Now that I’ve been hooked on tea and crumpets, I’ve finally been fed a proper Fish and Chips dinner. Actually, I ordered Steak and Onion pie with Chips and had a piece of fish to go with it. It was quite good. Last night I was treated to a trip to a pub The Actress and the Bishop. We had a couple of pints and watched a band fronted by a guy who used to play in the days of Traffic. Brit-blues-pop is alive and well. One severe difference between Los Angeles and England bar wise is: people actually sit and appreciate the music instead of contantly talking. The second major difference is: smoke. People smoke like chimminey’s. That I don’t miss – I do appreciate that people can’t smoke in bars in LA.

On the subject of music, I have the distinct feeling that here in the U.K. music is more important to people. Its more pervasive on the TV and with the people I’ve met, they seek out music, rather than waiting to have it fed to them. I actually dig that concept. Maybe I’ve just never noticed it in America. I guess I’ll find out when I get back.

Today we’re heading to Wales. It should be a fun trip. Tomorrow I may be playing an open mic in Mosely, who knows.

In the written word, I’ve started reading Rich Dad, Poor Dad. I’ll give my thoughts on it, when I finish the book.

Have a great day!

Alrighty, I’ve been in England for only a few hours and I’ve already had my first Crumpet and several cups of tea. It took me a few minutes to get used to seeing cars driving on the opposite side of the road. But now I’m cool with it and it seems quite normal. Maybe I’ll take a chance at driving. Though I think it would be odd to have the stick on the opposite hand to drive.

In the meantime, I’ll be attempting to make some updates on my trip around the UK countryside.

Book Review of the Moment: Under the Banner of Heaven. Talk about a serious look into the concept of polygamy and what people do to get around it’s illegality is amazing. This book is also an impromptu look into the history of the Mormon Church and how it gots its start. UTBOH is a real page turner. I couldn’t stop reading. I found it extremely strange to read about a faction of Mormon’s called Mormon Fundamentalism. Though the book sometimes feels a bit scattered in its composition, I really liked it. I understand the religious nature of people and that they often feel about religion the way they feel about music. People often can’t deal with opposing views from their own. Despite that, I would recommend reading this book. If nothing else, it’s an exciting story based on real events and facts.

Jody

I’m heading to England! Woo Hoo. I’m excited, as I’ve never really been there before. Well, I was once there for two hours in Heathrow, but I don’t count that. Ten days baby.

I’ve been fevorishly working on creating instrumental versions of all my songs for licensing to film, tv and radio. So I’m in the midst of all that. Also, my drummer Donny and I are working on making us one of the most advanced live “jam” bands ever. We’ve discovered a great way to make on the fly changes to the songs and yet still retain the capability to have that ‘just-like-the-record’ type feel. It’s awesome! The next full band show will certainly be cool.

In other coolio type news… I’ve finally got my own signature picks! That’s right the same pick I normally play now has my signature on it. If you are interested in getting some for yourself, you can send me a S.A.S.E. (self addressed stamped envelope), and I’ll send you one back. If you want more than one then e-mail me about it first.

Movie Pick of the Week: Hitch. Will Smith has done it again. He’s got himself another hit on his hands. Despite this being a cutesy romantic flick, it’s actually quite good. I think because it comes from how people actually act when they’re attempting to court the opposite sex. As much as everyone would like to have a coach to get the chance to meet someone, it really comes down to you and your own ability to be who you are. Despite the built in romantic comedy factor that’s geared towards women, I think men will get a kick out of it too. I recommend it.

Jody

Top o’ the mornin’ to ya!

First off, new live video posted in the Clubhouse. The song: Favor Me. Not a member? Time to sign up now, it’s free and you’ll be happy you got to see the video, among all the other goodies located there.

Did ya catch the Super Bowl? I was hanging with a bunch of friends in Hermosa Beach. Little food, little beer, lots of fun. The game itself was pretty good (I’m not a football fan, this is like the one game I watch a year). Some amazing plays. But of course the true nature of the Super Bowl is all the entertainment that occurs away from the football players. The pre-show that is now longer than the actual game is to put it midly – dopey. The commericals are still the highlight of the mid-game fun. My favs were the sky-divers, the godaddy senate hearing, the frozen driver, and the market “robbery”. The worst one of the bunch: Napster (could it have been any lamer?).

Paul McCartney was the Super Bowl’s safe bet. Wouldn’t likely be a wardrobe malfunction with that man. The music and the quality of the performance was a real winner. I even appreciated the fact it was live and not pre-taped. Shows that someone can entertain and actually sing for real – without the need to be relying on a site gag.

Movie Pick of the Week: Hotel Rwanda. I caught this one on a whim. I knew going in it would be a tough movie. In case you don’t know, Hotel Rwanda is based on a major massacre that happened there back in the mid 90’s. Don Cheadle is proving his acting skills in a breakout role. Unfortunately I have the feeling this movie is going to be ignored. There is a lot of pain and hard choices made in this movie. It draws you in and jerks you around as you’re witnessing genocide from the inside of the situation. This movie is not for the faint of heart. If you can’t take cold blooded killing, and lots of blood, you may wish to stay away. I highly recommend this film – even if you are squimish.

More content updates coming soon…

Jody

Alrighty – It’s Monday do you know where you are? Slaving away at the job? Did you have a great weekend? I ended up working as usual. All so I could bring you new stuff for February and of course have more fun here at the website. Yes, if you haven’t been here in a few weeks, notice that there is a new video clip from the Key Club show, in the menu “All The Things”. Also, if you’re on the e-mail list I mentioned that there is also another video clip called “Tabloid Affair” which is now available in the Clubhouse. In fact, I’ll be posting a video clip in the Clubhouse roughly once a week, for the next several weeks. So stay tuned. If you’re not on my e-mail list, then join up and get access to the Clubhouse, its free!

Also new to those who are joining up after today. You’ll now receive an e-mail that confirms that you’ve been added to the e-mail list and have access to the Clubhouse. This is yet another one of those new website features that I’ve added. I also received a radio interview from a fan. I’m attempting to get all the parts to it before I post it on the website, but it will get posted.

Movie Pick of the Week: Coach Carter. I know, I’m late to getting to this movie too. But hey, I finally got to see it. I was instantly drawn into the story. Sam Jackson is on top of his game for this flick. I was also interested in this movie because of Rob Brown from Finding Forrester fame. The movie is much like Hoosiers or Miracle – actually its like a cross of the two. It’s a very good story about a Coach who comes into his old alma mater and turns a failing team into a team of winners. I was impressed by the change in each character, from the ‘bad boy’ type of f-you to a team that was capable of much more. If you haven’t seen this movie and can take some strong langauge then I definitely recommend this film.

Jody

I’ve sent off the mixes of Hate to Say Goodbye. I’m thinking I may post a two minute clip of the song in the Clubhouse in the next few days, so keep an eye out for that. I’m still cutting up the chunks of the Keyclub show. I will be posting a new song a week in the Clubhouse. Thus you’ll be able to catch most of the KeyClub show – price of admission: Free. Even cooler is I’m going to finally have my own custom picks with my signature on them. Yippee! Should have them in the next few weeks.

Movie Pick of the Week: First off, there are two here for me to comment on (my rating scale thing is new and is based on a ten point system)…
Alone in the Dark: I’m not sure who felt it would be a good idea to put money into this. My first reaction is that Christian Slater and Stephen Dorf must have turned to each other after the first day of shooting and asked each other “is this shit or what?!?”. Almost the worst story I’ve even been subjected too. Don’t get me started on the special effects, I could probably render better CGI on my home computer. it barely even got exciting, in fact most of it was worse than B movie action. The one liners and most of the retorts in this movie were overly predictable and often times ripped off from movies like Alien. Personally I like Christian and Stephen, but the quality of what they had to work with really killed their ability to even seem like they were acting. Tara, well – lets just say she should stick to things like Van Wilder and American Pie. The rest of the cast, ugh. As for the look of the film, It seems like they borrowed cameras and different lenses to shoot each angle of a scene. The film grain was inconsistent and the look was a mess. This movie was off on so many levels. Don’t waste your time, don’t even rent it.
Story Rating: 2.
Special Effects Rating: 2.
Action Rating: 3.
Dialogue Rating: 1.
Acting Rating: 2.
Production Rating: 3.
Overall Rating: 2.2.

In Good Company: First off, I went into this thinking it had potential. Though not as good as I had anticipated, it was ok. It had moments of splagh (cheese-factor). The concept was there, but it was overly obvious and took the characters a long time to reel it in. There wasn’t any real action other than Dennis throwing a punch. Some of the dialogue was trite, but there were some good lines here and there. I like Dennis Quaid. I like Topher – though his character in this movie was scattered. Scarlett was much better in this movie than in Lost In Tokyo (Translation, I know). The film was coherent in look and feel, but obviously there wasn’t an over-the-top look to this movie. While this film didn’t knock me off my feet and it had some character development flaws, it was bearable. I wouldn’t rush out to see this, but it would make a good rental or even a matinee.
Story Rating: 6.
Special Effects Rating: n/a.
Action Rating: n/a.
Dialogue Rating: 5.
Acting Rating: 6.
Production Rating: 5.
Overall Rating: 5.5.

So there it is.

Jody

It’s been a crazy ass week. I feel like I’ve worked what little ass I have off. Well it’s not entirely gone; I did check a mirror and twisted around to make sure it wasn’t gone, there’s still a little left. I finished a new song for a music library. That song is called “Hate to Say Goodbye”. It was a curious lesson in providing music for sound libraries – at least as far as the mixes and the different lengths they require. Sorta makes me want to pile more work upon myself to go back and create additional mixes for all my old catalog, so that if anyone else comes knocking I have it already done. Its one of those things that make me go HMMM…

Oh yeah, the band and I played the KeyClub in Hollywood last week. As I stated in the last post – we had a blast. It’s a damn good thing I video taped it. Over in the left hand menu you might notice a change to the Motion Pictures section. Why? Well, I thought those old videos had been around long enough. So I moved them all over to the Clubhouse and put up a single live 2 minute clip of “All The Things” from the upcoming “Practical Insanity”. I can’t wait until the album drops! You are free to watch this video clip over and over. It’s 2 minutes long and yes that’s what we sound like live without overdubs. (You might need to get Quicktime 6 to view it – but it’s free, follow the quicktime link if the video doesn’t play. It’s worth it).

Doh, I almost forgot… It’s NAMM week this past week. Chris and I spent all day Friday cruising around checking out the new gear and catching up with some friends we don’t see very often. Like Deirdre Weaver – the inventor of the Sumadek, or Rob Hill – the mix-master of Queen in Surround and Korn, Dave Smith & Phil Jackson of Apple, my friends at Dean Markley, Bela @ Native Instruments, Kellie @ Seymour Duncan, Bob Borbonus @ Taylor… Oh the fun never ends at NAMM, Dale Titus, Jimmy & Rick from Groove Tubes, K-Jo – Kristy from Sennheiser. Heck I even ran into my old roommate from MI, Andrew Cassidy who now owns a fantastic guitar store up in Canada – The Guitar Connection. I even met Mile Kennedy from Rockstar – the movie, he was a pretty cool dude. I’m excited to be heading back to NAMM on the final day of Sunday for a special invite presentation by Apple. I am an Ubërgeek and being the tech nut that I am, I’m honored that I’d get the chance to see this presentation.

Movie Pick of the Week: Blue Crush. I had never seen it, but I figured what the hell. Lots of skin, surfing and pretty people to look at. Actually the movie isn’t half bad. The surfing scenes actuallly feel quite realistic, but then I’ve never done more than body surf so what do I know. Kate Bosworth was fun to watch. The movie did drag in a few parts, but overall I enjoyed myself. It’s a good rental.

Jody

Hot damn! We had a great time the other night rockin’ out at the Key Club in Hollywood. I’m happy to say that the band was quite pleased with the performance. I shot video and so far it looks pretty darn good. Expect to see a 2 minute clip from a song or two in the very near future. I’ve already heard back from the KeyClub, everyone was happy with how everything turned out so we’ll be booking another show there soon. Maybe next time we’ll exchange the dancing bears for, uhmmm… opps I shouldn’t have let that cat out of the bag.

In the meantime, I’m continuing to perfect the Clubhouse section. Some of you will notice, some of you won’t. However I’ll feel better for it, which will lead me to sleep better at night, subsequently play better at shows and cause some crazy cycle to start where I’ll end up a huge star.

I’m currently whipping up a new song for a music licensing company, something along the lines of of my song “Never Say Goodbye”. Keep an ear out for it as it may show up in a TV show or a film later this year. I’ll certainly post some news when it gets placed. Heck I’ll probably also do a dance of joy just to scare all my friends.

Movie Pick of the Week: Million Dollar Baby. I know I’m a little late on this one. However I did just see it yesterday. First thing is, if this movie doesn’t win an award for something then me-thinks there’s a major problem in the kingdom. MDB (as I’ll call it from here on out), is a fully engrossing movie story-wise. After the first two mintues I completely forgot about Clint Eastwood, Morgan Freeman, and Hillary Swank as actors and got lost in their characters. I must say this is the coolest boxing movie since say something like Rocky. Absolutely rivoting, with powerful moments that caused me to even shed a tear (does that make me less of a man?!?). I will say it’s got some very depressing moments, but they are heavily outweighed by the moments of elation. Do yourself a favor – SEE THIS MOVIE! Do not wait for rental.

More coming soon when my brain can handle it.

Jody

Well, the consensus is that the clubhouse is a cool addition to the website. I want to thank everyone that has been sending me kind words about it. Just remember if you’re not on my e-mail list you can’t get in. But hey, it’s free to join. The best part is, there’s a special bonus for joining, but I’ll wait until you join to tell you what that is.

Outside of that, we’ve chosen the setlist for the Keyclub show. It’s gonna rock, and the band is excited! Get your tickets now, before I decide that you can’t have one.

Movie Pick of the Week: White Noise. Well, actually this is my non-pick of the week. I saw it last night, and was expecting it to be much cooler than it was. Instead, White Noise was a boring ride into an obsessive compulsive nut’s life. I actually thought before seeing this movie that Micheal Keaton was making a comeback. Unfortunately with this movie role it’s not really gonna do much. Though this movie wasn’t as bad as say, Darkness, it was certainly not worth spending money on. If I were you, wait for the rental.

Stay Tuned…

Jody

I want to say “Hello” to all the new visitors to my website. It seems that the updated look has brought forth a bunch of new people browsing in. I’m quite happy with the response I’ve been getting from people about the Clubhouse section. I’d love to say something overly witty and sarcastic about it, but alas, the words escape me and it won’t actually happen.

I will say that I’m currently listening to John Stewart’s America – Democracy Inaction. But this is a book you say, how can you possibly be listening to it. Well, some good natured people held a gun to John Stewart’s head and forced him to create an audiobook version. Then, somehow, Santa Claus figured I needed to be enlightened. Actually the audio is quite funny. It also makes you wonder how anything ever gets done in the country based upon all the corruption that seems to be built into the democratic process.

If you’re new to me and my music, then congratulations for actually finding my little corner of the web. I certainly appreciate your time in browsing through what I’ve created. Don’t forget to sign up for the e-mail list and get your free mp3 just for doing so! Why would I want to sign up for Jody’s e-mai list? I’ll give you two reasons: Reason 1 – You LOVE the music so much that you want to know everywhere I’m playing and what I’m doing so you can stalk me. Reason 2 – You HATE the music so much that you want to make sure that you have my schedule so that you never ever run into me ever again.

Have a great day!

Jody