Stephen Gould's MAGIC Cover

This guy is not only a personal friend but he's also incredibly talented. I've posted about Stephen Gould before but man, he just gets better every time I hear him.

We met a year ago in Nashville when I was there visiting friends and hanging out at CMA Fan Fest. My girl friend Cynthia and I were headed to Broadway to catch my good friend and another super talented Nashville singer songwriter Adam Bruno's performance when Stephen picked us up in his Lyft.

Not only was he super sweet and humble about his own music, we chatted about Adam and he put some of his music on his iPhone. When he mentioned that Adam reminded him of Jon Foreman of Switchfoot fame, who happens to be my favorite band, I knew we'd become fast friends.

Check out Stephen's latest cover. You won't be disappointed.

Let's Raise Money for Homeless Kids!

Help my 17-year-old niece Giovanna and I to raise $500.00 for the Switchfoot Bro-Am Auction Night Soiree.  You will help us to have dinner, rock out with the ever-inspiring San Diego rock band and do a meet and greet.  All of the money goes to benefit local San Diego children's charities and you get to make our dream come true.

Giovanna and I will already be in San Diego for the annual Bro-Am surf competition taking place at Moonlight Beach in Encinitas so please help us to top of our weekend with this once in a lifetime opportunity.  We'll be sure to post all photos here if you help us reach our goal of $500 ($250 per ticket) to get tickets.  We have less than one month left as the dinner soiree will take place on July 11, 2014.  I know these tickets will go fast!

Donate here: 

For more info: http://www.switchfoot.com/switchfoot/c/bro-am

Switchfoot's 10th Annual Bro-Am

Who's joining me for Bro-Am in San Diego in July????  I am uber excited to see these guys two days in a row and to be able to experience my very 1st surf competition.  So much to see and do while my niece and I enjoy the likes of Rob Machado and the Switchfoot boys.

My Soul Refueled...

I was so excited to see Switchfoot for the 4th time, this time at the Regency Ballroom in San Francisco.  I had purchased the VIP experience so I'd be able to do the meet & greet but the day of the show I received an email stating it would take place at 4:30pm, prior to the show, right after soundcheck.  The last time I had done a meet & greet with these boys it was after the show so when I purchased passes, I excepted it to be the same process.  Needless to say, I was extremely disappointed that I had to request a refund because there would be no way my friend and I could make it to the city before 6pm.

Lucky for me, after an amazing show, we waited by the back entrance to the venue and Drew Shirley came out.  We chatted for a couple of minutes & I took this awesome photo with him.  A moment I will treasure always.

Switchfoot: A Band That Truly Rocks

Switchfoot. Who are they? If you haven't heard of them before today then you're missing something. If you have, you're one of the lucky ones. The San Diego based rock band, together since the mid-90s, is probably the most meaningful of any band or artist I know today. Lead singer Jon Foreman doesn't just talk about the world and it's issues; he writes about them. And he shares them with the world. His lyrics convey a sentiment on social, economic or political issues and even go so far as to touch on the "dreaded" subject of religion. In a world where people concentrate on being politically correct by not mentioning their religious views or the name of their creator, Switchfoot isn't afraid to speak it's mind in it's heartfelt songs filled with beautiful melodies and heavy guitar cords. These guys are about the meaning of life and sharing their experiences with humanity through their music, not about how many gold records they can put on their wall. Refreshing in a day where music is terribly mundane and artists have to put on a visual show in order to sell a performance. It seems like most acts are out to fill their bank account by selling meaningless music to the fans, the people that keep their careers alive. When did we learn the meaning of music? If you think you don't know Switchfoot's music, I can almost guarantee you do. I was introduced to Switchfoot in 2004 by the keyboardist (Antonio) for Puerto Rican rocker Ignacio Peña who I was promoting in Los Angeles. We took a trip to Target in West Hollywood for a few things he needed and, as a gift to me for taking him, Antonio bought me the latest release by the band: "The Beautiful Letdown." The music sounded familiar but I still didn't think I'd heard them before. What I would soon discover is that many of the band's songs had been used in nationally televised shows such as "Charmed," "One Tree Hill" and "Smallville" but the most recognized song that Antonio would later play for me on his iPod was "Only Hope" from the album "New Way to Be Human." Hearing the name didn't necessarily strike me as familiar but as soon as I heard the first note, I knew exactly who the band was. "Only Hope" was featured in the teenage drama "A Walk to Remember" starring Mandy Moore. The movie is about a young girl, Jamie Sullivan, an outcast in high school who is being ostracized for her religious beliefs and her lack of interest in the typical teenage behaviors that the kids participate in. She eventually falls in love with Landon Carter, the instigator in the group that harasses Jamie but she is keeping a dark secret from him. When the secret finally comes out, Landon's world changes completely and so does his attitude about life. It's a beautiful story and the perfect backdrop for "Only Hope" and several other Switchfoot songs which can be found on the film's soundtrack. I was lucky enough to see Switchfoot live a few years ago when Antonio came out to LA from Puerto Rico to visit. We took a drive down the coast to Orange County to meet a friend for dinner. We then made our way to the Bren Events Center at UC Irvine where Switchfoot was giving a nearly sold-out performance. Luckily, we were able to get three tickets at the last minute and check out the show. I don't usually buy the "goods" at a show but I felt particularly supportive of this band so before the show started I forked out the $20 (that's cheap for a baby t) to get myself a cool Switchfoot t-shirt. When the lights finally went down, the stage was lit up with lights and the band was rocking. The performance was inspiring and we left with a feeling of hope for the future, which is the underlying theme in the band's music. Way to go, Switchfoot! What inspired me to blog about Switchfoot was a twitter post left by the band yesterday at about 6pm. They are currently touring in California and were preparing for a show in Visalia. The post read, "For twitter friends in the valley, we just put 2 tix for tonight's sold-out show under the name Chin at willcall. First come, first serve!" What band has ever done something so generous for a fan? I'm sure there have been many acts of kindness by an artist to be shared with the world but Switchfoot inspires me everyday with the things they do. Not only do they talk and sing about hope, faith and love (ha ha, that's my tattoo in Kanji on my lower back), but they back up their words with actions. This is a band deserving of your attention... and of your money. Check 'em out! http://www.switchfoot.com/ http://www.youtube.com/switchfootTV