It was a perfect day beside Waller Creek for a lunchtime concert on the UT campus Thu April 19th. Thanks to Adam Norwood for this glowing photo and to Kati for posting a 360-video of the scene on Facebook.

As I was practicing this Beatles feel-good singalong ska classic for the next show, I updated it from Desmond and Molly to Jason and Maile.

Jason has a place off Congress Avenue,
Maille is a checker at HEB
Jason says to Maile will you go have lunch
by the turtle pond with me up at UT?

Obladi Oblada life goes on, bra! Oh oh how the life goes on.

Jason takes her 5 years later to that grocery store,
kneels in front of the bubble gum machines,
Puts a quarter in and opens up the prize,
inside his grandma’s heirloom Opal wedding ring.

Obladi Oblada life goes on, bra! Oh oh how the life goes on.

In a couple of years they have built a home sweet home
With a couple of cats running in the yard of Jason and Maile Broccoli-Hickey Molin

Happy ever after in their Austin place,
Maile let’s Anais lend a hand.
Jason stays at home and does her curly hair
and in the evening Maile sings in with the band.

Obladi Oblada life goes on, bra! Oh oh how the life goes on.

I’m thrilled to find my first review of FOK DUB in April’s edition of The Music Initiative.

And that the reviewer got the beach feel is great validation that it’s coming across the way I’d hoped. There are a few good quotes to pull out.

Jason Molin delivers a chill album perfect for a day at the beach.

The final instrumental song “Lub Dub” transports you to a live performance on the beach, with a drink in your hand and feeling the breeze through your hair.

Just like any woman’s favorite dress, FOK DUB is a perfect day to night album.

Thanks Becca Finley and thanks JT!

My buddy Gray’s band, The Lodge On Regulus, played a few blocks from my place at the Whip In tonight and it was made a great scene by the cool vibes (Gray Parsons) and sax (Thomas van der Brook), drums (Donny Wynn) and bass (Tom Benton). I caught some nice audio on my recorder. Jody went with me, Derek met us there. This is why I moved to Austin.

Lodge-at-Whip-In-1.MP3
Lodge-at-Whip-In-2.MP3

Here’s the fist of the two songs I did Sat night at a sold out Talking Heads hoot night at Antone’s.

Art Baker played this often-covered reggae song – Johnny Too Bad – on Jamaican Gold on Sunday and I’ve had it in my head ever since. Yesterday I listened to various versions of it all afternoon, so last night I recorded my version. It seems to be written by Crooks and Wilson of The Slickers. I know it from The Harder They Come soundtrack.

For the coverband. Total inspiration. Now I need another one.

Reading Reality Is Broken by Jane McGonigal I learned about SuperBetter, a game she created to help recover from a concussion. But it can be applied to any condition.

The book has me very interested in playing the right games to both make progress and have fun with life’s struggles. SuperBetter is a perfect example so I’m going to try to make a game I can win out of some of my chronic conditions.

I’m either going to kill myself, or I’m going to turn this into a game.

Mission #1: Create your SuperBetter secret identity. You’re the hero of this adventure. And you can be anyone you want, from any story you love. So pick your favorite story – anything from James Bond to Gossip Girl, Twilight to Harry Potter, Batman to Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

Mission #2: Recruit your allies. Every superhero has an inner circle of friends who help save the day. Pick the people you want to count on most, and invite them to play this game with you. Ask each one to play a specific part: Batman needs a Robin and an Alfred. Give each ally a specific mission, related to their character. Use your imagination – and feel free to ask for anything you need! When you’re saving the world, you can’t be shy about asking for help. Be sure to ask at least one ally to give you daily or weekly achievements – these are surprise accomplishments they bestow upon you based on your latest superheroic activities.

Mission #3: Find the bad guys. To win this battle, you need to know what you’re up against. Pay attention all day to anything that makes you feel worse, and put it on your bad guys list. Some days, you’ll be able to battle the bad guys longer – some days not so long. But most importantly: every time you do battle, you’ll want to make a great escape. That means getting away from the bad guy before he knocks you flat.

You can always add more bad guys to your list as you discover them – and if you vanquish one forever, you can take it off and claim the permanent victory.

The better you can identify triggers of your symptoms, the more pain and suffering you’ll avoid. And making a great escape turns a potential moment of failure – something is harder than it should be, or I can’t do something I want to do – into a moment of triumph: I succeeded in recognizing a trigger and vanquished it before it did too much damage.

Mission #4: Identify your power-ups. Good thing you’ve got superpowers. Maybe they’re not your typical superpowers – but you definitely have fun or important things you can do for yourself at a moment’s notice to feel better. Make a list, and be ready to call on them whenever the bad guys are getting the better of you. In fact, try to collect as many power-ups as you can every day!

As you play, be sure to do follow these three rules:

1. Near the end of the every day, hold a secret meeting with one of your allies. Add up your great escapes, your power-ups, and your superhero points.

2. Talk to your other allies as often as possible, and tell them what you’ve been doing to get superbetter. Ask them for ideas about new things to add to your to-do list.

3. Be sure you have at least one ally who is giving you daily achievements. Share these achievements with your friends online, using Twitter or Facebook status updates, to keep them posted on your progress.