The Weekend Challenge

The Morning Show is the blog companion to the podcast audio

  Happy Friday!  It's TIME for the weekend challenge!

  There's a spider in the shower.  Just a little web in the corner, and now a buddy has joined him on the wall.  They are very small, and I don't mind 'em.  Makes it feel like summer camp or something, which brings us to THE WEEKEND CHALLENGE....

  Bring a bug outside.  That's right.  I know you hate 'em.  I know you're jumpin' up on chairs and screaming, and your girlfriend is looking at you funny.  It's easy to say no to life, it's easy to squelch dreams, and it's easy to squish bugs.  So be a gent, or a lady, and try bringing an icky bug outside as a small act of kindness.  And if you'd prefer not to touch, say, a wasp or spider, use a paper cup, creep up on that sucker, and BLAM, catch him.  Then slide a piece of paper under the cup, and take the whole assembly out of doors.  Heeeere buggy buggy!  Have a fun weekend, and I'll "catch" up with you on Monday!

Ask the Experts

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  Good morning!  Welcome to the show.  It's a theme I talk about often, and there's a reason - this idea consistently makes my life better.  And, for some reason, I don't see more people using it.  It's the idea of asking the experts around us.  For help, advice, guidance, feedback...everything!  I'd like to shout out two people today.  The first is Curtis Blues, a musician, artist, and teacher.  I met Curtis on the docks of Alexandria, where he was performing his blues revival street show.    He was set up with a resonator guitar, a drum set strapped to his feet, and a harmonica, singing pre-war delta blues and introducing legions to the story of America's music.  He let me play his guitar, and later, when I approached him for advice about starting street music on my own, when others would have been guarded, he did everything he could to make sure I succeeded.  I remember many days of playing on the docks, too, hearing his booming voice drift over the water like a delta blues bullfrog (in a melodious way), and him stopping by to offer tips on the art and craft.  "Make it easy for people to pay you."  I just had a phone call with him yesterday, where he continued this tradition, helping me learn about bringing a show to schools and students.  His generous spirit is not only kind, but actually improves the artform that we both love.  Thanks to his encouragement, I've played street music for the past ten years, in many cities, for countless people, involving many of them in the experience, and others in the craft and the business.  From broom guitar workshops, stomp fiddles in the south, little kids getting to try cigar box guitars in Philly, guitar students learning how to busk, or the folks on the subway joining in the blues jam as the 7 train rumbled above Queens, Curtis' encouragement was a sizable investment as a patron of the arts.  I was lucky enough to ask for advice, and he was generous enough to give.

  The second person is a lady named Savannah.  She's a dance teacher, and a kind soul.  I go to a salsa club near DC often - you've heard me talk about it - and MAN it's confusing.  At first, it was terrifying.  I was even clumsier than I am now, but after much practice, trial, and mostly error, I'm slowly improving.  Savannah and her guy Will lead the regular Friday night class at the club before the floor opens for social dancing.  One evening she pointed at me across the floor, and invited me to a dance. I happened to be wearing my "Don't Hassle Me, I'm Local" shirt, a reference to the comedy "What about Bob."  Man, I felt like Bill Murray.  "I'm SAILING!  I'm SAILING!"  (In the movie, he's actually tied to the mast, as he's afraid of falling overboard.  But sail he does!)  I'll ask her questions after class, and she'll give me encouragement and feedback, guiding me to better technique.  "Stand up straight!  Stop sticking your butt out!  There you go!"  Like Curtis, her guidance is not only kind, but makes the community better for everyone.  Every girl I've danced with after her advice has benefited from her time invested.

  I know other people ask Curtis and Savannah for help.  But I don't know why there's not a longer line.  We live in such a brilliant world.  YES, of course we should check Google first, but let's make sure we ask these skilled teachers for their wisdom.  It would be a shame to waste it!

German Steel

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  Good morning!  Got a little art for you today!  Gonna wax poetic!

  The sparks flew off the German steel...the German steel made before the words had the ability to paint pictures of trenches and telegrams, before they became a rallying cry, before it was measured it muzzle velocity and tombstones and aching loss, and later trade bickering and alliances and....peace.

  I put down the cutting wheel, the German steel repaired and trimmed.  I'll take this German steel mainspring from 1883, carefully cleaned, and put it back in the clock...and the clock will watch from it's vantage point on the wall, erasing all of my problems, too, tick by tock.  And yet I'll still glance anxiously at it's face, hurried.  

Until We're Somebody

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  Good morning!  The Blue Jays are screaming at something, much like the political commentary I was reading this morning.  It's an interesting reminder about the benefits of obscurity.  Like you, I'm working hard to be somebody.  But in the mad dash to build castles of varying degrees of sand, it's worth noting the joy of the construction site, unfinished, and obscure.

  Auston Kleon, in his dope book "Steal Like an Artist" , observes that obscurity grants the emerging artist freedom to experiment without consequence.  (Buy the book, it's awesome.  I just picked it up - again - for $2.50 on Amazon's kindle store.)

  Should all of our hard work and dedication pay off, the spotlight will find it's way to our illustrious faces, as well as the Blue Jays who will scream and tweet their displeasure.  I was remarking to a friend last night at how this transition time of us millennials, between the initial launch of adulthood and the responsibilities of settling down, while lonely and sometimes without anchor, should be cherished as a rare period of solitude, halcyon days of personal freedom and power.  And so too is our obscurity at any age, before our blockbuster success.  I'm off to hustle some more.  But I'm also enjoying the breeze on my porch on this beautiful July day.  And oh, listen.  Silence.  The Blue Jays have flown away.

The Signalman Show: Levels and Levels

The Signalman Show is a blog companion to the podcast audio

  Hey, good evening!  And you thought I forgot about you!  NEVER!  Got a super quick thought for you tonight.

  Saw a cool story over the weekend.  A successful fella asserted that we have 18 hours a day to build empires.  He made the unfortunate mistake of putting a number on things.  People latched onto this on Twitter.  "I NEED MORE THAN SIX HOURS OF SLEEP!"  And so the argument devolved into how much sleep was good, and the original point was missed, that being:  Quit watching TV, and hustle.

  As a guitar instructor, I see this happen all the time, with my students, but especially myself.  Those excuses are sneaky, especially when we give our power away by arguing for their necessity, or defining their quantity.  Let's go make it happen!

The Weekend Challenge

The Morning Show is a blog companion to the podcast audio

Good morning, and HAPPY FRIDAY!

  It's like a million degrees over here, but that's OK, it's the weekend, which means it's time to go salsa dancing and try not to break faces.  It also means it's time for the WEEKEND CHALLENGE!

  This week's challenge is definitely something you've heard of, but have you done it before?  I haven't.  I'm gonna send a care pack to a soldier.  One of my musician buddies has served as a ranger in Iraq, and he's now a bandleader.  His son is serving in Afghanistan.  The war is still happening.  I have many students who have never known it to be otherwise.  Jim posted a picture of his son on patrol, and mentioned the care pack idea.  So, I'm sending one, for several reasons: 1. It's a good thing to do.  2.  I've been feeling like "the system" has been failing a lot of people, and it's easy to hide behind that idea.  If the car breaks down, it's much easier to wring one's hands and say "oh, we're not going anywhere" than to start walking.  The war drags on, and it's up to us individually not to forget about those far away.  Hopefully we can get things working again, but while we do that, one foot in front of the other.

  I invite you to join me in this Weekend Challenge!  Drop me an email at joshurban251@gmail.com if you need guidance or an address to send things.  See ya on Monday, and have a great weekend...this is gonna keep things in perspective for me!

The Morning Show is a blog companion to the podcast audio

  Good morning!  Oh man, I have something you've GOTTA hear!  It's a new song, and here's the story. You all probably realize by now that I'm a musician, and I teach guitar.  Through that avenue, I get to meet some pretty awesome people, like Anthony and Brian R.  Anthony is the older brother, about to head off to the University of Maryland.  He's been jammin' in the "Guitarmy", as I call it, since he was 12, and is one of the most talented people I know.  He wins competitions with his playing, and friends with his kindness and humility.

  His little brother Brian first joined in the musical experience when he was about 8 or  9.  I was having a birthday party/jam session with my students, and us "big kids" were all rockin' out on guitar.  Brian was watching intently, and when I held up a cigar box guitar to join in the festivities, he eagerly jumped in, learning as he went.  My own brother Noah snapped a great picture of him, a look of laser focus on his face as he followed along.  He eventually started lessons, and WOW, is like a fish in the water, swimming along in an ocean of music, learning from his brother, and inventing  his own style.  Equally as talented as Anthony, he too has the ability  to channel his personality into his playing.

  So, we all finished recording a song yesterday.  (We had started a week ago, but the power went out in the middle of the session, right as Brian was about to track his guitar solo.)  I'd like to explain what you're hearing.

  I programmed an electronic-sounding dance track with a hint of DC go go in a program called Ableton Live.  The keyboard sounds are a sample that I made with my guitar synthesizer and a reel-to-reel tape deck.  Anthony listened to the track, and wrote a funky rhythm guitar progression.  He then doubled back and plugged his Music Man guitar into a Fender Blues Jr. tube amp with a vintage speaker, and played the beautiful Greg-Howe style lead over it for the first guitar solo you hear, capturing his dynamic and outgoing personality on tape.

  Brian came back next week, after the studio power was back on, and used my Strat, running through an Ibanez TS9 into a custom-made low-wattage tube amp his dad built, which was powering another custom 2x12 celestion-loaded cab that his dad had also crafted.  Listen to the second guitar solo here to get a sense of Brian's mellow, thoughtful vibe, as he follows his train of thought across the fretboard.

  It was perfect, but...the dance track had ended, and I wanted to put a guitar solo on record, along with these guys!  So, the idea was hatched.  I tried to track a conga drum line, and Anthony heard notes from the hand drums in the first take.  He picked up a bass, and we retracked the groove live, me on congas, Anthony on bass, and Brian on bongos.  The mic didn't pick up enough of Brian, though, so he added a second bongo track over it, and went to town!  It's panned off to the left side, so check it out.  I picked up a spare tire that I couldn't throw out (the garbage  man couldn't take it), and we all took turns wailing on it for the cowbell sound you hear.  Finally, I picked up my strat, plugged the custom tube amp into another custom cab loaded with a vintage 12" and vintage 15" speaker, turned on the TS9, and put a funky lead down for the last guitar solo on the track.

Ladies and gents, in collaboration with Anthony and Brian R., I give you...Fenwick!  (So named by Anthony, glancing around the studio and seeing a street sign my brothers gave me.)

https://soundcloud.com/joshurban/fenwick-feat-anthony-and-brian-r

The Curious Case of Doris Payne

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  "Ask any officer - have ever I been arrested and lied?"  So said Doris Payne, notorious jewel thief, speaking to WGCL in Atlanta in 2015, after she had been arrested - again, for stealing.  She claims she's always honest about it if she's caught...and also says she's really, really good at stealing.

  Ms. Payne has been caught again, stealing from Wal-mart with eighty bucks of stuff in her purse.  She's 86!  She first thought of supporting herself with this skill set in her 20's, and has made quite a reputation for herself ever since.

  And here's a fascinating thing:  if the opening statement is indicative, she views herself as an honest  thief, further proving Dale Carnegie's maxim that "no man thinks himself wrong."  In fact, it seems like most people think themselves superior in some way or another, elevating themselves among their fellows by some small merit, completely ignoring the dire situation that everyone is in.  What good is a fancy suite if it's on the Titanic?

  The things we do to ourselves!  WOW!  We all know someone like Doris Payne, although perhaps not as dramatic.  I run into it all of the time!  But after I smugly shake my head at how people like her fabricate their realities, and  am glad that I don't, the smile fades from my face...but what if I do?  Ahhh!  Off to do work!

Division vs. Polarization

The Morning Show is a blog companion to the podcast audio

  Good morning, and happy Tuesday!  If you stop by to visit, you'll immediately notice that I've gone overboard with the vinyl record collection.  Wait a few minutes, and at the top of the hour, your eyes might widen a bit at the menagerie of sounds of the assorted clocks.  And now there's the newspapers.  I should probably cancel a subscription, but I am having a blast!  There's paper EVERYWHERE.  And it's really not that  bad - just a daily subscription to the Wall Street Journal, and a Sunday Washington Post.  It's been illuminating to read the two simultaneously, and to try to extract my own conclusions from the rustling print. It's also a bit frustrating. Here's a thought for today:  Are differences a problem, and if so, how are they best solved?

  Case in point...The right headline on the Sunday post stated Trump's approval rating takes hit.  Examining the story further, there's a graph outlining the percent who approve of the way Trump is handling his job.  Between April and now, the percentage has dropped from 13% to 11% among democrats, 38% to 32% among independents, and 84% to 82% among republicans....with a margin of error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points. This is from the Washington Post-ABC News poll July 10-13, among 1,001 adults.  So.....yeah...Not exactly a shocker.

  At first glance, I was struck by the polarization of views.  82% to 11% is a pretty big gap.  But thinking further, is this a bad thing?  If you poll the people who like the Orioles vs the Yankees, you're going to get numbers like this.  And back to governance, complicated problems require many ideas.  But - when we believe that the people who entertain opposing ideas are divided from us, are the enemy...I'd assert that's a bad thing.  Generalizing schools of thought, globbing ideas together and then making it into a pinata...MAN it's bumming me out!  I find it not only intellectually lazy, self-righteous, and annoying, but also harmful.  And, it makes a lot more work for the rest of us, trying to figure out where we stand in the world, sorting through the hysteria at the Post or the wasteland of empathy that is the Wall Street Journal's editorial page.

  I'd suspect that those polling numbers would be different if we listened to each other a bit more.  At least, mine have been, and I've been learning a lot from you all.

  SO, what to do?  I don't know...But I'm thinking that, for me, the poll numbers tell me more than ever it's important to have friends from all sides.  I want to be a part of a crew that is a pollster's nightmare, making squiggly lines.  I don't want to try to reach a consensus -  that would destroy many worthy schools of thought.  But I want everyone to be welcome at my table, and boy we'd have some good discussions, and hopefully few agreements.  So, let's start today!  The polarization can be eased with a return to civility, restoring ideas to the ideas shelf, and realizing that it's our fellow citizens that think them. But BOO YANKEES!

Street Views

The Signalman show is a blog companion to the podcast audio

  Hey there, and happy Monday!  Wow, what a time in Richmond, VA!  Embarked on my monthly trek to The River City to DJ for the retired soldiers at the VA home, host a broom guitar-building clinic at Sam Ash music, and of course to play some street music in Carytown, the art district of the city.  Here's a little vignette for ya:


"I want somebody to tell me, what is the soul of a man?"  A dollar for each of us sat in the pot, our voices gathering in the fading day, the alley behind me adding a streetlife symphony echo.  Blind Willie Johnson songs sound best at dusk when there's only an indifferent audience shuffling on down the street, away, away, tepid.  His "real kazoo", not a plastic one like the kids use, added to his harmonica and cigar box guitar as we both strained to pay tribute to the long-gone bluesman, dead like the noon long passed.

  The song ended.  Time passed as it always does.  I sat next to my friend who left his legs in Fallujah, as the people walked by above us on the dirty sidewalk.  We talked about war and life and PTSD and helping family and target practice and fear and girls and a system that failed.  His girlfriend showed up, he went on down the line, and I headed back north, haunted.  There is no moral to the story...no tidy lesson found in the confusion of the cigarette butts we sat among.  And that's the point.

Weekend Challenge: Look 'em in the eye

The Morning Show is a blog companion to the podcast audio

Good morning, and HAPPY FRIDAY!  Whew, it's gonna be a scorcher today, and hey, that's a good way to kick off the weekend.  So, are you ready for the WEEKEND CHALLENGE?  This one is simple, cheap, and might change your perspective.

  It's called..."Look 'em in the eye."

  Here's what's up:  As a creative fella, I play music in a lot of different ways, one of them being street music.  It's the most colorful gig I've ever had.  Sometimes, I'll do little street music tours, traveling by train.  It is a blast, and also decidedly unconventional. Last year, I was traveling around, and since I was carrying an amp, had my suitcase with me the whole day, leading to the misconception that I was homeless.  Before you say "Oh, the NERVE of the privileged", the lady who made the assumption was homeless herself.  So there I was, a foot in both worlds by perception, not by economic situation.  And boy, was it illuminating.  Traveling from Charlotte, NC, to Richmond, VA, I took an uber from the train station to...the grocery store.  It was right by my next street music spot, and I was gonna get lunch. And still rattled by this perception people seemed to have of a traveler with a suitcase, I quickly regretted my decision.  I've never felt so invisible as walking through the store, trying to avoid knocking over any of the wine bottles with my luggage, my guitar on my back and a gulf between me and my fellow man all around.

  Perhaps I was tired from traveling, and perhaps I was being a drama queen.  But, the street music has given me a new perspective on how we tune out that which we're confused by, saddened by, threatened by, and obviously don't fully understand.  And it takes a real toll to be ignored on the street and in the store.  And I'm only out there for a few hours at a time! So, this weekend - engage with someone who might feel isolated like that.  Look them in the eye, ask their name, never pity them, talk music or movies, and commiserate about the summer heat.  Build a bridge...and have a rockin' weekend!

The Power of the Question

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  Hey there, and good morning!  I don't know about you, but I spend a lot of time planning.  I sat on my porch the other evening, planning the next phase of my musical endeavors as part of an occasional check in.  Entrepreneurial waters require frequent scans of charts, philosophies, and thoughts.

  And man, it's easy to get confused as to the proper order of the thought processes.  Do market conditions dictate artistic direction, is it the other way 'round, what's available, what should be available, what should be created, and so on until the thinker's brain...or at least mine...ends up in a knot.  So, I corralled my thoughts into a series of questions, and then distilled them further to a single sentence that is scrawled on a yellow posty note stuck to my bathroom mirror.

"What is the real deal?"

It's just stuck to the glass, hanging out.  I'm letting it marinate, enjoying the space this question-based planning is giving my thought process.  When I answer that, I will know what the next step is.  Give it a shot - it's cool!

As Rage Against The Machine would say..."I won't stop, 'cause I know the power of the question!"

Inky Lines

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Yo!  Happy Tuesday!  It's 7-11!  Get yo' slushie or whatever it's called at 7-11!

  Isn't ordering things online the coolest?  With a few taps, it shows up.  Well, if you like THAT...you should try getting the paper.  WOW it's like Santa every single day!  I found a slammin' Groupon deal for home delivery of The Washington Post, and after a few weeks of enjoying that, have added a daily trial of The Wall Street Journal to balance things out.  It was Garrison Keilor's essay on why a print paper is superior that got me interested in the experience, and it's dope!  In addition to enjoying the hipster vibe of actually reading the paper, walking out to the driveway and getting the paper, and having newspaper around the house to smirk at saying "oh yeah, I was reading that the other day", it's reminded me of something interesting:

  What's the line between seriousness of a subject, and seriousness of oneself?  Both publications seem to erase that line, and perhaps I draw it too harshly, not crediting myself when I should, hiding behind a mask of joviality.  I'm guessing that, like anything else, it's a balancing act.  Food for thought!  Now go away, I'm being a big boy and reading the paper.

Your World Improvement Fund

The Signalman Show is a blog companion to the podcast audio

Happy Monday, and happy Duran Duran appreciation day!  Gonna be spinnin' a few of their albums later fo' sho!

  SO, anyone do the weekend challenge?  This week's was to give something away to someone worthy.  My dad had given me twenty bucks recently for this purpose, so I set out to give it away.   I spent the twenty by giving a few bucks to a homeless lady who's sign mentioned cancer treatment, another fellow at a light that just asked, and the rest on buying pizza for a dad and his three sons that came to buy my shed from Craigslist.  Hard work, even if paid for, deserves pizza!

 I found that with a mission, and a small budget, it opened up a new genre for me...it's not home improvement, when you go to the store to spend money to make your house just a little bit better...it's world improvement, when you go just a bit out of your way to spruce up mankind.

  Yes, to be sure, it's a simplified look at a nuanced topic.  But, I've been reading a lot of opinions about the healthcare debate recently, with big words like "GDP" and "percentages."  So, if I can increase my world improvement fund  to just a fraction of my home improvement fund...why, if nothing else, I'll be better off.  It's nice to help each other. And that's worth something.

The Weekend Challenge

The Morning Show is a blog companion to the podcast audio

Hey there, and HAPPY FRIDAY!  I'm gonna pop some taaags, only got twenty dollas in my pocket...

  No, seriously, I have a twenty burning a hole in my conscience.  My dad gave it to me with the instructions to give it away in a good deed of my choice.  I haven't yet.  But this weekend, I'm gonna try!  And, I'd like to invite you to join me in the first Signalman Show WEEKEND CHALLENGE!  This weekend's challenge:  Give at least a dollar away to a worthy cause or person.  Tweet me @DontJoshMe or hit me up on Instagram @JoshUrban and let me know what you did.  Now, off to see what I can do about this twenty...I'm thinking I might get some extra fun out of this if I break the bill.  I get to be Oprah twenty times in a row.  "EVERYONE GETS A DOLLAR!"

Operation Rinse Cycle

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Hey there, and Happy Thursday!  You know I deal in metaphors, notice inspiration in daily life, and seek conflicting points of view to make us all think...BUT, don't want to get too Dr. Phil 'round here!

  SO, we have a practical episode, a down to earth broadcast...my brother was right, you can go on a pressure-washing spree.  The fellas lent me their pressure washer, and MAN, my house is a different color.  The sidewalk has transformed.  The gutters are as white as the dancers at a Republican convention, and almost as awkward.  It feels good to take care of stuff!  I drove to the gas station for more fuel, bedraggled, damp, and covered with paint chips.  The dusk set in, and I got a tactical flashlight for a tactical special forces pressure washing operation...we could call it "Rinse Cycle."  It was quite dramatic.  Try it!  You'll love it!  And those neighbor kids will stay off your lawn for good as they nurse water burn and remember a lesson learned.  It's operation rinse cycle, and we don't fool around!

Happy 4th!

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  Good morning, welcome to the show, and HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY!  If you're listening, and don't happen to live in America (cue the James Brown song), today's the day to blow stuff up and eat lots, celebrating our independence from Britain.  Or, as my buddy Skip would put it, the first Brexit.  I'm ready to rock, and wearing my "support your right to arm bears" shirt, too.  It's got a bear with a shotgun on it.

  Seriously speaking, though, it was this day in 1776 when they delivered one of the best mission statements ever, looking at it as an entrepreneur.  The idea was so good, that 241 years later, we're still here, and we're still observing the anniversary of that bold move.  Makes me want to think bigger.  My current concern:  will the fridge leak onto the new floor I just put in?  Hmm...gotta aim higher!  Have a great 4th of July, everyone!  I'm gonna go DJ for some old people and have a dance party with them.  Seems like a good start.

Road metaphors

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Such a metaphor, man!  They are EVERYWHERE!  So, been working on this kitchen floor over the weekend, and as you know, any project requires endless trips to Home Depot.  I hopped in the car...again...and being my father's son, took the scenic route.  I found myself on a shaded road, a relief from the nuclear July sun, but stuck between someone going moderately fast, and someone who wanted to go really fast.  It was totally like Life!  I hurtled along the winding pavement, glancing in my rearview mirror, and realized that we all have these things that drive us, just like a mental tailgater, and are even more dangerous...but they usually aren't obvious in any mirror at first glance.  Seems worth it to keep looking, though!

The Morning Show is a blog companion to the podcast audio

  Good morning, and Happy Friday...and thank you for a great month, June!  Got a big podcasting project over the weekend...that is, putting in a new kitchen floor.  I'm sure I'll have some metaphors about cutting three times and measuring once and building a platform to stand on.  Some things are just made for examples it seems!

  And already it's started.  I went into the crawlspace today.  I've been raised to be a handy dude, but man, given the fact that gigantic spiders have been finding their way into my house, how warm and humid it is, and that the snake that lives under my porch seems to have a back parlor with the motto "we put the crawl in crawlspace", well...I wasn't too keen on checking out the shape of the kitchen floor from underneath.  I almost called my brother to ask if he thought the floor would be in good shape.  He doesn't even live here!  The things we do to avoid direct confrontation with scary places and things that unsettle us.  I remember my grandfather asking my opinion of the safety of aluminum wiring in his house.  I was 11 years old.  

  So, donning some old mud clothes, I lowered myself in to the subconscious of my house.  Interestingly, there were less spiders than I had imagined.  Make of that what you will.

Have a great weekend!