For Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday this year I thought I’d record this favorite from my Sunday singalong songbook, George Harrison’s Give Me Love (Give Me Peace On Earth). So I took my Martin (guitar) over to one of my favorite stairwells on campus last week and recorded this song.
Jason Molin (singing George Harrison)
Give Me Love (Give Me Peace On Earth)
Jason Molin (singing George Harrison)Give Me Love (Give Me Peace On Earth)
Jason Molin (singing George Harrison)Give Me Love (Give Me Peace On Earth)
Give me love, give me love, give me peace on earth
Give me light, give me life, keep me free from birth
Give me hope, help me cope, with this heavy load
Trying to touch and reach you with heart and soul
Ommmmmmmmmmmmm my my lord
Pleeeeeeaaaaaase take hold of my hand
That I might understand you
Won’t you please, oh won’t you…
I've come to love ambient music over the last few years, largely because I listen to it by default in the morning, meditating, and at work. So I was jazzed about joining Darrel in Gray's music room a few times in December for ambient jams to improvise cinematic soundscapes.
Darrel and I are mostly on our guitars, thick with effects and tricks, while Gray floats from keyboard to kit, guitar to Theremin. These are four of the more magical moments from our second session. Here's what Darrel heard:
Tunnel Vision - making me imagine walking the streets of Tokyo just before Dawn. Won Morn offers lovely weightlessness - dimensions and intrigue, a first spacewalk? But change is afoot with Won Too - with its unsettling fields, dark skies... and battering. And the journey into darkness concludes with a visit with Edvard Munch in Halliday Ja.
I started MANTRAS in 2013 when I chose four songs (#s 1-4 below) that have a reggae/ska feel. I dreamed of a horn section for these and contacted a great local trombone player and arranger (of Grupo Fantasma/Brownout fame) to write parts and produce a horn section.
We went into Tonehaus studio and laid down drums, bass, and guitar. We went back a few months later and laid down a three-piece horn section of trombone, sax, and trumpet.
Dan Bechdolt (sax), Kevin Flatt (trumpet), Mark "Speedy" Gonzales (trombone)
I took all the tracks home, got lost in the weeds of editing it all, not knowing what I wanted. You know when you get your hopes and expectations up and then the details spin you around till you're dizzy?
Sometimes, it feels like this.
That was five years ago. Since then I have written new songs (and added two to the album that seem to fit nicely) but the unfinished MANTRAS has cast a shadow over my creative output. Now, as 2018 begins and I've got a bunch of new projects pulling me forward, my New Year's resolution is to finish this album as an EP this Spring.
I'll just keep repeating my mantra from I Have Arrived:
No more waiting for the stars to align
No more waiting, no more hesitating
Tracklist
Here is a rough-cut of the songs for the upcoming EP, MANTRAS:
I was especially thrilled and proud to sing at UT Night at the Trail of Lights this year because for the first time Maile AND Anais both joined me singing on stage. We sang, walked the trail, sat with Santa and rode the Ferris wheel. Lots of love and lights. Special thanks to stage manager Breck for snapping some photos of us onstage.
Ralph and I played our first lunchtime concert at UT since Feb. 2016 so it felt good to get back out there on the shady banks of Waller Creek and rock out. Here's a version of Cat Stevens's If You Wanna Sing Out, Sing Out and a picture of us under the big tree (thanks to Diana Sanchez).
I asked Anais to take some photos, which she did, from the creek in which she was playing the whole time. So here is her documentation of the gig:
I started MANTRAS in 2013 when I chose four songs (#s 1-4 below) that have a reggae/ska feel. I dreamed of a horn section for these and contacted a great local trombone player and arranger (of 
