my art

my art

my favorite band this week

i'm constantly in search of good music.

i recently stumbled onto a band called dispatch.
awesome band, broke up about 5 years ago.
check them out on iTunes.

the lead singer of this band went on to form a new band called state radio.
awesome band, and they are playing michigan this summer
(check out "man in the hall" on iTunes)

you can also see them on fabchannel.com

really good stuff.

let me know what you think.

-r2

twitter

just signed up on twitter
to connect with all my westwinds peeps

also,

a lot has happened since my last update.......

much to share

plus,

i plan to get back into an update rhythm that is more frequent
























you can count on it!

new york in august

here i am in manhattan last month
near the 'flatiron" building
holding my 3rd or 4th starbuck's of the day. -r2

happy b-day livi

my daughter got her ears pierced for her b-day
as you can see, it very emotional.
that little girl can scream,......she's all better now. -r2

sometimes i play music

here's a picture of my band at the cascades 2 weeks ago.
i really like this shot, not just because i'm in the front either.
looks like we are playing in a club,
when we were actually outside in front of 3,000+ people
cascades was an awesome venue to play,
the pinnacle of my musical career so far.
we hope to be back playing the cascades next,
i'll save you a seat. -r2

tonecasters video

we have some videos posted of our show at cascades in jackson mi.

this clip is me singing green river
http://gallery.mac.com/gregoryhurley#100024

this link will take you to some of the other clips.
http://www.tonecasters.com/livefootage

(you will get prompted to select a browser,.........use your existing)

i will also be posting some pics and stuff of our last 4 or 5 shows.

we have been busy.

-r2

for zoe

i'm glad to hear that you got something useful from my blog.

if we don't believe in ourselves,............ no one else will either.

take care

-r2

it is written, therefore it is true

You can't force someone to love you;
all you can do is become someone who can be loved;
the rest is up the them.

--Unknown

through my eyes.........

both of my boys are now teenagers
and recently i made an observation
when they were growing up, i was the coolest guy on the planet
now i'm the coolest DAD they know.

ouch!

not really........... that's a great compliment
i'm not here to be cool
i'm here to be a good father and raise those 2 boys to be good men.
i've learned a few things in my travels that i want to pass that
wisdom on to them.

i know they love me and they know how proud i am of them both.

it was fun being the coolest guy on the planet
maybe it's just time to pass the torch on to them.

i leave you with this...........

People creep into childhood, bound into youth, sober in adulthood, and soften into old age.-- Henry Giles

-r2

me as a simpson

check this website out

http://simpsonizeme.com/#

funny stuff

-r2

lance and rachel's wedding

my brother got married last weekend.



it was an outdoor wedding at it was HOT......

it was 95 degrees with 90% humidity (felt like it anyway).

my boys working hard. they were in charge of parking.




this lilly was part of the ceremony.

it was my mom's favorite flower.




here's our transportation. it was olivia's first limo ride, she loved it

she told me we should ride in limos more often,.....i agree.



here's a picture of me and liv dancing.



it may have been his wedding but i was the luckiest man there.

-r2

nomad bookhouse jun2k7

here's a picture of;

megan's band
(she rocks)

and a collage of

bob, greg, and me

playing at nomad

bookhouse in jackson

last month.

because this is a small

venue, me lose the

drums for a stripped-

down sound.

unplugged if you will.

very cool.

-r2

the band

i'm getting closer to
that big update i've
promised.

here's the reason
i haven't had much
spare time.

i'm playing guitar
and doing a little singing.
check the band website
for upcoming gigs.
it's a good time, you
should check us out.

www.tonecasters.com

update coming

i've been super busy the last 4 weeks.

lots of new stuff to report, pics to post, etc.

i will be doing an extensive update this weekend

..........stay tuned.

-r2

bands i've seen

(this is a guitar i built)

here is a partial list of bands i have
seen and the number of times
i've seen them. later i'll get into
where and when.

tesla (6x)
jackyl (4x, 3 in the same year)
great white (4x)
night ranger
skid row (2x...and i got to meet rachel bolan!!)
trixter
slaughter
cinderella
scorpions
dokken
vince neil
kiss
candlebox
sponge
george thorogood (my first concert, 1985)
ted nugent
bon jovi
def leppard (3x)
queensryche
souls at zero
warrant
aerosmith
kenny wayne shepherd
willie nelson

these are the ones i could remember off the


top of my head. i'm sure there are a couple i missed.

-r2

fyi

in case you didn't notice

i've added a link to my flickr photo gallery

and a link to my new deviantart gallery.

check them out if you get a chance.

-r2

bilder kraftwagen

here are a couple of fotos
that i took during car rides this week.
i kinda liked them
so i thought i'd share them.
i used a little bit of photoshop magic
to "enhance" the color.

-r2

weekend update

june arrived in a foul mood this year.

it was overcast and rainy all weekend
but that didn't keep me down.

i watched movies on friday nite
i made it to the chelsea, michigan art fair on saturday
ate at the common grill in dowtown chelsea
watched the jackson, michigan 2007 rose parade
connected with my tribe at westwinds on sunday.

the chelsea art fair is a small-ish event that showcases
local artists. it's not far from ann arbor, michigan
and features some of the same artists that participate in
the ann arbor art fair.



i met a couple of the artists and bought some art
(they were the $3 postcards, but art nonetheless).



this pastel is titled "red tree" and was painted by teresa freed.

we talked about what motivates and inspires artists.
since i'm a designer and she is an artist, we talked about the
differences between those 2 vocations. she talked about design
being more cerebral and art being more emotive. i didn't agree
at first.

but after thinking about it for a day, i sort of agree.
true design is meant to function, we interact with design phsyically.

art isn't usually something we touch or use, it's a catalyst for emotion.
great art touches us much deeper.

it doesn't make our life easier or
more efficient like design does
great art can change how we see the world.
great design is the perfect marriage between aesthetics and function.

just a few words about the rose parade in jackson.

it rained.
it was fun.
i even caught a glimpse of captain jackson.



i posted some pictures on flickr, check them out.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/exdeadman/

i spent my weekend connecting with the arts, nature, and good food
all this while surrounded by the ones i love.
it was a great weekend.

-r2