2018 – Coming Together and Fighting for Common Good

New Year’s Day was simple. We enjoyed Japanese-style dishes and sake with a young Japanese family friend. I recalled how Dad did not quite make it to age 37 (two months shy) and here I was starting the new year at the age of 37 with so many things in my heart that I wanted to live for and experience. I envisioned what my 2018 would be like: abundant positive energy; gratitude mindset; spreading my work as a teacher and songwriter; a truly beautiful family;…

2008 – Figuring Things Out

January was a trying time for me particularly in terms of my role at Tee Jay High School. I found the level of organization and unity amongst the staff, student body, and parents to be sorely lacking. At least I was learning what kind of work environment I did not want in my future. It was a lesson in contrast. Yet, despite the hectic and unpredictable environment, I still felt I had to carry through with the job that I signed up for at least until the end of the term.

Tee Jay High…

2013 – Creating New Foundations

January 1^st of 2013 was my first New Year based in Brooklyn since 2008. In 2009, I left for New Delhi, India. In 2010, I was in Bahia, Brazil. In 2011, I moved to Takarazuka, Japan. In 2012, I was living in Japan. Now in 2013 I was once again back in Brooklyn, only now with a sense of having recently transplanted myself back after being uprooted from my native land for a few years. Barack Obama was being sworn into his second term of office and I was creating new foundations…

1986 – Transitions and East 35^th Street

In January, the world of music entertainment saw some excitement though as a five-year old I was not aware. The first group of musicians were inducted into the new Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, including Chuck Berry, Elvis Presley, Fats Domino, Buddy Holly, and Little Richard among other pioneering rock and rollers. A few days later Diana Ross hosted the 13^th Annual American Music Awards in LA. Winners included Tina Turner, Stevie Wonder, The Pointer Sisters, Willie…

2002 – Music Mania

The New Year was marked with a sense of unknown energy, some exciting and some sad. New musical frontiers lie ahead of me and simultaneously Modus Tollens seemed to be losing its spark to continue. Jason Hills, who was by then acting as my manager, sent out an email with some announcements. It said that Modus Tollens was “taking a break to audition singers”. It then mentioned some of my upcoming solo gigs at Bar B in Manhattan and my upcoming first gig with the Stone Temple Pilots tribute…

1982 – The Sheridan Trio – Making it Work

My family was living in a small walk-up apartment on the second floor of a house at 4120 Bedford Avenue (between Avenues U and T). Dad was working nights at the New York Daily News. His job was to make sure the printing machines kept operating smoothly all through the night. He was in the position of “top boy”, which meant he could get a lot of work with good pay. If he was promoted to junior pressman, then he’d earn higher hourly pay, but be offered less work (until…

1999 – Exploration, Separation, and New Path

The memory of New Year’s Eve was awesome, in that haunting, guilty-for-enjoying-my-life kind of way. I had enjoyed private time with Ella, drinking with friends and then goofing around with Jason into the wee hours. I now had to recalibrate and face the reality of daily life once again, only with Nana slowly falling apart in the hospital, my feelings were complicated. How was I supposed to feel about visiting her, barely responsive as she was, in the…

2005 – Flirting with My Shadow

Levelsix was entering its peak state. We were regularly rehearsing, meeting, planning, and semi-frequently performing. We were focusing on developing our band image and experimented with dark themes in a photo shoot in January. We had chosen black and red for our band colors. These photos depict various unholy scenes bathed in red light with the other dominant color being black. I wore the costume crown of thorns and black eye liner. I was bold enough to express myself in…

2006 - Release of the Rock Star Dream

As the New Year dawned, I had the feeling that 2006 would either make or break Levelsix. The band was at a crossroads. We had achieved some measures of success, yet overall Levelsix was still more of an expensive hobby than a growing career. And the excitement and fun that once characterized our activities was feeling more like the obligation of going to work with co-workers who were not getting along.

Meanwhile, I was developing an exciting new relationship with Felicia…

2004 – Mysteries, Mazes, Musical Manifestations

After the Cornucopia CD release party, I began to let The Pencil People project dissolve of itself naturally. It seemed whenever I culminated one project, I lost motivation to promote it and preferred to move on to the next creative adventure. Levelsix was now establishing a presence in the local heavy rock scene. I deeply loved the music and the vibe of The Pencil People, however there were at least three main factors which made it a natural choice for me to…