Jose' Luis Diaz: News/Blog

I just got my mittens on an advance copy of A.O.G.MEDIA PRESENTS: COMPILATION VOLUME 9.

Here's my first impression of it:
This thing takes off like the perfect shot out of a giant cannon! I'm not finished listening yet, but pause and stop no longer exist! The only thing that pulled me away was a call from Jesse De La O, the mastermind of A.O.G. MEDIA who pulled together this awesome collection of show stoppers from around the world. I got as far as track 13 and enjoyed myself like a kid in a candy store the whole time! This volume includes artists from Russia, Italy, Serbia, Columbia, Croatia, and the USA. The world as a whole knows how to kick up an awesome dust-cloud of begs-to-be-heard music and this collection is more the rule than the exception. This doesn't just breach the cloud-deck, it shakes the stars like nothing else I've ever heard!

Veterans of past compilations dutifully prove that they are taking their music forward boldly with intense conviction. Dear reader, I say to you, "set aside a day in your 2009 to get your hands on a copy of this one!" Check the links page on this site and check out A.O.G.MEDIA on their myspace page and other sites listed there. You can get CDs and CDr from past, present, (and future!) COMPILATION artists thru A.O.G.MEDIA at an awesome price!

I gotta get back to the headphones! The weekend is almost over and I want to enjoy every bit of what's left by listening to this preciouse gem fate has delivered.
PUSH BACK THE CLOUDS AND SHAKE THE STARS!!!!!!

Many thanks are extended to all the fans who've listened to and downloaded tunes from my catalogue. If not for you I'd have no reason to carry on making music. My glass is raised high for all of you and may 2009 bring fruition to your wishes, hopes, and dreams!
MAY WE ALL SHINE IN 2009!

My next release will feature more instrumental pieces. I have been slowed down a bit but nothing I can't handle. The theme will be apocalyptic, world ends, everybody dies, etc.

Here's wishing a joyful transition into 2009 to all my fans, friends, and family!
THANK YOU FOR CHASING THIS TORNADO!!!!

Well, there went another Christmas. It was far less than the Christmases of past years but still it was a celebration of the birth of the most important individual ever born. This year small gifts were all that went around. They are the ones that let everyone know you thought of them and even the meager presents warmed hearts.
The news brought us its continuous barrage of the stories of people who lost everything. Houses burned down, there were hunting accidents, car wrecks, and more. There’s nothing like someone else’s loss to make you realize how much you have. Thus far, the sadness of the news and the faces of most people on the street reflect the bitter truth of the failing economy. That gets plastered in our faces steadily.
An ounce of prevention is priceless. Politicians are learned lawyers one and all. If they could shelve their greed for a while then they could actually have a chance of fixing things. President Bush’s’ economic stimulus package helped pay a few small bills, but that was about it. Given more, we all would have given the economy exactly what it needed. The power of consumers is always underestimated by lawmakers. My sentiments flow pretty much the same concerning the bail-out packages too. Billions of dollars to companies and institutions makes little or no sense. Especially when those entities can’t even tell us how they’re spending it. If you and I had “our” “cut” of that money it would be a far different story. I know it sounds bad to say but better you and I fail for our mistakes than the entire economy.
I refused to vote for him but this new president has a lot to do before he can convince me that he’s the right person for the job. The world arena is a lattice he must climb with as few foot-slips as possible. He wants to change a lot of things but his ways of affecting those changes is pretty questionable in my eyes. I’d really like to see him do something “for the people”. Most of our leaders have been excellent at doing things “for themselves”.
I keep falling into that realm of angst! I work hard and expect politicians to work hard for me. When they show me nothing that helps me, I put a foot on the soapbox. Am I wrong to want results? Isn’t that why they want to be our leaders? Or is it just for the fat paycheck and platitudes? Haughty pomp and circumstance aside, they are still human. We still expect much of them. Their acknowledgment of us has become a weak and feeble thing. Screaming it at the top of their lungs, changes nothing. Bailing us out of this horrid economic crises by making us as rich as they are for one year would be the greatest thing they could do for us. We, the people, put them in place to do a job. These days it’s easier to place them than to remove them. They get to bend and even outright change laws to keep office. We keep to the grindstone rubbing off skin and chipping off bone to appease their taxations. What would things be like if dreams were taxed? The reverend Martin Luther King would probably have written a much different speech.
In closing this moment, I will tell you to dream. Dream as hard as you can! Never surrender those dreams for any reason, not ever! If you allow your dreams to be taken, then by all means you are already defeated. Don’t be afraid to dream!

A.O.G. MEDIA is getting ready for a couple of major releases! Their first ever DVD COMPILATION will be released soon and I'm chomping at the bit to get my hands on it. As soon as I can I will get a roster posted of all the participating artists. The ongoing saga of the awseome A.O.G.MEDIA PRESENTS COMPILATION series will soon see its' 9th great release! The finishing touches are going into it and you can expect to see bands you may never have heard of but you can rest assured you will want to hear more from after you catch what they do on the COMPILATION!

The video of "2 THE OTHER SIDE" is now up and running on youtube! Jesse De La O did a great job on it and even has a cameo scene or two! Check it out along with all the other A.O.G.MEDIA affiliates at: http://www.youtube.com/aogmedia

The new stuff is still getting recorded and the lyrics are pouring out of my deep. dark, and twisted mind! My material is not for the faint of heart, nor is it for the "in" crowd. It's for the lonly tortured souls who think their dreams are all they have. I'm such a soul and all I want to do is share my dreams with others just like me. Maybe someday we'll all get together in one place and become the "VOX OF THE WORLD"!

KEEP PUSHING BACK THE CLOUDS!!!!
HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!!!

It is done! Check it out at the link below!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=99PnJGOK0SQ

A.O.G. MEDIA has posted some great videos from it's supreme cadre of affiliated artists. Even yours truly has a new one recently completed. "2 THE OTHER SIDE", from, "CAUTION,DREAMS IN PROGRESS", along with, "B.O.N.E.", from the awesome band "LOVEBONE", "12 RAINBOWS", from the hard-rockin' blues icon, "GYPSY CARNS", "ANOTHER ME", from the best of the Bronx,"KAMA LINDEN", "DRESSED TO KILL", "DEATH ANGEL", and "EVERYTHING IS ROSIE", from my good friend and collaborator, video producer, and media mastermind, "JESSE DE LA O".
All these and more can be found on youtube.com. Just follow this link: http://www.youtube.com/user/aogmedia
As always, have fun, and push back the clouds!

I accomplished nothing this weekend. I never made it into the studio. One song I've been working on just is not panning out mix-wise. I never got the ink for the printer, nor extra strings for my guitars. People started fights around me. Stuff got broken. My girlfriends 1300.00 table, along with some angels she loved very much were amongst the casualties. Suffice it to say that certain individuals are no longer welcome and may well never be welcomed again.

You cannot mix alcohol, philosophy, and religon. You cannot make people think, act, nor believe things the way you do. Opinions are suggestions. Forcing them on others is no way to act.

I'll be spinning up the old grindstone in the morning. This vacation was one I needed badly, but as usual, one that ends way too early. I've not really accomplished as much as I wanted to. But the wheels of life stop for none.
Feeling laid-back this sunday, I thought I'd give you a breakdown of "Thoracic Spark". Specifically, what each song means, or means to me.

#1. "IT RAINED ROSES"
I had a fleeting thought and image of an after war celebration. Troops strolled thru a steady rain of roses. Wether on the winning side or not, there may well be mutual feelings in everyone. I tried to maintain those emotions that seemed so fleeting in my original daydream. The first lyric draft was meant to convey a time-line-like sense of history passing by. The world wars one and two, Viet Nam, and of course the Gulf-War. Do you know anyone who served in any of those wars? My Grandfather fought Rommel in Africa during WW-II. My older Brother fought insurgents in the first Gulf-War. My Brother below me fought drug trafficers/producers in South America. My Father (whom I've never met), was in the USAF. Any day that sees a rain of roses has to be a good day no matter what perspective you see it from.

#2 "MORE THAN I AM"
Yeah, I write love songs. Who doesn't or can't? Kerry King could write one as well as any other human on the face of the earth. This one was inspired by my beautiful muse, Glenda. I simply looked at what am and realized that without her I'd easily be far less than what I see in the mirror.

#3 "OUR HEROES"
This is another dedicated to those who came home on a box, or less. If you've recently lost someone over there, please do not listen to this song. If you know some one who has lost someone over there, then give this one a spin to see things a bit more from their perspective. This should be a free download in most places as an mp3. The platitudes I write for our military personnel are the one thing I have no desire to gain from. Be wary that there are some sites where it is for sale. I do urge you wholheartedly to seek out the free downloads first and foremost.

#4 "BRUTAL INNOCENCE"
I did a long blog not long ago titled "DEEP THOUGHTS ?". This song was right along that line of reasoning. What were your teen years like? What music was the soundtrack for it. What dangers did you get yourself into? How many of your friends did'nt manage to escape those dangers? We always operated on the assumption that our parents failed miserably to understand us. The truth was more likely that they understood us all too well.

#5 "BREAKING ME"
I've been told to my face more than enough times to see the truth of a lie in all its' glory. "I don't want your money". "Your Son needs it". "The last thing I want to do is hurt you". BULLSHIT! Having to mind-wrestle with the attorney-general easily puts one in a "thousand-yard-stare" state of mind. Trying to be the "nice-guy" in any situation where money is involved along with the state of Texas, is pretty much a stupid waste of time. In the end, the party with the least amount of expressed feelings, and their shit together the tightest, wins. I've won several times over the years but it has cost me a huge portion of my 401K. The economy will probably cost me the rest of that feeble nest-egg. The next time I grab that bull by the horns I will not be able to afford that great lawyer I've used so effectivly in the past. Wish me luck. Spin this one again!

#6 "VOX OF THE WORLD"
The world wants to be heard. The young are the voice of the future. When they speak, the powers that be tend to not listen until it's far too late. The establishment reacts after the fact. The young see the world political arena for what it is, what it does, and what it can never do. The world over, the young will always be unified in their focus on the present and the future. It will after all be their world when the old are gone.

#7 "2 THE SOUND"
This track is simply straightforward in its' meaning. We can have these live shows pretty much anywhere in the world these days, but the constraints of government can affect the overall expierence of the crowd. This would be an awesome tune to do live as the singer pulls the crowd in and makes them feel at home. Security wants them all to "sit down and behave". At some point the tension must break and the crowd should explode into celebration. Anthemic never gets old. I tried to capture an older nostalgic guitar tone on this one. How did I do?

#8 "YOUR INHERITANCE"
This is directed with full force at the youth of the world. I'm emploring them to study the past and not make the same mistakes as those before them have. This is of course a moot point as most already know what terrible shape things are in right now. They have but one chance to "get it right". I hope they make the most of it.

#9 "RAIN ON THE FLOOR"
Here are three short "scenes". The protagonists in each have pushed living aside and are teetering on the edge of death. The ters are flowing and if they survive, one memory burned into their minds will be the sound of their own sweat and tears hitting the floor. Can you guess which scene is Mine?

#10 "NOODLE FDGb"
I know. I really need to do more instrumentals. Fear not My loyal Fans! More are on the way!

#11 "FOREVER NEVER"
The future will never arrive if the human race fails to get along. One race. One world. One future. Using religion to bully people into behavioral changes is not only degrading, but blasphemous. There are aspects of all religious beliefs that push the fringes of decency. Killing in the name of what you believe in crosses the line. Unfortunatly there are so many religions that the line is now extremely blurred. As long as we have our dreams, and as long as we strive to bring them to fruition, this planet of human beings may just have a chance.

#12 "BELIEF"
I give all I can everyday of my life. I know not what effect any of my actions will have on people. But here I am, open hearted, open minded, and watching the world go around intently. So, tell me what You believe in.

#13 "YOU WILL ATONE"
This is firmly directed at all those who have attacke me in many varied ways, shapes, and forms all through my life. Especially in the last 20 years. I'm no saint, but I was raised not to hate. Unfortunatly some people have a way of boiling my meager cup of hate over and into the fire. My list is short and very precise. Those on it, know they are. All in all, hate leaves the most disdainful of taste in my mouth, and of course, scars on my soul. Ehat does hate do to you?

So, there you have it. A deeper look into that darkest of places I call my mind. What did you think you would find? What did you really find? Few can listen with their hearts. What are you listening with?

PUSH BACK THE CLOUDS

Jesse De La O of A.O.G.MEDIA, and I set out last night to shoot some scenes for "2 THE OTHER SIDE". We shot in Riverside Park, down a dark and dusty road, and along a lonly highway. He had a very clear picture of what he wanted and as always I was inpressed by his directing skills. Glenda came along for the ride and I think she had enough fun to get her mind off Tristen.
We also shot some plug material for upcoming projects. Be on the lookout for the next awesome offerings of Compilation albums, and Video Compilations from A.O.G.MEDIA!
PUSH BACK THE CLOUDS!!!!

Last night Tristen went to heaven. He was ill with an unknown ailment that Dr. Chavez, his vet could not determine.

I always said I'd never dig his grave but last night I did. Friends came by to say farewell and many tears did flow. His body is now in the backyard he loved so much. His toys are still and his water bowl is dry. We will deeply miss the wonderful, playful companionship he gave so generously and the way he always greeted us at the door when we returned home.

Tristen came from a litter of beautiful pups birthed by a Katrina refugee. He was the smallest of them and the only male. He would dog-paddle over a glass of water. He loved his teddy bears and his bed and played vigorously with all his toys.

He is at peace now and we will never forget him.

Just so you'll know, I'm working on new music for my next release. After all these years it's still very much a fun process to record and record and record!
THORACIC SPARK is well on its way to a digital outlet near you, no matter where you are!
KEEP PUSHING BACK THE CLOUDS!

http://joseexist.cycast.de

The entire playlist is at the above link with a few free suprises! Enjoy!
Jose'

Prices go up, hurricanes blow by, jerks run for office, and time eats away at everything. Through all of this, the things we cannot control loom overhead. They are never larger than life, but always on the verge of pushing our dreams out of the way. Life can and may well pulverize you no matter what you do to defend yourself. The brutality of existence is never forgiving. The caress of dreams held deep within is the best defense against the onslaught of life. We can be beaten down, trodden underfoot, and kicked over the edge into the abyss, but even the most microscopic spark of a dream can never be extinguished. One tiny spark can smolder for more than a lifetime. In the perfect moment, it meets the fuel it's needed all along. The ignition can be subtle, or extreme. That burning is undeniable proof that dreams never really die. So, dream if you wish. Or, ignore your dreams. The choice is yours. Either way there will always be a small, easily unnoticed spark, there at the center of your soul, at the center of your mind, and at the center of your heart. Just Push Back The Clouds.

Young angst, and rebellion, people are always taken aback by it. Where does it come from? Who cares? When we were young we had plenty of it to spare. Those emotions and actions, reactions and convictions, grew. They grew strongly with all of the new wisdoms that we learned about the world and life. Things we wanted from the future always seemed to evaporate from our grasp just before we reached them. That happened more and more as we grew older. From our vantage point we saw grown-ups appearing to have it easy. When reality set in and we saw the truth for what it was, we were emboldened to disrespect anything that presented itself as “established”. Our resentments multiplied and our attitudes evolved into our “established” adult personalities.

In retrospect we’ve learned to look back across the years with an understanding of why we are who we are. Regrets and satisfactions are things we’ve had to learn the hard way. Few of us can easily embrace them equally, but all of us know them well for what they are. They are the wisdom we’ve gained. Our parents tried to tell us many things. We let them in one ear and out the other all too often. Slowly, their advice dawned on us and settled into the memes of our minds. Mom and Dad (for those of us lucky enough to have both) were right. We still did a lot of things they told us not to and many of us paid for our mistakes with our lives, freedom, or our prides. Maturing is a bittersweet endeavor. The taste never improves unless all your spoons are made of gold.

At the time, wasting time never crossed our synapses. We watched the world proceed and did our best to run circles around it. Each circuit we completed was a badge of honor we wore with high platitude. Each badge was a fresh link in the armor we body checked one another with. We jostled feverishly to develop and maintain the pecking order of our micro-society. The sands blasted their way through our hourglass and desolation amongst the grains was the only future we could see. Our shielding tarnished away, transmogrifying into our adult facades. We now hold tightly our last fistful of sand, yet we know the grains still flit away faster than ever before. The less we have, the faster we lose it.

The future looms nearer and nearer. The closer it gets the more at ease we become with our mortality. Though few and far between, we take every opportunity to spit-shine our shielding to a blinding shine. With each brush of polish the tarnish returns even quicker than before. We assure ourselves that the approaching end will be well met. We will polish our facades one final time and raise our eyes to scan the distance with furrowed brow. Our toes will grip the edge and we will smile reverently as we leap into the final arc of the final circuit. We will know that we lived the best lives we could with what we were given to live them with. Our “re-entry” into the great unknown will conclude with the ablation of our armor as our souls bare to the universe and all its’ mystery. Will we peer into the hearts of stars? Will we walk on black holes, neutron stars, or other worlds? Will we find the edge of the very fabric of our universe? We’ve already asked ourselves all these questions, and many, many more. We know those who never made it through this many years already have all those answers. We are also content to believe they have many, many more. In the end it’s obvious that’s all we ever really wanted. We just really wanted answers. We had to find our own and were too stubborn listen to those who had gone before us into adulthood.

We gave death a run for the money. Some of us lost early on. The triumph for us lies in the years we spent frolicking on the bow-wave of death. Like dolphins at play we threaded our way with intricacy. We formed our little pods and re-formed them over and over again, laughing at death as he struggled to run us down. That must be why death can be so painful. It’s his revenge for our disrespect of him. In old age we accept the pain, if death comes that way. It’s the least we can do. Or we ask ourselves what on earth we could have done to deserve to die painlessly. The morphine that might be administered does more for our partners and prodigy than respite for our battered bodies. We breathe one last breath. Our hearts make one final beat. Our thought cascades inward furiously like the collapse of a star forming a black hole. Nothing escapes but life, pun intended. Now we are out of the way for those after us to forge their armor, run their circuits, and discover much the same wisdoms as we did. They will know us by the trails we left. Graffiti carved into trees and park benches, and painted under bridges. Ropes tied high in trees over swimming holes, and urban legends bearing our names. We live forever in their eyes, and now it is their turn to become immortal.

Finito:10/29/2008 JOSE DIAZ (Pe’pe’)

All the tracks on "THORACIC SPARK" are active here now. Clips, downloads, and full listens are available. I hope you like what you hear.
Jose'

I'll get the full load of samples up soon!!!!
PUSH BACK THE CLOUDS AND BURN THE SKY!

I've finally got the package off in the mail. There are a few sites you can find the tunes on already. As soon as the tunes are encoded by the awesome staff at CDBABY, I'll get a full album of samples and a full tune or two up on the music page here.
I hope you like!

Prices go up, hurricanes blow by, jerks run for office, and time eats away at everything. Through all of this, the things we cannot control loom overhead. Never larger than life, but always on the verge of pushing our dreams out of the way. Life can and may well pulverize you no matter what you do to defend yourself. The brutality of existance is never forgiving. The caress of dreams held deep within is the best defense against the onslaught of life. We can be beaten down, trodden underfoot, and kicked over the edge into the abyss, but even the most microscopic spark of a dream can never be extinguished. One tiny spark can smoulder for more than a lifetime. In the perfect moment, it meets the fuel it's needed all along. The ignition can be subtle, or extreme. That burning is undeniable proof that dreams never really die. So dream if you wish, or ignore your dreams. The choice is yours. Either way there will always be a small, easily unoticed spark, there at the center of your soul, at the center of your mind, and at the center of your heart.
Just Push Back The Clouds.

Thanks to all you fans who visited in September. Your hits give my self esteem a much needed boost.
Thoracic Spark is now available on a few sites such as, MUSICFORTE, BETARECORDS, and a few tracks are up on many others. The full digital swath of sites will not be filled in until I can get the 5 hardcopies to CDBABY.
Death And Decay is currently out of stock but I'll be sending CDBABY more along with Thoracic Spark.
Check the links page for a long list of websites where you can find most if not all of the tunes I've released. You will even find quite a few tracks that are FREE DOWNLOADS!
I've been neglecting the mainstream music for too long. I gave DOWN and METALLICA a spin in the walkman last night and felt a surge of inspiration. After that I hit the studio and piddled about for a while. It took that music to push me up off the couch. Well, that and the TV is on the fritz! LOL!!!
I think I'll step off to make one of the new tunes on the myspace page (myspace.com/legasyssong) a freebie!
PUSH BACK THE CLOUDS!

We all breathed a big sigh here. Not so fortunate for others up north. My heart goes out to everyone in the path of IKE.
In a last ditch effort I set up THORACIC SPARK with CDbaby. I also put mp3s on betarecords.com. The studio is back up and running and I'm starting to compose more music. I wanted to at least have the tunes uploaded in case the storm wiped me out.
All in all you should be able to hear all the tracks as well as get a few FREE ones there.
I helped A.O.G.MEDIA move to new digs and by chance they have a HEAVY METAL keyboardist in the neighborhood. Look for some very interesting collaborations soon!
Thanks and many congrats to my daughter Kimberley Ann and here new hubby, Lewis! The guitar they gave me in response to my blessings and wishes for a happy new life together sounds AWESOME thru my rig and studio boards!!!!
as always, I hope you can lose yourself in a song or two and, KEEP PUSHING BACK THE CLOUDS!!!