Puzzle pieces.

I can't remember who decided to write our set list on a banana. I don't think I was there for that...So I'm pretty dang thankful to Dena for taking this picture.

Another Dena shot. From a restaurant in Zurich, Switzerland. How could our meal be bad?
So there are things I know and things I don't know. This is what I know. Light reflected off objects to create shapes upon other objects is just plain terrific. This little buddy wanted to come home with me but I couldn't figure out how to get him to stay in my pocket.I was very aware.
Kim Hiorthoy makes cool images and photos. We became friends in Berlin and we talked about stuff while eating heavy german food. He specifially said something while I took this, 'are you going to put this on your blog?.' Boom, dude.
This wall painting was enormous. Brussels.
These golden scissors were also enormous. Feel free to just put any thing on a building. Brussels, feel free. I took a lot of photos in Brussels. A lot to see.
Paris perspectives and light.
Yeah, that's my head.
Paris peeps. Dena's video projections were repeated on the wall at this venue. It ruled. My dear friend Ed is in the crowd. I can see him and it feels good. The guy in the white shirt reaching up to me was being wierd later. He kept getting really close to me while I was singing. By no means should this stop you from getting close. It was just him. I promise. I call these guys 'PSI' - Personal space invaders. Am I mean?
Russia smiles.
On the train from Oslo to Bergen, Noway.
Gonzales with a foomp. Train from Paris to Zurich.
I wanna meet who did this.
Anthony Seck, making a documentary on the music and art surrounding Feist's world. Mary, Leslie, and I did a short segment talking about it all...in front of the mural I made for her album cover. So stoked it's still there...I also cooked a huge feast the night before and cooked fish that I had never heard of... The ladies were sick so I stepped up.
Coolest radio staion ever. Munich.

Coolest dress ever. Berlin. The plan was to buy this.
Donald Trump hairdo on a stuffed lion. Please laugh at this.
Nicolas, Terri, Maschat. Hotstuffssss.
Daniel Nentwig as our guest keyboard player. He played his moog liberation and liberated us. I think he wants to be in our band.
Flashy merchandise. We made new sweatshirts and I forgot to get one. Darn.
Cool 7" wall. We were learning 'can't help it' by Michael Jackson that same day in the van. Awesome.
Again, there is so much to tell you.

I can't explain

I'm not sure I ever want to know why these things happen. First, I was in Berlin and I saw a ton of swans hanging in this river. I was calling this area 'swan lake' and my friend Dena and I were thinking how funny it would be to make a movie and do voice overs for each swan character. Then this happened:
I love how the swan all of a sudden became a shape. A white shape in a black shape. No neck swan. Sometimes I feel like this. Just kinda disappearing... but knowing that I have to deal with what is 'right now'.

Then I was in Bergen, Norway a few weeks later about to play a show and I was in the cafe of the venue and I looked up on the wall and saw this photo:

So there you have it folks.
Is it possible to still be original? Are people floating around in one big sub-conscious submarine talking amongst themselves and yet never using the same words to describe THE THING? On another note, can we talk about the 'holographic universe?' - because I sure could use a good talk about non-linear time. Everything is just there for you to notice if you want. Put it down, then pick it up. I don't want to be but I wanna be. I am back in Santa barbara and it feels good. I can feel the sun again. I have so much to tell you.

bubbles

Berlin bubbles. I was following these guys for a little while. I am noticing that a lot of the things that catch my eye lately are round shapes. Sorta.




This store scared me a little. Balls balls balls of light. Someone had a serious vision with selling these, and for that I salute you. Look close at the pic below. There are pictures within a picture. The balls are free-range. Roaming free in the field.

Hilarium

My friend sam took this picture and i can't stop going back to it. He took it after a group of us took the gondola up to Männlichen in my dad's hometown of Grindelwald, Switzerland. When inside the gondola, everything is funny. Welcome to the hilarium.

Dirty Laundry

I was asked to stain some t-shirts for this art show called 'dirty laundry' that opens this Friday in Honolulu, Hawaii. My good buddy Nat Russell (pictured above) helped me print the shirts (he also contributed his own series of 6 shirts)- I used bright nail polish and spilled some on each shirt- then brought the shirts outside and danced on the shirts- smudging the nail polish. The tune? 'Where'd you go' by Jamie Lidell.

From the Dirty Laundry website:

Each artist will stain a shirt and create it into a work of art. Among the featured artists: Alan Konishi, April Lee, Andrew Degraff, Christopher David Ryan, Damien Correll, Frank Chimero, Jason Laurits, Labour (Wyeth Hansen and Ryan Dunn), Kate Bingaman-Burt, Keetra Dean Dixon, Kris Chau, Mike Petty, Nikolay Saveliev, Nathaniel Russell, Roanne Adams, Rosemarie Fiore, Roland Adams, Steve Kiyabu, Simone Rubi, Tim Gough, Topos Graphics, and Travis Stearns.

Whether it’s grass, grease, or ketchup, participants of the show are challenged to incorporate the stain into a custom designed silkscreen, converting “ruin” to “remix.”

In step with a growing social trend, Dirty Laundry assigns value to those items deemed valueless, further broadening our understanding of the ever relevant mantra, “Reduce, Reuse, Recycle.”

me two : danielle and i celebrate our twin powers

hey yo. so my twis sis danielle and i are joining forces and decided to have an art show together. it's called 'me two' - and shows a bunch of stuff we've both been working on this year. finally, phew. i'm going to sing at the opening this friday and maybe i can convince the cafe/gallery to let me dj to get this party started. come by and say hi. by and hi!-

Charley Harper

I just got really sad about Charley Harper no longer being around. He died last year. He made the most interesting nature/wildlife illustrations. I want to meet someone that thinks like him.

"When I look at a wildlife or nature subject, I don’t see the feathers in the wings, I just count the wings. I see exciting shapes, color combinations, patterns, textures, fascinating behavior and endless possibilities for making interesting pictures. I regard the picture as an ecosystem in which all the elements are interrelated, interdependent, perfectly balanced, without trimming or unutilized parts; and herein lies the lure of painting; in a world of chaos, the picture is one small rectangle in which the artist can create an ordered universe." - Charley Harper

Again, for the 8th time.

It's harder for me to write on here these days. I am starting to feel very disconnected from all the travelling. I think i have a few more weeks to go....in stockholm now. Been working with the lovely Jenny Wilson. Who, was the first reason for my wanting to go and play music in Stockholm. I saw her sing in the Knife video 'you take my breath away'- and then listened to her album 'love and youth'- and was totally enamored. The last few weeks have been filled with every kind of up and down and all around. The fields outside Hamburg, Germany. Summer finally came.
A pool in a canal in Vienna, Austria. Float on a float.
I want this in my living room. Would be a great tool to communicate with. Balls of wood. Nice.
At one of the best breakfast spots in Berlin. We just bought neon sandals. Fun times.
Best Wiener Schnitzel in Berlin at Einstein's. Thin and buttery. Dudes, you must try this.
UH? Goat cheese, honey, and mint in an omelette.
The one and only Jamie Lidell. He was a physics major in college in Brighton. He bought a super 8 camera this day- and then used the microphone on it to do live sampling with his band and machinery. I was blown away by his performances.
The O.G. ping pong coach.
Glass alphabet.... ÅBÄKE strikes again.
Dream come true! Piano, guitar, and 2 microphones.
Back of the bus with the vocoder.