Sometimes I just kick back and think about how cool my life has been. You know, favorite moments.
I feel lucky about getting John McCrea of CAKE on (a few seconds of) my first (and only) CD. I really love his songwriting.
Budding bands take note: naming famous people and/or getting them on your CD does not help sales.
Xenophilia, $8 Cafe of love zero (0) sales, $0 dollars made on CD Baby, despite getting an excellent review from Jason Mraz.
Okay, in truth, exactly one CAKE fan found and bought a Xenophilia CD years ago just for the obscure CAKE collector's angle. That CD is many years ago. I made a huge investment in it, went to one of the best studios ... and when there was no pay off, spent the next 10 years trying to figure out why. Time has passed me by, but I don't really care. I've had fun. I'm still working on improving. (Hear my latest efforts on the left.) No illusions of fame any longer, now I'm only trying to make my own ears happy.
Back to reminiscing, another great moment was when Gabe Nelson told me George was a total bad-ass on the bass. I was lucky to get Gabe to sing on one of my tunes.
I've also been excited to record with Anton Barbeau (who also works with Gabe), to share a stage with Jackie Green ( who nearly joined Xenophilia at one point ... good thing for all he didn't! ), and being friends with other musicians I admire such as Amy Anne and Ricky Berger, who got me into Chet Baker and inspired me to buy a trumpet.
Another one of my all time favorite moments: I'm watching a Star Trek movie, and at a key moment, the thing that makes the entire Star Trek series possible (warp drive!) is almost aborted because its inventor, Zefram Cochrane, can't find Steppenwolf's "Magic Carpet Ride" to play when he lifts off:
Then there was the time recently where I got to talk to Sir Patrick Stewart at a film festival. I loved the way he said, "Well, helloooo, Xenoooo." in that amazing voice.
Talking to Zahi Hawass about carbon dating the Great Pyramid, becoming friends with an amazing woman who was 3 blocks away from the towers when they fell on 9/11, having a character named Xenophilius in the last Harry Potter book, and of course playing a few shows with Jason Mraz and having him sing one of my songs back to me with his perfect absolute pitch.
My mind flashes on so many other "thrill" moments: discovering the giant skull face on Mt. Shasta while hunting for the entrance to the underground base there, the romantic submarine ride on Maui, my UFO sighting, attending the wedding of a real Italian ex-mob family, hunting El Chupacabra, hunting Bigfoot, spelunking, water skiing, hang gliding, my accidental discovery of finger butts, being contacted by about the evidence I found while in Roswell, NM investigating the crash, being stopped by men with guns after nosing around Dulce, NM with a reporter from the Sacramento News and Review, being in that jacuzzi in the Luxor on that night with lightning, and years later on the 4th of July.
Just when I think, "How can my life get any better?", it does. I find out, for example, that I'm related to King Henry I and to William the Conqueror and to Lady Godiva, for example. Yes, there are downers, but they are temporary. The good stuff lasts longer in my memory.
So, yes, I've convinced me. I should definitely clone myself ... as long as I also adopt one or more ordinary kids as well. Life, would you do it all again? 9 out of 10 dentists surveyed would.
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