I love the rain most

Seattle is wonderful and sad, I am sitting on my porch drinking a wonderful latte from the Little coffee shop down the street (it has a little leaf pattern in the foam) listening to Xavier Rudd, Joe Purdy and old Ryan Adams, not really looking forward to walking into the office in 8 minuets, but really, that's what makes me appreciate these special moments even more.

I am a proud Father of a little boy, a faithful follower of Jesus Christ, continuous worshiper and a happy spirit. But there is something deeply troubled in me at the same time, I feel something on the horizon, its nothing bad, in fact, its probably the most glorious thing ever, but still I am more then a little frightened because change usually hurts, like when your a child, and you go into kindergarten for the first time, its not a bad thing, and its not going to hurt you, but its still some what painful, and somewhat tragic, all your freedom that you held so closely, all your toys, all your smiles, your mother being right behind you...
you don't like when she walks away, after the door closed, everyone cried that day, it must have been terrible and tragic for the teacher, because every kid hated her, because they saw her as the reason they lost everything, that's a change,and its painful, we have such a limited scope of reality at that age, as soon as our first year is over, and summer comes, we feel the exact opposite, we miss our sweet little teacher, and her warm smile, her sweaters and her stockings, but its another change, and its tragic and beautiful.

this is me, tragic and beautiful, waiting for my first day of kindergarten.

Hotel Cafe tour 2008

Last night was a juggernaut of acoustic guitars, pianos, soft vocals and dance routine's?

Yup, Last night was the Seattle stop of the Hotel Cafe Tour staring

Ingrid Michealson
Cary Brothers
William Fitzsimmons
Mieko
Jesca Hoop (pronounced "hope" (apparently)
and Jim Bianco

I was most excited about Ingrid and William, they have been on constant repeat for the last 6 months, I just cant get over Ingrids sass and Williams Hushed vocals and honest lyrics. At on point Mr. Fitzsimmons did a cover off of the 16 candles sound track and had everyone on the tour up on stage dancing, it was a magical moment and Mieko and Jim Bianco "vogued" and Ingrid and her back up songstress Allie Moss tangoed (we also had a few Cameo visits from some other folk artists, Matt Kearney and Pwrfl POWER) William blew my mind, simple, understated, blazing honest songs about his parents divorce and other such losses. I had an opportunity to speak with him after the show about his music and where he is going, he was mostly vague but I can understand, he is a pretty quiet guy to begin with. He DID state however that he was working with a producer on his next album and hopes to have a little bit more of a "rounded" sound, adding some full band elements, but he ALSO promised he did not want to lose that "vibe" that he has crafted so sweetly over the past three years.

I don't "Gush" or get "star struck" but standing outside Nuemos in the freezing Seattle weather talking with someone whom I look up to greatly was beyond words, I wanted to invite him to the Cha Cha and share a pitcher of $4 Rainer but my companion for the night was eyeing me to get going... She probably would have gone along with it, I am kicking my self right now, I just want to pick his brain and see things from his talented eyes.

Mieko blew me away, so small, so coy... he voice was low and filled with experience well beyond her years, she had a trumpet player who SCREAMED at blowing that horn and an upright bass player, I downloaded her CD first thing this morning from iTunes.

As usual Ingrid was fantastic, she really knows how to sing, simply stated, she covered radioheads "creep" on a Ukulele... it was perfect..

Cary Brothers kind of ticked me off, I was not impressed with him and Jim Bianco, also, while WILDLY entertaining, was very disappointing/inappropriate.

anyways, I went home and worked on music till 4 this morning, now I am very tired, and the coffee in my office is weak...

help?

blocked

i just dont have anything to say, to write

i want to tell you something, a deep secret, somehing that really makes me happy



you know its you, it always has been

i just dont have anything to say

Unceasing

this cycle is coming to an end, I have people in my life now who care, who dont disapear for no reason, I know that my savior is here, and I am always searching for a closer place with him, I have been reading this book called "unceasing worship" it explains worship in a way that I have never thought about before, continual outpouring AND continual indwelling....

For so long I have felt "Far from God" but the truth is... he has always been IN me... always been rght WITH me, how many times do we hear the line "he is always walking beside you" well... thats not true... heis CLOSER... he is always... INSIDE me.. creepy... I know... But really, when you think about it, the thoughth that He is always within you, no matter what you do he is always there, and there is nothing we can do to chase him away, we cn hurl insult after insult in th face of his creations and he will continue to dwell within us. I find that inredably invigorating, also, very very convicting. When I am at my worst, when I am doing the things that no one knows about... he is right there... chillin in my heart... shaking his head saying "you were made for so much more then ths Jon"

I have recently heard the calling towards worship that was so prevelant in my life over certain times of my life, I am created to worship, created to give praise to my creator. I have always felt like this is a "musical" expression... but as of late i am learning that it is more a "life style" of worship... this life style started... and will continue... im not stoppin for anything.

This plane is for leaving

I had spent the entire day in the airplane, and had a Compostion notebook that I had been scribbling in throughout the entire flight. I had a grilfriend at the time, we used to write notes back and forth in this notebook, the entire trip so far was filled with smiley faces and stick figures, poems and deep conversations.

I had just finished a long story about some childhood turmoil when they announced that we were going to be landing soon, I decided it was a good idea to make one more run to the restroom before we landed, it was my first time in Tokyo and I was really excited to explore, I wanted to be ready when I got off the plane! I slipped the notebook into the pocket of the seat in front of me for safe keeping... and there it stayed... I got off that plane and forgot all about the notebook, that I had been pinning over for months, that I had filled with my deepest secrets, my darkest thoughts, my fears and every random thought from the previous two months.

The next morning I woke up in the hotel, looked out over a busy Tokyo street and felt an urge to write a lyric... I went to my bag to get the notebook, that had been faithfully by my side where ever I had gone in the previous two months, only to find that it was gone... I remembered exactly where I left it... I called the airline... nothing... I never saw that notebook again. Sometimes I picture some young or old, guy or girl, getting on the plane in Tokyo, ready for a long flight, finding the notebook, reading its contents and feeling conected with Theresa and I, that person has my heart... in compostion form.

Its alot like what I do now, write a song, play for hundreds of people, no one really knowing me, or my story, but still getting a glimpse into my world, into my heart, people leave a coffee house or a concert venue with a little piece of me, and I have never met that person... I have no idea who they are, where they come from, or what they are taking from me, but I know they heard me, I know they found something of worth in what I was saying... or singing...

Someone "wise" once told me to gaurd myself, be carefull who you let in, be carefull who your share with, because there is only so much you can give, and before too long it will be all gone, and there will be nothing left to give. I could not disagree more... I think we are boundless... infinate in nature... we never run dry... we are filled everyday but everything... if we let it...

I left Tokyo with a small hole inside of me... but maybe... just maybe that small hole that was taken out of my heart... plugged a much needed hole in someone elses... thats all I can ask for... its my heart, in compostion form... simple magic

Born into brothels

Magic, I love magic (i dont mean the card game) a couple years ago we were driving through west virginia, going... some where else... and we went into this long long tunnel that went through one of the adriondacks (I belive) we were playing the game to see who could hold there breath the longest, I lost, miserably, but it was a good thing, because as we came out of that tunnel, what I saw took my breath away. We had been driving all night, and it was about 6:30 in the morning the sun was just coming over the hills, it was november so it was cold, we came out of the tunnel onto a tall tall bridge, must have been 60 feet high, at the bottom was this sleepy little town, next to this sleepy little river that was sending a massive amount of not so sleepy steam into the air... it was unlike anything I have ever seen, it was magic.
Sometimes, when we were driving through another small town,in Arkasas or Ohio or some other place, I would think back to the small little town in the mountains, I would walk down the streets, look into the little store fronts, I would grab breakfast at the local diner where everyone knew your name. I wanted that life, a small town, a quiet get away, the same people everyday. At this point I had been on tour for 5 months, I was so sick and tired of the grind, of the road, of the faces that I didnt know, and never would know, I met so many wonderful people on that tour, but for the life of me I cant remember most of them, I think I was just to full.... to full of moments... of memories... of places... and I had not had time to digest everything that I had experienced... I wanted to sit in that diner... and think, over a big plate of scrambled eggs...

I leave for a three day weekend camp that I am playing music at, I am really excited, three nights of concerts at a sleepy little mountain lodge in oregon, they are supposed to have at least 7-10 FEET of snow, the only thing I have to do is play music for an hour each night... the rest of the time... nothing... I really cant wait to sit on the deck of the lodge with my guitar and take it all in... maybe I will finally have time to digest everything that has been going on around me... this is going to be a good weekend, its going to be magic!

the long and winding road...

I started playing music because I wanted a girl to notice me, I wrote her a song, I sang it to her in the airport in Dallas, Texas, I got the response I desired, I can remember the exact moments when I was writing those words, sitting on a curb in Houston, Texas, fumbling with the three chords that i knew, that day during the afternoon before sound check, we walked down a small rural street to get some ice cream and finally do some laundry... I was doing sound on a small tour with an acoustic outfit from Tyler, Texas, Theresa was her name, she went home to Missouri to vist her parents, when she came off the plane, down the tunnel, I was waiting for her with a guitar in hand, I sang to her the song I wrote, I had never felt so alive...

Six months later we were in Birmingham Alabama, we played at Auburn University, I was asked to play a few of my songs to open, three songs never felt so terrifying, I made it through, and was better for it.

As years passed I found myself in Ashville N.C. Chicago, Philly, Omaha, Atlanta, St. louise, Nashville, Denver... the List goes on and on,I can still see the leaves changing while we wound through the Adriondacks in Tennessee, and the Mist risng up for one of the tiny rivers during a foggy West Virginia monring, the cities, towns, people and places welcomed me and my music, moments that will forever be etched in my memories, that road is always there, that long and ever present road, and I will always travel it, I long to capture that feeling in my music, I want to transport the listener to a familier place, where they have been, or want to go... so they can connect... for a moment... with someone else in this vast world. Music is the universal language of love, pain, loss, and truth, I hope I lead you to all of those things.