phenomeNEWS - This Month's Music Review

This Month's Music Review
by Greg Ozimek
music@wwnet.net

“May You Be Blessed”

Kate Nowak told me that in mid April her goal of 1,000,000 people viewing her Internet (flash) movie in 100 days was nearly reached. “I’ve had just over 800,000 people watch the “May You Be Blessed” movie. I’m sure we’ll reach 1,000,000 by May 1st (the 100th day). The next goal will be to have 10,000,000 people watch the movie.”

Her Internet movie is so inspiring that people usually watch it more than once which is why the 800,000 people have actually watched the (flash) movie more than 8,000,000 times! (Computers excel at keeping track of numbers). “I’ve always felt that something much larger than me was coming through me in making this (Internet) movie.” Kate said. Her guiding thought about setting the initial goal of 1,000,000 people in 100 days was this quote from Gandhi, “If I have the belief that I can do it, I shall surely acquire the capacity to do it even if I may not have it at the beginning.”

After the movie was put on her website and a few people watched it she realized, “I didn’t know, but I believed we could reach more,” Kate reflected. “Every day I received email saying, ‘I sent it to 50 people (or 20 people or more, etc.)’ and it is all those people doing their part that adds up to 1,000,000. That will get us to reach 1,000,000,” and beyond to 10,000,000.

While I found the movie to be totally positive, worthwhile and nurturing I wondered what Kate thought about the massive response – the “why” so many watched and passed the URL (Internet address) on to friends and co-workers.

She thought that people, “Want to be part of something big. ‘I want to help reach that goal.’ We can make a difference in the world if we work together. And they become part of the experiment.” Kate said, if she could, she would, “Thank everyone who has responded in any way. They are helping to make others feel good. Any time you do that you make a difference – you shift consciousness – you bring light into the world. That’s my belief.”

Watch the movie again or for your first time at: www.mayyoubeblessedmovie.com. The movie is being translated into Spanish first and hopes for 12 other languages including Chinese (Any bi-linguals out there).

Hero Today, Gone Tomorrow
EVERCHANGING NOMAD
Turner Records, Inc

Finally, another CD to place on the short stack of good music with lyrics that work (progressive, uplifting, inspiring, uplifting, true to the human soul, “in” the spirit of evolving and on the road and uplifting).

Everchanging Nomad – Damon Lynn and Vance Crofoot – bring us fresh messages for the future to take root in while their feet are firmly planted in their circumspect right-now.

These two musicians from our Pacific Northwest have a top drawer sound with lyrics from self-discovery, introspection and an eagle’s nest view of life brought down to earth through the heart.

Lynn is lead vocalist and resident poet while Crofoot crafts harmony vocals, acoustic and electric guitars and keyboards into a total package that delivers the goods in an easy listening/light hearted/soft rock/ (and sometimes background) a la quasi grunge style. You got it, it works.

Lynn says they were bored with the, “Bad Xerox copies of the Grunge Era” they were hearing on the radio in Portland.

Recall here that the grunge sound (dirty guitars and depressing lyrics), also referred to as the Seattle Sound, sprouted up from bands in Seattle and Olympia, Washington and Portland Oregon and to some extent via Neil Young’s days with Crazy Horse (and appearing live several times with Pearl Jam) and fertilized with influences from Detroit’s Stooges and MC5. Grunge is closely associated with Generation X.

Their pastimes of writing songs along with careers and hobbies took a backseat when they found that making music about the shattering of life’s illusions started pouring out; their song writing hobby became their full time passion. It was fresh.

The duo’s group name, “Everchanging Nomad” is more than a catchy name. Crofoot says, “It describes us in more ways than one, from the major changes we’ve gone through in our lives concerning our belief systems as well as our growth as musicians.”
Hero Today, Gone Tomorrow takes Portland’s Indie music scene out of the gray skies and Portland mist to a clear blue sky now-centered view.

Everchanging Nomad’s Hero Today, Gone Tomorrow could be the redemption of the grunge genre and take the “ultra-loose grunge” and enhance “the morals of a generation,” to re-phrase Bruce Pavitt in 1986. (thanks to www.Wikipedia.org)

How devoted are these guys? Their CD booklet for Hero Today, Gone Tomorrow opens as a triptych to reveal each song’s lyrics running continuously – spread across pages 1, 2 and 3 – flowing on and on like the River of Life.

What’s next for Everchanging Nomad? We’re eager to hear but we do have a glimpse of what it will be like: “We’re at a stage now where we’re eager to share our music and our message with everyone. We believe people will relate and connect with us, yet our initial goal hasn’t changed since the days when we just wrote songs to amuse ourselves – we only create music if it moves us and we can have fun in the process.”

Encore, dudes!

“Like, we’re ready for our close-ups, Mr. DeMille!”