Finding Peace ...Do You Feel Like I Do? David Bowie Tribute

Peter Frampton Conquers 'Stubbornness and Fear' for 'Acoustic Classics'

2/22/2016 by Gary Graff

Peter Frampton

Jason Tang

Playing acoustic is hardly alien to Peter Frampton -- "Baby, I Love Your Way" from Frampton Comes Alive, anybody?  But it did take him awhile to wrap his head around the idea of doing a whole album that way.

"People have been trying to get me to do it for years, and I just didn't want to try it," Frampton -- who releases the 11-track Acoustic Classics, premiered exclusively below, on Feb. 26 -- tells Billboard. "I now think it was just stubbornness and fear -- or fear and then stubbornness because I was scared."
Frampton put those fears aside to record Acoustic Classics in his Nashville studio, playing acoustic guitar and bass and a bit of piano on "I'm In You." Regular collaborator Gordon Kennedy joins on the lone new song, "All Down To me," but the album is mostly populated by a combination of favorites --- yes, even "Do You Feel Like I Do" and "Show Me The Way," the latter complete with Talk Box -- and lesser-known gems such as "Fig Tree Bay," the first track from his 1972 solo debut Wind of Change, "Sail Away" and "Penny For Your Thoughts."

Peter Frampton Pays Tribute to 'Dear Friend and Mentor' David Bowie: 'I Can Never, Ever Thank Him Enough'

"When I started the CD I thought, 'Ha ha, it's gonna take me a couple of days,' and yes, was I wrong," Frampton says with a laugh. "I have such a high standard of my own output that when I did two or three tracks, I came into the control room and listened to them and I was just, 'It's OK. It's good. It's fine,' but I wanted more. So I spent a few months going in every day doing different performances of different songs until I found the ones that worked for me and I thought people would like. I wanted it to be like, 'Hey, sit down, I've just written a song' and I sit down and play you 'Lines on My Face' or whatever and you were likely drawn in 'cause you're the only person in the room besides me, and that's how I look at it, like a one-on-one experience."

Frampton acknowledges that given the iconic epic it is as a live piece, he initially did not consider including "Do You Feel Like I Do" on Acoustic Classics." But towards the end of the recording process changed his mind. "I thought, 'Look, I've done all the others. Let's give it a go,'" Frampton recalls. "I think the most important thing for me was that the instrumental portion of the beginning came off well. It's just a different take on it, y'know? It's an acoustic 'Do You Feel.' I can understand if some people just won't listen to it because they only want to hear the other one, but for me, going from 'I can't do that' to 'Yeah, it's not so bad,' it works for me."
Frampton, Kennedy and Frampton's son Julian toured acoustically last fall and are headed out for another 13-show run of the west coast on March 9. In addition to the Acoustic Classics, Frampton also performs Buddy Holly's "Peggy Sue," the Beatles' "Norwegian Wood," material from his Humingbird in a Box EP and a couple of Humble Pie tracks -- and, he notes,"We talk a lot between songs." One of the show will be filmed for broadcast on AXS later this year, and a live release and perhaps a second acoustic album are under consideration. But Frampton, who plans to be on the road with his full band this summer doing dates with Lynyrd Skynyrd and Gregg Allman, is also looking forward to plugging back in for his next album.

Peter Frampton Wants to Help You Tune Up With 

His New Crowdfunding Campaign: Exclusive

"I need to move forward as well; I don't want to get stuck right there (acoustically) too long," he explains. "I want to move on to something different and then maybe the album after that might be a live acoustic show. Some people in this industry have said that the more senior artists like myself, no one wants to hear new music from them, so don't worry about it. I get it. But that's what I do, you know? You can't just stop. So even though new music from me isn't going to leap to the Top 40 stations or streams or whatever, it doesn't matter because it's what I do every day. I'm always creating. Whether people want to hear it or not, I'm gonna do it."

Frampton's mind these days is also on the passing of good friend David Bowie, who Frampton has known since school days in England and played with both then and as part of Bowie's 1987 Glass Spider Tour Band. "It's hard to talk about for me, still," Frampton says. "He was a great, dear friend, and as an artist he was totally unique. We grew up together. We went to the same school, so obviously it's hit me very hard. That was a tough day -- for everybody. I"m not saying I'm special, but it just so happened that I knew him all my life so it was hard. It still is hard. I miss him greatly."

http://www.billboard.com/articles/news/6882856/peter-frampton-conquers-stubbornness-fear-acoustic-classics 

Peace Journey Seven Paths to a Charmed Life eBook Release Easter Sunday April 5

Book Launch & One Million Good Deeds Movement

Yes, I am one of those people who still gets up in the morning to read the newspaper: front page, business, international news and I save the softer side of arts and culture till the end of my reading time.  I am in hopes to find some positive inspiration through the work of creatives.  

Writing this book was not a lifelong dream but an expression out of years of living and hoping for the world to get to a kinder and gentler place on it's own.   

So far, my wish for peace in the world hasn't come true. So I set out to go down the path of writing a book about my own life from growing up poor to what I now consider a pretty charmed life.  And how I got here.  On these pages I share personal stories and invite the reader to share their personal stories on internal journey pages.  As we begin to relate to our life's journey, new ideas for helping ourselves and others emerge and I am hopeful that through doing good deeds a more positive world will begin to form.

Peace Journey Seven Paths is based on seven issues in my own life and how I worked through them.  100% of the proceeds from book sales and soon, Kindle and other eBook sales, go to make our work happen for children at the world at www.peacejourney.com, productions by sponsorKIDS Charities 501c3.

In a few days, we will also be launching a crowd funding campaign so please stay tuned.  I believe in social media and the good it can bring to good and original ideas and works.  We all know about the bad it can bring too, but it this case I am working to level the playing field with goodness.  

You can actually purchase the book on Amazon now.  Just go to Amazon and search for Peace Journey Seven Paths to a Charmed Life. And please share with your friends, families, communities, churches and organizations who believe we can get better as a society and as a nation.  

My life's work 's banking on this strategy of love for humanity winning out over all.

Stay Tuned …More info to come on the Peace Journey book, ebook, music songwriting camp and youth adventure trips!

Peace, Jeannette Barcelos Kravitz

jbarcelos@peacejourney.com 

Peace Journey Loves Cultural Exploration Everywhere!

Peace Journey Seven Paths Sharing 7 Cultural Concepts 

7 cultural concepts we don't have in the U.S.

Perhaps one of these ideas will inspire you to think differently in your day-to-day life.

From the end of October through the New Year and onto Valentine's Day, it's easy to forget that the holidays we celebrate are simply cultural constructs that we can choose to engage in — or not. The concepts and ideas we celebrate — like our spiritual beliefs and daily habits — are a choice, though sometimes it feels like we "have" to celebrate them, even if we don't feel like it.

Culture is ours to do with as we choose, and that means that we can add, subtract, or edit celebrations or holidays as we see fit — because you and me and everyone reading this makes up our culture, and it is defined by us, for us, after all. 

If you want to add a new and different perspective to your life, there are plenty of other ways to recognize joy and beauty outside American traditions. From Scandinavia to Japan, India and Germany, the concepts below may strike a nerve with you and inspire your own personal or familial celebration or — as is the case with a couple of these for me — sound like an acknowledgement of something you have long felt, but didn't have a word for. 

Friluftsliv translates directly from Norwegian as "free air life," which doesn't quite do it justice. Coined relatively recently, in 1859, it is the concept that being outside is good for human beings' mind and spirit. "It is a term in Norway that is used often to describe a way of life that is spent exploring and appreciating nature," Anna Stoltenberg, culture coordinator for Sons of Norway, a U.S.-based Norwegian heritage group, told MNN. Other than that, it's not a strict definition: it can include sleeping outside, hiking, taking photographs or meditating, playing or dancing outside, for adults or kids. It doesn't require any special equipment, includes all four seasons, and needn't cost much money. Practicing friluftsliv could be as simple as making a commitment to walking in a natural area five days a week, or doing a day-long hike once a month. 

Shinrin-yoku is a Japanese term that means "forest bathing" and unlike the Norwegian translation above, this one seems a perfect language fit (though a pretty similar idea). The idea being that spending time in the forest and natural areas is good preventative medicine, since it lowers stress, which causes or exacerbates some of our most intractable health issues. As MNN's Catie Leary details, this isn't just a nice idea — there's science behind it: "The "magic" behind forest bathing boils down to the naturally produced allelochemic substances known as phytoncides, which are kind of like pheromones for plants. Their job is to help ward off pesky insects and slow the growth of fungi and bacteria. When humans are exposed to phytoncides, these chemicals are scientifically proven to lower blood pressure, relieve stress and boost the growth of cancer-fighting white blood cells. Some common examples of plants that give off phytoncides include garlic, onion, pine, tea tree and oak, which makes sense considering their potent aromas

Hygge is the idea that helps Denmark regularly rate as one of the happiest countries in the world — Danes have regularly been some of the most joyful in the world for over 40 years that the U.S. has been studying them — despite long, dark winters. Loosely translated at "togetherness," and "coziness," though it's not a physical state, it's a mental one. According toVisitDenmark (the country's official tourism site): "The warm glow of candlelight is hygge. Friends and family — that’s hygge too. And let’s not forget the eating and drinking — preferably sitting around the table for hours on end discussing the big and small things in life." Hygge's high season is winter, and Christmas lights, candles galore, and other manifestations of warmth and light, including warm alcoholic beverages, are key to the concept.

Still a little confused and wondering how you could cultivate hygge in your life? This Danish NPR commenter sums up some specifics: "Hygge is a deep sense of cosy that can originate from many different sources. Here is a good example from my life : a cloudy winter Sunday morning at the country house, fire in the stove and 20 candles lit to dispel the gloom. My husband, puppy and I curled up on our sheepskins wearing felt slippers, warm snuggly clothes and hands clasped around hot mugs of tea. A full day ahead with long walks on the cold beach, back for pancake lunch, reading, more snuggling, etc. This is a very hyggligt day." Now that sounds do-able, doesn't it? 

Wabi-sabi is the Japanese idea of embracing the imperfect, of celebrating the worn, the cracked, the patinaed, both as a decorative concept and a spiritual one — it's an acceptance of the toll that life takes on us all. As I wrote about it earlier this year, "If we can learn to love the things that already exist, for all their chips and cracks, their patinas, their crooked lines or tactile evidence of being made by someone's hands instead of a machine, from being made from natural materials that vary rather than perfect plastic, we wouldn't need to make new stuff, reducing our consumption (and its concurrent energy use and inevitable waste), cutting our budgets, and saving some great stories for future generations." We might also be less stressed, and more attentive to the details, which are the keys to mindfulness.  

Kaizen is another Japanese concept, one that means "continuous improvement," and could be taken to mean the opposite of wabi-sabi (though as you'll see, it depends on the interpretation). It's a very new idea, only coined in 1986, and generally used in business circumstances. As this tutorial details, "Kaizen is a system that involves every employee, from upper management to the cleaning crew. Everyone is encouraged to come up with small improvement suggestions on a regular basis. This is not a once a month or once a year activity. It is continuous. Japanese companies, such as Toyota and Canon, a total of 60 to 70 suggestions per employee per year are written down, shared and implemented." These are regular, small improvements, not major changes. Applied to your own life, it could mean daily or weekly check-ins about goals, as opposed to making New Year's resolutions, or a more organized path based on small changes toward weight loss, a personal project or a hobby. 

Gemütlichkeit

Gemütlichkeit is a German word that means almost the same thing as hygge, and also has its peak usage during the winter. In fact, some linguists posit that the word (and concept) of hygge likely came from the German idea. Blogger Constanze's entry on the German Language Blog for "Untranslatable German Words" describes how the word means more than just cozy: "A soft chair in a coffee shop might be considered ‘cosy’. But sit in that chair surrounded by close friends and a hot cup of tea, while soft music plays in the background, and that sort of scene is what you’d call gemütlich."

Jugaad is a Hindi word that means "an innovative fix" or a "repair derived from ingenuity," — think a jury-rigged sled for snowy fun, or a bicycle chain repaired with some duct tape. It's a frequently used word in India where frugal fixes are revered. But the idea has further merit beyond figuring out solutions to get by with less. It also encapsulates the spirit of doing something innovative. As the authors of Jugaad Innovation write in Forbes, they see jugaad in many other places than the repair shop: "In Kenya, for instance, entrepreneurs have invented a device that enables bicycle riders to charge their cellphones while pedaling. In the Philippines, Illac Diaz has deployed A Litre of Light — a recycled plastic bottle containing bleach-processed water that refracts sunlight, producing the equivalent of a 55-watt light bulb — in thousands of makeshift houses in off-the-grid shantytowns. And in Lima, Peru (with high humidity and only 1 inch of rain per year), an engineering college has designed advertising billboards that can convert humid air into potable water."

Jugaad's idea of frugal innovation can definitely be applied in the individual life — what about setting aside a half a day twice a year where everyone in your family fixes something that needs repair? You'll save money, spend time together, test problem-solving skills, and get a sense of accomplishment from repairing instead of buying new. 

Read on... See Full Article & Beautiful Visuals Here!  Seven Cultural Concepts Mother Nature Network.

Movies & Arts Review: Wild, Starring Reese Witherspoon and Laura Dern

WILD

This movie is a reminder of the bond between a mom and her daughter and in this case, the sad reality involved in not knowing what you have until it's lost.  I loved it, and recommend the great performances. Based on the true story of Cheryl Strayed.

This movie, Wild, did not affect me in the way I thought it might.  My perception after seeing the movie trailer, was I would relate more to Reese Witherspoon's character of Cheryl Strayed, but instead, I was drawn to the mother played by Laura Dern  who is the soul of the movie.  

I thought I would cry for Reese, since this true story was one of a mentally, self-tortured young woman who, after losing her mom, took on a 1,100 mile challenge to hike across the Pacific Crest Trail in a quest to answer burning self-depricating issues, including her obsession with drugs and sex.  In the end, she comes to true realizations about her life, but nothing phony or presumptuous.   

Through flashbacks in the movie, her mom, Bobbie Strayed,  who Cheryl says is 'the love of my life",  did everything she could with little to no money to keep joy, happiness, a roof overhead and hope in their lives.

Bobbi Strayed sang when they had little money or food to eat.  She worked and went back to high school in an attempt to gain knowledge of the world and a brighter future for her children.  She had breakfast and dinner on the table everyday and was present with hugs and a smile for Cheryl and younger son.  And, she dealt with the pervasive guilt of the physically abusive man she married and father of her children.  After one too many nights of being knocked around, she left and took the kids with her in the middle of the night.

Through it all, Cheryl Strayed never really saw her mother for the courageous, unselfish woman she was, who put her children before everything in life.  She didn't see the truth until it was too late.  

Being a single mother is a most difficult job, especially when money is at issue everyday. To have a mother who kept joy alive in the face of it all, to me, is the story of the strength of a truly ethereal, optimistic woman.  And now, her spirit and love of life lives on in the hearts of her children.

Jeannette Barcelos Kravitz

PEACE JOURNEY Seven Paths Venue Search for Songwriting Camp 2015 Underway

PEACE JOURNEY Venue Search Taking Us Down More than Seven-Paths!

www.peacejourney.com

Saturday was a day-trip for us to look at a farm music event venue for our upcoming songwriting/concert camp, on a very cold and blustery early fall Illinois day. 

Stonehouse Farm is only 1 hour and a half from downtown Chicago, but working 2-GPS systems simultaneously gave us two different directions to go in.  We decided to chose the road less traveled, adding another 45 glorious country road minutes to our drive.

Cornfields were abundant.  After a few years working at sponsorKIDS to promote healthy food in our local schools, I learned about all the corn that is being grown for sucrose in Illinois, eliminating many other crops that could be grown for food.  All I can tell you is growing up in Ohio with it's abundant cornfields, I have never seen as many cornfields as on the back roads trip to Stonehouse Farm near Sandwich, Illinois. 

We passed a small sign announcing Stonehouse Farm and immediately pulled in.  We first noticed that the farm's wood fences on the property needed repair and a coat of creosote or paint.  Following the driveway to the front porch of a mid-size barn-like structure,  we walked inside, where we found  a chef preparing food for that nights sweat lodge.  We sat down to enjoy coffee and meet the primary owner.  The building was rustic and cozy.

I had read about Yurts, the temporary tent structures around the farm that sleep 2 to 8 people each, depending on the size.  These are the only accommodations currently available outside acres of campsites on the premises. Rachel, the assistant in charge of events (oh and by the way, also an anthropologist and gourmet French Chef),  drove us around the property in a bright yellow one-seater golf cart as we viewed the campgrounds, garden and compost area, overnight parking for 500 cars, newly constructed showers, the pond, a sweat lodge, a large area where a stage can be erected, a grassy field large enough to accommodate up to 2,500 music concert goers on the lawn and barns, where yoga and other performances could be held.

The actual Stonehouse Farm four-bedroom house is to be rehabbed, but it doesn't sound like that will be completed in time for our event in 2015

Our songwriting camp needs to house about 30 to 40 people plus our production crew, and Stonehouse Farm would be a rustic choice with a lot of hidden costs. 

But I keep thinking that the best creativity happens when we are close to nature. And I also remember Woodstock, although this would be a much smaller and less celebrity driven undertaking.  So, I am getting out the spreadsheet and seeing how viable this venue might be for 2015.   

I do know this: the spirit of the land is amazing and it just felt good to meet people so grounded in what matters for the use of the land. On the way back, we drove past Aurora University.  It's beautiful and I understand they have a fine music school there that could be an asset to our project.  

So the search for the perfect home for Peace Journey Seven Paths songwriting camp and concert continues. Please leave a message if you know another location like Stonehouse Farm, a spiritual retreat,  or a venue that collectively cares about community and nature, in and around the Midwest and within 3 to 5 hours from Chicago that might work for us in 2015.  

I have no choice but to run down parallel paths looking for just the right home. And it's fun to explore all the options as this important decision will lead us to find what we hope will become a permanent and annual home for us to live, create and breath for peace.  

We are charting our next Peace Journey Adventure Trip 2016 to Peru where we will explore with high school students the amazing rain forest and indigenous people as we work on a deeper connection with the earth.  Stay tuned. 

Thank you. 
Jeannette Barcelos Kravitz
jkravitz@peacejourney.com

www.peacejourney.com

www.peacejourney.com/blogFull Blog

INTERNATIONAL DAY OF PEACE 2014

YES, IT'S FUN TO DO A 10% OFF For a Day This Special!
http://www.un.org/en/events/peaceday/index.shtml

As an event producer and developer for our charity at PeaceJourney.com, I so appreciate the hard work and dedication it takes to build a consensus and pull together key partners to make extraordinary events like this come together.

I also love the fact that each of us, in our own way can get out any day of the year and remember to celebrate the gift of freedom in America. And, the reality is that in most ways for most of us, peace is a big part of our lives.

Yes, regions of our country and the world seem to be the worst they can be right now, but in our own lives we need to be accountable for our contributions to peace within our communities  our family and friends and loved ones.  

Please, take a little time this weekend to be grateful for our military and the men and women who are working hard everyday to keep us safe, while we enjoy the freedoms and peace in our lives.  And do something to help others lives.  It's small gestures that make the most impact.


Blessings to all and a little savings doesn't hurt! 

J. Barcelos