How Sweet it is to just CHILL. I'm extra busy in America so when I was down in Rio last week, I unplugged from everything. Put my feet up on Ipanema beach, read Herbie Hancock's Autobiography, and hiked up the Corcovado mountain through the woods to Cristo Redentor. There was a sign that said 150 people had been robbed at gunpoint on that hike since January, but we took that risk anyway. Nature is so lit. And when we got to the top, we were inside a raincloud. Looking over the edge it was like the rest of the world did not exist. Pure oblivion. And we ate so much steak, like 2/3 meals a day, steak. Picanha, which is a meal of sliced sirloin, is probably now my favorite word in any language.

Unfortunately the events in America were particularly disturbing. I felt privileged to be able to ignore it for a time but now that I'm back, it hits like a ton of bricks. 45 is trash garbanzo. Nuclear war is a really dumb idea. "White" Supremacy is a horrible and stupid way of seeing the world. But real talk, I worry that the left, mired so deep in identity politics, is not up to the task of fixing these problems.

ANYWAY

There is so much going on now that I am looking forward to! Putting the finishing touches on a song with Armen Paul called "Like That", which you may have heard at our shows. That was the joint where you felt the bass shake your damn soul. Had a great writing session with a multiplatinum songwriting and guitar hero of mine. Got a couple of upcoming events in September which will be AMAZING (not spilling the beans yet)...real "upper echelon for no reason" type stuff and one of them is on TV. And getting back into my composition lessons (my favorite thing in the world) now that I am home. Oh yeah and Math-M-Addicts is starting back up so I will be working hard on geometry and number theory problems for the little geniuses.

And the turn up is still live. Catch me at the Django Thursday night with the Hudson Horns. Full swag mode.

Brazil