Tom Williams plays acoustic guitar,flute and percussion, Joel Venditti guitars, Jack Bagby bass, moi on the keys,guitar, harmonica and native flute, and whoever shows up at the gig.. sometimes solo sometimes a 3 or 4 piece band.. had ten players for the last cd release party!!!
Influences
John Martyn, The Sons Of Champlin, Iaan Matthews, Jules Shear, Leonard Cohen, The Beatles, The Byrds, Dylan, Joni Mitchell, Shawn Phillips, Kate Wolf, Jimmy Webb,( his book Tunesmith is a great read!) , John Hiatt, The Grateful Dead and tons of other "influences" beyond the realm of music, Reiki, Rumi, Native American teachings, Thomas Moore, Swami Vishnudevananda, Deepak Chopra, Lee Stone, Wayne Muller, The I Ching and Carol Anthony,Dalai Lama, Unity, Abraham-Hicks, Maharaji and on we go!
Sounds Like
i touch a lot of different bases in my writing,what keeps me inspired is to reveal the moment though song..i recieve songs in dreams and give thanks for every one that comes through.. often showing me how to be Here, Now.. seems like we all sound like each other at some point, hey we are one and the contrast we have created is delightful..
Well here i am on my space and living the elemental dream through cyber space.. check out www.bgrubel.com for more songs and info on my life and music, also available on cdbaby and itunes...my dream day to day is to be happy,relaxed, healthy, creative, thoroughly enjoying my body experience for as long as it lasts, prosperous, and engaged in a proper way with all beings. I want to thank Goenka-ji, Maharaji, Don Miguel Ruiz, Buddha, Jesus, my mom,my daughters,my grandfather Guy, Flo,my sisters (yes that includes all you female types) Warner Erhard, and well everyone who has ever laid eyes on me.. happiness grows in a circular motion!!you make my life complete.. love is!!!
Then there's this music thing i have always been attracted to.. I remember singing as a kid and enjoying it immensly and then learning to play the piano.. That had it's ups and downs. Fun to hear but i (being a bit of a rebel) did not want to practice when the mode became resembling "homework". I persevered til basketball took over and i was left with little time to devote except for choir! Then rock and roll hit and i was hooked like bread to butter! My first band when i was 17 was pretty bad. but hey we didn't know and had great fun! Then after 2 years of college i hit the road with 4 other searching souls and made some music in the Boston area.. I think our claim to fame may have been when Aerosmith borrowed our bus for a gig! Then the wandering years ensued.
Being a piano player has it's limitations when your lifestyle resembles one of a hobo. They just are not so readily portable. It's been a complaint of mine for years which i tried to remedy by taking up the guitar (so so results and a few good songs) and the harmonica which is a great road companion. This era lasted for a few years ending when i spent 6 months in San Francisco learning how to become a half way decent massage therapist. I got hugely lucky and studied with the best available which i am grateful for to this day! And in the background there remained this urge to play music..
Then the family thing ensued which yielded two amazing children (check out my first two friends) and years of self questing and finally the remergence of music.. I started writing my own stuff and lo and behold discovered the studio experience and i could be intimate friends. i loved developing material and inviting musical friends to particpate! And the first of many recordings ensued which was Treasures in the Stream. This was followed by Circles Returning ( i dreamt the title track while sleeping in a tent outside the studio) Light in the Wind acappella chants and circle songs which were a direct result of my "hippie lifestyle" at the time and my first cd Lifetimes and Ages which is still available!
About this time Martin Scudder and Tom Williams (who i had been playing music with already for many years) combined with me to make up Grace Note. We released two cd's (for which i wrote most of the material) I Always Dreamed of Flying in 94 and Fragrance of the Rose in 01 and played many many gigs in the mid-atlantic area. we had a great 3 part harmony thing and the instrumentation of electric violin, keyboards and acoustic guitar was distinct and well received. The band returned to a two man format in 05 when martin left the group, but recently has returned to a 3 person sound with the addition of Jack Bagby on bass. We have a busy summer ahead in 2008 and maybe you'll come to hear us somewhere!
I continued to record releasing Keep the light Burning in 97 and Rivers from the Sun in 2005. This cd has had a great reception and is a bit of a departure for me as it is instrumental.. i performed all the music except one song done by Grace Note and well if you are a massage therapist, into Yoga or looking for music to inspire this is a great cd to assist in your healing adventures.
My latest recording Dance When Your Soul Brings You near is an upbeat selection of songs i have written in the past few years. With the help from some great area musicians this cd has something for everyone as it touches blues, rock, folk and jazz in texture and feel. So what's next?
Been thinking about another instrumental cd and have to aim myself for the keyboard and my little studio arrangement. By the way i play a Yamaha P80 which i love as it is so lightweight to transport to gigs and has a totally adequate soundbank which i add to thru midi with JUNO 1010 and an Alesis nano-synth.. there's enough there to keep me occupied for a long time.
Well maybe see you down the road of life somewhere.. Live your dreams and sing the song you feel the best in. Choose to meditate, do yoga,practice a form of inner awareness and have fun!! One of my favorite quick reminders is from Lao-Tzu:
Be Content with what you have,
Rejoice in the way things are,
When you realize there is nothing missing,
The whole world belongs to you........
Be happy ..... BoB G.
Life is definitley full of smiles : ).. I am enjoying everyone of them... Lots of sunshine my way.. I am sure you enjoyed the time with ur daughter, for sure alaska is far away, i am sure the time u had together was cherished.. Hey you enjoy that garden.. sounds great/ Lots of love and Light ur way
White-faced cranes at Mission Bay. Self introduced from Australia to New Zealand around 1940. It is the most common heron here and is now considered a native bird of NZ.
When do we begin our day? When the alarm clock goes off, or when we have our first cup of Starbucks? Scripturally, we begin our day when we go to bed, because how we go to bed sets the energy field for the whole next day. So, as you lay your head down on the pillow, do a little inventory of the day. What did you learn? Where did you live in love? Set an intention that this next day you will walk with God more fully and freely. And then give thanks for another day of loving. ~Mary Manin Morrissey
If you are a poet, you will see clearly that there is a cloud floating in a sheet of paper. Without a cloud there will be no water; without water, the trees cannot grow; and without trees, you cannot make paper. So the cloud is in there. The existence of the page is dependent upon the existence of a cloud. Paper and cloud are so close... --Thich Nhat Hahn
When we try to pick anything out by itself, we find it hitched to everything else in the universe. -- John Muir
Hope you are having a beautiful day !! Peace, Love, Light & Blessings to you always my friend.... ~ Linella ~
Hi Bob. Thank you for your kind words. It is always nice to see you. Chris and I have now moved into our new place here. These were taken from the front deck. These are Tauhou, which means "stanger" in Maori. They are also called "white-eye, wax-eye and blight bird". They are a tiny bird (12cm) that are originally from Australia, but are considered native to NZ and are protected here.
Enjoy your weekend Bob. Golden Lion Tamarin is native to the Brazilian rain forests and is considered to be one of the rarest animals in the world. From 1996 to 2002 they were placed on the "Critically Endangered" list with as little as 200 existing in the wild. Captive breeding and other programs have been a big factor in increasing the population. There are still currently less than 2000 of these in the wild and in zoos. Another example of why the rain forests should be protected. Food for thought. ~smiles to you~ Lisa
Life is too short to wake up with regrets. .. So love the people who treat you right.
Forget about the one's who don't.
Believe everything happens for a reason.
If you get a second chance, grab it with both hands.
If it changes your life, let it.
Nobody said life would be easy,
they just promised it would be worth it. .. Friends are like balloons; once you let them go, you might not get them back. Sometimes we get so busy with our own lives and problems that we may not even notice that we've let them fly away.
Sometimes we are so caught up in who's right and who's wrong
that we forget what's right and wrong.
Sometimes we just don't realize what real friendship means
until it is too late.
I don't want to let that happen so I'm gonna tie you to my heart
