An older blog I had. I'm now at www.fatalinterview.blogspot.com

Tuesday, January 31, 2006

sense sense sense

If I had written this journal last week, as I wanted to do but never found the time to do, it would perhaps be a detailed account of a week full of coincidences, semi-conscious dreams/prophecies, signs (if you can find a way to see them) and the latest chapter, a blissful resumption, of wonderful conversations with a dear friend I had not gotten to talk to for some months. It was a karmic week, to say the least. I have a sense that I am part of a much larger story, a story evolving, revolving, devolving, and resolving, again and again, over generations. My identity changes each time, but my role does not, I sense. It seems like much of my current life up to this point has been “training” to now be aware of, witness, and participate in a grander scheme than the sheltered daydreams of one Tony Pucci, 38-year old American & other details. That’s just who I am now.

I’ll spare you mention of the signs. They would not have the full impact on you, I suspect, without knowing the full background, the full sense of what I feel is going on. Let’s just say it’s all a dance, a game of chess, and thrilling mutated shouts, sometimes vocal, sometimes ethereal, sometimes purposely held quiet. And can the story of many be the story of one anyway? It is not my place, at this time, to be the historian. All I can say is, it is about love. The love of a family. A family that once was. A family that has been. A family that is trying to reunite. Souls orbiting a center goal; but not every lifetime builds a home. Sometimes the players are cast far from each other and, upon finding each other, this is when the signs (re)appear. The old déjà vu. The sense of knowing. The congruent random references.

Well, enough vague talk about something I can sense, but don’t want to comment on too deeply regardless!

Then there was my dream of last week. It felt like a premonition. It shook me to my core. For a full day, I was violently taken out of my usual paradigm and could only look at life in a new way. Basically, in this dream, a friend of mine was having a baby with this other friend of mine. Nice, right? Sure. But in the dream, I died right before my friend gave birth, and then I was looking up at her with newborn eyes. The family was complete again. That’s how strongly I feel connected to, how much I love, this friend of mine. I woke up, very much believing I had been given a rare gift, that of knowing my fate. A fate of knowing of my death and rebirth.

Now, in real life, in real terms, my friend is not pregnant. Yet. But it I sincerely felt like my time was limited here on Earth. It’s an academic question except to the gravely ill in our society: “What would you do if you knew you only had one year to live?” A question I admit I had never considered too seriously. But for the full day after this dream, I could think of nothing else. How would I put my affairs in order? How would I spend my last days with my friends and family? And in this particular case, would I leave evidence, music, poetry, some form of communication, for my new self? I’ll be honest, for a while I was scared silly. No one wants to die. And then gradually, a sense of peace overtook me. I would continue. And perhaps in a better place than I am now.

It was quite a lot to think about, to be honest with you. It still haunts me even now. And I wonder too, does feeling very emotional open one’s soul to these types of revelations? You might recall a recent journal of mine in which I discussed songs that make me cry. For personal and “common” reasons, my life has been pretty sucky lately, and my network of support, internally and externally, is not always all it could be…or even just “around”, for that matter. I’m not lamenting. Just the facts, ma’am. It was only a single instance, my recent “good cry”, and at the time it felt good to let it out. But perhaps it’s a way of cleansing the soul, or at least, of putting it into some sort of tabula rasa state, so that it is open to new ideas.

Something to think about.

Friday, January 27, 2006

hardcore bloggin!!!

Friends,

Wow, this feels like the real deal! I am in La Crosse, Wisconsin, on a beautiful sunny afternoon. I've got the weekend off from work and just decided to hit the road and do one of my favorite things...visit this beautiful river town on the Mississippi River. La Crosse is the home of the infamous Dave's Guitar Shop, which I have visited did some required drooling. Rickenbackers, yum!

Then I stopped by Vintage Vogue, the coolest vintage clothing store I've ever been in, with selections from the last 100 years. I was particularily attracted to a German raincoat from the 40s, but decided the wifey would be peeved if I was wasting my money on such frivolities...of course, the real reason worth stopping by VV is to see the divine store owner, Toni. I dedicated my latest poetry book, "INSTINCTUAL", to her. She's a very special lady. We had a nice chat for two hours.

Hey Leilah, I saw about 20 different dresses I would have loved to buy for you! You really have to come to the USA (when The Church tour and come to Minneapolis?!?!?!) so I can show you all of my favorite haunts! Vintage Vogue really reminds me of the Brecho de Salto store in which you took the UNFOLDING cd cover photo at (you can see the cover, peeps, at my website... www.tonypucci.com ).

So, now I am sitting in a laundrymat/coffee shop/internet cafe, sippin' a mocha, paid my $1.95 for 30 minutes, and am online and bloggin!!! Why it's almost perfect...I just need "of skin and hearts" on in the background instead of some soap opera on the TV...and FogBro, the barista is soooo lovely here..."she bounces quite nicely between the biscotti and the beans".

Sigh.

Peace.

Monday, January 23, 2006

protestant work ethic

(I ended up writing a rant in reply to a blog post by Steve Kilbey...)

protestant work ethic
work sets you free
cleanses your earthly soul
brings you closer to god
blame the christians
those damn arrogant straights
labeling lovely brown-skinned people
as heathens
gotta go do my missionary work, padre
gotta bring those lost souls
back to god
gotta bring back some gold whilst i'm a preachin' man
gotta greedily devour this world
gettin' kinda greedy...
gotta steal, appropriate,
infest and inseminate
all in the name of god and throne
"lesser" cultures squashed by the fucking (sorry mom)
white European straights
of the day
leaving no stone unturned
so that years later
ye olde rawkah has to worry
about his brilliant daughters fate.....
we all need to find our faith
faith is fundamental
to the human experience
as are the needs forlove
security
understanding
define them as you need to
but keep yon opinion
to thyself....
look at what the christians did....
sad that in the USA you can elect any old piece of bought shit
you can even elect a woman
or someone with "ethnic" background
that'll all come someday
but trust me
an athiest
or at least, an open-minded scholar
will NEVER be PREZ....
whythat would be just wrong....
sorry to fill up your blog with ye puccifish rant

Friday, January 20, 2006

We 3 Things of Orient Are

First Thing
All of you Church fans, you need to read Brad Burkley’s blog entitled “Dumfux and Dads”.
http://www.versavice.blogspot.com/
Brad knows how to write, and I think he makes a very valid point.


Second Thing
Songs that make you cry…

Well, not every time, but in the right circumstances, these songs get to me:
“Serenade to Music” – Ralph Vaughan Williams
“Speak to Me Someone” – Gene
“Where are They Now?” – Gene
“Better Days” – The Jayhawks
“Your Wildest Dreams” (and the video) – The Moody Blues

I’m sure there are others, but these are the ones I can think of off of the top of my head. “Better Days” hit me last night. I’ve sort of been having a rough time lately…I used to email Amanda M. and say, “I’ve been listening to Gene tonight,” and she knew I was having a bad day. There is no need for anyone to write lonely songs anymore; Gene has already done them perfectly.


Third Thing
(apologies, I took this, now slightly altered, from an email I wrote to someone today)

I practiced my acoustic performance for over an hour today…fun! A few observations from that session:

I must say, I think "welcome back to wonderland" is my signature song.

I need to work up acoustic versions of the songs on my UNFOLDING CD. If I am going to go out into the community and perform and promote this CD, I need to let the audience hear the CD with my performance. I know I have often been to a show and had a song stuck in my head afterwards…and I wanted to get the CD so I could hear the song again. That's how it works, right!??!!?

I was thinking as well...for my Tony solo CD to follow up this "friends/believe" CD, I really need to write it acoustically and make them performance songs first. I can record them electrically with all of the bells and whistles I love (“puccipop”), but I know from experience that my recorded material is often strongest when the song is written beforehand. And hopefully the songs will already be strong from months of writing, practicing and performing.

To be really honest with you, and maybe this is just because I need a big break from recording for my “friends”…I am so sick of recording music! Did you know I've recorded about 60 instrumental songs for this "friends" project so far?!?!?!?!! And I still have a few songs left to do. It seems like everything I’m writing these days is something I should keep for myself. I guess the pendulum is swinging back.

Well, I've been thinking too about some of my problems. I want instant gratification. I want happiness now. I am often so depressed, unhappy, spiritually void, that I fall prey to these easy, quick fixes, but it only makes it worse. Unhappy and need a spiritual fix? Get a pizza!

Fuck...

Well, what's the one thing that has always made my spirit soar? Music. And recording is fun, but it is not interactive. With the recording software, I might as well be doing work, it's so tedious sometimes. There is not as much of a spiritual/artistic release from it. But what has every culture done? They've performed and communicated through music. LIVE music. SPIRITUAL music. Of course I miss being in a band. But when I get into playing acoustically, when I truly enter that world, that temporary bubble created by the sound of a song, that is when my spirit comes alive. It is a natural high, and I don't have many highs right now in my life. So this is my diet plan, my health plan, my religion. Unhappy? Hungry? Don't feed your face, feed your soul, young Tony, pick up your damn guitar and sing a song!!!!

I had such a smile on my face singing my songs today. There is much to be said about creation and bringing a song to life. I've been birthing songs for years now, and then I lock them away in a dark room. It's time to let my flowers blow in the breeze. I don't want to have to panic and practice for hours on end because I know I'm going to see someone socially, and maybe I'll have to play a song in that situation. I want performing to be a natural party of my every day. I want playing a song to be as natural to me as a smile.

Wednesday, January 18, 2006

clickity-clack

The clickity-clack attack
of my fingers striking the keys
is extra-striking today.
Where are my fingernail clippers?!?!
It's been two days since I first started thinking,
"Oh, it's time to trim those babies again."
Hmmmmm....
In the desk drawer?
Too cluttered.
On the shelf below the mirror in the bathroom?
Too obvious.
On my work table, buried amongst the CDs, poetry books, and pens?
Don't wanna move anything.
So then, you know, if you think about it,
it's been at least two days since I've played the guitar.
Shame on me!
Going through a bit of post-partum disinterest/depression
regarding creating music. Happens every time I finish a project.
Gotta cleanse the palate, so to speak.
Gotta fall in love again.
And the CDs on the table,
potentially hiding my clippers?
Yeah, the one I just finished!
See? It's all related.
A butterfly turns left instead of right
in the rainforest...
BAM!
We're in a war in Iraq.
Something like that.

Alice Cooper on the classic rock radio station
seems like an odd soundtrack to this writing endeavor.
Pink Floyd "money" and now
Alice Cooper "billion dollar babies".
Greenbacks.
I saw on TV the other day that, of all of the money counterfieted
outside of the USA, Columbia makes
about 75% of that.
Drug Money.
Oooo, commercial, what song is next?
"Tuesday's Gone"...is that Skynard?
I can dig the Allman Brothers...c'mon,
"Jessica" and "Melissa"?!??!! Awesome.
But typically, southern rock is just a notch
above rap for me.

OK, wow, shit...that was a bit of hyperbole for ya...

Well, is this avoidance or what?
I actually intended to come on here and observe/rant/lament
about my personal reactions to my new poetry book,
"Instinctual".
God, I have a fucking ego, and it doesn't translate well
to the artistic endeavor.
About 30 new poems in this book.
The 9 sonnets seem to be OK.
Hard to write a sonnet,
But hard to fuck up a sonnet
if you give it any sort of loving attention.
The rest of the poems can be, for the sake of time,
Be broken down into two categories:
1) Poor Tony, he's so lonely and longing for love
Witness him long and desire and lament and super size fantasize...
-and-
2) Observations/Portraits of other people, using daily references
to develop character and scenario. If Tony's in these poems at all,
It is as a side character to the central character, situation, scene, story...

So, from those two descriptions, can you guess which of the two styles
I feel I was much more successful at artistically?!?!?!
C'mon, guess!

"Strange Brew" on the radio now, by the way. Cream, baby.

I always have this great sense of failure
when I notice imperfections in what I do.
That goes for life as well as art.
I'm on Prozac, did you know?
Seriously.
So, although these observations of my recent writings
will surely give me a sense of how to approach writing
in the upcoming year,
and that's a good thing,
At the moment your friend Tony,
in the third-person,
is a bit bummed.

Oh well!
And I sent out a newsletter today.
I do so about once a month.
Not always, but often,
I get a few "unsubscribe" replies.
Not unusual, not unexpected,
I have about 400 people on my list, after all.
But it always sort of hurts me.
Yeah, I know,
I take it too personally!
I had three today.
One was from a co-worker of a friend,
So that doesn't really bother me.
One was from an ex-girlfriend of a good friend,
And I recently unsubscribed from her Myspace blog,
so tit-for-tat, baby.
I wasn't surprised.
In fact, this action on her part totally shows why I wanted
to distance myself from her anyway,
She can turn on you, so I 've heard,
So I've now observed.
So much for the love!
The final unsubscribe was bit of a surprise
but I understand this person's reasons.
A friend of a friend,
A perfect example that,
If we all had more time,
Our friends would be unlimited
and we could all have full dialogues
with these people.
But who has enough time?

Well, TIME's too deep of a subject,
and I've clickity-clacked enough for one day!

Peace & Love.

Saturday, January 14, 2006

2006: gonna kick some ass

Wow, I've neglected this thing, huh?!?!? People are going to think, oh Puccifish, you just created this to reply to Kilbey's blog...and that's partially true. I love to write, I don't feel the need to catalog my every day. My writing hits me unexpectedly, when enough impressions of life accumulate and I feel the need to comment on them, hopefully with some artistic merit.

And lately, I've been concentrating on recording music. Got me a special project I'm working on. To the point, it'll result in one final CD of my instrumentals with other singers doing the lyrics and vocals. But in giving these people/singers enough material to choose from, and in some cases hoping to snare them into working on full-length projects with me, I've recorded about 6 CDs-worth of new songs in the past few months! Having a great time with it, I'm really inspired by the possibilities and dialogues I'm having. I ain't namin' names just yet, that'll have to wait, but it's been fun working on music for people for a change.

A change from what? A muse. An idealistic muse to use and abuse. I'm off that train for a while. I still have lots of love and idealism inside of me, I'm just trying to channel it positively. Enough dancin' along boundries of social behavior. My practical side thinks my artistic side is a selfish piece of shit. My artistic side thinks my practical side is a lame-ass piece of shit. 2006: cease-fire.

I've done enough damage to myself over the last 20 years of adulthood. 2006: I reclaim my life.

2006: the pieces come back together and fall into place.

So, my new CD, UNFOLDING, is done! Just being manufactured now at the Heyday Records kitchens of alchemy. It'll be out in March. It'll be worth the wait. It's really good...both my practical and artistic sides agree on that.

And it has the best CD cover in the history of recorded music. And that's the truth!!!