Resilience

"I get knocked down, but I get up again.

You're never gonna keep me down."

- Tubthumping lyrics (Chumbawamba)

How fitting that the week kicked off with some bowling!

"Om.... I Am the pin" could be my mantra. First there was a scheduling snafu that took a whack at me pretty hard, then Zachary and I had to adjust to our new daily logistics with Russ traveling, then I fought off a cold. I just keep getting up and going. 

Time marched onward and before I knew it I was on stage in Boston.

with Gregory (Photo by Gregory K. Lathan)

It was disco time with the "Dancin' Machine" band of talented, fun and super nice people!

With Gregory, Kristina, Rob

Then it was just me.

Here we go again. This week my aim is "resilience." 

According to the Wikipedia entry for the song "Tubthumping" (Click here),

guitarist Boff Whaley said the song was written about

 "the resilience of ordinary people."

Have a Blessed week of singin' and winnin'!

Love,

T

All In The Family

Another awesome "We Are Family Foundation" celebration in the books! Nile Rodgers does truly amazing work through his foundation.

Click here for warefamilyfoundation.org

AND the annual gala event is an incredible amount of fun! It was a great way to kick off the week!

Me and Russ

With Paul and his wife Michelle

Dolly Parton was honored at the gala this year!

With Grandmaster Caz and Melle Mel #Legends

Mid-week, I finally got to open my care package from our friend in London... (Thanks Martyn.)

Then there was Saturday's gig with an awesome group of super-talented musicians who happen to also be the nicest people ever! #SoMuchFun

With John

With Alex (Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam)

With Chelsea and Carla

Let's keep the good times rolling!

Love,
T

Life is...

"Life is infinitely stranger than anything which the mind of man could invent."

- Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (Sherlock Holmes)

 

Looking back on the pictures, I can hardly believe all these things happened in just one week!

There was Harlem with the Full Force Brothers and their lovely parents, to celebrate Dad's birthday:

With Full Force Brothers, their parents and Alia from Allure

There was all the strangeness of Halloween:

and BUFFALO with Stone City AND Paul Anthony! (Say What???)

With Paul Anthony and Levi Ruffin

With Paul Anthony, Danny LeMelle

With Mark Love, Paul Anthony

With Lanise Hughes

Finally, after about five thousand crazy travel bumps on the road and one side trip to pick up the lost luggage, I'm back home and ready for the next zany week!

#BRINGITON #IMREADY #NOTREALLY #CANIHAVEANAPFIRST

I'll bookend with Sherlock Holmes this time around. Here's an amazing example of how far we've come since 1900 - from silent movie to Hans Zimmer. The evolution of Sherlock Holmes...

Blessed week ahead to us...
Love,
T

Butterfly Cometh

This little guy probably has NO IDEA what is going to happen.

We probably don't fully understand what we can become either.

#EmbraceTheButterfly

Have a fantastic week everyone!

Love,
T

The Flow

Here's what I'm thinking:

There is a control center, a mechanism deep within us. If we get in touch with that and make one small adjustment in our own thinking, we will watch amazing changes in our life take place. We have to go deep, and then focus our mind and our energies in the direction we want to go.

1. Access that control panel.
2. Adjust SLIGHTLY (This is a powerful tool).
3. Start to flow in that new direction.

Remember:

No one controls you but YOU. The power is contained within.

WE CAN DO THIS! I'm sure of it. Sidestep the obstacles, unlock the door, and have a fabulous time enjoying the new flow! Ain't no stopping us now!

Why were these my thoughts this week? (Hmm...) There must be new adventures ahead! 

#LetsGO #ImReady #ReadyOrNot #BeReady #BringIt 

I just remembered that there is a book called "Flow." Just found this short piece with the author. I'm diggin' it!

Click here for Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi on Amazon.com

Have a fantastic week! 

Love,

T

Can We Talk?

Hi guys! (And by that I mean guys and ladies.) Can we talk?

First of all, THANK YOU for your outpouring of love and support for the new single (released last week) with Paul Anthony of Full Force and me. Our remake of Rick James's "Fire and Desire" has gotten a lot of positive feedback and I truly appreciate all the shares and likes and comments. We're off to a great start! Rick James and Teena Marie gave us an amazing song to sing! I'm forever grateful to them for making this journey possible.

Throughout the process of recording, rehearsing and performing, I think of you all often. It's fantastic to be able to keep up with so many of you through social media and make new friends all of the time! Let's stay in touch. Let's talk.

I'm going to focus on spending more time speaking to you all. Let's have real conversations. Let's connect. We are developing more pages and interactive platforms designed to stay connected with you, not only to post what we are up to, but to hear what YOU have to say. I appreciate you more than you know. Looking forward to spending quality time with you all and welcoming new and beautiful souls into our family here.

Love You,
T

Fire & Desire on Amazon.com

Fire & Desire on Google Play

Fire & Desire on Spotify

Meet Raymond

Wow! What an amazing and extraordinarily fun week! My heart is just filled with Love and thanks for being included as a part of the show with Paul Anthony and Full Force in San Leandro this weekend.

I met so many wonderful people! Then there was Raymond...

It was the morning after the show, downstairs at the hotel's restaurant. He was kind enough to spend some time chatting over breakfast with some of us youngsters who marveled at his exceptional health and vitality, his kind spirit, and his wealth of life experience. Raymond is 96 years young! He was with his beautiful wife for 72 years! He served in WWII. He loves to dance.

Meet Raymond:

He instructs us to love each other and be happy. It was an honor to meet you sir.

Have a Blessed week everyone.

Love,
T