The Unforced Life: August 2013

Saturday, August 31, 2013

September News

 From Gene Burnett

Well my friends, Summer is coming to a close and Fall is fast approaching. Hopefully, the Fall rains will put an end to the forest fires that have been messing up our air and threatening the lives, health, and homes of folks further North in Oregon. Gone too will be the outdoor gigs and Summer nights on the town, so take advantage of the nicer weather while you still have a chance. As usual, while I’ll miss the long days of Summer, I look forward to life returning to “normal” around Ashland and the more internal focus of the Winter months…

As of this writing I have 11 new unrecorded songs that I’m really liking a lot…Once I get to around 15, I’ll start recording them.

As some of you know, I mainly teach private lessons but I’ve started teaching a drop-in T’ai-Chi Fundamentals class every Monday morning from 9:30-10:30am at the Family Massage Education Center on the corner of Mountain and E. Main here in Ashland. This is an on-going drop-in class, no experience necessary. I won’t be teaching any forms in this class, just relatively easy solo and partner exercises designed to give participants a better sense of unforced balance, what it is, how to deepen it, and how to cultivate it. Samarra made me a simple poster for the class that says:

Flow More ~ Force Less

T’ai-Chi For Daily Life

Learn to balance effort and relaxation

Fundamentals Class with Gene Burnett

Nice! That’s more or less what we do in this class. No need to pre-register just show up a little before 9:30am. The fee for the class is $10.

In other news there is a Special Event that’s been happening all Summer: My good friend and one of my favorite T'ai-Chi students Betty LaDuke, who recently turned 80 and is still going strong, is having a big retrospective show at The Schneider Museum here in Ashland on the SOU campus. It will feature work from her entire career, from her earliest work right up to her very latest and very beautiful pieces. The show will be up until the middle of September. Highly recommended. Please visit www.BettyLaDuke.com for more info. And if you’re from out of town and would like a quick sample of her work, I shot some video at the opening and synched it up with some of my music. Click here to see it: Celebrating Life~The Art of Betty LaDuke

So here we go…starting with the usual information about where to find my music, videos and pictures, including information about new projects, and then followed by information about local shows in case you’re in the Rogue Valley.

I’m offering all this stuff in a “just in case you’re interested” spirit.

So…in case you’re interested…

Recorded Music

My newest album, is called “Already There” and like all my other albums (29 so far…), it’s available for downloading free or with a donation at my website: www.GeneBurnett.com I like all of my albums but some people really seem to especially like this one.

Videos In General

Overall Mission: I post a lot of videos on youtube, over 800 so far! I'm not trying to build a fan base...In fact, I'm not trying to build anything. I'm not expecting you or anyone else to follow what I'm doing or watch all of these videos. Posting videos is just part of my overall plan to make my music (and my T’ai-Chi and Nature videos too) as freely available as possible and see what freely comes back. I think of each video as sort of like a message in a bottle...and more I toss out there the more likely one of them will land on a friendly shore and something good will come back to me. So here are some video links in case you're interested:

How to Find My Videos: First of all, I've set up a "Videos" page on my website (www.GeneBurnett.com) with a menu similar to what you see below as well as a digital tip jar in case any of you want to contribute to my cottage industry. Every little bit helps and not just financially.

I've also set up some blogs that make navigating and viewing my various videos much easier. You can go to any of these blogs and see thumbnails for all of the videos posted there. Scroll across the thumbnails and you will see the titles of each video. Click on it and a page will open that will let you watch the video right there without going to youtube. My latest videos are always in the upper left hand corner.

To see all of my Music videos in one easy to navigate place, click here: The Unforced Videos

To see all of my T'ai-Chi videos in one easy to navigate place, click here: The Unforced Movement

To see all of my Nature videos in one easy to navigate place, click here: The Unforced Nature

For a quick and easy way to sort through, listen to, or download all of my albums free or with a donation, click here: The Unforced Music

To see my regular blog “The Unforced Life”, click here: The Unforced Life

To visit my youtube channel and possibly subscribe, click here: My Youtube Channel

To see all of my youtube playlists click here: My Youtube Playlists

 New Videos:

Some videos of me in the studio recording songs for my latest album “Already There:

Nothing's Pure

Guess You're Good For Something

I Don't Spread Myself Too Thin

Not Through With Love

Three videos from the August Rogue Poetry Slam with me performing my songs as spoken word pieces:

Too Much Weed (Poetry Slam Version)

Crazy World (Poetry Slam Version)

Ten Good Days (Poetry Slam Version)

Some footage of my good friend and longtime T’ai-Chi student Betty LaDuke’s recent retrospective art show here in Ashland with a couple songs in the background, one by me, one by Leonard Cohen:

Celebrating Life~The Art of Betty LaDuke

A T’ai-Chi video:

Body Positioning And Lessons From a Brahma Bull

And last but not least, this is just what it sounds like:

Samarra and Hannah Dancing in the Street

Pictures

 I've stopped posting pictures on facebook, (for many reasons), and started posting them instead on Flickr, which I like much better.

Here's a link to my "home page" at Flicker: Photostream.

I have many photo galleries there but a few of my favorites are:

Small Miracles (mostly Nature related stuff)

The Dish Whisperer (I started posting a daily picture of my dish stacking work over a year ago. I’m approaching 700 straight days. I have no idea how long I’ll keep doing this. I’m so used to it, it hardly takes any effort at all to continue. I made a video for my song “I'll Do The Dishes Tonight” that featured a slideshow of the first year. If I make it through this second year, I may write a new “Dishes” song or use some other song I’ve already written to make another video.)

"Head" and "Boot" (devoted to our two gerbils)

Upcoming Shows:

Monday, September 2^nd, I'll be playing at one of my favorite Ashland venues, Liquid Assets. A relaxed living room vibe with great service, excellent food and wine, and a really nice place to listen to music. I play from 8-10pm, maybe longer...

Wednesday September 4th, I'll be hosting my regular Themed Open Mike at The Wild Goose. Usually this happens on the First Wednesday of each month. This month's theme is "Beatles Night!", so musicians and spoken word artists will be doing Beatles songs, or Beatles parodies, or songs about The Beatles, either with the band or their solo work. Basically anything Beatles related is good to go. We're never too strict or narrow about the themes for this event. The main idea is to focus our attention a little to hopefully inspire and motivate us creatively. These are always fun. No Cover at the friendliest bar in town. Sign-up is 7:30pm. Show starts at 8:00pm.

*A heads up for next month: Wednesday October 2^nd, 2013 “Songs About Fall and Falling“

Friday September 6th, I'll be playing at Paddy Brannan's Irish Pub with my good friends Robbie Lindauer backing me up on guitar and Mark Arinsburg on cajon. We play from about 9pm 'til around Midnight. Stop by after the First Friday Art Walk for a pint and some music. I've always liked the friendly and fun vibe of this place. I've done several First Friday shows here with Robbie and it's becoming one of my favorite places to play.

Monday, September 16th, I'll be playing at The Wild Goose. Just me solo from 8-11pm. Friendliest bar in town. Never a cover at The Goose. I usually play here on the Third Wednesday of every month, but this month I’m playing on the Third Monday.

Tuesday, September 17^th, I'll be competing with many other poets at the Rogue Poetry Slam which happens at Northwest Pizza and Pasta in Ashland. Sign-up is at 7:30pm and the show starts at 8. If you've never been to or competed in a Poetry Slam, I highly recommend this one. Come to watch, compete, or be one of the judges. Some people think of slams as hardcore hip-hop events or places where people are mean and talk trash, but nothing could be further from the truth. All kinds of poetry are welcome and people are very supportive. And it's so nice to participate in an event which is all about the words, or in my case, lyrics. For me it's really not about winning or losing, but just the fun of sharing my words with people and seeing what happens.

Saturday, September 21rst, weather permitting, from 11:30am-1:30pm, I'll be playing at The Lithia Artisan's Market, behind the Plaza in Ashland. Come support local music and art!

Saturday September 28th, I'll be at The Downtowne Coffeehouse in Talent, playing from 10am-Noon. Great acoustics, super friendly neighborhood scene.

For more info on these and all of my shows, and to confirm that there have been no cancellations, click here: Calendar

Since I'm putting this newsletter out once a month, it's possible there may be a cancellation of a given show by the time it happens. Please double check with my web calendar if possible to be sure the gig is still happening. I'd hate to have you come out for nothing. Also another gig or two might be added or times or locations might change, so do check the calendar for the latest info.

 Website

I continue to offer all of my albums for downloading, free or with a donation at my website: www.GeneBurnett.com I started doing this about 5 years ago and considered it a 5 year creative experiment. Well the 5 years are up and I've decided to start calling it my "ongoing creative experiment" as I have no plans to stop. Since I returned to my folk roots and stopped climbing, or trying to climb, the industry ladder, I've been enjoying music in my life more than ever before. And enjoyment, rather than achievement or worldly success has always been dearest to my heart anyway. So now I focus totally on what I love most: writing, recording, performing and sharing what I create. If other people like it so much the better, but getting other people to like me or what I do is no longer my goal or focus. I'm out to please myself first. I want to do my music exactly the way I want to do it and see who likes it that way, not figure out what people will like and try to do it that way. I put it out there freely and see what comes freely back. So far so good. I've never had more success and appreciation than I have since I started doing it this. Go figure.

Thanks, as usual, for your support and well wishes even if you don't make to any shows.

www.GeneBurnett.com

Friday, August 23, 2013

Trivial ...

And Important...

As I see it, all work is meaningless and trivial and all work is meaningful and important. If you can only see your work as meaningful and important and cannot see that it is also meaningless and trivial, I don’t envy you. I also don’t envy you if you can only see your work as meaningless and trivial and cannot see that it is also meaningful and important. Both of these ways of seeing work seem to invite unnecessary suffering.

The key to Taoism as I practice it is to accept a synthesis of opposites instead of choosing sides when it comes to dichotomies like this. To see that one is competitive and cooperative, selfish and altruistic, free and limited, separate and one with everything, violent and peaceful, lustful and loving, powerful and powerless, weak and strong, greedy and generous, and that one’s work is meaningful and meaningless, trivial and important…to me this is the key to balance and balance is the key to living the kind of life I want to live.

I think balance is the underlying state and highest expression of Nature. Not balance as a static peaceful “thing”. I mean balance as an ongoing ruthless process, forever in motion, forever changing, stopping at nothing to continue its own movement, inherently antithetic to the individual, interested, if it’s possible to use that word here, only in its own beauty and self expression. Literally, nothing can stop it. To it, you do not matter. “You” don’t even exist. It is all and everything, constantly changing into a new arrangement of itself. Individual forms come and go and are replaced by newer ones. Ask a dinosaur or the two or three generations of star births and deaths that it took just to produce enough heavy metals to allow planets to form. Balance is all Nature does. What got it going, I have no idea, but once in motion, it has been responding to that motion and will probably continue to seek balance forever.

If you see that balance, the ongoing synthesis of opposites best illustrated by the yin/yang symbol, is the underlying state of the Universe and you want to get with that state and want to consciously feel that state while you are still alive and in this form, I recommend putting more “ands” in your life and less “either ors”. It’s always both, not one or the other. One side of the equation might be all but invisible, but it’s there and will be manifest before too long. It has to. Nature is always seeking balance. So be like Nature and seek balance consciously and you’ll see that it’s everywhere, always just out of reach, always requiring one more correction. And then another.

Of course your work is meaningful and important, no matter what it is. It’s allowing you to survive and express the unfolding balancing act of Nature. It might even be allowing you do so consciously and in a way that brings you real joy. And, of course your work is meaningless and trivial. We’re all gonna die and eventually there will be very little trace of you or anything you ever did. Forms do not last, including yours. Our sun will die, or explode. There will be an enormous asteroid hit or some other cataclysmic or biological event. We might even manage to exterminate our own species. But one way or another every form will be crushed and replaced by newer forms in Nature’s endless dance.

When I see my work both ways, each way helps temper and tames the other in a way that produces something good and healthy in me as a result. Seeing it as meaningful and important gives me energy to continue and challenges me to solve problems and develop myself and my life skills. Seeing it as meaningless and trivial keeps me from carrying too heavy a burden of responsibility and from getting too full of my own will and power, which are, in the end, temporary and kind of small. The dynamic tension between these poles is where I do my best to live. There is a kind of “rest” when I do this. Rest from the struggle to deny the other side of the equation. But there is another sense in which there is no rest at all, at least not from the ongoing corrections and vibrations that arise from this ongoing tension. It’s a kind of work in itself to do this and like all work, it is meaningful and important, but also meaningless and trivial.

Tuesday, August 6, 2013

Keef...

On Bob

After reading Keith Richard's autobiography "Life", I found myself liking him even more than I already did. I like his writing very much and I especially like the way his mind works around music. I was reading a special Rolling Stone edition celebrating 40 years of interviews with Bob Dylan and came across a section called "The 100 Greatest Dylan Songs" (How many writers even have 20 decent songs?)...and they had Keith write #30 "Girl From The North Country".

Dig this:

While the British invasion was going on, Bob Dylan was the man who really pulled the American point of view back into focus. At the same time, he had been drawing on Anglo-Celtic folk songs, and that's certainly true of "Girl From The North Country". It's got all the elements of beautiful folk writing without being pretentious. In the lyrics and the melody, there is an absence of Bob's later cutting edge. There's none of that resentment. He recorded it again later with Johnny Cash, but I don't think it's a duo song. Bob got it right the first time. In a way, I see "Girl From The North Country", "Boots of Spanish Leather" and "To Ramona" as a trilogy. Is Ramona the girl from the north country? Is she the same chick who sends the boots of Spanish leather? There's some connection between them. Also, the guitar picking is almost the same lick in "Boots of Spanish Leather" and "Girl From The North Country". It's like an extension of the same song. Before he went electric and submitted himself to the discipline of a rhythm section, there was a beautiful flow in Bob's songs that you only get with just a voice and a guitar. He can float across a bar or let certain notes hang, and it doesn't matter because it all goes with the song. He's the most prolific writer: I think he's written more songs that I've had hot dinners. So, Bob, just keep 'em coming! He's an inspiration to us all, because h he's always trying to go somewhere new. I love the man-and I love that he rock and rolls too!

This passage in particular really struck me:

Before he went electric and submitted himself to the discipline of a rhythm section, there was a beautiful flow in Bob's songs that you only get with just a voice and a guitar. He can float across a bar or let certain notes hang, and it doesn't matter because it all goes with the song.

I really liked this passage because it spoke directly to why I prefer my "just a voice and a guitar" format, even when "submitting to the discipline of a rhythm section" would make my music much more commercial. I play with other musicians, including percussionists, and I do enjoy it quite a bit, but the heart and soul of what I do is one voice, one guitar. If I were more ambitious, I would probably "submit", but I'm not. I'm middle-aged, I hate traveling and I want little to do with "the business", so I prefer not to give up the "beautiful flow...that you only get with just a voice and a guitar."

Thanks for helping me nail it down Keef.

Thursday, August 1, 2013

August News...

From Gene Burnett

Well as you might know…the Rogue Valley where we live has been inundated with smoke from some nearby forest fires. It has been very smoky due to the wind direction as well as an inversion which is keeping the smoke close to the ground. This is shaping up to be a big out of control fire that will mess up our air for some time. We had a summer like this back in 2002 and it was no picnic. There will be bad days, good days and in between days. They might get these things under control before the Fall rains do it…but maybe not. When the smoke first hit, Samarra and I went up to the top of Mt. Ashland to see if we could get above it and maybe see an amazing sunset…but while the air was clearer up there, there was no sun to be seen, too much smoke! I recorded a video up there to give folks down in the valley an idea of what their world looked like from above. Click above to see it.

In other news there is a Special Event happening all Summer: My good friend and one of my favorite T'ai-Chi students Betty LaDuke, who recently turned 80 and is still going strong, is having a big retrospective show at The Schneider Museum here in Ashland on the SOU campus. It will feature work from her entire career, from her earliest work right up to her very latest and very beautiful pieces. The show will be up until the middle of September. Highly recommended. Please visit www.BettyLaDuke.com for more info. And if you’re from out of town and would like a quick sample of her work, I shot some video at the opening and synched it up with some of my music. Click here to see it: Celebrating Life~The Art of Betty LaDuke

I’m offering all this stuff in a “just in case you’re interested” spirit.

So…in case you’re interested…

Recorded Music

My new album, is called “Already There” and like all my other albums (29 so far…), it’s available for downloading free or with a donation at my website: www.GeneBurnett.com I like all of my albums but some people really seem to especially like this one.

Videos In General

Overall Mission: I post a lot of videos on youtube, over 800 so far! I'm not trying to build a fan base...In fact, I'm not trying to build anything. I'm not expecting you or anyone else to follow what I'm doing or to watch all of these videos. Posting videos is just part of my overall plan to make my music (and my T’ai-Chi and Nature videos too) as freely available as possible and see what freely comes back. I think of each video as sort of like a message in a bottle...and more I toss out there the more likely one of them will land on a friendly shore and something good will come back to me. So here are some video links in case you're interested:

To see all of my Music videos in one easy to navigate place, click here: The Unforced Videos

To see all of my T'ai-Chi videos in one easy to navigate place, click here: The Unforced Movement

To see all of my Nature videos in one easy to navigate place, click here: The Unforced Nature

For a quick and easy way to sort through, listen to, or download all of my albums free or with a donation, click here: The Unforced Music

To see my regular blog “The Unforced Life”, click here: The Unforced Life

To visit my youtube channel and possibly subscribe, click here: My Youtube Channel

To see all of my youtube playlists click here: My Youtube Playlists

 New Videos:

Some videos of me in the studio recording songs for my latest album “Already There”…

The Squirrels Are Drunk Tonight (A video of my recording this song for my latest album. Inspired by some youtube videos of actual drunk squirrels.)

Busy Doing Nothing (What I do.)

There Is Only You (Another love song for Samarra)

Shut Up Or Shut Up (A song about complainers…)

Go Ahead (A plea for trouble…)

Dollar Store (How many things can I rhyme with “dollar store”?…)

Another Day Of Love (An old song from the 80’s reworked.)

Time Time Time (A song about connecting, disconnecting and reconnecting…)

Two videos of the same song but with different endings:

I Just Don't Care (No Mercy Version)

I Just Don't Care (Happy Ending Version)

A video featuring my wife Samarra looking over a book I made for her 20 years ago when we were first getting together:

If You Need...

Three videos from the July Rogue Poetry Slam with me performing my songs as spoken word pieces:

Save Your Breath (Rogue Poetry Slam Version)

Rapunzel (Rogue Poetry Slam Version)

Old Fishing Hat (Rogue Poetry Slam Version)

Celebrating Life~The Art of Betty LaDuke (Some footage of my good friend and longtime T’ai-Chi student Betty LaDuke’s recent retrospective art show here in Ashland with a couple songs in the background, one by me, one by Leonard Cohen.)

A couple of T’ai-Chi videos:

Relax Your Wrists and Hands

Work Your Legs

I had the good fortune to be asked to play music at a benefit for D.U.D.E. (Disabled United for Direct Empowerment). They were a little late getting publicity about the event out to the public so there wasn’t much of a crowd but the people that were there were great. Very attentive and listening. Seriously, it was my first “listening” audience in maybe a year and I enjoyed it quite a bit. So here are three videos from the event:

Jump For Joy (I wrote this song for my friend Ax Prince who is blind and also one of the happiest people I’ve ever met. This video is the recorded version of the song along with footage I shot at the D.U.D.E benefit of Ax performing and hanging out.)

Twinkle Twinkle Little Star (Here’s a short snippet of Ax and me singing “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star” together. I had trouble remembering and earlier verse and Ax helped me out from the audience so I invited him up to help me finish the song.)

Toast (This is Ax performing a funny song by Heywood Banks called “Toast”.)

New Youtube playlists:

Number Songs (Many videos from my one of my latest Themed Open Mikes.)

Sky Videos (A collection of some of my songs set to footage to the beautiful Southern Oregon Sky.)

Rogue Poetry Slam (I’ve been competing in our local Rogue Poetry Slams. A real challenge to read my lyrics as performance poetry…but I’m doing OK so far…I’ve won twice, come in second once, and third twice…I’ve got my performances from the last four slams here…)

Pictures

 I've stopped posting pictures on facebook, (for many reasons), and started posting them instead on Flickr, which I like much better.

Here's a link to my "home page" at Flicker: Photostream.

I have many photo galleries there but a few of my favorites are:

Small Miracles (mostly Nature related stuff)

The Dish Whisperer (I started posting a daily picture of my dish stacking work over a year ago. I’m approaching 600 straight days. I have no idea how long I’ll keep doing this. I’m so used to it, it hardly takes any effort at all to continue. I made a video for my song “I'll Do The Dishes Tonight” that featured a slideshow of the first year. If I make it through this second year, I may write a new “Dishes” song or use some other song I’ve already written to make another video.)

"Head" and "Boot" (devoted to our two gerbils)

 Upcoming Shows:

Friday August 2nd, I'll be playing at Paddy Brannan's Irish Pub with my good friends Robbie Lindauer backing me up on guitar and Mark Arinsburg on cajon. We play from about 9pm 'til around Midnight. Stop by after the First Friday Art Walk for a pint and some music. I've always liked the friendly and fun vibe of this place. I've done several First Friday shows here with Robbie and it's becoming one of my favorite places to play.

Monday, August 5th, I'll be playing at one of my favorite Ashland venues, Liquid Assets. A relaxed living room vibe with great service, excellent food and wine, and a really nice place to listen to music. I play from 8-10pm, maybe longer...

Wednesday August 7th, I'll be hosting my regular Themed Open Mike at The Wild Goose. Usually this happens on the First Wednesday of each month. This month's theme is "Songs Of Summer", so musicians and spoken word artists will be doing songs and poems that deal with this ever popular subject. We're never too strict or narrow about the themes for this event. The main idea is to focus our attention a little to hopefully inspire and motivate us creatively. These are always fun. No Cover at the friendliest bar in town. Sign-up is 7:30pm. Show starts at 8:00pm.

*A heads up for next month: Wednesday September 4th, 2013 “Beatles Night!“

Friday, August 9^th, my good friend T-Poe will be hosting a “Youthful Open Mike” at Northwest Pizza and Pasta in Ashland. Starts at 8:30pm. This is an open mike for the young folks only. I won’t be performing, obviously, but I will be there to support my friend and this wonderful idea. If you know anyone with kids who are poets or singers, please tell them about this event. Parents are allowed to accompany their kids but the focus is on the kids.

Saturday, August 17th , weather permitting, from 11:30am-1:30pm, I'll be playing at The Lithia Artisan's Market, behind the Plaza in Ashland. Come support local music and art!

Sunday August 18^th, I’ll be performing from about 6:20 until 7:00pm at Grizzly Peak Winery as part of the Jackson Fuel Committee fundraising event: “And Evening Of Folk Music” aka “The Woodstock of Woodcutters”. There will be many musical acts donating their time for this great organization which, among other things, provides free wood to help low income folks stay warm in the Winter. The event runs from 4pm-9:30pm and there is a suggested donation of $10.00. Please call 541-488-2905 for more info.

Tuesday, August 20^th, I'll be competing with many other poets at the Rogue Poetry Slam which happens at Northwest Pizza and Pasta in Ashland. Sign-up is at 7:30pm and the show starts at 8. If you've never been to or competed in a Poetry Slam, I highly recommend this one. Come to watch, compete, or be one of the judges. Some people think of slams as hardcore hip-hop events or places where people are mean and talk trash, but nothing could be further from the truth. All kinds of poetry are welcome and people are very supportive. And it's so nice to participate in an event which is all about the words, or in my case, lyrics. For me it's really not about winning or losing, but just the fun of sharing my words with people and seeing what happens.

Wednesday, August 21rst, I'll be playing at The Wild Goose. Just me solo from 8-11pm. Friendliest bar in town. Never a cover at The Goose. I usually play here on the Third Wednesday of every month.

Saturday August 24th, I'll be at The Downtowne Coffeehouse in Talent, playing from 10am-Noon. Great acoustics, super friendly neighborhood scene.

Also…Saturday August 24th, I'll be leading a free workshop/performance event at the Schneider Museum of Art on the SOU campus, from 2-3:30pm. This will be part of my good friend and T’ai-Chi student Betty LaDuke’s big retrospective show at the museum. She will hopefully be joining me for part of my presentation. Here’s the description: Flow More~Force Less with T’ai-Chi Teacher/Singer-Songwriter Gene Burnett. Through movement, songs, stories, discussion and inner listening—Explore balancing effort and relaxation in a co-creative relationship with life, grief, and transition. The workshop is free but due to space limitations, pre-registration is required. To register, email: sma@sou.edu