Happy Holidays!

Hey, it's been months but I'm still here. It's been an interesting 6 or 7 months since I've blogged and I do apologize for not sharing. I have however gained renewed inspiration and will do my utmost best to be consistent and make posts in this blog at least twice each month. 

There is much to catch up on but now is not the time. Instead I will leave you with some Christmas cheer, wishing you all a very Merry & Happy Christmas and All the Best for 2012!!

Dubz Xmas Medley - Click to Play!!

Love, Peace & Happiness
Dubz

Read Any Good Books Lately?

I haven't blogged much lately because I see me repeating myself, going on and on about whatever situation I'm in. And honestly when I think about it, that's not what I want to share with the world. Yeah we all have challenges and the world of today allows us to express ourselves as freely as we wish across the various mediums available reaching just a few close friends or the vast numbers that surf the internet daily. So it is my intention now to stop sharing so much of how I feel about my current situation because frankly, I'm tired of hearing myself complain and the reality is, venting, complaining or even just sharing does not make the situation any different. Taking action is the only thing that will change anything. So SHUT UP NOW DUBZ AND DO SOMETHING ABOU IT!! Am I sounding a bit schizo? Hmmm, you'd be surprised of some of the thoughts that comes to my head sometimes...thank God for self-control and rational thinking.

Anyhow,  I'v started a new blog and you are all free to follow/subscribe to it...I'd appreciate that.  Here's the link- Read Any Good Books Lately?

Hope you like it and I hope it inspires you to read more.


So what am I up to today? Working on my new blog

Peace Love & Happiness
Dubz

Life - As We Imagine/Wish/Want it to Be

I had a thought this morning and I put it up on facebook-

"Your life is as great as you imagine it to be" 

 Believe it or not, that statement is true and I am living proof of that. Even if I, myself don't think my life is all that great at the moment I do have a lot to be thankful for and I'm sure there are people who do think I have a great life and wished they could be in my shoes to do what I do and have the experiences I have.  

Let me explain why I'm proof of the above statement:

Growing up surrounded by musicians, my dad and uncles, that's what I knew and that's what my brother and I used to mimic even before we started playing instruments. As we got older, started to play instruments and upon leaving high school all I wanted to do is what I saw my father doing, tour the world playing music in various bands.  I was in a band as a teen, a band with my brother and friends we grew up with who shared the same dream.  But our band hardly did any gigs. We recorded an album and practiced together all the time until we all (by default) started doing other things to earn a living because we were out of school and had to start accepting some sort of responsibility in our respected home situations.  We officially "disbanded' when the drummer decided that he no longer wanted to be a part of it and he was an integral part of our existence so it was never the same without him. We all kept the dream however, together or not, we each wanted to be successful musicians/artists. 

Anyhow back to my point. I kept dreaming of touring, listened to my dads live cassettes on tour with Ziggy Marley and learned all the guitar parts, imagining myself on stage playing the set.  Within a few years of leaving high school, three years to be exact, I started touring with Damaian "Jr Gong" Marley and doing recording sessions with Ziggy & Stephen Marley.  Then in another couple years I started touring with one of Jamaica's most successful artists (Shaggy), and that led to me working/touring with most of of the top acts from Jamaica -  Jimmy Cliff, Diana King, Monty Alexander, Morgan Heritage, Buju Banton to name a few. 

I remember days when I kept saying to myself "I just want to be a touring musician", and that's all I thought about, that's all I visioned, that's what I imagined. I even remember the first time I saw Shaggy perform live and was blown away by the band and how they all performed (1996). Right there I said "I'd want to be in a band like that"...and two years later I was in Shaggy's band. 

So you see, it's not about luck or any random happenings. We all choose our paths either consciously or unconsciously.  If you pay attention to your reoccurring thoughts, beliefs or even the things you say aloud everyday, you'll realize that life as you know it is as a result of your own thoughts, imagination and decisions. No matter what your current situation or circumstance is, you have the power within you to change it forever. See it, say it, imagine it, pray about it and be thankful for everything leading you to where you are and where you intend to be. Whatever you want in life or for your life may not happen the exact way you want it. It may not happen the time when you expect it and it will not be without challenges. But sure enough it will be as you intend it to be.


So what am I up to today? Being thankful for the great life I have and looking forward on greater things to come. 


Love

Taking A New Road

I haven't blogged in over a month..wow..I didn't realize it was that long. There has been a lot going on and at the same time not much.

I haven't traveled since Colombia and from the looks of things I won't be going on the road til mid April. I have been working nonetheless so I've managed to balance everything.

Been working on a new song,  a song I actually sang. But I got some criticism the other day which made me have second thoughts about going through with the whole thing so I decided to ask a couple of my colleagues their professional opinions.  I've gotten back good feedback and encouragement.....but I'm still at war with myself. 90% of my whole being wants me to forget about even going there (singing) and the other 10% is fighting really hard to over power the majority. This is something I think will improve my overall performance, bring more to the table when I'm booked for a gig and also have a wider appeal and marketability..So my 10% is holding strong, or at least trying.
It's easy to stay in your comfort zone, never expanding your horizons...Change and growth takes work..I just hope I'm really up for it and get over this self-doubt crap that lingers within, which is more difficult to deal with when faced with criticism especially when you don't like your own voice in the first place ...Yeah, messed up isn't it? But I'm gonna push on through...There has to be a starting point. 
My favorite quote is a Chinese Proverb -  "If we don't change or direction we're likely to end up where we are headed". And I figure I've been heading in the same direction all along, maybe it's time to take a new "road" and see where that leads.

So what am I up to today?  Taking a new road

Thanks

Sitting in a rehearsal yesterday and I had a thought, something that I've thought about from time to time and something which I'm truly grateful for and it's what has led me to where I am, being the musician I am today.

Ever since I started playing guitars professionally I've been privileged to be around the people who have inspired me, people who influenced me, people who taught me and most of whom had the wisdom and experience enough to make a positive impact in my life.  I've had the opportunity to work with most of them and I've had the chance to meet and talk with some. All in all, I'm truly blessed and I am thankful for all and to all  of them for being a part of my life in some way or another.

I'm going to try and list the names in the chronological order of my experiences with them, here goes:


Glen Browne - Father, great musician (bassist), big influence
Dalton & Danny Browne - Uncles, two great guitarists, big influences
Maurice Gordon - Jamaican Jazz guitarist & great teacher, inspires me
Tony "Ruption" Williams - Drummer, inspired me greatly
Steven "Lenky" Marsden - Keyboard player, inspired me greatly
Earl "Chinna" Smith - Guitarist, big influence
Ian "Beezy" Coleman - Guitarist, big influence
Ziggy Marley - Artist, inspires me
Steven Marley - Artist, inspires me
Wilburn "Squidly" Cole - Drummer, inspired me
Franklyn "Bubbler" Waul - Keyboard player, inspired me
Sly Dunbar - Drummer, record producer - inspires me
Steelie & Clevie - Great Jamaican record producers
Monty Alexander - Pianist, inspired me greatly
Richie Stevens - Artist, inspires me
Junior Tucker - Artist, inspires me
Michael Fletcher - Bassist, inspired me
Christopher Birch - Keyboard Player, inspires me
Shaggy - Artist, inspires me
Desi Jones - Drummer, inspires me
Paul Kastick -  Drummer, inspires me
Norris Webb - Keyboard Player, inspires me
Diana King - Artist, inspires me
Richie Barr - Bassist, inspires me
Rohan Reid - Bassist, Guitaist....inspires me greatly


Ok....hmmm...can't think of anyone else now....

When I was growing up and aspired to be a musician, these are the people who I saw on TV, heard on the radio and watched perform on stage. I saw others as well, but these are the ones who influenced and inspired me the most and who I've actually worked with. They helped to steer me in the direction that led me to where I am today weather intentionally or not. And I am truly thankful that I'm able to share this life filled with love, music and the love of music with them all.

So what am I up to today? Giving thanks for all the influences and inspiration I've been given. 

Thank You

Unexpected Layover in Bogota, Colombia

 It's 3:42pm and I should be home with my family by now but instead I'm sitting in a hotel room in Bogota, Colombia.  It's a nice room, in the style of a contemporary two bedroom apartment with kitchen and the works. But still, I'd rather be home, our show as on Sunday, what am I still doing here its TUESDAY!?! ....So I left my room when I started writing, went to eat and the people who brought us here were sorting out our flights for tomorrow. It's now 6:32pm. They have been very accommodating though....after all, it's their negligence why we missed our original flight.

Let me explain: We landed in Bogota on Saturday, at around 11pm. The hotel we stayed at was in a different city so we drove for 3 hours or more to get there. I got my room at about 3am. The following  afternoon (Sunday) we left for the show which ended up being another 3hour drive or more from the hotel.  Some of the guys had an early flight on Monday so after getting back to the hotel at a little after 10pm we ate and they got ready for their 3 hour drive back to Bogota to make their 7 or 6am flights....they left at about 2am. But we had Monday off because apparently there are no flights on Copa Airlines to Jamaica via Panama on Monday so we spent the day at the hotel (in the middle of nowhere) and had a scheduled lobby call/departure for the airport at 1:30am (Tuesday)...

Everyone was ready, paid our bills, and waited..1:45am....no bus,.........2am.....no bus,......2:25am...still no bus. We called our TM to explain what was going on - us 6 members were the only ones left in Colombia ...and he said he'll call us back.......3am...no bus. So we called him back because if the drive to Bogota was three hours, clearly at this point we would barely catch the flight. Our TM eventually said he couldn't get through to anyone who he had arranged the pick up with in the first place and his suggestion was to have the girl at the front desk call a van or whatever to get us out ASAP.
Well, she called maybe 4 or 5 people who declined to take that trip at 3am. ...Finally she spoke to a guy who agreed to pick us up but he was coming from Bogota so he said it would take him four hours to get to us and another four hours to get to Bogota. At this point we all accepted that we were going to miss the flight so we all went back to our rooms and tried to get what little rest we could till he arrived.

All this time I assumed our TM would have been trying to book us on the next possible available flight. Hmmmmm, nah...Instead we waited about an hour at the airport for someone to meet us that supposedly was coming to book flights...hmmmm, nah....So we were at the airport for about 4 hours, waiting to hear about a flight that really wasn't being booked.  Anyhow they finally sent someone to sort everything out, got us some nice rooms, took us to eat and now here I am again still waiting on a confirmation from the airline. I'm pretty sure we'll get confirmed on the flight and be home tomorrow...it just kinda sucks that I'm here when I should be home today.
Everything happens for a reason I guess...Learn from every experience.

So what am I up to today? Spending one more night in Colombia.

Blessings

Facebook, Colombia, Life

Finally, my facebook account has been reactivated after a little over a week of being disabled. I was really irritated by the whole experience because I thought the developers/admin staff wasn't addressing the issue with any urgency. Thinking of it now, they actually did. Because when you look at the volume of facebook users worldwide and what it takes to monitor millions of accounts, one week was good. 

What have I learned? That I can actually spend more time doing other things each day rather than "browsing" facebook for 2 or 3 hours.

The wife is back from her trip, she came on Sunday. Seems like she had a fun time which is good, we all need some "fun time" every now and then. Even if it's without your loved ones or spouse.

The year started out with me being all miserable until I spoke with a friend, then I decided to try and cheer up. I've been trying to "hold" the cheer....hopefully I will for the next 350 something days that's left for 2011. Which reminds me...Y'all can download my desktop calendar HERE

I'm tired, not enough rest. I do the early morning thing with the kids so I'm up from 5:30am preparing breakfast for everyone, lunch for the little one then I'm off with them to school by 7am. I'm usually back home by 8, the latest...then I do whatever I have to do, try to get my work-out on or whatever. ...Get through the day and for whatever reason I'm never in bed before 11pm..falling asleep maybe 30 to 40 minutes after that. Then I do it all over again the following day.

The wife usually helps the 7 year old (Myles) to get ready...but since she's back she hasn't been able to wake up early...So he get's himself ready. Next week she'll be back on it though. So we can leave the house  even earlier.

Yesterday was our 9th Anniversary...wow, nine years already. Cool.....Ashamed to say I didn't get her any gifts this year but I took her to a Japanese restaurant (her first time) and we had sushi then we went to Christopher's and listened to some live music, had a drink chat with some colleagues of mine and then we came home and had the most amazing sex ever................LMAO...HAHAHAHAHA..nah, I'm just playing...we were both tired and worn out.....After being up from 5:30am, going through the day, on the road...then getting home at midnight, knowing that I'd have to be up that early again....no.......Not that I haven't done it before....But put it this way.....I don't have to be up early tomorrow...IT'S SATURDAY      ;-)

Oh...and I leave for Colombia tomorrow night with Shaggy.  We were there last June but I vaguely remember anything about that trip.....Only that we performed in a club, it was Des' (my wife) birthday and she was mad at me for something I said...Basically she wasn't having a good day and I didn't make it any better...but it was resolved eventually.  Can you imagine your spouse being angry with you and you're all the way in a foreign country on her birthday, not close enough to do the simple things to cheer her up?.... it      can        suck         sometimes           ........

Anyhow, it's a new year and there are always opportunities and possibilities. I'm ready to start  the beginning of the best years of my life.

Peace, Love & Happiness TO ALL

Dubz

Home Bound

OK again I wrote this on Dec 29th but the mail server timed out and didn't post it...Posting now though..Nuff Love

Though not flawless, the trip to Nigeria has been much 

better than I had anticipated. No internet and no data 

service on my phone was the least of my concerns but it 

turned out I didn't have much to be concerned about. I 

was actually the only one in the group without internet 

access in my room but I didn't care to change it. I was 

content with going to the lobby and checking my email via 

the wifi on my mobile phone. My experience this trip seemed 

less intense, maybe its because of my expectations and past 

experience with this country.  The audience at the concert 

seemed sedated, quite the opposite of my first performance

here. The hotel, though a far comparison from a Hilton, 

it was much cleaner than the one we stayed some 8 years ago.  
 
Maybe they are learning to adapt and practice more international 

standards ....I donno...maybe the current government is trying to 

improve the country on a whole. A lot can happen in 8 years I 

guess. This still doesn't make me like it any more, its just that

this time the experience was pleasant. ...not great, but pleasant.   
 
So we've boarded and will be on our way soon, another isle seat and 

the guy beside me hoging the armrest. 

What am I up to today? Going home. 
 
Love you