Nifty Noodles/ Back to Rehab
2/26/08 Front Office..
David Rowe, the producer for the Radio Rehab program moved to Oklahoma a few months ago… and I wondered if that would be the end of the Radio Rehab shows… how do I do this now? And then along came Kenny Metcalf who’s been working in the studio with me on the new Soul project. After talking on the phone with David we decided to try putting the show together via the mail… burning copies of the songs to be used and then sending the read script later. David has been doing shows with me for nearly seven years so I think he has the feel of how it should flow.

Show number 49 was recorded yesterday in a matter of two hours and we had a great time doin it. I forgot what a wonderful sense of accomplishment this is for me. (I just love to hear myself talk) The songs of course were great ones in my mind as always… but I found myself reading the script I had written several months ago and wondering “who wrote this and how did they know what I needed to hear” 8)… obviously I don’t take my own insights very seriously.

It’s called “Express yourself”…. Part of the series on “responsibilities of reasonable happiness” … and lets just say I borrowed my own advice that very day… I am responsible to express my true needs and feelings… hey it works!.. I felt better! I rode home happy…I did something with my down time.

I threw in Amy Winehouse’s tune “try to make me go to Rehab, I said No NO NO” just for fun… “she’s expressing her feelings here” I said… sounded like me in the beginning too!... hopefully we’ll have the show up in a few weeks as David still has to “put it together” now. But my hope is to finish at least what my goal was back in ninety late… to produce 52 shows… one for each week of the year.

We’re almost there. After this month of good byes to Roby Duke, Jackie Street and Larry Norman… I’ve suddenly felt the need to “Finish Strong”. These guys were all my age roughly.

Keep Coming Back … Bryan D

Nifty Noodles/ Sugar Baby
2/21/08 Front Office…
O.k. I spend enough time at home now where I thought it might be possible once again to own a dog!... actually I got her as a valentines gift for my girlfriend… (thinking maybe she’ll spend more time with me if there’s someone in the room who will agree with her!) 8)…

She was a late valentine.. by about three days. I let Cassie name the little mutt… actually an “akc” Papered pooch… a Shi Tzu…don’t say that too fast….I think I actually say that when I sneeze… “Sugar Baby” ! is her name… and oh no… she’s got a pink collar on too… with a cat bell! So you can find her in the carpet!

In my quest for a reconnection in relationship world I’ve worked my way up from caring for plants (with varying degrees of success) to now a small “responsibility”. I gave her a bath after just three days… felt alittle iffy about blow drying and combing a puppy… felt just two clicks away from workin in a salon! 8)…

I think Sugar looks alittle like me! Carmel colored hair in patches and you can’t see her eyes most of the time. But it’s nice to have someone in the office here who’s not talking back to me. I was getting kinda isolated in my little bunker and Sugar Baby is a relaxing addition to my daytime world.

Except for the “Sugar poop” … I’m still reading the manual on getting her to take her business outside!....

O.k. so there’s that.. now theres sugar on it!.... Bryan D

Nifty Noodles/ Radio Jesus
2/19/08 Interview with Dr Blogstein on Blogtalkradio.com
“tell me if you think this is sacrilegious”… Dr Blogstein launched immediately into his on air theme song… music from Jesus Christ Superstar with him announcing over the music.. “I am radio Jesus”!...”radio Jesus”…”Radio Jesus”.

This was my second time to call in to this freeform offering on internet radio and Dr Blogstein appears to be the number one show of it’s kind on the web. I think he found me at Radio Rehab… I seem to be the adopted “religious guy”… as I’m thrown the big questions every heathen wants to know on the “about God” front . It’s the equivalent of a morning talk show late night. With “Dangerous Debbie”… and “Vinnie” or perhaps Benny?( Couldn’t quite distinguish over the phone), Doing impersonations and the weather along with other colorful presentations.

“Well I’m not offended” I offered “and I think you’ve specified the difference between you and the other Jesus” I smirked. He played a couple of clips from the NehoSoul Band… “If you wanna be lonely” and “I’m still dancin”. We took a couple of calls live… the first two were dissenters in the conversation previous to my call about whether Scientology was “dead and should go away”. I heard later that somewhere in the show they were assigning blame for the 9-11 tragedy to this group! 8)…

Well I like this freefall from sanity.. I felt a little too serious for the show. He asked me point blank about my addictions. “I don’t really wanna say” I said.. “addictions are really all the same story… and a tired one “ I stated “what I wanna focus on is “how to recover from things that make your life unmanageable”…. The one caller who addressed me was a woman who didn’t see the real need for a “Structured” recovery.

“the people with addiction problems are all people who don’t fit in the system and they need to be o.k. with that”…suggesting that application of more freedom to follow their passion would be the basis for recovery. “Yes I think addictive personalities feel above the law and the rules don’t apply” I agreed. ”but we keep bumping in to a power greater than ourselves” I believe I said in one form or another. I don’t recall my actual comment. And with that came the one solid question from Dr B… “if you could achieve world peace by quitting your addiction could you do it”? “I’m not sure world peace is possible”.. I reflected…” as long as there are two people with their own free will and desires yer gonna have a conflict.”… “I think that is part of ‘this sinful world as it is and not as I would have it” I added. “I’m kinda hoping for inner peace and maybe I can handle the external conflicts” …”but would I quit something to achieve that?..don’t know I’m still workin on it”…personally I’m not sure what doesn’t effect me directly would add to my motivation…. Hence the lack of ‘world peace” 8)

Evander Holyfield was supposed to be on this evening too but alas he rescheduled. I might have hung around to hear his commentary. I really had no agenda in doing this program but I like rubbing shoulders with those who may not share anything I believe! It has a way of making one think more about ones own convictions and whether or not one might be just full of one’s self. Truth is I enjoyed just hangin with this crew, who had varying opinions about everything.

On their website they advertised me as a Christian singer.. “he’s saved but he’s not safe”… was the quote… I had to smile on that one!

O.k. so there’s that, Bryan D

Nifty Noodles/ Pre-Valentine

2/13/08 Maranatha Chapel.. San Diego
Oh man, I have made a serious error in judgement.. I told my girlfriend on the phone. I was calling from Temecula, the half way point to my destination this afternoon. Yesterday afternoon I took Jezebel for a spin around the foothills of Southern California. Temperature was in the mid eighties so I thought it’d be great to ride my motorcycle to San Diego the next day for this little Wednesday night routine I sing. I visit there about three times a year.

I left Riverside about 3:30 p.m. in the mid seventies and within 20 minutes a cold front swept in and the temperature dropped to 59 degrees. Now on a motorcycle you can add -10 with the wind chill factor. In L.A. they always over dramatize the weather so you never believe them when they talk about an impending cold front or rain. It never happens, until today. I rode home in the freezing rain at around nine thirty p.m., by then it was in the forties!… a little 70 mile endurance. This morning the sun is out in the distance and still it is snowing here at the front office… in the desert… in California!

So I’m sitting in the back room, before the bible study with the “worship team” and the pastor and a few staff members last night. It’s like a family meeting. “I thought you were gonna be married by now” one of my friends stated. “Aaah…. Ran into a few snags” I started… “you hear about those stories in the bible where men of God get a little ahead of the program with the almighty?... well you never think about how that’s yer own story” I added. “sorry, I didn’t know” he returned… “ well it’s not something you put in the paper” I smirked. “I still love her… and I think it will happen… eventually! I smiled.

“I really like that last song you did at sound check” one guy chimed in. “Really?” … “it’s called ‘you keep me comin back’… it’s more of a love song but it has spiritual implications I think” I told him. “well tomorrows Valentines day… you could still do it tonight. I later found out that his new bride had left him just a week after the honeymoon. “I think God made women to point out why men need God” he observed. “I’ve never prayed so much”. And suddenly I thought about the nature of many of my songs being about relationships more than about God specifically. And realized this is an overlooked truth! I think the primary reasons we turn to God is because of the turmoil in our relationships.

From there we found ourselves talking about Amy Winehouse winning 5 or six Grammy awards. “it’s amazing that someone can have that kind of success and not even realize what a rare great moment she’s found” someone said…. “ or maybe that’s not as fulfilling as the rest of us might think, if you don’t have meaningful support around you” I threw in. “what I know about awards and popularity is that everybody is pulling on you” I said, thinking back… “I only had a little of that but it didn’t fix anything else in my life”… “she’s gonna regret that she missed some opportunities if she ever gets clean… but then I think Amy Grant said it best.. ‘I love the simple things I can believe in.. I believe in simple things’.. I started singing. Or to quote Garth Brooks tune… “Thank God for Unanswered Prayers” sometimes we just don’t know what will make us happy… mostly I still look at someone winning a bunch of awards and I wonder why I’ve never quite been there… but then I’m trusting a God who loves me and knows what I need better than I do”…

The conversation with those in ministry was better than the presentation frankly. I felt like a white light bulb in a string of blue ones. I was really up and excited to do the new funky tunes from “Still Dancin”.. I opened with "Chains" and then "If You Wanna be Lonely".. and followed with "Second Chances" and "You Keep Me Coming Back" and closed with "I Love You So"…. I could see the obvious progression in thought but I’m not sure it was communicated. The faithful followers here seemed a little lethargic this evening… and all this groovy music just made em seem more tired than they might have been.

Here again.. you never know where people are at in their lives and you have to simply trust that the songs do something in the way of encouragement. One things for sure, I believe that all the “preliminary” experience we have with those we come in contact with in a bigger production is the real heart of God’s purpose. “life happens while yer makin yer plans” … John Lennon

Yes, and sometimes it snows in the desert too…and you didn’t bring enough protection!

O.K. so there’s that! Bryan d

Nifty Noodles/ APB
Front Office 2/7/08
Let me announce first that I’ll be talking with “Dr. Blogstein” online Feb 19th a Tuesday night around 6:50 p.m. west coast time. He’ll also be talking to Evander Holyfield that evening…. Not sure what we’re gonna talk about yet.. but DB is a freestyle on air personality who’s not coming from “Christian World”. You can find him at www.blogtalkradio.com or catch it after the fact at www.drblogstein.com … so there’s that.

Had a great run for the last three weeks. Rare business in January/ Feb. I’ve settled into a home boy routine this week… tryin to remember what I do when I’m home.

Phil Curry sent me a rough track of the last song to do on the “Still Dancin” project. Song’s called “Only For Good”… it’s a repetitive little number taken straight out of scripture for the most part. Jeremiah 29:11… that most popular of quotes… the song though is done from God’s perspective with every line starting with “I know”….

First one stays in my mind most… “I know what’s easy isn’t best for you”….

I took Jezebel for a long over due ride down to Kenny Metcalf’s in L.A. to put a Scratch vocal reference track on the tune. I was in a cranky mood by the time I got down there… left last minute and my phone kept ringin while I was on the bike.. always makes me feel like I should pull over. … but I don’t. It’s really dry in California seems this week and I was just not really bringin good tones… but it gives the band an idea of how the song sings down and where we need Back Ground Vocals.

Anyway we’re sluggin away at a snails pace on the project. I also met Henry Austin who asked me to sing on his labor of love project. A little song called “Down to Sumana Cay”…. About getting away from the winter blues… he had well known classical guitarist, Andrew York, playin on this tune and he kept askin Henry who the singer was… doesn’t sound like me to me but somebody’s digging it… maybe Henry ‘ll let me send out a copy of the song eventually…. It’s different for me. Kinda of a “Bryan meets Windham Hill”. I was hired to consult on arrangements and song structure as well. Sounds good.

So I sat out on my back porch when the sun came out again. I have drawn a large gathering of humming birds to my little hideaway… as I brought home one of those little hummingbird feeders a few weeks back when I was up in Sacramento… now you don’t notice humming birds until you set up a little “corner liquor store”! 8) and suddenly everyday is Saturday night!... I’ve started naming the birds… there’s “Cruella”… she’s a bright pink headed little monster who pushes the other birds out when she’s around. And Buzz Light Year… and well… There are some nine other distinct hummers… I mention this only to allow you to see the lull in my schedule from time to time. Truth is I don’t miss the airport.

These days I have time to count hummingbirds in my back yard! 8) It’s a new world I’m finding… I’ve read four books now since the first of the year including my first ever real read of Shakespeare .. “taming of the shrew”…. Donald Miller (author of “BLUE LIKE JAZZ”) mentioned that his relationship to God was more like that of the couple in this story. I also got a history lesson with the book on the times of Shakespeare… not much has changed about relationships really… but I was really intrigued about a man whom everyone still knows after four hundred years…. What is it about his subject matter? Found that most modern movies “borrow” from his basic formulas of story telling to this day.

I called my friend Bob Carlisle this morning about getting together and “making some stuff up”.. (songwriting).. he’s leaving to sing a wedding in India so that’s out… I wanna write…. So I’m thinking about another project or maybe just some out of the box songs on their own…we’ll see,

O.K. so .. there’s that…. Bryan D

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