A little background on the Joe Rossi & The Back Door Jam

 

the Back Door Jam 

 

For years, I have steadily built up a large community of mostly Doors fans but also Deadheads, Bob Dylan fans,  and people on the peaceful classic rock/hippie side of the spectrum.

Between YouTube and MySpace alone I have a little more than 70,000 friends & subscribers.  I consider these folks friends & family, and many of them have expressed support for my original music and words.  Most of this has been done under the banner of Deadhead Dylan & The Desolation Doors, reflecting my primary influences.

There are more than a few fans here in Texas, and many have asked when I’m touring, when we’re playing etc., as well as encouraged me to start a tribute.l  Meanwhile, while I have been trying to reconstitute a band that could play my original music along with covers, I have worked a day job, like most musicians and artists, as I have kids to take care of here in Texas.

I have wanted to bring to fruition a band doing these originals, but in a town with a glut of original acts, it’s nearly impossible, while working a full time job. At MySpace I do feature professionally recorded songs from my one CD, A Last Fling W/Decadence & Democracy, itself a tongue-in-check tribute to the inspiration of The Doors.

This project – The Back Door Jam – will be red meat for die hard Doors fans. As much as I enjoy a large following in cyberspace for my original works, clubs and record companies aren’t lining up at my door offering me gigs and record contracts for my original works.  Publishers aren’t asking to publish my poetry and get behind my two books -one fictional and one non-fiction- which I have self-published. While these products, along with sales of my CD and mp3 downloads, do sell from time the sales for now remain negligible.

Meanwhile, Doors tribute acts enjoy a record of being successful.  Check out Wild Child and Peace Frog in Los Angeles, The Doors Experience in Europe or The Soft Parade in New York.

Here in Central Texas, I cannot name one band paying tribute, and see it’s a void that can be filled, in Austin, but more importantly in the large sprawling suburbs of Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston and San Antonio where middle-class baby boomers are  ready and eager to see a band play music they all grew up with.  The market is underserved and to me that’s a huge opportunity.

About Jim Morrison

 

Jim Morrison has always been an albatross around my neck as I have somewhat in vain tried to be my own person. Because I look like, sound like, and write like him, many immediately assume I am not my own person, but just another so-called “Jimitator” or wannabe.

For years I’ve carried a chip on my shoulder about how my resemblance is a gift and I wanted to do more with my gift that just ape Jim in a tribute act. I wanted to do my own thing, even if I do look like Jim. I wanted to assert my uniqueness and distinguish myself from the legions of Jim Morrison impersonators out there. While tenaciously clinging to this ideal of credibility, it has not done my pocketbook any good, and it’s high time, to go and play music for folks, have some fun, and perhaps earn a living, or at least supplement my income, playing music.

Will there be room for originality. You bet, but at the same time this is a tribute and it’s disingenuous to bill it as that and then throw out originals.  Still, I’m not opposed down the road, if the audience is receptive, to that possibility.  Many less familiar with The Door’s catalog, have assumed that some of my originals are Doors covers.

The future is uncertain.  As a final point, The Doors themselves are releasing a critically well-received new documentary about the band this fall and winter and that is bound to stir up more demand and interest in the band.

So, while the future is indeed uncertain, the time to hesitate is through!

morning lament

ok well just leave me here
it just might make it easier
& just as the leaves turn to Fall
it's high time I slipped into gone.

into that fragrant place
that time forgets
where all is empty
& all our lives are spent.

remembering nothing
& holding it all
in the cup of our palm
like a bead of smooth balm

rubbed into our thin
excuse for skin
which will peel away
but refuse to fall.

night dies all around us
as the sun grows a new day
still it's as dark as the shadows
that remain in our way.

foreshadowing

into a dark heart night
& little room to move
finding myself like a wandering wolf
howling at a midnight moon

the cat my friend
as he nudges me for food
reminds of the childhood I wanted
for my children too.

these halls,
where my daughters played
these rooms
to remain here,
and I promise you, this place
becomes my tomb.

Islamic Terrorism, Sexuality & Evolution

Islamic terrorism? It is patently clear that the problem with Islamic terrorism isn't Islam as some might erroneously surmise, and for proof I need not go farther than our own shores.

America is home to thousands if not millions of Islamic Americans. If Islam were the root of terrorism, then we would have to ask ourselves how it is that none of our fellow Islamic American citizens and residents are blowing themselves and each other up. Is it not obvious that the are not suffering from what I call the misery factor. These Americans like most Americans live in relative comfort and security, have jobs to go, homes to live in, mosques to worship in and need not fear that their some suicide bomber might blow themselves and their family up. It simply does not happen here and for good reason. By and large people in this nation, regardless of their religion enjoy a lifestyle unknown in some of the darker regions of the Mideast.

And you'll note that for the most part, we don't hear about suicide bombings in the stabler parts of the Mideast. Not in U.A.E. or Jordan, or Saudi Arabia, but in places where turmoil and misery reigns, such as Israel, where the Palestinians are miserable, or Iraq, still struggling to rise from the ashes of George Bush's ill conceived war. Poor impoverished Afghanistan and neighbor hing Pakistan where tribal and economic conditions drive many young Muslims to the point of desperation.

Because if you ask yourself a simple question you will arrive at a very simple and correct conclusion. What would drive anyone to kill themselves along with anyone with the misfortune of being in their vicinity, with no regard or concern for the suffering such an act unleashes, other than the fact they are completely and utterly miserable. Perhaps they have no job and their family has been killed in the war, or by suicide bombers. They are hungry, lonely, emotionally battered and without hope. They live in countries with battered infrastructures where electricity and clean water are luxuries, where jobs and good meals are scarce and where pleasures are few.

I will add however, that Islam insomuch as it is a religion, much like Christianity, does exacerbate matters in that in creates especially in males an irrational hostility towards one's own human sexuality. It perhaps in many cases becomes a straw that breaks many a camel's back, as lonely souls bereft of love and the comfort of a woman's touch, seek respite in martyrdom and the promise of virgins in heaven. It's a cruel and mean joke to play on these poor souls in so many ways. some but the problem isn't exclusive to Islam. This war on the flesh creates self hatred as one's own natural and innate desires are view as vehicles to damnation. It is I believe at the heart of the child molestation problem in the Catholic priesthood. Denying a human males normal needs for sex, can result in sexual feelings finding expression in unnatural ways.

You don't hear about other religions that allow the priests to marry etc. having the kinds of problems the Catholic Church has had. Not that all catholic priests are sexually repressed child moles tors, and are able to sublimate such primal passions in healthy ways, but I still do view such repressive sexuality as unhealthy and potentially dangerous, just as most Muslim males are happily married and have satisfying sex lives.

Still, don't go explaining how sex is God's gift to loving couples in monogamous marriage for the purpose of procreation. Don't go confusing God's purpose with our purpose. Sexuality is of and always will be of the jungle, even within the confines of social institutions. Now that is not to give one license of free reign to act on impulses, but rather to make a case for self-compassion towards one's own sexuality. Because any species whose males did not feel a compulsive and overwhelming urge to engage in sex, would be deselected in the evolutionary process.

But again let's not confuse life's purpose with our own. We seek sex because it's fun and pleasurable and makes us feel less alone in the world and intimately close with those whom we love the most. It's the bait and we lunge after it whole-heartedly. Just like life's purpose for hunger is for us to feed our bodies, nurture them and keep them warm, but we don't' eat for this reason. We eat because we are hungry and it feels good to eat. These qualities ensure we survive as the fittest for a species that did not eat or engage in sex often would slowly die off due to starvation and a lack of reproductive activity.

Why America is a Great Country (work in progress)

America is great not because we have Christian churches, but rather because we have Christian churches, Hindu Temples, Buddhist Temples, Mosques, and Synagogues.

America is great not because we speak English here, but because depending on where you are, you will hear Spanish, Arabic, Chinese and Japanese and a host of other languages, and see signs, advertisements and the like, in these languages.

America is great because while in most states, we won't allow gays to marry, at least we don't stone them to death like they do in the Mideast

America is great because while we may arrest and imprison drug offenders, at least we don't chop off their heads like they do in Saudi Arabia.

America is great because we respect and regard both sexes as equal and do not treat our women like dogs as they do in Mideast countries.

America is great because it’s a reflection of the greater world, a true melting pot representing the world at large and symbolic of the rich cultural heritage of societies across the globe.

Regarding the Political Divide

Why is it conservatives don't mind busting the budget and bankrupting the future by spending trillions on our Mideast policy, invading and bombing nations, invariably ending up spending money on rebuilding these countries’ infrastructures, but they scream bloody murder when we want to spend money on this country taking care of the poor, providing health care for the uninsured and educating our children?

Why is it that conservatives constantly malign and impugn the character of millions of Americans by bashing "so called" big bloated government” not realizing or acknowledging that in America we are government OF the people, BY the people, and FOR the people. Now, I may be wrong and please correct me if I am, but does not government for the most part employ Americans or in the very least employ people in this country thus keeping the money they spend in this country’s economy? And from what I know local, state and federal governments do not employ undocumented workers, but many private companies will, thus eventually sending much of their private money south of the border?

And what about those employees on the government payroll? I’m not talking about the fat cat incompetent bureaucrats and corrupt politicos. How about the cops on the street or the city worker fixing the potholes in the street? What about the civil engineers designing public works projects. What about the county clerks, and assistant D.A.’s or the judges and magistrates? Why do conservatives continue to malign and impugn the character of such a large swath of working Americans?

Do the only true Americans work in the private sector?

Why is it then conservatives want a great country, but whine when they have to pay for it? Why is it that conservative constantly decry government? So they are upset that their tax dollars and the tax dollars of the corporations and entrepreneurs are appropriated by their government, when the money could be used to grow their businesses and create jobs for the people of countries such as India where they inevitably ship their jobs, or spend their money hiring illegal aliens invariably sending American tax dollars south of the border or else pay the Chinese for the products they import.

Look folks, I’m not for big government of small government. I’m for smart government. I don’t buy into the ideologies of the left or the right. I think Rush Limbaugh and Bill Reilly are the ideologue buffoons on the right and are matched by their buffoon ideologue counterparts on the left such as Michael Moore or Keith Obermann. Sure, if anything I lean left of center, and am sympathetic to the libertarian viewpoint but that doesn’t mean I don’t hear or agree with all arguments from the right.

Myself I want big government out of Iraq and Afghanistan, out of a woman's womb, and to leave my urine and blood alone. I don't want big government to become a police state, with surveillance, eaves dropping, and spying on its own citizens becoming common place. And as much as I think it's needed, maybe it's time to rethink all of the foreign aid we hand out. Not that I don't think helping people around the world isn't a good thing, but if we bankrupt this nation, we won't be able to help ourselves much less the rest of the world.

Another interesting point is that many conservatives are both fiscal and social ones, thus postulating the interesting paradox that while they don't subscribe or believe in the theory of evolution, they believe in the survival of the financially fittest. Because when the market place does its thing, inevitably there are those individuals and companies that will fall hard, while the "fittest" individuals and companies will rise to the top.

Isn't it ironic that conservatives aren't willing to pay or support the less disadvantaged unless they subscribe to their viewpoints, go to their churches or embrace their ideologies? And if they don't, they really don't want their hard-earned tax dollars going to help them, however should these unfortunate ones end up committing crimes in order to take care of themselves, I would imagine conservatives are more than happy to build prisons, hire guards, close, house and feed them.

If government will provide and help with a safety net, those on the bottom on the social ladder by helping clothe and feed them, educate them, provide shelter and help them at the most basic level, in order to keep them out of our jails, and tying up or legal system,why is that a bad thing?

Or perhaps we could just execute the poor, thus relieving these poor impoverished Americans of the burden of taking care of undesirables either through social programs or through the judicial system. That why these poor impoverished middle and upper class Americans can spend more at the mall, spend more time in the Bahamas, and spend more time on the golf course.

Is this a great Christian nation or what?

I often hear from right wing talk show hosts about how great it is the people stand for their convictions, that they hold firm to their beliefs. Keep in mind that Islamic militants, white supremacists, fascist socialists and communists also stand by their convictions and hold firm to their beliefs as well. So depending on what those beliefs and convictions are, we can see that the ideal of "standing by your convictions" can be a good or bad thing.

Too Close To The Sun

Deadhead Dylanheads

Missing

Missing her
in the long cold night
Miss her like I miss
My life
My wife

long years ahead, & love holds true
no matter what a soul may do
into the forever, loam we fold
our cards, our love, our very soul.

She is an angel, queen & saint
Fierce dark eyes
Still graceful traits
& alluring, dark & sexy true
the mother of my girls
& for so long my world.

into the night
soft sweet lights
into the future we pray
& grow.

Isn't it funny how we can both believe in God and not in God at the same time and find no conflict in such seeming disparate world views.

What is it to have faith. I have faith. Faith in the beauty and integrity and unity of God and Life and that in the end, we're all bound by God's infinite and unconditional love. At the same time I don't believe God to be Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Hindu or Whathaveyou. If God was anything he'd probably be a Buddhist because that's the best way to enjoy Himself.

I don't believe in the literal interpretation of the Bible nor do I think it wise to base all our world views and values upon the rantings and ravings of antiquity's version of the street corner preacher.

Not there isn't good stuff in the Bible, because there is, just like there is good stuff in Hindu mythology. But I no more think we should regards these myths as factual and literal than we should believe Prometheus stole fire from Heaven or that Atlas is holding up a mountain range in Africa.

We have to ask ourselves what is when we say we believe in God. Because what we believe today about God is different than what was believed back in the day. Back then, they really did believe for instance, that God as in the heaven's i.e. the clouds and walking around like father time throwing down thunderbolts and turning people into pillars of salt. When Jesus died and ascended to Heaven, he didn't beam out like Star Trek into some transformational LOVE world. He ascended into heaven on some heavenly upwards transport.

Think about it. What do we really believe? Can we be rational, please? Can we believe in science and thank, no, praise God he gave us the wisdom to figure out we evolved? Can we go further and view evolution itself from the first cells to our present civilization, as the divine manifestation of a purpose that will remain mysterious and elusive for years to come, and still appreciate our unique opportunity to weigh our small cameos against the bigger picture?

Because it's really about the L O V E we find in the moment. Beyond nihilism and humanism, beyond deism, theism and jingoism there is US. Our UNITED SOUL. the United Souls of the World. It really does go beyond self, nation, country, religion, language, world view, politics or ideology.
It asks rather simply: are you kind?

The self of the world unfolding and experiencing like some unhinged fractal equation, the whole or sum of the parts, spinning madly across this brief historical parade, towards some reconciliation that can be a blessing in disguise.


Think about your lives.

This moment
Your love.

You.

God.


All just words flashing briefly in the flow of time.
Close your eyes
and discover your Mind.

Keep Deadhead Dylan close to your heart!

Why is Rush Limbaugh filled with seething hatred for Barack Obama

No doubt this is a case of sour grapes, but I can't help but notice that Rush Limbaugh is not a happy camper these days.

Of course, it's well known he backed the wrong horse in the latest presidential campaign but it's also well known he really didn't like the horse he backed. But it's clear now that Barack Obama is the nation's 44th president; it seems to me a man who thought he cynically could manipulate the election process with such schlock as "operation chaos," has had his comeuppance and his own political impotency and irrelevance has been demonstrated.

Let's be clear about something. No doubt, if America is able to rebound from the current economic malaise and turn this economy around, the Obama presidency will be considered a success. Only a few things could mar this: a worsening or collapse of our economy or a major security incidence that results in loss of American lives.

But Limbaugh says he wants Obama to fail, so we must take that to mean he wants to see the American people suffer in some way, either through further economic suffering or the unthinkable, because were the American people to suffer in this way, the Obama would presidency would be considered a failure, and Rush Limbaugh would get his wish.

Gee, thanks Rush. What is it about Obama that fills you with such seething hatred? I'm sure you'd spout some spiel about not hating the man only his ideas, but that's a smokescreen. Truth is, that for all your supposed credentials as America's conservative and perhaps even family values man, you yourself are unable to lead by example. Whereas Barack Obama is a once happily married man with two wonderful daughters, you yourself are divorced three times and childless. And while Obama, like your man George W, can lay blame of past drug abuse on the oft used excuse of youthful indiscretion, you managed to generate headlines in your 50's as a drug abuser.

So, mabye it's that in a very clear light Obama exposes your own hypocrisy and perhaps this is what you hate about him the most?

I'm just saying ...

Happy NEW YEAR!!!