Dear friends, I have a dream. I have a dream that all bullies will get a taste of their own medicine..and be cured. I have a dream that all God..s children will learn how to play nice, play fair, and embrace one another's uniqueness. I have a dream that imagination and creativity will one day be more sought after and coveted than the dollar bill. I have a dream that one day all politicians will view lying as a sign of weakness and will therefore discover telling the truth as one of their primary means of gaining power. I have a dream that one day each of us will wake up to the superhero within and that we will live our lives out of a spirit of truth, justice, and compassion for all, including those who don..t look like us and don..t think like us. That includes trees and animals, too! It wouldn..t be out of the ordinary then to see people walking to work, to church, or to the grocery store in their capes and masks. Only when our teachers and bosses and politicians had earned their capes and masks and were wearing them would we be expected to take them seriously. (these superheroes have a manifesto that I can really get behind: http://www.myspace.com/superbroke) I have a dream that one day we will take the half trillion tax dollars currently dedicated to annual ..defense.. spending and redistribute it to address poverty, health care, and education needs. (Ben Cohen breaks it down for us: http://www.truemajority.com/oreos) I have a dream that one day torture will again be made illegal in this country. I have a dream that one day our government will again have checks and balances. I have a dream that everyone on planet Earth will be allowed to dream out loud like this without fear of being locked up, or that if we do get locked up for dreaming out loud we will once again have the right of habeas corpus. (I'm going to miss that habeas corpus.) Some of my friends will say, "Keep dreaming!!!" My answer to them is..."okay." What are some of your dreams? I want to invite you to dream out loud with us on Sunday night at the very cozy and couchy Synergy Café Lounge. Richard, Austin and I will provide some groovy music to dream by. So dream big. Chime in. Stand up and be counted. I hope to see you Sunday! If you can't make it on Sunday please feel free to dream out loud in a reply to this e-mail. I'll add it to the interactive mailing list/dreambook myself and we will be grateful to know that part of you. Have a great week! love, Danny Danny Moynahan-keyboards, vocals Richard Fultineer-drums, vocals Austin Nicholsen-bass, vocals Synergy Café Lounge 4455 Overland Ave. Culver City, 90230 Sunday October 8th, 8:00 sharp-ish no cover no age-limit no corkage fee (bring your own) more big dreaming here: http://www.freewillastrology.com/beauty/beauty.main142.shtml

Dear Friends! August is homecoming month for me. Thursday night will be the first time I've played in Fullerton (my old backyard) in a long time, and I'm looking forward to it. I invite you to join me. Also, part by chance and part by intention, I've been 'coming home' to a lot of the things that have brought joy and meaning to my life over the years, some of which have been pushed to the periphery of my focus (or worse) over the course of time. For instance, I spent the better part of last week recording music with some close friends and doing little else. (We bonded over many good meals, that's what else.) It reminded me of when I was younger, living at home, relatively care-free (and absolutely rent free!), finding myself in an expansive present moment, indulging in and participating in new creation and discovering, "Wow! I really love this..." And in June my brothers and sisters and I threw a surprise anniversary party for my mom and dad at our Buena Park home. There were lots of laughs-and some tears-as we reminisced with extended family and old family friends over their 46 years of marriage together. It was a super-duper dose of family for me that brought with it a profound sense of coming home. I hope it's not just me. I hope it's part of your experience right now too because it feels pretty good coming home. So, here's the other invitation. As some of you know, I keep a gig-by-gig interactive mailing list for the trio I started last summer. What's an interactive mailing list, you ask? It's the kind of mailing list that talks back to you. It's a 50-way conversation in journal form. It's a shared history of thoughts, feelings, and emotions of the many people that have come together to see, hear and support this very young trio. However, an interactive mailing list relies on a healthy amount of interaction. So, I invite you... I invite you to reply to this e-mail and tell me about a recent homecoming you've had, whether it was geographical or more spiritual in nature. Tell me, if you will, what 'coming home' means to you. With your permission I'd like to include your reply in my interactive mailing list and give others the benefit of feeling your experience. This way, if you're not able to make it out to Fullerton on Thursday we can still share a connection of sorts. That's why we're here, I'm guessing. I'm not asking for just the happy, cheery homecomings, either. Some homecomings are more painful, naturally. I'd like to include those stories too, but only if you say it's okay. Mark it Anonymous if you like-she's said lots of profound stuff. Thanks for this opportunity to know you a little better! now, back to the first invitation... Danny Moynahan-keyboards, vocals Richard Fultineer-drums, vocals Austin Nicholsen-bass, vocals Thursday August 17th, 10:00 pm The Continental Room 115 W. Santa Fe Ave. Fullerton, CA 92832 no cover peace, love, Danny p.s. a song... Long Way Home Until I find the poet's tree and in it's shade rest my weary head an orphan I will be Until I find the wounded king who waits for me to complete my QUESTion an orphan I will be It's a long way home follow the glow all the way home it's a long way home don't cry for me 'cause I'm going home Until I find a hearth to call my own and in it's flame heal my broken heart an orphan I will be Until I find the harmony that let's me see that you are me, singing the same song an orphan I will be It's a long way home... *** Dear Danny, I guess it's out for me to go to Fullerton on Thursday, especially as I'll be picking Martine up at the Greyhound Station that evening. She has a somewhat grimmer homecoming in store for her, seeing her 91-year-old mother with advanced Alzheimer's and making sure that she's not being victimized by the healthcare system. Since my Mom and Dad have passed on -- too bad you never met them, as you'd have liked both of them -- home is now when my brother Dan and I get together. He'll be dropping by next week. His daughter, my niece Hilary, is looking for a new apartment in the Long Beach area (she's a CSULB senior), and Dan's going to help her move in. I liked your poem. Here's one from my blog site which I put up this morning: http://blog.360.yahoo.com/blog-eS9EVlEidKqpEPs.it6CuM2J?p=4791 We should get together some time. I took Luis to La Parrilla on César Chavez a few weeks ago. When it cools off, maybe we can get a group to go over there and get some of the best most autentico Mexican food in L.A. Have a great gig! Jim *** Hey Danny...good to hear your voice...ur....read your words :) I'm not sure if I'll make it to the OC, but I do have a homecoming story...you know, just recently I went home to visit my family for a few weeks in NY. My mom had had surgery and for the first time since she had the six of us, she found herself recovering in a hospital. A few days after she returned home, she went to her doctor and found out that she had colon cancer. It was a surreal time at home - one unlike any other before. It was very difficult to return to home here in California. I got to see all of my siblings, and spend some nice moments with my mom, but of course "some" is never enough. Since returning to LA I found a job, but things don't seem very exciting these days, including the job. Feel free to share this story I guess. Sorry I haven't seen you in a while. Hope you're well - sounds like it :) I visitied some friends in SF this weekend and on the way home I played one of the Kuyam CDs and told them you taught the kids those songs -- they were like, wow, Danny sounds like a cool guy -- I was like, yeah, he is :) Well, take care man. Any waves recently? Always ready to surf if you're gettin' out there. Later, Pat *** We r so blessed. Know this, live this, love this. Austin :) *** Danny, I am in Maine we just finished (or perhaps still are) celebrating my parents' 50th anniversary - we threw a surprise party for them with 120 guests from 15 states and tons of Lobster. I hope to see you soon. Chris *** i'm home in new york with my parents now! and last night i had an argument with my stepfather about communism and stuff. i couldn't sleep all night, and neither could either of my parents. i'm now thinking, after lying awake all night trying to come up with just the right phrase about israel or some other issue, in my dreams really, but in and out of sleep, and none of it making any waking sense, i'm now thinking that i'm going to drop being political if i can, and just keep the activism. you know what i mean? because none of those words make any difference...at least not in the dream state i was in last night. anyway, its good to be home and see my folks. the air in new york is thicker, you can really feel it... it makes l.a. seem thin by comparison...and i guess the moral is don't argue with your parents, there's no point. if you live your life according to your values, thats the biggest point you can make. later, anon *** Hey Mr Danny, what up? Well sir that was a very touching and revealing email and it shows that you have a very good view of life and all it has to offer, especially family and friends, you are to be commended . The song lyrics were very good and meaningful, dude you write profoundly and poetical. I can't say that I've had any homecomings at the time except when I played with House Brew last Friday, Danny that brought back some fond memories of the HB hay days, I remember all those good and crazy songs we used to do and how the band was so open and the creative juices were flowing so freely that we had to wear rubber boots at rehearsal and gigs, that's what made House Brew so special. So I guess if I had any kind of Homecoming it would have to be going home (even if for a short time) to the soulful House for another cup of Brew, what can I say a fresh cup of House Brew goes a long way and is always something good to come home to. Peace and many good things to you Danny, God bless you and yours. Rod Terrell *** Dear Danny! I can't tell you how much I relate to what you wrote.... I'm writing from Israel...home! I'll be here till the end of the month and unfortunately won't be able to attend what sounds like an amazing time. home has been a big issue in my life, something I face almost everyday...it's important for me to feel at home...these days there are pieces of home for me in two places very far from each other... being back home right now, especially at a time of war brings up lots of emotions, both sad and happy.... up untill today I woke up everyday to awful news...how many souliders and people have died, how many bombs landed in Israel and how close it's getting to my own town..on the other hand I spend my days with the people I love most, my family. I havent seen them in nearly a year, and just like you said, it takes you back to an earlier time in your life, care and rent free and for me it also takes me back to a different culture, language and even humor...leaving under a treat creates lots of fear, but knowing that anything could happen at any moment makes you appriceate every moment you have and share with others,it makes you thankful to be alive for another day... I love the song you wrote! i think finding home is something we all want deeply and that's what motivates us to go on... I have a song called "long way from home" I'll sing it for you sometime... have fun on the 17th...I'll be there in spirit.. Love, Shirli *** Four years ago I moved into my parents house to "recover" from 20 years of tortuous seizures. I was in a really good place with myself. Just grateful to be alive after my arduous journey of overcoming. I went from twenty five grand mal seizures a month to none. That is after years of studying the brain/body, trying hundreds of different doctors and thousands upon thousands of dollars spent on different remedy's. Moving to my parents house was anything but a homecoming. I hadn't wanted to move there but somehow my Mother talked me into it. It was the entrance to hell. I had no idea I came from such a dysfunctional/ alcoholic family. The moment I stepped in the door, according too them, I became a "loser " and they let me know everyday of my life. They constantly reminded me that I have nothing and am nothing. After a while I started to believe them and my heart changed. I became a bitter, angry, cynical person. All of my years of struggle and triumph meant nothing to my family because I had nothing to "show for it". I made a children's video for my beloved niece and nephew. The day I went to deliver it to their house my sister locked the door and spoke through the window saying "you're not welcome here". Her husband called me that night saying I can never see the children again. He doesn't want me to influence them because I am such a loser. My heart was broken. That was the end. The next year I was a zombie. My heart was dead and my faith too. I remember having this little stone on my alter that read "believe" and I threw it out the window. I hated my life, the world and myself. I was preparing to leave Los Angeles to heal my broken heart. Then god intervened. I woke one morning to a terrible pain in my stomach area. I was rushed to the hospital and spent the next 24 hours vomiting bile and screaming in agony. The next several days I spent doped up on heavy narcotics taking one frightening test after the other. I had a gall stone logged in my bile duct and it required a risky surgery to eliminate it. During my stay at the hospital I didn't sleep and started hallucinating. Half human/ half creatures would come to me and tell me horrible ,scary things. I was petrified. All I had was prayer. I was in agony. One night I prayed to Jesus to take my pain away. I had a hallucination or a dream and saw him through a mirror with his hands over my pain area. I saw only the cuffs of his white robe and his hands. The next morning was the first time I didn't have pain. I was finally released from the hospital and remember while being driven home, it was like seeing for the first time. The purple clouds, the changing sky at sunset hour, the mountains....it was beautiful. I have arrived home because my faith in god is restored. I have been given another chance to live this beautiful life. I still have one more surgery to go and I am only on day 5 of healing but I am getting better and stronger.With God's grace, I am healing. I will never take another day of life for granted. My parents have changed too. I now love and appreciate them. It was my birthday on Sunday. I just sat in bed looking at the trees blowing with my cat and dog near me and felt like the luckiest person in the world. Just grateful to be alive. Suzy Coyle *** actually...here's a homecoming lyric crazy curlyhead well you take the highway to fortification street you've got a houseful of cousins and plenty to eat you may not be where you want to be, but you know you'll find love it's been 16 years since i've seen this man in a straw hat and bermudas so i shook his hand, he showed me to his pickup truck, Louisiana flew by he said, now you know you're way back home and you've got a bed so don't you worry your crazy curly head we argued dissertations about the worth of the blues he said it was ugly, i said it was cool he said he smoked refer, i said, i don't do none of that Aunt Dell was in the kitchen, she said, what's he talkin' 'bout you know you're uncle's crazy, i said, i'm eccentric myself her husband sang a love song to a girl he knew in 1928 i went to a jazz club with my cousin Ramona, the band had broken up, so we talked with the owner he said, how do like the South? i said, i'm just tryin' to find myself. and he laughed at me he said, now you know you're way back home and you've got a bed so don't you worry your crazy curly head southern wind don't fill pretentious sails i forgot to keep my journal, forgot LA was there James brought baby Autumn, she pulled my hair and she smiled bought my ticket for New Orleans, i was heading back to Rome thinkin' about Mel, Angela, and Vincent, and all that we'd done thinkin' how one week could change us, and how quickly one week was gone well, i quit my job in LA for this trek to the unknown now i'm eating lot's of crackers and writing lots of songs on the beach i think about finding work the waves echo those southern words... Words and Music by Jason Luckett C Lucky Masala Head *** Danny, What a cool invitation -- I like your style! My recent homecoming is music. I sang in choirs in grade and high school. I studied guitar from 8-16. I wasn't the best, but I liked it. And then somehow I left it all behind. Well, since Memorial Day I have had Music Fever. Lots of folk guitar. Sudden song-writing. Even eyeing old classical pieces again. It feels like a little kid has returned. And she has dreams. I did my first terrified open mic on Th. Shook the whole time, but I flew home. Thank you for the lyrics to Long Way Home. I loved it when you sang it at Synergy, and it's good to revisit it. There is such poetry in it. blessings Deb *** Danny, Thanks for the lovely note. It's nice to know that your out there thinking, moving and breathing. Congrats on getting into the recording studio. I can't wait to hear what you got. A new CD perhaps? If that happens i'd love one. LIfe for me lately has been filled with great changes and fun Left a long relationship Moved down the mountain rejoined civilization sent my child away to college built an art and music studio played music with many played music for many Fell in love again...will I ever learn? Wandered around in my clown shoes. Went to my hometown..there are 4 stop lights now. Each change and moment has been good music and art held it all together. Don't know if I can make the show as I'm heading out of town...be there in spirit. much love, mary beth

I received the following letter from Michael Moore on 12/1/05: Friends, I just thought we should all pause for a moment today to remember the simple act of courage, defiance and dignity committed by Rosa Parks when she refused to move to the back of the bus because the law said she had the wrong skin color. The greatest moments in history, the ones that have truly mattered and have taken us to a better place, are made up of scores of these singular acts by ordinary, everyday people who could no longer tolerate the crap and the nonsense of those in charge. Today, whether it is a student who holds a sit-in to get the army recruiters off his campus, or the mother of a dead soldier who refuses to leave the front gate of the president's ranch, we continue to be saved by brave people who risk ridicule and rejection but end up turning huge tides of public opinion in the direction of righteousness. We owe them enormous debts of gratitude. It is not easy to stand up for what is right, especially when everyone else is afraid to leave the comfortable path of conformity. Rosa Parks may have been alone on that bus at the moment of her arrest but she wasn't alone for long. The old order was shaken, the world was upended and, as a people, we were given a chance for a bit of redemption. Perhaps the best way to celebrate this most important day in American history is to ask yourself what it is that you can do today to make a difference. What risk can you take to move the ball forward? What is that one thing you've been wanting to say to your co-workers or classmates that you've been afraid to say -- but in your heart of hearts you know needs to be said? Why wait another day to say it or do it? There is probably no better way to honor Rosa Parks -- and yourself -- than for you to put a stop to an injustice you see, not allowing it to continue for one more second. Do something. Then send me an email (contributions@michaelmoore.com) and tell all of us what you did (I'll post as many as I can). Fifty years later, the bus we're on could use a few more people simply saying, "No. I'm sorry. I've had enough. I'm not going to take it anymore." Yours, Michael Moore www.michaelmoore.com Reading that letter got me all fired up again about a pretty sickening experience I had just a year earlier. I was teaching music at a private school in Pacific Palisades, CA. The principal had told me to change the words to "Imagine" to appease two parents (husband and wife) who were angry that we had included it in the winter program. Read the whole story in my letter to Michael Moore (http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/rosaparksday.php?id=52). Note that the school is not a Christian school, yet the conflict in this story centers on 'Christian values' (as interpreted by the couple with the beef!). Few of the other families, if any, knew the winter program was being re-written to appease the angry couple and their very unique interpretation of 'Christian values.' Note also that in the end, even though the principal did green-light the original lyrics for the winter program, hardly anybody sang. The printed song lyrics were not included in the half-page program that the parents received, and somehow the lyric sheets that the students were relying on weren't passed out either. Many thanks to Michael Moore for posting the letter. Bullies beware! In the world’s broad field of battle, In the bivouac of life Be not like dumb, driven cattle! Be a hero in the strife! -Henry Wadsworth Longfellow It's your thing...do what you want to do. -The Isley Brothers