Nifty Noodles/ Recovery
8/31/05 West Coast Office
I’m just getting back from 5 days on the road… airport parking at LaX was a hundred bucks! My mail box was jammed so tight I had to pry it out. And I had 300 emails that I’m not gonna even look at today… I am truly spent in every direction. I feel a whole different need to recover. One of my plants died while I was gone… proof that maybe I’m not ready for a relationship with a woman! The plant burned to death in the heat I think.. and of course I forgot to have someone water the little thing in my absence.

I played a small CR program in Fort Worth while waiting to appear on the James Robinson T.V. show in nearby Euless, Tx. On Tuesday. Had a good turn out but most of those there seemed oblivious to Celebrate Recovery. Found myself explaining why you might wanna look at a recovery program for your life. As I have worked the steps of recovery I have continued to find sanity these days in what seems like a more desperate and confusing world of my own.

A highlight of the day was hooking up with an old friend from Jr High…his name, Noel Cookman another preachers’ kid whom I hadn’t really talked to since leaving Charlotte, N.C. back in 1971. It was a divine appointment as talking with him and his wife and youngest brother seemed to remind me of the Road To Redemption that we all get to travel…the school of hard knocks… I haven’t laughed so hard in a good long time and I felt amazingly understood by someone who remembers my childhood maybe better than I do. Noel and his wife were in the audience at the James Robinson T.V. taping, A wonderful sacrifice of their time to support me… thanks.

Now about the James Robinson show… I met with the man and his wife and a number of “High Performance” guests …. And I was monstrously intimidated. I can’t remember feeling so worthless. All the guests had books out about changing the face of the country… and James turns to me and asks me about my segment of the show… “ how can I set you up” … a wonderfully thoughtful thing to say probably except that by now I felt like the kid who hadn’t done his homework… why was I here? what did I really have to say? I completely forgot… all I was thinking was… I know this man understands addiction and my struggles have been similar to his in many ways… where the ministry became the all important function in my life to the point that I lost myself… and much else.

His comments back stage were powerful, insightful and transparent… so why did I feel so ashamed of my own situation and trying to explain that I was just starting over and trying to get my bearings… I felt like I was in the wrong grade and class in a new school. “I don’t think I really have an agenda here” I blurted out… it just seemed to me that everyone at the table back stage was projecting their strong side, hiding behind their own abilities to be effective… and me? I kept wanting to get out of the room… I wasn’t ready for this…” I’m just trying to get through my own life one day at a time right now” I added…”when was your divorce final”… James asked… “last month” I mumbled feeling really embarrassed and defeated… I forgot all the things I’d accomplished as a result of working a recovery program… never mentioned the radio show or the new project and the new band and the new record company… James wasn’t familiar at all with any of my work… he was going on the recommendation of his son.

I felt at a disadvantage and suffering from “tunnel vision”… I became so focused on me and what I was supposed to do … that I really didn’t know suddenly… later I said on the show… “I’m just a spectator in God’s plan”…that’s the best I could come up with… Robinson spoke more than he questioned me on the show… really assuming that I was inept I imagine… feeling the necessity of carrying the interview as I was not projecting much in the way of confidence.

But when I finally got up to sing… and I launched into “I never lied to you… until I lied to myself”… I think He was affected in a personal way… I was only told later of his expressions as I was not watching him. He prayed for me with the audience after the show… I’m sure it was a genuine attempt to offer something to me… but the whole thing about people stopping and praying for you on the spot at least to me feels very condescending… “let’s fix this pathetic version of a Christian”… is how it feels to me.

Anyway the show will air on October 25th they said (check your local listings) I wasn’t myself and I didn’t feel too safe on the show…but we did some pretaping of songs for later programs… two Christmas tunes… Have yourself a merry little Christmas and This Christmas… as well as Maybe I’m Amazed and Everything in the Garden… so I guess I got something constructive done here. Ricky B helped me pick out a more modern look for this show though… levi’s and a pinstriped shirt.. so I took a chance and didn’t wear the same old predictable outfit… I also wore glasses which helps when your eyes are bloodshot! “You looked great on camera” Ricky said… o.k. then so I got that goin for me…8)

Bryan D

Nifty Noodles/ Soul 2 Soul Award
8/26/05 Lousvillle, Ky Soul 2 Soul Awards…
It’s a radio show that has chosen to honor Artists in Christian Music who have made a significant contribution over the long haul…ten years or more. I was honored along with Randy Stonehill, Jackie Velazquez , Petra, Newsong, Out of Eden and Larnelle Harris. It was very nicely done, I hope to see a video copy of the filmed event. The stage looked great on camera. It is also the first time I’ve been given an award and allowed to make a few comments about my career … you know, like the Oscars or something …”wow you like me you really like me”…. I wasn’t really prepared for a speech though but it was brief and I didn’t cry. I quoted my favorite comment given me in recent years… “who knows Bryan perhaps the soul purpose of your life is to serve as a warning to others” and “this was just a hobby of mine while I was praying for God’s will for my life”. It was a light hearted moment and I think the 1200 people at the event enjoyed a brief and light thank you. I also played three songs.. Joy is a Singable Thing, Love Takes Time, and I love you with my Life.

This production was very well done maybe better than some of the GMA events I’ve been to and it was run smoother. The event was also a chance to say hi to many familiar faces I’ve crossed paths with over my career..I’ve played somewhere at least once with everyone of these artists and bands and some recently… so it seemed like just another day at the office back stage. Except that I went home with a cute little statue and a free T shirt.

8/27/05 Austin, Tx Saturday Night
Abundant Faith Church is a small church taking a big chance on a concert here… it’s sandwiched between two Restaurants in a Little strip mall.. their facility had to be some kind of club at one point though cause the stage was perfect and the sound was good to start with anyway. It was a full house and I played for two hours… a rare event.. that included old and new songs… keyboard only tunes and guitar stuff…I sang till my voice gave out really.. we had the usual feedback problems and struggles with the mix. It was largely an Hispanic community here and they were excited about the gig. I had people from four hours away come to see the concert. I’ve never understood how I could effect people in a way that would make them come from four hours away to hear the music… and we can’t draw people ten minutes away… go figure.

I stayed over Sunday to sing a few songs in the morning service at this church… maybe 30 people here. Indeed this little church took on a big project by bringing me in.. I hope it was an encouragement to them and their future..

O.K. so there’s That >….. Bryan D

Nifty Noodles/ Ventura Keys
8/20/05 San Buena Ventura State Beach, California
I made a vacation out of a gig this weekend… Played at Hope Fest on the beach… a golden opportunity to enjoy the ocean and the sunsets, surf and sand. I was an afterthought of sorts…sandwiched in on Leon Patillo’s time slot… I came on an hour and a half behind schedule and ended up cutting my set to four songs.. typical festival date where all the “free acts’ take all the time away from the people that were paid to come out. Those included.. Marilyn McCoo (former 5th Dimension singer) and Ron Kenoly and an evangelist named Milo.

No offense here… but the theme for this festival was to ‘take back the streets”… don’t think it worked! It was a very “in house” crowd. And listening to the “overdrive” of the gospel… If I was an unbeliever and heard this presentation I wouldn’t stay within a hundred miles of this gig. Just my opinion.. of course now I’ll never be asked back. 8)

I guess everybody does what they think is right when it comes to “evangelizing”… what do I know?

I took the opportunity as I stood around to play the new Christmas mixes to everyone who would listen in the parking lot. My enthusiasm is great for this project… and it will be my humble offering of gratitude and thanksgiving that might make outsiders wanna come a little closer. I know it makes me wanna embrace my own faith alittle more. I of course have been nursing a poor faith for some time… overcoming cynicism maybe brought on by my own determination to make a big impact for God rather than just following him and letting him make what ever impact he’d like.

I found time to attempt a fire on the beach with a friend and watch the sunset… wow… it beats t.v. in the hotel! Ventura has some ragged beaches. lots of debris washes up here so it was almost an empty coast line where we were. I could enjoy living here except that I would probably never get anything done… Ventura is way laid back… found the Hells Angels headquarters Sunday morning while I was looking for an IHOP. Don’t think any of em made the concert on the beach yesterday… I didn’t bother to play em my Christmas stuff though either… some groups of people… I’m just willing to let God figure out how to reach.

Anyway… I was happy with the four songs I sang… I felt the passion… and I was in a good place!

O.K. so there’s that …. Bryan D

Nifty Noodles/ It Is Finished
8/19/05 West coast Office…
I’m sittin here listening to the final mixes of “A NehoSoul Christmas”… THE most enjoyable listening experience of my Career!!! Bar none…Simple, groovy ,infectious.

“Cohesive”… everything fits on this record…. All songs I absolutely love… but my favorites in order of excitement factor are: Christmas Time Is Here.. what a wonderful world,

Little Drummer Boy, then my fun stuff… This Christmas and Christmas Comes But Once a Year… Silent Night is a highlight too at the end….

I can hardly sit still I’m so excited about this record. I’ve already got orders from all my neighbors as they here it blaring from the West Coast Office… they’re lining up outside my door going “ when can we get this?”

I’m thinking of how much I strained at perfection over my career and here’s the first record I’ve done trusting my friends to the point of feeling completely out of control.

Time and money became such a factor that in all cases I never heard the playback of the final vocals until the mixes came in. These songs all sing themselves down…in one case “What A Wonderful World” we kept the first take! Spent ten minutes on it! But there is a freshness and sense of “all is well” on this record that it is infectious! And songs like “Peace”… that just make you embrace the hardships as well as the satisfactions in life…a great mix of all that is good at Christmas or any other time of the year…fun and reverent, it paints a better picture of where I am today than anything come before it…

There is a satisfaction and comfort in my soul that is completely different…. in a year when my whole life has been redefined through complete loss of everything I once held dear… and I’ve reconnected with old friends like my old guitarist Randy Thomas from the Sweet Comfort Band who has mixed this project beautifully so as not to sound like all the perfect Christian records I’ve ever heard.… and my long time manager… Ray Ware, who has slaved over the paper work and overseeing the packaging of the record… both have really gone to bat for me in ways that go beyond a mere job.

Phil Curry’s arrangements are absolutely perfect and you’d never know that he hasn’t slept in the last three months!!! 8) My job was mostly to WORRY about everything getting done.. and call once in while to bug everyone. It’s been a lesson in “changing the things I can… and the finding serenity for what I cannot”… I cannot believe that in the worst financial year for me in the last 25 years comes a piece of work with my name on it that supersedes every fancy record I’ve ever done. Maybe because my expectations have been humbled and I am at peace with “this sinful world as it is and not as I would have it”…

No longer worried about how good I sound vocally or if it looks “flawless”… some of my favorite tracks have me in poor vocal condition and it sounds great still… adds a wonderful ‘broken’ quality… because I didn’t “nit pick” the production… in some ways it is completely new! Not a lot of typical vocal gymnastics here… just strong, strong melodies and a band track that doesn’t get buried in the mix so the singer can look attractive! 8)

I can hardly wait for Christmas now.. the real job is ahead of us here… getting the word out… that’ll be pretty easy when you hear this!.... jUst wait till you hear this!!!!

I am so proud of it!

BryanD

Nifty Noodles/ Resurrected
8/14/05 Denver/ Colorado Springs
The band date we tried to make happen in Colorado Springs got postponed because the promotion didn’t happen like it was supposed too… never the less the tickets were already bought… so Ricky B and I went out to do an interview on the local radio station… just to remind em that we still really do exist and we are doing good, new things as well.

My mother’s sisters came out from Glenwood Springs to hang out with me for a while down there and Ricky and I spent alittle time at the Harley Davidson dealer. Came a long way to stand around though… the band will try once again to do a concert in the Springs… in the Fall! We’ve scheduled it for Oct. 15TH.

I had a solo concert set up in Longmont, Colorado… about 40 minutes north of Denver where I played four songs for two church services on Saturday and two on Sunday.

We stopped in to see Phil Keaggy’s new manager and my old friend, concert promoter Robbie Marshall of Road Home Productions… I was hopin we could get him to bring the band in to Denver when we return so we could take advantage of the tickets I’ve already purchased for the band. But he was already booked on that weekend. Robbie Marshall looks like one or the members of ZZ Top these days… sporting a long beard… on the surface… he’s insane…clearly not taking his medication either 8).

Anyway, I met several people at the LifeBridge Church in Longmont who had come down to the Pueblo gig that I missed. So they got to see a mini concert at least. You’ve heard me complain now and then about how unfulfilling it is to only sing a couple of songs at a service rather than a full concert. But Life Bridge was an exception! It was perhaps one of the most enjoyable times I’ve had doing a four song set… It just felt good to sing after some four weeks of nothing to do. Amazing what it takes to make you feel grateful.

The time seemed perfect… I said very little I just got completely into the songs… and it felt like the perfect length for some reason.

The singers and staff at Life Bridge were all very down to earth folks.. the “congregation” was pretty sedate but they seemed to enjoy the songs I sang. And at they end we were talking about coming back in Oct. with the band and perhaps next year with the Christmas material and the band.

The music director was a really cool guy from down under who still speaks with that Aussie accent. I played him the new Christmas mixes from A NehoSOul Christmas and I played the music too for some long time fans… there was genuine enthusiasm for the new project here. So I’m reasonably happy and it feels like I’m still in a position to offer something good after all these years…

All the people working here seemed very nice and I will look forward to returning in the fall… maybe we’ll have time to rent Harley’s too and ride up to Estes Park which is just a few miles up the road.

I didn’t work too hard this weekend… and I noticed it coming home… for the first time ever I think.. I got off the plane in Orange County and walked wide awake to baggage claim!! It felt really good.

O.K. So there’s That! Bryan D

Nifty Noodles/ First Mixes
8/11/05 West Coast Office
Got the first three mixes last night of “A NehoSoul Christmas"… wow.what an early Christmas present to me! It sounds so refreshing!!! You can hear my scratchy voice on the Peace but it sounds really cool… maybe I’ll just stay vocally fried.

"Silent Night" is done and I never wanted it to fade… the girls (The Salomon Sisters) sound awesome… makes the record sound so soulful…and I sat here and cried listening to "What a Wonderful World."

My vocal tracks are so simple they are profoundly beautiful. I will be proud to show this to people… it should hit the public around Oct. and we will make it available on the website as soon as I get copies… early as late September… for those who want to get a head start… this is easy to listen to even months before Christmas…

O.K. So there’s That… Bryan Duncan

Nifty Noodles/ Wrappin It Up
8/8/05 West Coast Office…
I’m here feeling disconnected from my own album project. Phil’s doing stuff in Seattle and now sending files off to Randy Thomas, my old band mate. He’s mixing the NehoSoul Christmas project at his studio in Franklin, Tennessee. I feel like the expectant father… not sure if I got a boy or a girl here. I’m in the waiting room or home getting the room ready.

Lot’s of final things being done… Ray Ware my partner in Red Road Records is doing the ugly paper work… subbing out the licensing of songs… and checking the credits.. and getting the final artwork to the right people for packaging… I’ve sent in all the credits and thank you’s…and I’m mostly just agreeing to what cost over runs we’ve accrued.

I’ve left the kitchen here to the ants! They’ve done a remarkable job cleaning up the counters… they carted off a whole box of Captain Krunch last week when I was up in Seattle!

The Cops chased a man with a gun into my complex yesterday… caught him but couldn’t find the gun…I came back to the WCO seeing cops digging through the dumpsters. So I don’t really lack for entertainment.

This weekend’s band date was postponed because the ball was dropped somewhere on promoting the event… only 100 tickets were sold… So I don’t lack for disappointment this week either. I’ve got to reschedule all the tickets as this was my original idea to make up for the concert I missed in Pueblo 4 weeks ago.

I feel like Moses right now… “once more around the wilderness if you please”… This is where you start to believe it’s because of some sin in your life that “God is not blessing”. Chances are it’s just the “rain falling on the just and the unjust”. We’re trying to reschedule the concert in Colorado Springs for October… my apologies to those we invited to this event that were at the last event gone south. I’m embarrassed at how flakey I must appear but I’m getting a seriously strong dose of what is not in my control. It’s not for lack of trying.

Anyway our hope is to have “A NehoSoul Christmas” CD packaged and sittin in my warehouse by the first week of September… but then I don’t have a lot of control about that either… one things for sure … I’ll be excited to hear it… as I haven’t even heard all the parts back simultaneously in one playing. I’ve done the best I can do with the tools at hand and with the time and money available… and for that I will be satisfied but we’re also learning about what we won’t do on the next project! 8)

“God’s end is the Process”… Oswald Chambers

O.K. so there’s that… Bryan D

Nifty Noodles/ Fabulous Pink House
8/2/05 Las Vegas
I drove out here at five a.m. last minute to fix a couple of songs for the Christmas record… It’s Bob Carlisle’s studio… The Pink House.

He squeezing me in as he’s recording a Jazz trio called “Handsome Hair”. Two of the players are band members backing up Wayne Newton.

I spent all day getting through preliminary set up to sing. Started working at the microphone around 3 p.m. on the opening cut.. “Christmas Comes But Once a Year”.

By 1 a.m I had at least four tracks of lead vocals on O holy night as well… I’m burnt… can’t make heads or tails of the quality of the performances.

We got Handsome Hair to sing down the background hook on Christmas Comes…(These guys are incredible musicians and their instrumental music is fascinating) . They also added hand claps and off the wall commentary as we’re adding a party atmosphere to the background of this track. Emotionally I’m careening off the guardrails.. one minute the record is gonna be incredible.. next… “I should just shoot myself now” mentality. Fatigue doesn’t help my attitude. I’m really pushing to get this done on time and I’m completely at the mercy and trust of dozens of “other people”.

I left Vegas around one in the afternoon…drove through a couple of thunderstorms and a brush fire going back to the WCO…at least the drive wasn’t boring…

Never even heard the final take on O Holy Night… but I sung it very straight… not sure what to do with this one… and I’m now worried it’s not gonna fit the overall project… we’ll see..

O.K. So there’s THAT>>>> bryan d

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