Here's a poem I've been working on the past few days, adapted from a poem I wrote after PAPA fest, June 2008. I'm going to set it to music and record the result for my upcoming full-length album, tentatively titled Simple Songs for Simple Living.

I've also written a new blog about a recent busking experience, check it out at the Matt 6:24 blog.
Enjoy!
Lord the things I've seen...

rocky and smoky and snow-capped mountains
And desert as far as my eyes could see,
I've seen men without homes living in houses
While those with most riches make their home on the street.
I've seen tall redwood forests and Japanese gardens
And thumbed my way across the nation.
I've played songs of protest on the road to Brooklyn
As friends were arrested for revolution.

Lord, the things I've seen.
Lord, lord, the things I've seen.

I've seen endless rows of wheat and cotton,
I've slept on a stiff field of corn.
I've seen families desperate to slave these same fields
Just to live in the place I was born.
I've seen monkeys and sharks and rhinoceros beetles,
Diners and brothels in Thailand.
I've heard heart-breaking fireside stories
As occupied hearts were pried open.

I've seen seven countries and twenty two states,
I've surfed both the west and the east
I've seen many a subsistence garden
And a farm whose main crop was peace.
I've seen Bangkok slums and Tijuana beaches
And explosions at the Eiffel Tower.
I awoke before dawn at a park in Manhattan
To show police who has the real power.

I've skied and snorkeled and walked on water
Paralyzed by the cold.
And I've walked among a people more frozen still,
Apathetic and under control.
But I've also seen a rare breed of wild geese,
And a treehouse hostel on fire -
Singing and dancing and occupying,
Subverting and resisting empire.

I've plumbed the depths and scraped the skies,
Hiked over mountain, canyon, and stream.
I've traveled the earth with open eyes
By the seat of my pants and the Iimits of dreams.

Lord, the things I've seen.
Lord, lord, the things I've seen.
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Updates 01/24/2012
 
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Now that I've been back in the city for a few weeks I've finally settled into a healthy groove. I've been awaking before 7am for over two weeks now and observing a daily afternoon siesta time. I have also returned to a rigid work schedule, which really helps to keep me on task.

My work day includes writing new songs, booking my spring tour, and busking. I nearly finished writing the lyrics for a new song today and I heard back from a few folks in Knoxville, which will likely be my second stop on the tour.

I'm also starting a new regiment of daily blog-writing which should keep this and my three other blog sites updated more regularly.

Mixed into all of that is my time and work volunteering at Word Up and earning my keep at my new apartment. I typically busy myself at the store organizing, fixing things, moving shelves and equipment around. I pretty much do the same stuff at my new apartment. I'll talk about my living situation in greater detail on the Matt 6:24 blog. Soon, promise!
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Last week I was part of a live television broadcast for a daily morning show in Japan, a la Good Morning America. I'm waiting on the footage from NHK, will post it as soon as I can!

And just a quick praise report - I want to give a huge thank you to Trinity Grace Church and the Benevolence Fund for helping me out with some cumbersome bills I received when I landed in the hospital last October following a nasty fall on the slack-line at Brooklyn Boulders. They are covering all of the expenses, which is a huge blessing! I couldn't thank them enough.

That's it for now, much more to come in the next few months!
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Japanese TV station is doing a live taping today at Word Up Books and I'm going to be performing for their Friday morning show! 10 MILLION VIEWERS! AAAAAGH!
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There are a couple bills making the rounds of Congress purportedly to stop internet piracy. But folks more familiar with SOPA and PIPA (more familiar than I am, anyway) cautioned that these laws would lead to internet repression and the effectual stripping of our liberties. They showed us the writing on the wall. So yesterday we saw perhaps the largest internet protest in history, including such big-time dissidents as Google, Wikipedia, and Wordpress. Thousands of people
took their demonstration to social networking platforms Twitter and Facebook by NOT engaging. Many blogs were written, videos posted, and so on.


As for me, I didn't do much for the blackout - just posted a link to Wikipedia, signed the Google petition, and refrained from tweeting (though I still cheated twice to post updates about Word Up and caution people about the NDAA, which is still more dangerous). Upon further consideration, though, I ought to have done much more. There are endless reasons why it behooves me to have SOPA and PIPA killed. In fact, when the bills ARE killed - and I trust they will be - I'll
dance a jig on their graves.

After all, my entire career is built on a free internet. What little name I've made for myself I've done through Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Google, NoiseTrade - most of which actively oppose the two internet bills because it would hinder them from providing optimal service to their users. And that's me.

In other words, I have a lot to lose if those bills get passed - In many respects my career and my livelihood. Let it be known far and wide - I oppose SOPA and PIPA.
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And while I'm making such declarations, I also greatly oppose NDAA, perhaps the greatest violation of our civil liberties since the Alien and Sedition acts of WW1 (which justified the imprisonment of anyone who opposed the war!). Under NDAA, anyone involved with Occupy Wall
Street could be considered a terrorist and then indefinitely detained! EVEN IF THEY ARE A U.S. CITIZEN!!!

This isn't conspiracy theory, people. This is a real law, signed quietly by President Obama himself on New Years Eve. Look it up, get informed.

The last declaration I want to make is this: I do not endorse or support any of the current candidates for president. But I do think Ron Paul has a thousand times more integrity, honesty, courage, and self-respect than all of the other candidates combined. Including Obama. If the general election comes down to Obama or Paul, I'll have to swallow my pride and vote Rep.


To be clear, I find both parties to be totally repugnant and voting for either would require a huge swallow of pride - I would only do so for a candidate that I genuinely liked.

That's all I have to say about that.
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BLACKOUT 01/18/2012
 
Hey, check out the cool thing Wikipedia's doing today!
Go ahead, search something. Anything!

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Haitian Song 01/17/2012
 
So I'm going through my collection of original poetry, trying to find poems to be used for my next album (coming this summer, WOOT!) 

I found this little doozy, an exhortation I wrote exactly two years ago tomorrow. The catastrophic earthquake in Haiti had occurred some days prior and I was moved to respond to the reaction of people, government, and media in the US. Let us not forget the plight of the Haitian people who, to this day, still feel the rumblings of poverty that the earthquake only helped amplify. 
 
This just in!
AN EARTHQUAKE HAS STRUCK THE ISLE HISPANIOLA!
The news spreads like fire carried on a breeze
as altruists don their almighty checkbooks
and all of the faithful drop to their knees.

But philanthropic aid come from abroad
can only accomplish so much good
and our fervent prayers to a merciful God
could hardly ever be understood
by a Being who sees all things from above,
each of his supplicants' words and deeds,
who sees how we all take advantage of
cheap labor for our abundance and greed.

Perhaps instead
We should start by asking tough questions,
like "why was this country poor to begin with?"
and "might disparity of wealth among nations
disprove the global economic progress myth?"

After all,
What does catastrophe look like to the poor
when they've suffered each day for hundreds of years
through imperially imposed slavery and war?
Do earthquakes change the taste of their tears?
And how does calamity feel to the poor?
What kind of difference does it really make?
Death and destruction was there long before,
their misery did not begin with the quake.

Thus I submit
Money and prayers are only a start
if we want to see this country turn 'round.
These efforts could never get to the heart
of that which holds the Haitian people down.

What good can our charity do in the end
if oppressive regimes take over again,
if puppet dictators, American "friends",
continue to wield their power with violence?
And
What good are our prayers for justice and peace
if we can't commit to live by them,
if we keep ourselves distant from all "the least of these"
only til tragedy arouses our conscience?

Therefore,
Let us begin by casting our lots
with our poor, desperate neighbors in Haiti
who have toiled, labored, struggled, and fought
for their independence and prosperity.
Then
May we be a people whose kindness and mercy
come from a place of shalom;
who hear and respond to the cries of the poor -
no matter what country they may call home -

Inviting God's Kingdom come.

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One of my pastors at Trinity Grace recently posed the titular question to our congregation, hoping for a flood of emails to his inbox. I didn't get around to it last week (and neither did most others, apparently) but I do think it's an important question to think about every now and again. It just makes sense to ask what an author is up to as we turn the page to a new chapter - especially when we ourselves are characters in the narrative!

I've already written about what I hope to happen this year as an extension of what I accomplished throughout 2011. But what does it all mean? WHY do I wish to accomplish X, Y, and Z? Is it only for my own sense of accomplishment and actualization or is it also to glorify God? Meanwhile, do I actually see God's hand moving in my life? If so, where? How?

There are at least two major ways that I see God at work in my life right now, patterns that I anticipate will be woven throughout the entire year.

The first actually is a sense of self-actualization - but for the glory of God, not the glory of me. That is to say: I know that God has called me to be a songwriter, a performance artist, an activist. I anticipate that I will grow ever more comfortable in these shoes as I break them in; that I will continue to improve my craft and gain in cultural influence as I work toward these ends. But God didn't call me to this life so that I might be glorified. It's for God's glory and God's kingdom, not mine. The artistic excellence and acclaim that I desire, the cultural influence that I seek is on behalf of God's kingdom. Indeed, I've been called a "voice in the wilderness" (alluding to John the Baptist), a canary in the mineshaft, a prophet. Lest such comparisons and analogies get to my head, I can only pray that my integrity in faith and obedience will stand the tests that God yet has for me; either way, I know that the nearer I approach the man God has called and wills me to be, the greater God's glory.

Even the daily provision that I pray for, largely dedicated to my climb out of debt, is ultimately for God's glory and honor - that I might one day, in my abundance, give to the poor and bless the church with a generous heart. I believe that it is God's will that I be free from debt and I trust that God will provide all my needs and help me to reach this freedom soon!

The second thread that God has been weaving into the fabric of my life is the neighborhood of Washington Heights. It all started just weeks after I moved to NYC in September of 2009. The Heights missional community took off at that point and I began to fall for the neighborhood, though I lived in Harlem at the time. I joined men in prayer at the 181 overlook, volunteered to teach music at Operation Exodus, and joined the Neighborhood Trust community development credit union at the GWB bus terminal. But I still did not realize then that God was clearly calling me to this neighborhood.

Perhaps that epiphany did not arrive until July of last year, when I began volunteering at the new "pop-up" bookstore and arts community center on 175 street and broadway. Word Up Books is committed to promoting literacy and the arts in a neighborhood that is vastly underserved. Though the Heights has the largest concentration of children in Manhattan, the school libraries are unkept and unused, public libraries are sparse, and we are the only bookstore within a thirty block radius! Great things have come out of our service to the neighborhood and we have had much favor and appreciation from our neighbors. Most importantly, it has provided a forum to really integrate into the life of the neighborhood, to meet many people who live and work in Washington Heights, including many local writers, artists, and musicians. And of course it's a great place to be a witness for God and the church, to show God's heart for the Heights and for peace and justice.

It is a great privilege to be involved in the work God is doing to bring peace and justice to the Heights and NYC through these various organizations. But I am especially looking forward to the great work God has for the new church plant in the Heights as we join God in the renewal of all things. I currently and temporarily sleep in Inwood, farther uptown than I prefer, but I plan to move to Washington Heights in June with other folks from the Heights MC. By God's grace we will live together, intentionally, with emphasis on spiritual praxis, hospitality, and service to the church and neighborhood.

So... That's what I believe God is doing in my life. I've made some plans accordingly, though I suppose there's always the possibility that God has some dramatic irony up the sleeve! No matter. Whichever way God leads, I will follow.
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Now that I've painted a picture of where I've come from over this past year (see: previous entry), I'd like to take a look at where I see myself going throughout 2012: my many hopes, dreams, and plans for the new year!

Here goes:

January-March -- Around this time last year I decided that I would make songwriting my primary concern, my principal craft. This year I press on with that same mission. I am working on new songs to be released on my first full length album. I've also wanted to tour the Midwest for over a year now, so I've begun booking for a spring tour.
In November I moved to an apartment in Inwood (uptown Manhattan, just past Washington Heights) with one of the volunteers at Word Up books. He's allowing me to stay with him rent-free in exchange for fifteen hours of labor per week. I'll soon write more about this living scenario on the Matt 6:24 blog.
In order to make a living these next few months, I will continue to busk on the trains and do other odd jobs here and there. I am also still promoting the Zombie Music Campaign for peace and justice, which will help support my work and the efforts of five great non-profit organizations.

April-May -- Trinity Grace Church plans to launch a new parish in Washington Heights on Easter Day. I will do what I can in the mean time to support this effort. Shortly after the launch I plan to hit the road for my tour. I will be riding Megabus from A to B and I hope to stop at about 28 cities in the south and Midwest. I'll play shows, occupations, radio appearances - whatever I can get!
Traveling will allow me to sell more copies of Protest Songs and to workshop the songs intended for my new album. I will also spend some time on the road booking a North Carolina tour for the summer.

June-August -- I plan to move to a new apartment in June, along with other members of the TGC Heights church plant. It will be an intentional Christian community, practicing spiritual disciplines together, serving and showing hospitality to our neighbors, and supporting the infant Heights parish.
In late June, I hope to play at the Wild Goose Festival in rural North Carolina. If I'm not accepted to play, I will volunteer. Afterwards I will spend a couple weeks recording the new album in Burlington, NC, with my friend and colleague Zach Corsa of Lost Trail. He will co-produce the album with me and we are both very excited about the endeavor. During those two weeks I also hope to take evening trips to other NC cities to play some shows.
During these summer months I plan to take requests for volume II of the GioSafari At Your Request cover album project.

September-December -- I hope to start my second year of service with AmeriCorps at this time. I will also record the cover album during these fall months.

I recognize and accept that these initiatives may not turn out precisely as planned. But I'll do everything in my power to accomplish these goals throughout the year. Please stay abreast of my progress by tuning in to this here blog or following me on Twitter.

Thanks for your support, thoughts, encouragement, and prayer. It really helps to drive me ever-forward. Here's wishing you also a very happy, productive, and self-actualizing 2012!

Peace,
Gio
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I returned less than a week ago from the Zombie Music Tour and holiday vacation that topped off 2011. I've written much about the tour here but I haven't really stopped to look at it in the context of a longer, very busy, productive and progressive year.
I kicked off 2011 with extreme financial and existential instability. At the same time I had a profound (-ly vague) sense of purpose for my life - I was to be a "voice in the wilderness," a songwriter, artist, activist. I wrote, exactly one year ago today:

People do not understand my art; and they may or may not WANT to understand my art. I'm learning what that might mean for my practice and career as an artist.

2011 turned out to be a year of great growth for me as an artist and activist. In many ways I've clarified that sense of purpose that I felt a year ago. It was also a year of transition as I moved slowly toward stability without ever quite arriving - there was more than enough uncertainty and change to ensure instability. Keeping busy has helped, as you'll soon see; I anticipate that my perseverance will continue to bear fruit in the new year. Distinct from 2011, however, I actually have some plans for the coming year (I again hope to reach that stability by June) and I will detail them in my next post. But first I want to take a good look at the past year, to have a clearer sense of where I've come from . Here's my past year in review.

January -- Terrified that I couldn't earn enough to pay rent and my various debts, I sat with Torrey - a roommate at the time and fellow songwriter - calculating the bare minimum I would have to earn per day. I began busking as my primary source of income.

February -- I earned more on the trains than I had anticipated and I committed to eating 100% freegan (not to mention doing media work for freegan.info). I projected a budget to get out of debt by June. I also began rock climbing - falling quickly in love - and made my first major financial mistake of buying an un-budgeted seasonal membership and climbing shoes at Brooklyn Boulders (totaling more than $300).

March-April -- Dawn called out to me and I desperately tried to answer. I had 7am meetings on Tuesdays and Thursdays with the worship and poetry teams of Trinity Grace Church. I learned a great deal from the worship pastor, especially how to pray, and began playing with the band on Sunday mornings.

May -- Morning meetings ended as TGC began major structural shifts to a neighborhood parish model. I began taking requests for my cover album project.

June -- Busking did not prove so lucrative beyond the winter and financial stability was no longer on the radar. I began volunteering at the climbing gym (BKB), which earned me a free membership there. I also volunteered at Wild Goose Fest, a progressive Christian event in rural North Carolina, which also earned me free entrance there. Afterwards I played a show at Staycation in Burlington NC, the home and venue of DIY musician and promoter Zach Corsa.

July -- As the votes for my cover album continued to come in through July 15, I also wrote and recorded original songs for a new album, Protest Songs (Are Dead). The head honcho at my apartment suggested that we not continue to live together, so I would have to find a new place to stay by November. At the end of the month I went on a mini-tour to Minneapolis and attended the Jesus Radicals conference there. During that time my freegan profile was published in HuffPostFood, also appearing on AOL's news home page.

August -- I began spending much time and energy at Word Up Books, a new non-profit all-volunteer-run bookstore in Washington Heights. I was now convinced that God wanted me to live in the Heights and I began to seek roommates for community living in the neighborhood. On August 17 I released Protest Songs (Are Dead), my second album and EP, digitally on NoiseTrade.

September -- On September 17, exactly one month later, I was among the few and the proud who braved the cold and NYPD to occupy Zuccotti Park in downtown Manhattan. I lived there full time for one week and continued to camp for two more. I also began booking for the Zombie Music Tour.

October -- I began recording songs for the At Your Request cover album, releasing them one by one on youtube. I also sustained an injury while slacklining at BKB which rendered me unable to participate in the actions at Liberty Plaza. My streak of bad/no luck with the living situation ended when another Word Up volunteer offered to allow me stay with him through the end of the year.

November -- In the first week of November I hurried to moved my stuff (getting two parking tickets in the process), finish the cover songs and release them on NoiseTrade, and produce CDs of Protest Songs, all before shoving off on the Zombie Music tour. Then I traveled to twenty cities and played at five shows, nine occupations, four campfires, a radio appearance, the SOAW protest in GA, and even a wedding (my sister's, congrats Amy & Brandon!). Zach Corsa joined me for a significant part of the tour and we've made plans to collaborate on a major project this summer (stay tuned!)

December -- I returned to NYC for two weeks and spent most of the time at Word Up, getting the space ready for a big rent party and celebration on the 17th. Then I flew back to Florida to spend the holidays with family and friends.
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Happy New Year! 01/10/2012
 
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_Hello all,

I've had really unreliable Internet in the past two months. Like.. REAL BAD. First world problems, I know. But it has been very frustrating and has made it very difficult to keep you all abreast of my tour (finally finished those entries, WOOT!) and my goings-on in the new year.

I have a new blog entry in the works to recount the awesomeness that was 2011 and to project my plans for the new year. Coming soon! In the mean time, I invite you to download some new-ish music that I've released on noisetrade. The title track, Learning Every Day, was a collaborative effort with my sister Anais. I've had this recording sitting on a virtual shelf collecting virtual dust/cobwebs for over a year now, figured I ought to release it along with the children's songs from the At Your Request cover album.

The music is FREE but if you feel compelled to leave me a tip, please know that proceeds benefit the Zombie Music Campaign for peace and justice (click here for details).

New music for new people in the new year! Woohoo! Peace and love in the new year to all you not-so-new folks as well =)

Enjoy!
Gio
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