginning. Our first shows were at the infamous Crocodile Cafe. We had some amazing shows there way back around 1994. Since then we must have played them all and of course we've enjoyed an insane string of shows at the Showbox in recent years. We are feeling good that's what I know. Definitely putting in the work and it's paying off.

On another note, I have continued to not smoke cigarettes. It has been over a month now. There are times especially at night if I'm having a brew where I'm like-" I wanna have a smoke" but I just don't do it and then the craving kind of goes away. So if you are quitting too, just do it!

Peace out

G

Oregon Bound

Yo yo yo greetings and salutations! Well this afternoon finds me back at the United gates of LAX bound for Portland. We are playing Portland, Eugene and Seattle this week before we rock the Greek in Berkeley, CA.

Anyway, I woke up and got a good practice in my hotel room. I'm working up the song "Slipped Away "The Ballad of Lauretha Vaird". I haven't performed the song in years and it's just so powerful. It's a true story about a Philadelphia Policewoman who was shot in the line of duty by a famous Philadelphia rapper Cool C. Crazy story! This old world keeps spinning round...

I'm just really looking forward to getting into a serious groove the next couple weeks. I feel like the Cali shows were tight but its only going to get better. I'm just getting comfortable with a shorter set and these bigger rooms but it's on!

I come to rock your face off.

Peace

G

PS: If you didn't get the DVD yet check it out!

Summer Haaaaaaze Tour in Full Effect

What's up y'all! Well I'm sitting at a photo studio somewhere in Santa Monica, Ca. We are doing a photoshoot for some long awaited web and press shots.

Last night we performed at a clic venue in Santa Barbara…The Santa Barbara Bowl. Everyone from the Dead to Bob Marley has played there. GL, Slightly Stoopid and Ozomatli came in like a storm of phunk. Ozo has been great and their blend of Latino World and Hip Hop music is off the chain. The band is comprised of the sickest instrumentalists and it is truly a powerful musical experience. Ozo hits first so come early to check this insane band.

SS closed the show at the OC fair on Saturday night and they slayed a huge crowd of 8500. We rocked the song "Baby I like it" off their new record to close out the show.

Last night at the Bowl GL closed and ripped a slamming set. I really felt good about it. SS sat in for a "Mellow Mood" to close the encore. The only problem is these bigger rooms have stricter curfews so we can't play all night long. Ahhhhhhhhh

Anyway the summer haze tour is off to a hot start and I want to thank the peeps of SoCAL for representing so hard.

Peace out

G

Sweet Home Chicago

I'm on the plane from Boston to Chicago to bring my thing to Lollapalooza. Before I left for Chicago, I decided to take a nap (I was up late practicing you see...). Well, I must have hit my snooze button because I woke up an hour and a half before my flight was supposed to leave. I did make my flight but nothing like cutting it close though for some afternoon exhilaration.

Going back to Lollapalooza...and tomorrow is a big show. I'm just trying to visualize the set now. I think I've got a good idea of how it's going to run but its definitely top secret. I'm hoping to see Amy Winehouse if I get a second to breathe. I also want to check Pearl Jam too. Playing these festivals gets me amped up. There's something about playing a festival that makes my band come out with all guns blazing. First we rock Chicago then on to the Summer Haaaaaazzzzzze tour.

I will be running around Lolla all day. I start at 1 pm at the Kiddapallooza stage. I got hits for the kids too. (Jungle Gym, Milk and Cereal) then press for a few hours and then on to the show.

Did you guys check out our new DVD? "A Year and A Night" just dropped this week. If you want to know what we are really like, watch it. It's brutally honest. It's even little uncomfortable for me to watch at times so you will probably love it

On another note if you watch Battle of the Bands on Fuse TV you can see the band Burn Down All-stars and my boys from Philly. Davie Quick's is a former member of Princes of Babylon.

Check it out! Peace out

G

Order G. Love DVD Today!

It's finally here… The first G. Love and Special Sauce DVD. "A Year and A Night with G. Love and Special Sauce" is out now!! It's a behind the scenes look at the band's 13th year of touring, from the US to Europe to Japan and back. The DVD features a 1 hr doentary, 10 bonus live performances shot on the final night of the tour, and a Live CD.



Click here to order from Brushfire's Online Store

AOL Listening Party

G. Love & Special Sauce's latest release, a DVD / live audio CD, A Year and a Night with G. Love and Special Sauce, hits stores tomorrow. AOL's running a listening party on the live audio portion this week to celebrate and spread the word…

G. Love Listening Party Here!

G. Love Contest

Off to Japan

Today I'm off to Japan. Yesterday we finished the 10 day "Down and Dirty" session. Today is my kid's 6th birthday. Three days ago my girl and I got in a taxi in philadelphia and found a purse and a nickel plated 22 pistol in the back seat. Today my taxi drove by president Bush's motorcade on the way to the airport now I've got to gop the plane is leaving. See you soon I'm going to rock Fuji Rock!!- G

Ps in three days the dvd comes out!

Back in Business

Well we have 3 more studio days left of the first down and dirty sessions. So far we have 8 slamming tracks of A-list songs. The two surprise songs of the session have been a song "City Living" and "Chicago". "City Living" is a brand new joint, basically, I was practicing this song "Who's got the weed?" And I just started chanting "city living city living" at the end of my jam. Later, I wrote some small little vignettes about different people's hopes, dreams, up's and down's while they were living in the city. On the first day of are cutting session Jimi Jazz was getting his sounds up and started playing this b groove over some drums Jeff had cut and I was like--hold up…play it again. Everything really fell right into place. We made a change and some chorus lyrics basically wrote themselves. It has the feel of the song "tighten up" by Archie Bell and the Drells. It happened easy and in my experience, musical things that happen easy usually feel the best. You put a lot of work into paying music but when you play it should feel easy and inspired..."Chicago" is any older tune I've been trying to record for awhile. We finally have a great take. Mark Boyce really helped make it come alive with a truly beautiful Wurlitzer piano accompaniment. Now we are gonna do one more live session today then overdub.

Keep it dirty

Down and Dirty

What's up y'all, we are in the middle of the 3rd day of cutting our new record. We are off to a pretty slamming start. Now I don't want to jinx myself but I have to say all the work we've been putting in, touring, rehearsing, quitting smoking and focusing in is starting to pay off. We just nailed 3 sick takes of this song "communication". It's a song we've been working on the last month or so and it just swelled perfectly up to being recording ready. Next up is Jeff's song "Pralines and Cream Girl" a great southern joint with plenty of harmonica and soul. So that's it for now and just so you know I'm not fronting…we recorded the "Peace in the middle east" chant in "wiggle worm".

Peace out- G

Tour Wrap

The tour was sick, the crowds were thick, it was just 12 days, nice and quick we rocked from St Louis, Milwaukee, Minnesota to Des Moines, Davenport, Grand Rapids…sorry Oklahoma--we will get ya next time if we didn't get ya this time. I'm sitting on the plane just writing this rhyme on 2 hours of sleep I'm about to p out once this seat reclines. As I fly the friendly skies last nights show was nice still etched in my mind…so much music, so much love communication through some tones that's some harmony Cous. We played in the city, we played by the river sometimes we hit it so tight that the sounds made me shiver with chills we got ill and rocked it thorough. Soon we will be back rolling right through your borough on the summer haze tour, man it starts in 2 weeks so get good tix or you'll get a lawn seat!. Bos to philly cause I'm down and dirty peace out to all you peeps and enjoy yourself for the summer just another tour rap from your boy G the blues strummer

Peace in the Middle East. Peace on the Middle East

Bringing it Back Home

The summer is almost over??!!!! What? It's such a bittersweet feeling. I'm up in Boston and I can feel it in the air cooling down in New England for sure. I'm actually wearing jeans and a long sleeve shirt. It's just such a melancholy time, in June and July you feel like the summer is never going to end but then August comes and right when you're so heavy and thick with the summertime vibrations that first blast of cool air hits you and you just know September is coming. Well, at least I don't have to start school anymore. That was always tough.

Tomorrow is Boston then on to Philly, the two most important towns for my music. I got my start playing on the streets, parks and subways of these two wonderful cities. It's definitely a double homecoming. To think that this very summer 15 years ago I first got my street performers license to play Harvard Square. Now I'm headlining the Pavilion in Boston and it looks like its going to be sold out. That's sick! It's the same thing in Philly too. All I can say is thanks to everyone that has ever listened and supported throughout the years! Philly in the house! Boston in the house. It's gonna be a blast. Honestly, after Red Rocks I think I'm ready for anything now.

Thanks

Peace and Summer Haaaaaze

G

Hometown Philly

I just woke up and blaaaang here we are, home Philly Rocks. We had an amazing night in Boston last night (except for almost getting cut off at the end) Ahhhh. I wanted to play at least another 30 mins. I've really got to watch the time better. No worries though, I thought that was our best show at the Pavilion and the crowd was sold out. Thanks you Boston! The Summer Haze tour is on the east coast now and I feel completely at home with all of these cranky east coast mofos. How ya doing...

But seriously, I am amped to be playing at the Festival Pier at Penn's Landing tonight. I was born about 20 blocks from here and raised even closer. I am playing my neighborhood tonight and it feels good. Philly rocks because: Its dirty, phunky, skateboarding, graffiti, cheesesteaks, folk fest, soft pretzels, Eagles, Sixers, Phillies, Phillies Blunts, love park, liberty bell, declaration of independence, Independence Hall, south street, music, G. Love, the Goats, the Roots, Dr. J, Benjamin Franklin, Rittenhouse sq, Fairmount park, Special Sauce, South Philly, Jersey Shore, Atlantic City, Ong's, Rhythm and soul, John Coltrane, Edgar Allen Poe, Willy Penn, Lorenzo's slice, WIP sports radio, the TLA, the Katman, Chuck Treece and the Fellas, the Eyes Gallery, my Mom and Dad and all of yous Philly motherphuckers.

C U tonight- one

Shooting Hoops

Last night we played the legendary Wolf Trap in Vienna, Va. I had one of my best shows of the tour except I ran out of time!!!! Ahhhhhhhhhhh I was so ed. I just tried to squeeze too much music in the encore and we had to cut short the Mellow Mood sit in. Most of these bigger rooms have strict curfews. That means there are a ton of superfluous rules and regulations. PS. I have a more-than-slight aversion to rules and regulations especially when it involves playing music. Anyhow, it was extremely frustrating to have the clock ticking so ferociously while I'm trying to play my songs for the good people of Virginia. It started when we were a couple minutes late getting to stage…we were just about to leave the bus when Mark spilled a kep cup of red wine all over the Houseman's stage clothes. Jeff was so ed! He had to change his whole everything, it was a big cup of wine. Anyway we had a good show but I was frustrated and I just felt cheated by the time. But honestly, it's my own fault.

After the show we had the insane P-I-G tournament on the backstage B-ball court. Sorry, I had to devastate those kids from the west side and bring back the fundamentals of strategic PIG competition. I told Shef from OZO I'm ready to take him and any of his boys one on one. So bring it on!

Virginia is for lovers

So don't hate y'all. Today we are in Vienna, VA at the famous Wolf Trap Amphitheater. It's another one of these clic venues. Sonically correct, beautifully constructed and landscaped. It's really a very nice venue in the same league as Red Rocks and The Gorge.

I definitely stayed up late last night but I had a surprisingly productive day. We sound checked at noon continuing our work on some of the new tracks. We have been focusing on "Lottery" and "Grandmother" which are both coming along nicely. After that we had a rare "Band Meeting" to talk about the new record. The meeting went very smooth and we made a top secret plan to finish the "Down and Dirty" record.

Then I rounded up Shef from Ozo and the slightly Stoopid horn section of De La and C-Money to work out this new joint "City Livin". The song sounds so smooth with the horns. We will do it tonight. When I was heading to the bus for a jog I ran into a bunch of the Ozo dudes perpetrating on the hoops court so I had to step in for some ruff house. I took one game but had to give some charity to the Ozo fellas (I didn't want them to be all depressed for their show ya know). Anyhow that felt good as sh!t to run.

Now I'm gonna take a nap

Rock it

G

Last Day of Summer Haaaaaaazzzzeeee!

Oh no. I heard it was coming, I saw it was coming and now it has come, the last day of the (hopefully 1st annual) Summer Haze Tour. Ozomatli, Slightly Stoopid and GL have effectively put the phunk into peoples' Haze all over this whole God Loving country. But now we have reached the end. We are just like the Lord of the Rings, you don't want it to end, but end it must. We've got to get home and feed those babies and love those families! Get home to our girls and our stagnant apartments. Get home to full mailboxes, dirty laundry, doing dishes and paying bills. Get home to court dates, landlords, and that real tuff love. Get home to crisp fall coming, guitar shedding. I'm ready though, even though nothing beats being on stage, you just gotta come down and come back to reality for a little bit and then all of sudden you get the call, "a new tour just got booked". Then it's back on the bus to save the world again. That's what we do right? (Jeeeez get a load of this guy)! Ok fine well just save our souls with sweet rock and roll. Hopefully, we can save your souls too and we hope we get the chance.

15 minutes till sound check, just enough time to do the dreaded pack up on the bus. Get all my crap and try to stuff it into my broken- suitcase with the bent- rim. You can hear me coming a mile away in the airport. Clickity, clack, now that's a wrap. One more time to bless the MIC tonight and I'm out…back to the lab.

We love you. Thanks to all for coming to the show and sharing this music with us. Bring the boys back home…all of them.

G

Hotlanta in Haze

We had a good night last night in North Carolina. I'm just waking up in the ATL. Coming here is cool because a lot of my musical family is from these parts. That family started back in 1993 when I first met my Brother Allen Jasper Thomas. Jasper and I became fast friends in Boston after we met at a show and I found out he was an MC. We were playing around the scene, just getting our feet wet and Jasper was coming around a lot and sitting in. I asked him if he could change a guitar string (which I would break at least a couple a night). I lent him this old Silvertone guitar (he renamed her "Rusted Jenny") to learn how to change strings. He not only learned to change the strings but he developed a very original and unique playing technique. Basically, he came back two weeks later playing all of these amazing Hip Hop songs that he was writing. With his long dreads, inspired conscious lyrics and convicted voice he was an amazing stage presence. In no time at all he formed his band Jasper and the Prodigal Sons and our scene was started. Both bands were tearing up Boston and Cambridge. Jasper and I wrote "This Ain't Living" on a late summer day in Harvard Yards. Less than a year later we had a record deal with Epic. Jas got his with Geffen the following year.

My life is amazing and everyday I give thanks for it. That year in 1993 was maybe the most golden time of my life. Since then things have been a bit rocky for Jasper but he continues to make music. In fact he is the rapper on Lemonade's "Thanks and Praise" a remake of his original cut. Through Jasper I've met a lot of amazing talent from ATL and Augusta, Ga (where Jas is from). We've been working on this new joint "That's Real" a song we made on the bus after the last Atlanta show (check it out on youtube). This song was written in part by my friend Taranji another musical talent from the South. Needless to say, there will be a lot of family in the house tonight and I will tear the roof off the Tabernacle!

Peace in the Middle East

G

Carolinas in a Haaaaaazzzzzeeee

! It's hot in the south. The South brings some of the livest crowds around. Last night at the House of Blues in Myrtle Beach, SC the crowd was off the chain. It was crazy energy and both sets were siiiiick. When the crowd goes off it always makes the bands go off--no question!

Tonight we play outside of Raleigh, NC. I spent a lot of time down near here in Sanford, NC at my Grandparents' house, rest their soul. The venue is right on a little lake that reminds me of the pond down the road from my Mimi and Grandpa's house. We are working on this song called "Grandmother" about those times.

"Jars for the tadpoles and the frogs from the lake, mind your manners at the table won't you boy for heavens sake"

My Grandma used to make the best blueberry pie, coffee cake and my favorite mocha cake…mmmmmm I can almost taste it now. I remember the smell of their house and Mimi was always cooking it up or we would play the board game Sorry together. Anyways, being down here brings back good memories...

Only 3 days left of the Summer Haze tour so get on out!

See you tonight

Peace in the Middle East!

G

New York Rocks

We had a sick show last night at Summer Stage in Central Park. NYC definitely showed up big time for the Summer Haze tour. The sunset slot was right on time and our set featured a sit in with blues legend John Hammond. We performed "Tore Down" the single from John's record "Push Comes to Shove". Another highlight of our set has become our new song "City Living". This song came off of a Jimmy Jazz b line in the studio and its pretty banging. It's got that feel good groove and we have been featuring the Philadelphonic horns on it. Actually, the Philadelphonic horns are in fact a combo of the Slightly Stoopid and Ozo horn section! Shhhhhhh

Anyway we hit the town up a little after the show but the concert was the best part of NYC last night. I want to thank everyone for showing up with such a great vibe. Today is our last day off and then only 4 more shows. This summer is fading fast. I need some front porch lounging...I hope all of you get a chance to savor those good summer vibes for this next week then its back to school!

Peace and One Love!

G

Back to School

Well its here, back to school…new things, good things, new friends, new days no more summer haaaaaze. Going back to school means back to school for G. Love as well. Don't think I will ever get over having to be up at 6:30 though. I'm home and practicing on the roof for a couple hours.

Locked Out

Alright somebody book me a tour or something. I've been home for 2 days and I've managed to lock myself out of my house twice now. This is getting ridiculous. I had step out and I was going home to get into my morning jam. I get to the door of my apt and then I realize---I had taken the key off the ring while I unloaded groceries yesterday. Ahhhhhhhhhhhh. Locked out! Again!

So now I'm sitting in the coffee shop by my house. Luckily, the cleaning people are coming sometime today with a key so I don't have to bother the property manager again. This is surely an embarring mistake.

On with life…it's definitely always an adjustment coming home. Being on a tour bus is a wonderful bubble. It's stocked with food and drink and every time you're about to get in trouble or overstay your welcome, beep beep, time to go to the next town. Isolationist's bliss. Sorry Houdini you just can't beat that escape act.

Now I've got the APT stocked with food and drink and I'm sitting out on the street. Other than that and dealing with Boston drivers (ahhhhhhhh God help me from sucbing to a terrible fit of road rage), things are great. Fall is in the air today, it's beautiful, they are even playing my good friend Jack Johnson on the radio and that's some good coffee! Have a great day and whatever you do, don't get locked out!!!!!!

Summer Haze Photos!

Hey everyone,

We hope you had a great time on the Summer Haze Tour! We would love to see your best pictures from the tour, whether that is pictures of the bands on stage, partying in the parking lot, or of you and your friends having fun at the shows. Please email your best 2-3 pictures from the tour to: summerhazepics@gmail.com and please keep them at 72dpi and smaller size (4x6 or 5x7). We will compile them in the next few weeks and put up a big photo gallery for everyone on Myspace.

Thanks!

G Love & Special Sauce

High Holidaze

Well today is Rosh Hashanah a Jewish High Holiday and many people including my manager did not work today in observance of it. I spent the day at Walden Pond with family. This is a historic, state preservation site and a beautiful place to chill. I packed some chicken sandwiches and hit the M Pike to enjoy a perfect fall day. I hiked around a bit and found this killer secluded spot on a little spur that jutted into the pond where we got down on some sandwiches and looked for salamanders. After that I kicked it at Walden and took a dip.

I was a bit tired to cook it up tonight so we ordered in Thai food. Boston has great Thai food and the places to go are Dok Bua in Brookline and Rod Dee in Fenway. We got some good Rod Dee tonight and now it's up to the roof deck to jam for a spell.

Oh, I forgot to tell you that when it rains it pours…I locked myself out of the house again yesterday! Ahhhhhh. Stay cool.

You know I'm crispy like apples.

G

Boston Music Scene

Another perfect day on the east side. Fall is my favorite time of year to be on the East Coast. This week has been amazing. I'm definitely settling nicely into Boston. In October I'm going to look to start creeping out and making the scene a bit....

14 years ago the Boston music scene was going off. Music just seemed to be seeping out of every house, bar and club in the city. There were open mics, jam sessions and a million different places for a struggling musician to get on the stage. There was also a thriving busking community. I still see people playing on the street but it just doesn't seem the same. A lot of jazz musicians are out there. Mostly Berklee kids, I think, trying to practice and make some change between cles. I don't see as many of the singer/songwriter types. There were some cool peeps back in the day. I remember this girl Mary Lou Lord, she was hip. She got a record deal and there were rumors that she hooked up with Kurt Cobain...I dunno. Tracy Chapman got her start in Harvard Sq, and so did I. There were lots of happening bands emerging: Morphine, Jasper and the Prodigal Suns, Grind (all girl Rock and Roll), Powerman 5000, Shockra, The Stubb Junkmen, Chuck, Chuckle Head and a whole lot more too. There was a cool punk rock band called Tree. The Goats used to come up from Philly and kick the out of Beantown. Oh yeah, and this band G. Love and Special Sauce they were aiiight.

The cool thing about Boston is that between a very strong roots folk music community, Berklee School of Music, the Boston Conservatory, college radio and lots of venues, Irish pubs and the busking possibilities, it's possibly the best place in the country to make it as a musician. Also its 3-4 hours from NYC so if you get a chance you can try to play for the record labels....

Anyway, I'm getting all nostalgic about it now. Because of a matter of cirstance I'm up here again. At first I was really salty about it but now I'm totally feeling it. When I practice up here I feel like I'm tapping into a vast musical energy that's in the air. It comes from the thousands of players up here, shedding, learning, gigging, busking and touring through. I can imagine that if you could stop all the cars, trains, planes and commotion and for a quick moment everyone stopped talking you'd probably hear music rising in the air. Scales, songs, tunings, warm ups, applause, feet stomping and a million notes floating on the fall breeze...How ya like them apples?

Peace in the Middle East

G

Monday Night Football

Yeaaaaah boooooyeeeee!!! Time for kick off here…Eagles vs. Redskins. I got a call from my good friend and fellow bluesman, Kelly Bell; we have a gentleman's bet on the game tonight. I also got a bet with my cousin and his boys. Basically all of the good people in DC want to give me their green!!!

I woke up 2 days ago and fall is here. I'm kinda siked though. It was a great summer for sure but fall is just so fine…crisp air and cool breezes. It seems like there are farmers' market up here in Beantown everyday and we have been cooking up a storm…heirloom tomatoes, corn, purple cauliflower, fresh arugula and meats and cheeses from local farms. Siiiiick

Anyway today is Monday Night Football a good excuse to kickback and have a scotch (thanks King Tuts in Glasgow) with my old man and watch the Birds kick some DC . One more day here then off to Chicago and SD for Street Scene.

Enjoy the game

Holla

G

Street Scene

It's Saturday morning in sunny San Diego. I'm sitting at the Baja Fresh in down town SD. You know Baja Fresh and In and Out burger is the best fast food joints on the planet right? That's one thing the west side has over the east side, fast food. Also freaky transient people. There are so many freaks wandering around the streets of San Diego. Because the weather is so nice all the time, people are just on the streets. There are definitely and unfortunately plenty of homeless people in the east coast cities but there is something clearly different that's hard to pin down. Maybe the drugs are different out here…more meth. There are also many more younger homeless drifters in the west.

Back to the subject, Street Scene is today and I'm ready. Yesterday I got to the hotel and marinated. I ran over my set and shedded out for a few hours. Check out the youtube I did last night: Back of Da Bus. I did that joint last night. When we were out on the Summer Haze tour with SS and Ozo, SS was doing this great beatbox breakdown. It reminded me of how we used to break it down in the All Fellas Band. So I was like I gotta start busting that beatbox out again. I've been sleeping on it!

Tonight is definitely the Haze reunion so it should be dope! I'm ready and I'm going to rock this joint tonight. Rock it tonight, surf in the morning then I'm off to Boston then Philly to kick it in the studio with Chris D. We gotta finish this new record we are working on. sounds tight. That's it for now. These fish tacos are the bomb.

Peace out

G

Chitown/SD

Well I just woke up from a little preshow catnap here in Chicago. We are playing one of my favorite venues: The Vic Theater. We've done a lot of shows here over the years. Tonight it's a private/free show with GL and Mofro. Should be wicked.

Jimmy Jazz had a family affair so my good friend, Philly legend and musical cohort, Chuck Treece is going to be on b. After tonight we head to San Diego for the Street Scene fest. We are on the bill with Slightly Stoopid and Ozo among others...Summer Haze reunion! Yeah Boyee.

That's that. I've gotta go get ready to rock but I will write more tomorrow.

Peace out

G

Return to Dirty

Greetings and salutations! After a whirlwind of one offs, I'm just about to fly from Beantown to hometown Philly to hit the studio. Due to a number of scheduling conflicts (it's hard to get everyone on the same page after leaving the tour bus) I will be in studio tonight with Mr. Pete Donnelly. Pete is a friend of mine from Skidmore College. He is also in the infamous Indy band The Figgs and a great producer. We've done a bunch of tracks over the years. The most recent was "Ride" from Lemonade. Anyways, I'm looking forward to getting busy tonight in studio on some of the tracks we recorded in July.

I will be doing vocals, guitars and production all week. The rough mixes from the Down and Dirty session sound cool as so I would say

Its on.

Its just been and amazing fall here on the east side. I think we need some rain but it sure is beautiful. I'm taking off.

Peace in the Middle East

The Recording Process

Chris D and I have been in session for a couple days now, lacing the tracks we cut in July. is sounding good. I have to say, I think Chris has been improving big time as producer. I played him a bunch of new songs I've written since July and the response was good. We will look to cut about 10 more tracks at the end of October. We are going to set up the session by doing a mini tour in New England. We will be playing VT, NH to name a few so come out. During these shows we will be trying to focus on performing the new material.

The more I tour and make records I realize what I want a record or a show to achieve. When I record a song I want it to be something that not only makes me feel good (which is everything I write) but something that will connect with the band and the crowd. To record songs that don't hit live is something that I try to stay away from these days. That doesn't mean we don't get freaky and experimental in the studio because we do. Its just that 13 years deep into making records and having blown large budgets over the years trying to catch a buzz in the studio, I know how to catch a vibe and be efficient. It's called band practice! Imagine that…you can actually prepare for the studio by working out ahead of time. It was a very expensive lesson to learn though.

Back in the day, I made 5 records for Sony Music and this was during a different time in the music industry. This was when the industry was actually making money. This was before the internet basically destroyed the potency of the major label. We had budgets, real budgets and like any good aspiring rock star, I squandered many fat budgets away by taking too much time in the studio. At one or two thousand dollars a day, you can see how hanging in the studio can get real expensive real quick. Well, now we smartened up and have our own studio in Philly plus we go to the studio to work! We go to the bar to party. We go to the basement to jam and we go on tour to play.

Bringing the vibe ain't no thing either. Music is something that's completely ethereal. You can't touch it you can't hold it. It goes in you and right through. One thing is for sure though, music never lies. The more you put into it the more you get back and that's how you get the vibe. You have to cultivate the feeling. You're a farmer sowing the seeds of songs and every time you practice your instrument you plant another seed. So what are you waiting for? Stop reading this and go practice.

I gotta cut a vocal

That's real!

Studio Food

Did you ever take a second to consider the food behind the music?
I mean what musicians eat while they are in studio. Bunkered down in the basement or lounging in some fancy hi tech studio, we have to eat.

When we made our second record Coast to Coast motel in New Orleans, my producer Keith Keller, rest his soul, told me, "G, its not a race, it's a marathon". And with those words of wisdom he proceeded to show me the wonders of Louisiana cooking and eating. We would have big pots of greens or cabbage and good ole andouille sausage. When we tired of that, it was poboys…shrimp, catfish or my favorite, fried oyster. Fully dressed of course!

Philly recording sessions relied heavily on the chicken cheese steak with provolone, onions and hot peppers on the side.

Once, while doing a session with legendary bluesman Little Milton, rest his soul, we ordered fried seafood in Mussle Shoals, Alabama. I distinctly remember watching Little Milton eating his fried shrimp salad.

We are going into a session this month at a wonderful studio in New England called Long View Farm. They have a couple cooks on staff that makes delicious, country, home-cooked meals twice a day. You just can't beat that cooking!

But, the whole reason I'm writing this now is because the Philadelphonic studios is right by Chinatown in Philly. I eat from Ong's (formerly Nice Noodle) religiously. I just can't get enough Vietnamese food down here! Well whatever you decide, happy eating and remember you can't live off of coffee and cigarettes, even if you are a professional musician

Peace

G

Donovan Frankenreiter Surf Event

I got a call from my good friend Donovan a couple weeks ago inviting me to the Cosmic Creek surf event and benefit concert. It sounded like a good cause, a good time and I was actually able to make it work schedule wise. Billabong flew us out and put us up at a fancy hotel and we just had an amazing weekend. The event raised over $20,000 for AIDS and cancer research.

Last night we had an amazing jam at the famous Coach House in San Juan Capistrano. It was a pretty weird bill but I have to say it really worked in a crazy way. The line up included: Jackson Browne, Pennywise, Sugar Ray, Honk, a kids band comprised of 10 year olds called Knockers (clic), Ken Garcia, Donovan Frankenreiter and yours truly.

I played "Super Hero Brother", "Hot Cooking" and jammed with DF on his song "Whatcha Know". At the end of the show all the artists performed "The Weight". It was surely clic harmonizing on stage with Jackson.

Jackson Browne continues to be an amazing artist. How many hits does he have!!???! I really admire how