Taking Off The Mask

Last night I performed at an event whose theme was "Taking Off The Mask - Unveiling Your God-Given Identity".

The more I see the power that art has to heal and inspire the more the more I begin to understand the huge work there is to do as an artist. I have long understood that art is not just about something pretty on your wall, or a song to sing along with on the radio. It is a force in the lives of people, communicating pure ideas in ways that nothing else can. But recently, as I have been performing this spiritual music in front of audiences, I feel the gravity of the opportunity to really help - to do something that will touch the heart.

I have noticed people in my life, who, because of their confidence or their ability, their lack of fear, have shown me a new direction I could go, a new way I could live. I think of these people as "door-openers". I have a friend who is absolutely fearless about making jokes. He will make a joke in a situation in which most others feel constrained by self-consciousness. In these times, his willingness to be loose, his refusal to submit to self-consciousness, loosens up the feeling in the whole room. His freedom makes me more willing to make a joke, to step out on a limb. Taking off our masks of fear and self-consciousness reveal the amazing creatures we are.

This is what art and artists can do. The work of artists is not to create objects or songs. It is to unveil the God-creation within themselves. And the outcome of that work is beauty expressed. A powerful song, sung with conviction and poetry can open doors for the world to loosen up. It can give people a deeper sense of freedom and expression. It is a wonderful thing to sing openly about love, honesty, freedom - all kinds of things. And this happens when the mask is taken off. Then we see that we are not living in a mundane world, but rather, we are living in a deep and poetic spiritual creation.

Below are some lyrics from my song "Nothing To Hide". This was one of the theme songs of the performance last night. Listen to it here: http://www.myspace.com/alexcookmusic

Brightly to you all!

The sky is wide, that’s what I feel inside

I let it go, that weight of horrible pride

And now I’m flyin’ up above it, cuz I gave up the sham

Thank God, thank God, I’m who I am

Dontcha know, dontcha know?

You’re already perfectly clad

Like a precious stone, theres nothing to add

And you go walking past the hawkers tryin’ to sell you a line

But you don’t need nothing’ you already shine

And the sky it churns with promise when your life is honest

Everybody say amen

It’s the end of all the hurtin’ when you drop your heavy burden

I don’t care how bad you’ve been

The world is full of lies, but I’m gonna be slick as a fish

I’ll slip through their fingers, free as you wish

Because I know just who I am, and I’m not playin’ a part

My every day, is from the heart

There ain’t no cloud, hangin over my head

I got nothing to hide and I got nothing to dread

And now I’m flyin’ up above it, cuz I gave up the sham

Thank God, thank God, I’m who I am

Welcome!

Dear friends,

Welcome to The Voice and The Song. This is a blog that will chronicle my west coast tour supporting my new album of spiritual funk/rock/reggae music, "Tree of Life". It is also my intention in this blog to use correct capitalization. (for those of you who know me, you understand the depth of this commitment.)

I'm glad to have you with me now. There are too many beautiful things happening every day not to share them with you.

Like, for a large example, this whole idea of a tour. I have dreamed of being on the road, playing music, for years and years, but only now has it become a reality. I am realizing that in order for something like this to work, the voice, the reason to perform for others, must believe in itself. The musician must understand that he has something wonderful to give to people. And, he must actually HAVE something wonderful to give! This is the reason for getting up in front of others. It is about letting the voice out - but actually it's more like THE VOICE. As I sing my songs, THE VOICE has my words and my images on it, but really it is a very basic, simple thing of life. The voice of life, singing and being shared.

The more I understand this, the more I am able to feel it in the room with us, and simply know that it is THE VOICE that is singing, and not really me.

I have played 2 shows so far - Encinitas and San Juan Capistrano. Both were well attended and lovely. I have been loving ending the shows with "You Can't Take My Life Away", the whole crowd singing along with the chorus. And at the end of the song, the guitar drops out and we all sing into the heavens, "You can't take my life away, yeah... you can't take it away!" and are left with that defiant, powerful feeling celebrating in our hearts.

You can always hear this music at http://www.myspace.com/alexcookmusic

Some great news - a new friend in San Diego turns out to be an aspiring film guy and did a high quality video and audio of the whole show in Encinitas. "Soon" there will be video clips on YouTube, and there is talk of a bootleg live album. (Which, I have to admit, even before this came along, I was musing on what I would call a live album from these performances... ahem. And I think a wonderful idea would be "Tree of Live". Right?!

Today I am heading up to LA where I will be playing a couple of joint events. I will perform for a little bit and then CS lecturer Tim Myers will give a talk, and then I will perform again. It makes me feel happy to see music, especially my music, being embraced by my community, and used as a tool to help us all grow spiritually.

And that is wonderful because that is one of the greatest things that art is - a tool, to help us grow spiritually. http://www.stonebalancer.com/artfeedsthehungry.htm

for all you non-californians out there, here is a photo of the view over the back fence of my home for the last 2 days, and another from the porch of my home for the next 2 hours.


Over Summer and Laura's back fence, Encinitas












From Amy's porch, looking out on San Clemente

More to come!