In a society infatuated with Glee and Snooky, seeing, tasting, feeling and experiencing all that life has to offer seems to have devolved. No modern day movie drives this point home to me quite like the Luke Wilson movie, "Idiocracy." The only problem at this point is, I don't know whether I should laugh or not.

Although I'm a young man, I have an avid appreciation for the culture of the past. Don't get me wrong. This is, in it's own way, an exciting time to be alive. The technological breakthroughs we're experiencing are remarkable, but there are trade-offs.

My parents (who enjoy the technology just as much as anyone) grew up in a time when it wasn't so ubiquitous. It affects us in unspeakable ways if we (gasp) run out of the house without our cell phones on us, powered, charged, and with 3G. Honestly, how did they ever survive....

There wasn't an overarching media omnipresence either. They had a half hour dedicated to the news in the evening, and now, it's not that there's more news. It's the same amount of news with competing networks figuring out how to put the daily spin on the topics at hand. I don't know if it's a healthy thing for us to be bombarded with this stuff 24/7.

Movies (not all, but most) just seem to cater to the lowest common denominator. A couple movies slated for release next year, I kid you not, are Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters which is to be followed closely by the highly anticipated Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter.

Long gone are the heady days of genius going into the can where we can anticipate something exquisite from this generation's Alfred Hitchcock, if he even exists. Music must be microwaved under four minutes which would keep many glorious works from Vivaldi, Led Zeppelin and The Beatles shelved indefinitely if they tried to release them today. Age of progress?

In a day where many settle for socializing online as a replacement for personal contact (we can't be having that), where art doesn't get to live up to it's fullest potential in the public eye, and the premises of our entertainment are "dumbed" down lower than the intellectual capacity of a fetus that hasn't yet been conceived, I'm reminded of an event that shook my hometown....quite literally.

When six tornadoes found their way through North and Central Alabama, we were forced to take inventory of a few things. People lost their places of business, their homes, and in many instances, their lives. The power was out for about five days, if memory serves. But in that time, we saw the best that mankind had to offer. If food in the freezer was thawing out, it was the perfect reason to cook it and invite the friends and neighbors over for a grilling session. The following days were beautiful, and there was an overwhelming spirit of gratitude that we were made fortunate enough to experience them. More importantly, this was our time to steer clear of the things that simply kept us busy, and made us more focused on being productive, being useful, and being healers. We could no longer be the center of our own universe because that universe was temporarily out of order. Now that we're on the other side of the storm, what have we learned? Anything?

As we approach the end of another year, we enter into a time once known for it's benevolent spirit, it's compassion, hospitality, and it's warmth. Now, it seems as though much of the public either doesn't have time for niceties any more, or have taken a full 180 into abysmal misery.

I encourage any and all of you, including myself, to refuse to be a component of regressive society, but know what it is to love, to be loved, and to have the audacity to live it out loud.

Last night, maybe for the first time in a good, long while. I took a nice leisurely stroll, and gazed at the stars. It was a welcome time of deep introspection, and for someone like me who is all or nothing, either takes on tasks at 90 miles an hour or stalls out completely, it was good just to regroup and get away from everything.

Some say that with the nature of my work, it demands that I keep a watchful eye on that inbox, that I have the phone on and with me the entire time. The truth is, until recently, I might've agreed were it not for the fact that I was spent....and frustrated.

I realized that my all-or-nothing mentality was getting in the way when it came to doing anything I actually enjoy or want to do at the expense of doing "what had to be done." Also, when you have a goal to book 250 shows with an all-or-nothing mindset, you will go to bed inevitably disappointed because it's too much work to tackle all at once.

The moral of the story? Everyone, whether they know it or not, could probably benefit from taking one day out of seven, and resting, recharging and learning to live in and enjoy the current moment at hand.

Try it! You'll like it!

Well, things just keep rolling along here, the Charmin for instance... At any rate, songs are being written in some way, shape, matter or form daily, which is very cool. Not only has the website been updated on the shopping and fan pages, but new merchandise is coming in next week, too. A week from today, we will have T-Shirts, CD's, Posters, Stickers, and Postcards available both at shows, and for purchase on the web. If you feel so inclined, please consider checking out some of the really cool wares we have to offer. A good time will be had by all!

Thanks!

Jonathan

Hey guys! Some of you may have gotten invites to shows over the past couple of weeks and came out only to find that I wasn't playing. One of these venues scaled back my shows without my knowing the details until I was literally on the way to the performance. The other shut down their business. This has been a tremendous setback and I want to apologize to anyone and everyone who came out to see me and didn't get to do so. In the meantime, I have new merchandise, which basically means I'm ready to go out on the road and play some more shows out of town. If you have any recommendations for venues that may enjoy my brand of music, feel free to shoot them my way and I'll see what I can do!

Thanks everyone!

Ladies and gentlemen,

It is my privilege to announced that we have officially made our first round of t-shirts, bumper stickers and posters for tour. Want one? For details drop us a line at jonathan@jonathanlaird.net. Hopefully, we'll be able to offer this online in the near future, but for now, any interested parties can contact via email or at live shows and we'll hook you up.

Holla!