Kenny Rankin was such a fine talent who got so little real recognition. Such a clear and warm voice.

I met him twice. Once at a concert in Winter Park,Fl. He was standing at the back of the venue surveying the audience. I approached him and introduced myself.

I told him this story...

In the mid 70’s my mom happened to stop at Keller Music in Orlando. There was no one else in the store except for Kenny and his manager. It was one of those times where you happen upon something special, without knowing it. I was 15 years old at the time and wouldn’t know who Kenny was until several years later.

He was noodling on a guitar and I was drawn to just sit and listen. His friend looked at me with a grin and said "Why don't you play something off the new album Kenny"? Kenny broke into a magical rendition of the Beatles "Blackbird". I sat transfixed through that performance and was treated to several more songs. ‘Dear Prudence’ and ‘Haven’t We Met’ as I recall.

Finally my Mom indicated it was time to go. Kenny gave her a glare for interrupting. And we left him there playing in an empty music store.

Several years later I dated a woman that was a fan of a particular musician whom I had never heard. She said that my musical style was a lot like his and put on an album.

There it was.

‘Blackbird’

Life is fun..or it should be.

That’s what some people say. But I’ve noticed that it’s not as fun as most might like it.

My friend is in an intolerable situation.

Life sucks when you're educated in the real world but not aquatinted with the rules of that world.

There are so many people who are prepared to take advantage of you when you aren’t looking.

Let down you guard for a second, you’re toast. Give up your heart, you might be doing anything to get by.

Anything.

The real world is cruel.

I'm unable to help.

You might have to be sleazy.

I can only watch.

You might have to spit and retch. I can do nothing but console you. There are better ways. Less productive, yes. But better.

Your ammunition is your intellect. Your power is your talent.

Your trial is now.

When I was recording the harmony vocal lines for "Break These Chains" I noticed that if I sang the whole line it tended to clutter Mystis' part. So I wound up shortening my line to "rake dees Chain". It made for a more much tight and punchy vocal harmony.

Yeah I know...

Link: http://www.youtube.com/mystimayhem

It's no secret that Mysti Mayhem is one of my favorite musicians and people. When she asked her fans to send a video for a collab effort on her song 'Break These Chains' she received a disappointing 3 responses. I'm sorry to say that I wasn't one of the three.

What I did do was listen to the song. A lot.

And while doing so it occurred to me that she had left space in the song, space for someone like myself to add to it. And that is what I have done.

Here you will find 2 different (but the same) versions of MystiMayhems' 'Break these Chains'

The original

And with my additions

using Mysti as a base I have added guitar and some backup vocals. I can start making that collab vid now that I'm not distracted with this.

Today is December 21 2012. It started out as a normal average every-day. Every day in modern terms

Everyone was scared that today was going to be the end, there have been wild stories for years. About how today of all days was going to be the end of the world. The Mayans had predicted it in their long count calendar. This was when the universe was supposed to reset. As it got closer the speculation became more and more wild.

Movies have been made, songs played, poems writ, and every single one of them fixed on this date. This date … today.

Then the attacks started. Two years ago??

It’s a blur.

Terrorists. Madmen. Idiots with bombs and guns and germs, trying to accelerate the end. Madmen all. ..trying to force the prophecies to come true, The cults descending on the weak willed and the foolish. The world hummed with it through the internet and the media, word of mouth.

You couldn’t escape it.

Churches were formed. Mad, insane gatherings with rites of passage writhing in sexual frenzy. Orgies of devastation and expectation. All selling salvation and forgiveness tempered with the wrath of… god…. Couldn’t be the same gods that the Mayans feared. Could they? I doubt it.

If you’d asked me I’d have to said that they all were insane.. insane in their fear. So convinced … We..

The news came this morning. There was a star, a nova, an explosion, a spectacular astronomical event they were calling it. It was so bright that it would be visible in the day sky. And so far away…. 2000 light years…Two Thousand Years away… ago…

But this was different. This star was hot! People could feel the heat bearing down on them, a massive killing heat. They were dying in the streets. Every living thing exposed to the sky was… dying. And every inch of earth that was exposed to this gamma ray… star… this ‘death’ star .. this …. Minute by minute as the earth turns toward it inch by inch …dying...

Scientists’ are saying that our ozone layer, our protective shield against a universe full of particles and radiation is now gone. Blown away. By a huge breath from the sky..

The media have been monitoring this event hour by hour minute by minute until the star rises…here…as if it matters.

Until then I guess you have two choices…drink or pray…