Good morning!  I trust you were comfortable here in my absence.  I have taken leave from the experiential realm just long enough to conjure-up something for the pleasure of your and my imaginations.  These moments are proving rare for me in these scorching days of summer, when I am vehemently propelled by the sun’s energy to conquer every Medusa along my path, lest I be turned to stone!  This is the season for doing – for transmuting those wispy spring musings into something more tangible, within the dense confines of the natural world.  The intuitive, boundless, all-knowing Right Brain has had its go at creation, satisfied that my own conscious recognition of its images was enough. Yet, if they are never brought to light are they real?  It is the old ‘tree falls in the woods’ conundrum.  No.  The methodical, organizing, actualizing Left Brain has an all-important role in the creative process.  This may sound obvious to many because we live in a Left Brain world, but it has been a great challenge for me to come to come down to Earth. Yet, I move forward in faith that there will be plenty of time for musing when the harvest has been reaped, the leaves begin to fall, and the rest of nature is settling into introspection.  As for now, I chop wood so that I might have a fire in the winter.

There is a lot of busy-work involved with releasing an album – many mundane, tedious tasks which are necessary for the success of the release.  It is testing my self discipline for sure!  I learned a lot from the Ode Hazelwood album, regarding the things that need to be in place before scheduling a release date.  Nothing could be more detrimental to my purpose than a hasty release!  I say ‘purpose’ because I don’t believe that every album release holds the same intention; and some hold very little intention at all.  In hindsight, I know this was the case with Radio Noise.  My business plan consisted of two steps:  1. Put it out there   2. Wait and see.  Since then I have formed a deeper understanding of these important truths: ‘We will never have more than we can first conceive of  – we will never rise higher than our vision’.  These philosophies, taken out of context would lead one to believe that he can sit around and dream and Poof! – his desires will be manifest. Alas, Right Action is required. Every worthwhile creation begins with a clear vision and a set of goals, and is actualized through focused initiative. I have made peace with the filing system of my Left Brain, moving into a new paradigm wherein a perfect balance between Left and Right is the goal.  In my world, this is what it means to be ‘centered’.  This is the ‘middle way’.

With forward motion,
Mister Hazelwood

The Family Wash, being blocks from my estate, has become for me a place of solace.  A laundry facility – turned music venue, it is a place where I am often inclined to test my material – to ‘come clean’, if you will – absolving my-self of a persistent sense of duty to broadcast those epiphanies which have come to me from the enigmatic now-here.  Creation is a cycle.  I fully believe that if I do not share my gifts – those things which make me joyful – I am blocking a flow, and hindering future creative ideas.  It is an economy of creativity.  Inspiration is a currency which must circulate, and so I must spend freely, and with faith that more is on its way. 

Tuesday evening I claimed the stage for a half-hour, presenting an abbreviated set of music with only the aetherial half of the New Transcendentalists – no rhythm section.  It is interesting to me how variations in accompaniment can transform the quintessence of a repertoire of music.  This set felt very mellow and spacey, lacking in an energy created by rhythmic pulse, yet revealing nuances of feeling which otherwise might not be prevalent.  All one can do in such a moment is to let go of any presuppositions of what should-be and surrender to what-is.  In doing so, I found great reward in the passages of this mild-tempered set of music, and I trust that the audience did as well. 

As our album release is a mere couple of months away, it has become apparent to me that I need to schedule some appearances surrounding that event.  Perhaps a Fall Tour is in order!  Already, I have begun to coordinate with various personages to facilitate future bookings, and have met with flattering receptivity thus-far.  However, if any among you are inspired to recommend a venue befitting our aesthetic or another act with whom we might clique, I would be delighted hear from you!

With Gratitude,
Mr. Hazelwood

Have I mentioned that I love this website?!  Somehow I have managed to use my limited knowledge of web-code to erect this virtual home with relatively little money.  Granted, I have put a lot of blood, sweat, and tears into it – hammering in every nail myself, but I have found great reward in this toil.  Also, it has taken a little while to get it decorated to my aesthetic, for admittedly, my personal taste has been taking a growth-spurt.  But alas, here we are sitting in my newly-furnished parlor in the sky, sipping imaginary tea and discussing lofty ideals of consequence only to you and me, as we are the dreaming sort who possesses the rare ability to grasp the intangible.  Might I note that construction is still underway – it has come to my attention that on certain browsers and/or screen resolutions, some of the elements on this page appear out of place – so please excuse the mess!  I will climb up there and make the necessary repairs when the weather cools off a bit.  In the meantime, I am delighted that this has become such a comfortable space where we might convene as to share our Good news.

There is so much going on in this big old world, yet most of what makes it into the mainstream media – while in-turn affecting the collective consciousness – is that which might invoke fear.  This is because the multitude is heavily addicted to fear.  Just like food, we need Love in order to live, and fear is as a drug which curbs our appetite.  If we’re honest with ourselves, we’ve come to enjoy the rush that we get from worry, anxiety, and panic.  In some distorted way, it makes us feel more alive.  But let me assure you that ultimately, it will only cause you to feel depleted, rob you of motivation, and leave you powerless to do anything.  Among our intrinsic qualities are wholeness, vitality, openness, and creativity.  Upon sobriety from the unnatural substances of judgment, cynicism, scarcity, and disaccord we find these Truths in place, ready to impel us into the world of our dreams.

In Truth, what we see on the ‘news’ is not an accurate depiction of what is going on in the world.  There is so much Good happening at every minute that I find it laughable that we can only conjure up a few tragedies!  So as an experiment, try this with me:  Spend a single week focusing only on the Good in your life and in the world.  Take a hiatus from mainstream media (especially Fox News, MSNBC, CNN, and other sources of sensationalism) and deny those attempts of others to guide your perceptions toward doom and gloom (without a need to change theirs).  You might very well encounter feelings of guilt for actually feeling Good!  Let them pass away natuarally, for they are withdrawl symptoms from this radical fear detox.  Then, observe the paradigm shift that will have occurred.  Your world-view will have begun to converge with the Truth, and it is only from this position that you can effectively live the life that by Nature you were meant to live.

That is all for to-day.  I now return to the many tasks involved in the release of my upcoming album!  It will be at least a month before it is completed, yet there is so much to do aside from rendering the music itself.  I will post the details of those endeavors soon! 

 
With Love,
Mr. J. Hazelwood