I’ve told people about this and lots of them understandably have looked at me sideways, but some people have been with me to experience this phenomenon and Kathy is one of them.  She took this picture around 5:00 PM in Malibu last spring right above the house I rent.  So this year, as a special birthday gift, Kathy got me a lesson in falconry in Vermont.  We’ll go up in a few weeks and I’ll get to experience these beautiful creatures up close and personal.  Can you imagine?  I can’t!

I continue to fly… Today I return to LA and my beloved Antoinette & Frank in Malibu for another short trip to keep the mojo alive in California until I find a permanent nest, which should be soon now.  Next month I’ll stay longer and I’ll host an evening of “Pre Unofficial Summer” music at the Standard Hollywood on Tuesday, May 21st at 7:30 PM.  Bliss Bowen and Phoebe Bridgers will join me with early sets and Scarlet Rivera will return to accompany me to finish off the evening.  I’m getting excited about joining the community of artists in LA and this evening of songwriting will really kick that off for me.

Tell me why… On Friday April 19th, I will fly back to Boston to play at Toad in Porter Square, Cambridge, with the Mighty van Gogh Brothers featuring Chris Anzalone on drums.  This will be a toasty night for me but so worth it to keep it fresh live with our band.  The sessions for “A Whole New Day” have been incredible- as Clayton said, our last track, “A Life That Couldn’t Be Saved” is like the scene in “Boogie Nights” when Burt Reynolds tells Mark Wahlberg: “This is something you can be proud of.”  I thought Clayton’s remark was beautiful and hilarious, but seriously, the record is turning into a terrific collection.

March gave us much studio work, more time in Los Angeles, my 2nd or 3rd winter cold and a great trip to Virginia for Easter.  I am hopeful that spring will come to Boston this year but Kathy and I are looking at places in LA next month just in case it doesn’t…

None of this stopped my beautiful birthday celebration earlier in April and I got spend the evening with my two favorite girls, Kathy and my daughter Caroline, along with Caroline’s paramour, Collin.  A joyful, laughter-filled occasion that I will never forget.  I am blessed with a wonderful life filled with love, music, serenity and peace.

My work with MIT on copyright futures continues this month at the MIT Media Lab Spring Meeting in which I will participate.  I’m looking forward to meeting Walter Murch, Amanda Palmer and others.  The copyright landscape continues to evolve as television and film face the same challenges music has faced.  Fascinating stuff…

Thank you all for your birthday wishes on FaceBook and I look forward to seeing you at Toad on the 19th.  It’s our first and ONLY appearance at Toad this year and our LAST public show until fall.  No excuses- if I can fly in from LA and perform…

Love,

John

It was two years ago this month, March, that I returned to LA to pursue my long-standing dream of building my own music publishing business.  I spent the first 6 or 7 months checking out the scene, listening to what others were experiencing and sizing up my prospects.  I realized that I could probably make a go of it but that success would require luck as well as persistence, so, with some trepidation, I hosted my first “industry” soiree in October of 2011 with “X”, my 10th record, under my belt.   Since then I’ve placed over a dozen tracks in film, television and DVD projects, in addition to what Heavy Hitters has placed of my older catalog. What I feel is that I’ve made a beginning, and that people are starting to get to know me and my music.  That’s about all I could ask for at this point, and I am grateful for this opportunity.  I have had luck- not just a little- a lot- and I am sure I will have more.  I always believed the universe conspires to help us when we are following our true North and I have experienced this “conspiracy” in my life since turning it over and “jumping”.  ”Leap and the net will appear” says Julia Cameron in her book, The Artists’ Way.  Scary but true!

I love Hollywood and all of California and the life I’m carving out for myself.   There is something of ancient Rome here, and of the American Dream, and of course Hollywood is a town built on faith and wild abandon.  Perfect.

My East-West “commute” continues and while I hope to see the trips slow down later this year, I can’t complain.  The van Gogh Brothers reunited at Vincent’s and in the recording studio in February and our work continues into March and April.  The multi-month hiatus seems to have kicked our sensibilities into a higher gear both live and in the studio.  Our latest track, “California Redux” was a return to Studio Bopnique and holy smokes, we seemed to have hit one out of the park this time.  Please check it out at: http://soundcloud.com/john-cate/california-redux.

I spend a few days mid-month in the City of Angels before returning to both Woolly Mammoth and Studio Bopnique for continued tracking with Dave Minehan and Anthony Resta, respectively.  We have 2 songs slated and a 3rd TBD.  I’m wondering if I’ll write something new in the next 5 or 6 days… A bit of  a game of “chicken” with myself.

In April the van Gogh Brothers return to Toad Cambridge for our first Toad show since last March.  Friday, April 19th is the date.  Please mark your calendars and join us!

On Thursday, May 23rd, I am co-hosting an evening of music at the Standard Hollywood with singer-songwriter Bliss Bowen and friends, and a third artist TBD. This should be a really cool show, and is my first foray into the LA performing music scene since returning.  Bliss is part of a crew of folks we hooked up with in the early 00′s that revolved around Bryson Jones & Polly Parsons, Graham’s daughter, the “Sin City” crowd.  Now there is a new life and light and our paths came to cross again and we’ll see where we take it together.  Both Bliss and I hosted shows for Billy Block for several years and have that Nashville tie in common as well. Very cool.

Speaking of Nashville and Billy Block, I got back to Music City early in March and had a blast playing Billy’s weekly showcase with Billy, old pals Annie Clements (Sugarland) and Mark Jones and special guest niece Lauren, with Randy Leago (Dixie Chicks) on piano.  A very cool reunion and my first time playing with Mark & Randy.  It’s good to be making appearances in Music City again and Annie & I had so much fun we’ve decided to do it again sometime soon-ish.

So much life to live.

Well, we should be touching down within the hour so I’m going to pull my things together.  Please Boston friends do not hate me for missing what I hope is the last snow of the season- I can’t help it if I’m lucky.

Hope you can make it out to Toad and/or the Standard in April & May.  Look for new tracks as they go up on Soundcloud, and thank you for your support.

Love,

John

What just happened?!

Since I last wrote, the van Gogh Brothers slammed an over-capacity Groundhog Day gig at Vincent’s followed by a return to the recording studio where we blasted out what might be our best recording EVER- “Tears Run Dry“.  Check it out and see why CMJ’s review says: “Shades of John Lennon and Roy Orbison”.  (Really?!  I’ll take it!)

A few days later, I returned to the City of Angels for as much bowing & scraping as I could find, as well as a huge amount of fun during the mid-month Valentine’s Day weekend which was a return to summer with temps in the 80′s.  During my recent stay in LA, I went to John Anderson’s Hunnypot event where I bumped into a fellow from Nashville who grew up in Mitchell, South Dakota, home of the world-famous Corn Palace!  The Corn Palace was one of the wacky highlights of my cross country trip with my daughter a few years ago.  Our man from Mitchell is pictured to the left of John Anderson, above.  How lucky am I? HA!  What a trip!

And now as we approach month-end, I’m getting ready to return to Music City, USA, another one of my favorite places, where I will re-connect with my new Corn Palace pal and other friends to keep something of a profile in this important music town.  This time, I’ll bring a guitar and play a bit.  On Tuesday, March 5th at 8:00, I’ll do a short set for the Billy Block show at the Mercy Lounge.  Old pal Annie Clements (Sugarland) will play bass & sing, older pal Mark Jones will play guitar and oldest pal Billy Block will play drums.  Just in case that’s not enough to feel the love, Kathy’s 11-year old, awesomely-talented  niece will sing a Hillary Lindsey song with us, “Windows on a Train”.  I think this will be a fun time, and all the old friendships and young talent will keep it down-to-earth and real.

Following Nashville, the van Gogh Brothers return to the recording studio, this time with producer Anthony Resta, to tackle what we think is going to be an epic track, “California, Redux”.  I don’t know exactly how to ~think~ about this song yet, but I “hear” it in my head, and I’m sure we’ll find the right formula as we go.

Naturally, after this next series of recording sessions, I will head right back to California.  A rolling stone gathers no moss as the saying goes… And Los Angeles feels more and more like home.

We thought about a return to Vincent’s in April, but couldn’t find dates that worked for all of us so we’ll keep banging away in the studio, look at private events over the summer, and other dates TBA.

Life is one big blessing and I am filled with gratitude for all its goodness.

Keep the faith.

Love,

John

Groundhog Day is upon us and the van Gogh Brothers reunite after a multi-month hiatus at our home of origin, Vincent’s in Worcester, Massachusetts, on Saturday February 2nd… to see our shadow or not…

Every band- famous or otherwise- has that ONE place where they honed their skills, developed a sound and became “one”.  A band doesn’t really become a band until they have this experience- vitally important and now often overlooked. The Beatles had the Star Club in Hamburg, then the Cavern in Liverpool… The van Gogh Brothers had Vincent’s.  Silly as it might sound, Vincent was the club owner (Ralph’s, Nick’s Vincent’s) who said: “OK, why don’t you guys play every Saturday night?” and that’s what we did- for about a year, back in ’04 and ’05.

Paul and I had been performing and making records since the mid-’90′s before Vincent gave us the opportunity to hone our sound live.  Our growth as a band and as individual musicians and writers finally coalesced with that wonderful experience.  Clayton & Steve had joined Paul and I a year or two before this so the timing was perfect- we were just beginning to integrate Stevie’s skills and color and Clayton’s three-part vocal harmonies and authoritative foundation- our tenure at Vincent’s gave us the chance to solidify.   I will be forever grateful to Vincent for this opportunity, as it defined the van Gogh Brothers sound.

And the van Gogh Brothers sound isn’t going away.  After completing the “Changeable Skies” EP which was a step further into my acoustic roots as a writer, my writing has returned to the “classic” van Gogh Brothers sound.  What is revealing about this to me is that it further validates the miracle of my musical Brothers- that we could meet each other and come together not only in the recording studio, but as a real live performing entity that stands both the test of time and my personal muse.  The individual gifts of Paul, Clayton and Steve intersect with my inner musical DNA in a way that’s truly beyond comprehension.  I could not have planned things this way because the ways in which we relate musically are subtle but vital- that is how a “sound” is born.

So we will shake the snow off our shoes and hopefully predict an early spring on Groundhog Day, 2013.

Following this return to live performance, we will go back to the studio to record the rest of the album that “Changeable Skies” began, which I am entitling “A Whole New Day”.  I think of these new sessions as “Side A” to the EP as “Side B”.  We will return to both Woolly Mammoth with Dave Minehan and to Bopnique Musique with Anthony J. Resta in February and March.  We have so many songs to choose from, both old and new, but of course we’ll begin with the new stuff.  First up is “California, Redux”, an ode to the “dark” side of LA, which includes a Guitar-God outro that’s like “I Want You/She’s so Heavy”  -meets- “Hotel California”.  In fact I’m hoping we can get Joe Walsh to join Paul on the outro guitar solo- we shall see.

In mid-February I return to LA to continue building my music publishing company, American Music Partners, which is beginning to see the light of day.  I will also appear on my first SESAC panel for the California Copyright Coalition to talk about copyrights in the digital age, and resume participation with the Association of Independent Music Publishers which kicks back into gear in February.  California feels like home now, as it always did, just more so…

And don’t forget Valentine’s Day!  Kathy will join me in LA mid-month and we plan to visit “The Smoke House” in Burbank on a double date with our friends and my landlord/surrogate Mom and Dad in Malibu, Antoinette and Frank. Frank worked for Disney for 45 years (!) and the Smoke House is one of those landmarks from Hollywood’s golden years- still alive and well. Frank has been telling us about this place for almost a year and it should be a hoot.  I hope  you’ve bought your cards and gifts and made your plans!

In March, I will return to Nashville and will perform at the Billy Block Show at the Mercy Lounge on Tuesday the 5th at 8:00 PM.  Old pals Annie Clements (Sugarland), Mark Jones and Billy Block join me on bass, guitar and drums, respectively.  I’m excited to perform with Annie and Billy again, and with Mark for the first time.  Annie contributed vocals and bass to “Changeable Skies” and we will be performing songs from that record together live which will be awesome.  Kathy’s 11-year old niece, and a vocal prodigy, Lauren, will join us to sing Hillary Lindsey’s “Windows on a Train”, rounding out the fun and keeping it personal and real.

Life is grand and every day is a gift.  I’m so grateful for the love, support and opportunities that have come my way, especially in the last couple of years.  It’s a whole new day.

Love,

John

I took this shot on Christmas night 2012 in Key West, where Kathy & I spent 5 glorious days biking, kayaking, walking and generally relaxing before returning to Boston to bring in the New Year and start 2013 in earnest.  It was wonderful to have the chance to disappear for a few days in the tropical heat and madness of Key West, one of my many favorite spots.  We stopped in and saw Tony Roberts, a friend and an incredible songwriter, at the Sunset Tiki Bar and I got my annual hug, then we went off on our merry way and got lost in the beauty of it all.  With a chance to relax, take siestas and break up our time, we liked to say that different parts of the day each became “a whole new day.”   May we carry this spirit with us as we move into the new year!

Thank you Los Angeles for an incredible 2012 for American Music Partners.  We licensed over a dozen tracks for film, TV and DVD projects in our first year of business, a very respectable start.  In addition, Heavy Hitters Music, which represents my early catalog, continued finding great TV placements, as they have since 1999, which included one of many “Young & Restless” segments which went viral on YouTube with over 28 million views.

Best of all, the muse returned during the Holiday season and I’ve started writing the 2nd half of “Changeable Skies” with several songs completed and more in progress.  Paul (Candilore) and I have started to discuss recording and production approaches.  My recent writing lends itself to the “classic van Gogh Brothers” sound, which is a very nice turn of events given our recent departure to all acoustic production.  Songwriting is a funny thing- you never know quite what you’re going to get, so it’s never boring!  Anthony (Resta) and I have started to discuss a return to Bopnique Studios and I visited Dave Minehan and Dave Westner at Woolly Mammoth studios over the Holidays. I think we’ll start tracking in late March or early April, with an eye to a completed record by the fall.

I return to LA mid-January to continue building the American Music Partners publishing business and to expand my growing network of entertainment contacts.  I am re-charged, re-energized and excited to dig back into a place I will be calling home as the year progresses.  I am fortunate to stay with people I love in beautiful Malibu who enjoy my company, so I can take my time finding a permanent home.

On Groundhog Day, Saturday February 2nd, the van Gogh Brothers will poke their collective heads out of the ground at Vincent’s in Worcester, MA to warm our spirits with song and mischief.  It will be great to see all of our Central Massachusetts friends and to experience the joy of our special musical partnership after a 4-month hiatus.

On March 5th, I return to Nashville to appear on the Billy Block Show accompanied by Annie Clements (Sugarland) on backing vocals and bass, and Billy on percussion.  Other special guests TBA.  Kathy’s 11-year old niece, Lauren, will guest with us to sing Hillary Lindsay’s “Windows on a Train” with her pitch-perfect, beautiful and innocent voice.  This should be a great time in a great city- Music City, USA.

There is so much more to say, but I’ve got to get going so I’ll hold off until next month.

All the best and I look forward to seeing you in our New Year of 2013!

Love,

John

This year is especially poignant with a huge amount of change and development, especially this fall, with the sale of my Northampton home, the release of Changeable Skies, the second annual American Music Partners Champagne Reception at the Standard, music conferences in Nashville and LA, a van Gogh Brothers hiatus, a new music technology start-up and my participation with the Communications Futures Program at MIT- all since September.  2012 has been a spectacular year!

Thanksgiving brought more joy on a personal level with a beautiful trip with Kathy to Washington DC where I spent the holiday with her family and literally had my face stuffed with food by Nona, who I just met but felt like I knew from childhood- an almost carbon copy of my father’s mother, which brought back good memories of early childhood holidays in Washington Heights, New York – with love, food and family.  We had beautiful warm late fall weather with fantastic light in Dupont Circle and in Georgetown, where we also met up with my son & his fiance over the weekend.  A great start to the season.

I’ll squeeze in a short trip to LA before the Christmas break to catch up with folks who didn’t make it to the Standard in October and to begin setting the stage for 2013.  As my migration continues, I’ll be booking LA club dates for early 2013 with Scarlet Rivera, Sharaya Mikael and Craig Macintyre, which should help to cement my commitment to the LA community and pave the way for putting down permanent roots.

And then, on Christmas day, we travel to Key West for my annual “Tony Roberts Pilgrimage” and tropical fix in yet one more inspiring place I love (the list is growing!) then hunker down and celebrate the New Year in Boston before the 2013 fun begins in earnest.

Looking ahead, my time in LA will begin to extend early in the year with TBA live dates and a search for a permanent home, and in early March, I’ll return to Nashville for an appearance at the Billy Block Show with Annie Clements.  Kathy’s unbelievably talented young niece Lauren will guest with us on a Hillary Lindsey song, “Windows on a Train” so some of the folks in Nashville can hear this prodigy- perfect pitch, emotional depth and natural unaltered purity.

My work with MIT on copyright futures also continues and my recent presentation will be included in a paper to be published this upcoming year.  I am hoping to extend my research in the first half of 2013 and expand into policy in the second half.  I do not feel like the music industry has fully considered the technological environment of the internet (they pretty much just stomp their feet) and likewise I do not feel like Washington has considered the erosion on intelectual property in general that their mostly hands-off treatment of music copyright protection has initiated.  This is an  important area that needs a lot of work and I feel lucky to have fallen into a situation where I might be able to make a difference.

Eventually, I’ll get back into the recording studio, but I think I’ll wait until later next year for that.  My songwriting is taking new twists and turns and I’m waiting for a “plateau” before recording again.  For now, I’m enjoying the “free fall” of no expectations or regular gigs, and I love having the time to do the work I’m doing at MIT, and the time to think in general!

Life is full and the mystery continues to unfold.  My efforts to establish my own publishing presence in LA and Nashville have yielded over a dozen film and television licenses since last October, and through this work, the “pieces” of my life and interests have come together in ways I could not have imagined a year ago.  It’s been an absolutely amazing year and I look ahead with optimism and excitement.

Happy Holidays to all of you and best wishes for a healthy and happy New Year!

Love,

John