I’ll be broadcasting live online every Friday at 2:30PM PST, playing some tunes for you, taking requests, and generally having a good time doing what I love most.

Tune in and say hi!

http://www.facebook.com/saintjohnandtherevelations?sk=app_196506863720166

See you Fridays!

Best,

SJ

Dear Universe, thank you.

FREE

I’ll be playing with these fantastic musicians:

Colin Bradford
Jan Peter Eklund
Dustin Schmidt

http://www.facebook.com/events/333716210002729/

And that means it’s going to be fun.

But it’s going to be even more fun with you there too!

Best!

SJ

Elliott Bay Sunset

Seattle has some really good musicians, and I’ve met some of the best of them on this trip. It also has some fun venues to play in, venues that actually respect musicians and don’t just use them to do the venue’s marketing for them. I’ve been playing here a bunch and meeting lovely fans of music too. If you’re one of them and you’ve just stumbled on my site, go here for regular updates and say ‘hello!’:

http://www.facebook.com/saintjohnandtherevelations

Fortunately for me, Seattle also has some lovely sunsets.

Well, I’m going to go back out now and see what other bits of loveliness are hiding around this city.

Don’t worry dearest Venice, I haven’t forgotten about you! I’ll be back home soon.

Love,

SJ

The snow is almost completely melted here in Seattle, and this snowman has been reincarnated to a puddle of water, and then on to wherever evaporation takes him.

Just in time for Chinese New Year, happy Year of the Water Dragon!

All the best,

SJ

RIP Etta, thank you so much for sharing your talent with us.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YApNirMC9gM

This is a little pic of Seattle in the snow, you can see the Space Needle through the haze in the back. I hear that I’ve been caught in Seattle in their biggest snowstorm in decades. It’s a bit slushy for the flip-flops I usually wander Venice in, but it’s lovely none-the-less.

Keep warm!

Love,

SJ

I forgot how peaceful it is to watch little snow flakes gently float to the ground, and I really don’t like forgetting things like that, but then again, I do like re-discovering things like that.

I hope you’re warm and well.

Love,

SJ

Last night I played a super fun show at The Crocodile in Seattle, and even ran into a friend from Venice Beach. Small world, good people, and sunsets everywhere.

The other musicians from the show last night, Colin Bradford and Katie Davis, were very talented, and we had a great time. I’ll dig up some links on them soon and will post them later.

Talk to you soon!

Love,

SJ

http://www.facebook.com/events/337103739639883/

This is the spot where Pearl Jam, Nirvana, R.E.M. and a few other legends played, and I hear it’s a mandatory place for up-and-coming artist to perform in Seattle.

The show starts at 8PM
$5

See you there!

Best,

SJ

Amendment I

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

Amendment II

A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.

Amendment III

No Soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the consent of the Owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law.

Amendment IV

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

Amendment V

No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offence to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.

Amendment VI

In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the Assistance of Counsel for his defence.

Amendment VII

In Suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury, shall be otherwise re-examined in any Court of the United States, than according to the rules of the common law.

Amendment VIII

Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.

Amendment IX

The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.

Amendment X

The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.

Happy Birthday Jim Morrison.

Love, 

SJ

PS. My brother has since bought me numerous albums and more than made up for denying me this initial musical pleasure.

It was Monday morning and I was having coffee (hot chocolate actually, I never drink coffee) with a bunch of friends at my local coffee shop, when a very pretty girl walks by and smiles at me and I was compelled to smile back. Neither says a word, we keep on our separate ways. Day continues on and ends as normal.

Tuesday morning, same coffee shop, with very much the same group of friends. The pretty girl comes in again, smiles, I smile back, and this time I raise the bet and say “hello”. Dear reader, we have made progress, and I have confirmed that she is still very pretty. Day continues on and ends as normal.

Wednesday morning, same coffee shop, most of the same friends are around me talking about cars and welding and very manly things. I’m listening in, but also reading the LA Times. I’m not much of a welder. Pretty girl comes in, gets her coffee, sits down at a table. I decide to leave my guy friends to talk about their automotive tools and what-not, and instead see if this girl is interesting at all. Well, I sit down and introduce myself (trust me, I did this in the right order, in case introducing myself ruined an opportunity to sit down), and then the Universe revealed part of its plan. It turns out she’s Canadian and a singer-songwriter, just visiting Venice Beach, and we have a ton of other things in common. Well, at this point I have to find out if she’s any good at playing music. We agreed to meet up later at my studio and play some tunes.

Early that evening we meet at my studio play some songs for each other, and it’s all very good, she’s a fantastic singer and songwriter, and maybe I’m not so bad either. The Universe whispers in my ear, and I asked her if she wants to come and play a college radio show up at UC Davis with me the next day, I then give her the details and she figures it sounds like a good idea. Phew!, if I had to drive up to UC Davis on my own I probably would have just driven off the side of the road in boredom.

[Dear reader, if you are a young female (or even male), let me please encourage you to never go on a road trip (in a van, no less) with some guy you just met the day before. This was a very particular occasion arranged by the very same powers that make it so I don't accidentally step off a curb in front of a large speeding truck. It I wasn't me, and she wasn't her, it could have ended disastrously.]

Anyway, we had a brilliant time, telling stories and laughing all the way there and back, with a fun performance at a really cool college radio station in between. We got lost a few times, almost crashed twice (don’t tell Alanna, I don’t think she noticed, but I’m a terrible driver) I broke a guitar string, dodged zombies, and we were able to find a delicious chocolate shake after the show at about 2AM. Mission accomplished. She got to play a surprise radio show, and I didn’t have to commit suicide on a mind-numbing never-ending drive.

Go check out her music, her name is Alanna Clarke, and she’s pretty great:

http://www.alannaclarke.com

We’re talking about planning a little tour together early next year, we’ll see what the Universe has to say about that.

Talk to you soon.

Love,

SJ

I now own gloves. I know you may think to yourselves, “yes, and?”, well, I admit it’s not really that monumental of a statement. Doesn’t everybody own gloves? My hands have accepted some very hot cups of tea in my life and perhaps I’ve cursed myself for not having some sort of hand protection for the occasional lava-hot brew. But I have lived in southern California for so long now I can’t even remember needing gloves for cold weather. I haven’t even owned a heavy coat since I was very young. I wear standard issue t-shirts of varying colours and flip-flop sandals almost all year round in the nearly endless sunshine of Venice Beach. But at the moment, I am more northerly than our species should probably permanently inhabit. This Canadian southern California boy is in Seattle, Washington.

Maybe I’m not mushing sled dogs through the arctic, but fekk, it’s damn cold here, especially for my SoCal thinned blood. So I bought gloves (and a scarf, and a heavy wool jacket) to survive my stay here. I didn’t want future humans to discover my frozen carcass in some archaeological dig and be designated ‘Wallingford Man’ (Wallingford is a Seattle neighbourhood, in case you needed a guide). I have my own personal mental challenge to not lose the gloves, but their loss is just as inevitable as my eventual return to the easy weather of Venice Beach. 

Seattle also has its treasures that I’m starting to discover and appreciate. I’ve met so many lovely folks this time around, I’m starting to think of Seattle as a second home. I have some family here, and my legendary guitar-wielding collaborator Peter Buck records with me here, and now that I’m out exploring Seattle’s unique neighbourhoods and playing shows here, it’s becoming much more familiar to me. And I have to say it is a lovely city, with some great music talent and venues, and some very interesting people.

I just slid my new gloves off to go on the trusty laptop and look for some flights back to California, but I’ll be back to Seattle soon, and hopefully I won’t lose my gloves in the meantime.

Love,

SJ

PS. Please have a listen to our newly minted version of Make A Fuss, it’s been one of the songs I’ve played most here in Seattle, I guess it’s just been on my mind:

http://www.reverbnation.com/play_now/song_11068526

Live In Studio KDVS
90.3 FM Davis, CA
11PM-Midnight

And you can tune in online:

http://www.kdvs.org/

I love good independent college radio, it’s going to be a super fun night, tune in!

Cheers,

SJ

A little reading between jamming in the studio today.

I’ve been bringing a steady shipment of rock-and-roll to a new place in Venice called Witzend, it might just be the best venue on this side of Los Angeles. I’m there pretty often, so stop on by soon and check it out. I’ve also been writing a lot, listening a lot, watching new (well, new to me) TV shows, etc etc.

It’s a rainy day here, and when it rains in a California beachside community, it pretty much shuts everything down. I’ve already been to coffee with some friends, been for a walk through some puddles delivering a friend to her destination, and now I’m going to spend the day breaking things in the studio.

Love,

SJ

Join me this Wednesday at this super cool new spot in Venice called WitZend. The vibe and sound of the room are really nice and I really dig playing there.

9PM
1717 Lincoln Blvd
90291

Send me a note telling me you’re coming and I’ll put you on the guest list. Cheers!

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=111468218963628

Love,

SJ

I’ll be playing some rock-and-roll for you this Saturday, October 15, at the WitZend in Venice CA.

8PM
1717 Lincoln Blvd
Venice CA
90291

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=206912339377090

Love,

SJ

iSunset

It’s indicative that to pay any sort of tribute to Steve Jobs, you have to mention Apple. I even had to start this tribute with my relation to Apple and its products, after all, we’ve all had more interaction with the products his company created rather than the man himself. When Steve Jobs returned to Apple, I knew he was going to do something great. I could see it in his eyes, he could barely contain his enthusiasm and passion and faith in himself and his vision for changing the world. And then he did it, you can read about his success anywhere online, Apple has consistently been in the news since his return to the company.

He had great style, taste in technology, and was relentless (and notorious) for pushing his employees to create and improve the products he envisioned. I don’t care how many units of the iPod or iPhone Apple has sold, but I have massive respect for anyone who was so passionate about developing great tools to connect people and create art. He made products so that everyone could be a photographer, movie maker, recording artist, etc., and the same tools allowed everyone else to enjoy all of those things wherever they were.  He was a visionary, a pioneer, and he followed his heart relentlessly to “put a dent in the Universe” as he once said he wanted to do, and reminded us that we should all try to do. 

“Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of other’s opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most importantly, have courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.” — Steve Jobs

It might sound cliche (which is also indicative of his influence), but Steve Jobs was a pioneer, and a visionary, and humanity will definitely miss his passion. Apple shareholders might hope you go buy an Apple product to express your loss and empathy for a public figure that we’ve all come to respect, but I think it would be more fitting for us to adopt a bit of his relentless passion in how we live our lives and how we can shape the world.

R.I.P. Steve Jobs.

Love,

SJ

Lots of ukuleles today. Lots.

1717 Lincoln Blvd
Venice CA
9PM

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=208085105924705

The closest way to describe it is that it’s like I have a radio in my head, and it’s hardly ever off.

alles Liebe,

SJ

Fog rolling in on Venice Beach

Best,

SJ

Saint John Sunset Photon Collection Services

Temptations – Psychedelic Shack Spin this soon.