MySpace a place for friends

Generate your own contact table!

One solution is for us to the use the internet information highway to get our art out to the world. We have been hooking up with European radio stations, other artists and people that are looking for creative art. So we invite any that sees this to contact us on this crusade to do our part in saving the world from mediocracy in the arts. After all how do we want to be defined as humans, it's not through mindless glitz, cheezy themes, cheap sex or religous proslytizing that negates creativity in all forms, that we want to be part of.

We know from experience how hard it is to be a creative force especially for those that live in areas where creativity has little or no value. We all know where that can lead. Depression, addictions, anger, and all the maladys that befall people who have no value in a society based on greed, ignorance, mediocracy, and quick fix solutions on all levels of existance. Though we are all trying to do our best to be creative forces sometimes we fall into the traps that frustration, anger, and self doubts can lead to: destructive forces. My family and I have fallen prey to that force at times. Right now my son Jayson is in prison as a result of drug addiction, the same prison I was in 20 years ago for the same reasons. So even though we are broke and having legal and physical problems we will keep our crusade for something that has value (creative forces).

Join us.

Frank from the band runs our website and my son Rickie handles myspace and youtube for us. So he will be in contact with people on the everyday level and at times we all get together to make our decisions and to discuss what other people are doing. A great example has been interacting with the jazz fusion website wenospeak.com (info on our web). Good things can only happen from interaction with others of creative juices.

So see what our collective is doing either thorugh our website, myspace, or youtube (soon). Frank, Keith, Rickie, Steve Snippert and others, all will have these sites up soon and all will be focused on what we collectively are doing. Whether it's Frank's solo work, Mike Ohm's work, Rickie and Steve's projects, Sue Buck's films or my visual art. We will have a lot to choose from. We keep expanding and with others help we all can take back the airways from childish behavior, wacko philosophies, and sexual degradation themes that are flooding the information highways.

So check us out so we can check you out.
Thanks, J.D.

Please bullshiters don't bother, but all others either in the arts or creative approches to environmental or social issues we support. Anything that is of a positive nature.

All CD's can be purchased from the site www.jdhopkins.com This is a commentary of mine and it might not reflect on others involved with the Sons of Rhythm. A couple of years ago we were contacted by a radio station in Bosnia that had been shut down by Milosavich and had their music destroyed. Major record labels refused because of legal problems with Bmi and Ascap over royalties to send any American Music for them to play. But since we're outside of any established anything we can send music to anyone we want which we did. Which makes me wonder what frightens political or religious dictators when it comes to creativity. The Taliban in Afhaghanastan cutting off drummers hands, Jazz musicians and creative artists in Hitler's germany sent to concentration camps, writers in Russia sent to Gulags and on and on. Some people really want to make existence bland, colorless, with no dynamics, taste, feel or meaning. Why is that? I've heard alot of reasons, theories and apologetic rationalizations over the 45 years, yet i still don't understand the ever present struggle between those who create and those who try to suppress creativity. Is this the way of the Tao, the yin and yang or the right brain left brain conflict i read about, the struggle between order and chaos to stabilize existence. A lot of creative people along with most humans struggle with urges oscilating between being creative and destructive. I'm still amazed at the beautiful architecture in Europe that in a few short years during the second World War was completely flattened. A thousand years of magnificent culture destroyed by the same people that built it. The blowing up of the Buddhas near tetra by the Taliban and book burnings in this country that recently happened. What the hell is going on? Sitting here in our safe little world both Susie(Buck) and I do respect the one's that have gone before us and the one's in the here and now that really pay a price to be creative. Which leads me into a angry place about people who abuse and use the creative arts for monetary or ego boosting reasons. What is wrong with us as humans? Are we that far gone when Simon of American Idol makes more in a year than probably the top 100 jazz musicians make collectively in a lifetime, or that some blonde gold digger's death gets 10 times as much coverage than the tragedy of Darfur or that mediocracy and just plain acting like spoiled little brats is a value system. I keep thinking that someday we as humans will grow out of all this madness but the madness just keeps on truckin. I'm glad i've known people who haven't given in to the madness and this My Space is sort of like a lifeline to others to help reinforce that i'm not mad. As much as i would like to think that i don't care what anyone thinks it's just another way to fool oneself. It's just really cool to know there is hip people out in the real world. During the 60's it was easy to hook into some counter culture space even in small towns or in other countries. For some reason the underground networking really worked. This younger generation has oppurtunities beyond belief. I hope you use it all. I'm sure diggin it , the possibilities in interaction blows what's left of my mind. I'm jealous in a way because i wish i had these oppurtunities in the 60's. Talking about a collective creative networking high. Hopefully we can get a virtual art gallery up soon. Trying to iron out the realities and score some guidas(money to the young) to get the project started. Thank you very much for your time. -JD Several People have inquired about me and wanted some information about who I was. Though these sites, both web and Myspace, was mainly about a collective endeavor. Here's a few pictures from my past: