Love: This is Amazing and What it Sounds Like, Ebes and Jade, ‘Home’

Love.

This is what I think it sounds like.

For the past week, I’ve been listening to Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros’ album Up From Below and while I have to admit, the first time I heard the song, “Home,” I wasn’t quite sure what I was listening to.

I’ve come to love this song and even my daughter, Chandler, 13, who was with me in Austin, last week outside the La Zona Rosa before the evening experience with Edward Sharpe, et al, is hooked.

Listening to Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes

I told her after listening to this album multiple times, after hearing the words sung about Jade Castrinos by band leader Alex Ebert, and the answers in lyrics from Jade to Ebes, it’s clear that these two are in love in a way most of us can only dream about.  Their words, the way they interact on stage, on Letterman, and the way I was able to study them together without knowing anything about them standing there in the 97-degree heat in Austin, all sing a special message of true love. (There’s also the song, JADE, to give you a good hint.)

Not since Johnny Cash and June Carter have I seen a story of two people like this, and their voices were made for each other.

Now with that, I have to add that they’re living life listening to a different drum than most of us, but nonetheless, I have to say that after studying them for a week, listening to the pureness and uniqueness of their sound, it’s clear, between them there is an incredible love.

Jade Castrinos.

You often see clips flailing around as she sings.

Ebes is barefoot, looks like he’s not washed his hair in a week, and clearly was the wrong band to be around handing out Gillette ProGlide razors to; Ebes has a full beard, as did most guys in the band.

In fact, if you ever saw Kelly’s Heroes, think of Oddball, played by Donald Sutherland.

Donald Sutherland and Clint Eastwood in Kelly's Heroes. Ebes et al. of Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros are a hodgepodge group of Sutherland's band of hippies.

Donald Sutherland and Clint Eastwood in Kelly’s Heroes. Ebes et al. of Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros are a hodgepodge group of Sutherland’s band of hippies.

When it comes to the rest of the band, think about Oddball’s tank crew.

Jade was out of the bus for a while with her guitar and did a few pictures with some fans.  I wish I’d known who she and Ebes were at the time, as I would definitely go up to both of them asking for a picture with them, to now add here.

If you don’t have the song, Home, from this album, check out a version of it on YouTube or buy it off iTunes.  Give it a couple of plays if it doesn’t grab you the first time.  But listen to the part where they’re talking to each other about Jade falling out of a window.  To me, that sound in her voice, that’s the tenderness I’ve for so long sought to hear in a partner’s voice.

The lyrics to ‘Home,’ a song about love.  

The video follows. 

You can start the video and read the lyrics.  And just listen.

Jade:  Alabama, Arkansas, I do love my Ma and Pa
But not the way that I do love you.

Alex: Well, Holy Moley, me, oh my, you’re the apple of my eye
Girl I’ve never loved one like you.

Jade: Man o man, your my best friend, I scream it to the nothingness
There ain’t nothing that I need

Alex: Well, hot and heavy, pumpkin pie
Chocolate candy, Jesus Christ
There ain’t nothin please me more than you

(Chorus)

Ahh, home, let me come home
Home is whenever I’m with you.
Ahh, Home, let me come Home
Home is wherever I’m with you.

Lalalala take me Home
Mama, I’m coming Home

Alex: I follow you into the park, thru the jungle thru the dark
Girl I’ve never loved one like you.

Jade: Moats and boats and waterfalls, alleyways and payphone calls
I been everywhere with you.

Well, that’s true.

Alex: Laugh until we think we’ll die, barefoot on a summer night

Never could be sweeter than with you

Jade:  And in the streets, we’re running free, like it’s only you and me

Jade/Ebes you’re somethin to see

(Chorus)

Lalalala take me home
Mama I’m comin Home

Alex: Jade,

Jade: Alexander,

Alex: You remember that night you fell outa my window?

Jade:  I sure do, you came jumpin out after me.

Alex:  Well, you fell onto the concrete and nearly broke your ass and were bleedin all over the place and I rushed you off to the hospital, you remember that?

Jade:  Yes, I do.

Alex:  Well there’s somethin I never told you about that night.

Jade:  What didnt you tell me?

Alex:  While you were sitting in the back seat smokin a cigarette you thought was gonna be your last, I was fallin deep, deeply in love with you, and I never told you till just now!

Aww!

(Chorus)

Ahh, home, let me come home
Home is whenever I’m with you.
Ahh, Home, let me come Home
Home is wherever I’m alone with you.

Alex: Home, let me come home
Home is where ever I’m with you.

Jade: Ahh, Home, yes I am Home
Home is when I’m alone with you.

Jade:  Alabama, Arkansas, I do love my Ma and Pa

Jade: Moats and boats and waterfalls, alleyways and payphone calls …..

Chorus to fade….

You can read more about Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros when I meet them at a concert in Shreveport, LA.

Gillette ProGlide Ultimate Summer Job Crew Adam & Jason Visit Austin, TX

For the third Tuesday in a row, my daughter Chandler, 13, and I headed off on an adventure, this one to Austin, TX to meet Adam and Jason, the two guys with the coolest jobs in America–they’ve been picked, and rightly so, by  Gillette to travel the country this summer and talking about the benefits of using the revolutionary men’s razor, the Gillette Fusion ProGlide. (Check out their own Blog!)

You will remember my incredible adventure back in late May when I flew to NYC to meet with other men bloggers to talk with Gillette about their then-to-be-released ProGlide at Yankee’s Stadium.  I learned so much about the science of shaving that day.  After two hours, we then went and watched the Yanks get beaten by the Blue Rays.

So when I got a call Friday saying Jason and Adam were going to be in Austin, all I needed to know from Gillette was where to meet them. (They did put two tanks of gas in my car to get me to and from…)  They had decided upon The La Zona Rosa where Edward Sharpe and The Magnetic Zeros were playing.  I’d never heard “Home” before, but now, given that I used to live in Alabama, I keep hearing Jade singing, “Alabama Arkansas, I do love my ma and pa…”  You’ll hear Adam do his version in the video.

We’d hoped to have the shaving station on display across the street from La Zona Rosa, but it wasn’t meant to be.  Nonetheless, we were able to meet with many of the guys standing around the area waiting for the show, and gave them free ProGlides.  The irony is that it doesn’t look like Edward Sharpe has shaved, let alone had a haircut or maybe even bathed, in weeks, so when it came to the bands fans hanging out for the show, several of them didn’t have shaving on their minds either.

I really have enjoyed my ProGlide and I’ve been tempted to set up the camera in the bathroom and do a video using it.  But so far, I’ve saved you all from seeing that!

But like I’ve noted here before, I have enjoyed the vibrating function of the razor.  The new blade configuration lifts each hair to cut it closer and closer and I’ve been getting the smoothest shaves over the past month.  And what used to happen whenever I previously would pull out one of those disposable razors–gashes in my face, has been eliminated.  I have four times more cutting power on my face and have yet to injure myself.

Jason and Adam are two of the coolest guys I’ve met in a long time.  They really do have the coolest job in America.  And like I’ve mentioned with my friends Carly from Indiana, etc. they’re living a great life adventure every day.   And you can tell that in just how they talk, act and hey, Adam even broke out this four-foot-long skate board and took it for a spin there in front of La Zona Rosa.

I encourage you to check them out on their website, ProGlideSummerJob.com and see when they’re going to be in your town.  They’re a hoot and you’ll also get to meet Cory, their driver and Cali, who seems to know everyone in America.

And more than anything, you need to check out this great new product for men.  That is, if you’re wanting to look sharp, in a different way than Edward Sharpe….  🙂 (I did download their latest off iTunes when I got HOME last night and I’m actually playing it now as I write.  Worth checking out…  Alabama Arkansas, I do love my Ma and Pa, Not as much as I do love you…”

Now Chandler and I need to figure out where to go next Tuesday night!

13-yo-dd and I are headed to Austin for a @Gillette event today

I’m excited.  Chandler and I are headed out on a new adventure, this one to Austin, Texas to take part in an event with Gillette and their Ultimate Summer Jobs guys Jason and Adam.  More details to come.  Follow my tweets today @DaddyClaxton.

Thanks to Gillette, they’re loading up our car and sending us down the highway today.  All this in association with their new and great ProGlide Fusion.

Where are we going, America? Our nation of laws is hurting those who follow them

Something’s wrong in America. I hate to say that the day after our nation’s 234th birthday, but there are many things that have gone bad and I’m not seeing much on the horizon to fix it.

All my life I’ve had a great love for our nation.  My father was an Air Force B-52 pilot.  Red, white and blue is sewn into my mental, emotional and life fabric.  In my younger days, all I wanted to be was an Air Force pilot like my dad, to help protect and serve our nation.  In 1984, the Air Force wasn’t granting waivers for asthma, and those dreams of military service ended.  But my patriotism didn’t.

In front of the house I fled at the end of March, we kept an American flag flying almost 365 days a year.  Well, we changed out for a Santa flag in December–334 days…

But I have to say that after enduring in the injustice I suffered in our legal system from June 2009 to June 2010, having been exposed to Veronica Galaviz’s near death in Rowlett on April 21, 2010 because Rowlett Police failed to act when she needed them most, and after being exposed to my friend Marshall Harris’ ordeal over his missing daughter and after repeated requests of the Dallas Police Department and the Dallas Sheriff’s Office, I don’t really feel anymore like our legal system is designed to protect, nor serve.

Add to that, our US Supreme Court struck down the 28-year-old Chicago gun ban only for the Chicago City Council to re-enact it once again last week, but with some changes.

What I’ve seen about law enforcement and the laws of our nation is that the laws are for those who will follow them.  For those who won’t, for the time being it seems, they don’t care about them, and upon violation of them and court orders, well, I’ve not seen a whole lot of good come to those who deal honestly with the law, and it’s whatever goes for those who fail to observe them or respect them. Pardon me for my cynicism, it’s just really how I’ve come to feel.

My first ex wife fabricated incredible stories about me and told them in court, on the stand and under oath.  When we showed evidence of her lying, she claimed the evidence was a lie, (though created by doctors and trained medical staff) and her lies mattered not.  The documentation was two-inches thick. It had no bearing on a fair and impartial decision and wreaked havoc on destroying the rest of my family life.

VERONICA GALAVIZ’S NIGHTMARE

Veronica Galaviz had a protective order issued in late 2009 to protect her from the dangers of her now-late estranged husbandShe showed the police video evidence of him being in her drive way, slashing tires on a car in front of her home and Rowlett Police told her it wasn’t conclusive that it was actually her ex-husband.  Only after he broke into her home at 1:30 a.m. on April 21, 2010 did they seem to believe her claims that her husband was going to try to kill her.

Of course, the Rowlett Police Department still won’t tell her the obvious, “We, the Rowlett Police Department, effed up big time and you’re damn lucky to be a live.”  (NEWS TIP: I got word this past weekend that the City Council may now start an investigation into the department.  Hallelujah.)

MARSHALL HARRIS’ NIGHTMARE

Marshall Harris’ ex took off with his four-year-old daughter on May 25, 2010. He now believes his ex has taken his daughter to Mexico, making his daughter’s abduction a federal matter.  But in talking to the FBI in Dallas yesterday, they said they can’t classify the ex as a fugitive until after the judge in his case issues an interference with custody.  He called DPD again yesterday and they came out and took new information that we have.  Still, the paperwork is sitting in la-la-land at DPD somewhere and nothing has been done since 3 p.m. yesterday when the latest report was filed.  There are other calls we’ve made or will be making to advocacy groups to get law enforcement off it’s proverbial ass, but who knows how at risk this child is. 

I read yesterday on the Parental Abduction Child Recovery Team website that there are between 200 and 300,000 parental abductions and kidnappings in America each year. Law enforcement has become desensitized to it.  Even with a decree in their hands, orders from a judge to find a child, and a little damn common sense, they are moving at a snail’s pace at DPD, if they’re moving at all.

A PROTECTIVE ORDER ISN’T A BULLET PROOF VEST, IT’S A PIECE OF PAPER

While at her first speaking engagement Tuesday night at the Limestone County Courthouse in Groesbeck, Texas, the district attorney got up and talked about how yes, you can have a protective order and papers from the court, but you still have to do things to protect yourself.  As he said, “A protective order isn’t a bullet-proof vest, it’s a piece of paper.” In Veronica’s case, even though she could and did dial 911, it was from her neighbor’s house.  She was able to get past her estranged husband and his shotgun, who then lit her house on fire and then killed himself. She’s lucky to be alive and we will have a website up shortly to talk about her story of survival and the mission she feels God has given her for sparing her life.

And yet I was told of a Fort Worth woman who shot her estranged husband a couple of years ago as he attempted to kill her.  She spent months in prison before the justice system released her.

Today is another day when Marshall Harris will sit on pins and needles wondering where his daughter is, and when, and if, he ever shall see her again.  He’s not even begun to think of the emotional stress and harm this has caused his child.  That will no doubt become a reality for him and her later, provided something is done by the very system that’s supposed to protect us and is spending more time letting the alleged violator get further and further away and he is able to get his daughter back.

Fox News this morning is talking about how the Illinois state government at present is $5 Billion in the red for next year’s budget.  The governor there is proposing a $1.4 billion plan to cut spending.  Yeah, in doing the math, it seems like there’s still a ways to go.

MY SIXTH GRADE TEACHER’S WISDOM FROM HISTORY

When I was in the sixth grade at Leo P. McDonald Elementary School on KI Sawyer AFB in Michigan, my teacher, Mr. John Nesberg, led us through a study of the Greeks and the Romans and the vastness of their empires, how they were the model countries of ancient times, and after about 200 years of prosperity, things began to wither away and eventually, their empires, their goodness, and their glory all faded into what now are history books.  Mr. Nesberg predicted to us 12-year-olds then that he felt like America already was on a much-to-similar track.

MY RELATIONSHIP WITH LAW ENFORCEMENT

Through the years, I’ve had many good friends who have been in law enforcement.   In college, I spent more time writing things for the school papers, riding with police officers, talking with them in the middle of the night when I could have been home sleeping (notice I didn’t say studying!), and getting a taste for what’s real.

I carried a police scanner in those days and knew all of the Montgomery Police Department’s 10-codes,  and the Alabama State Trooper’s 10-Code system.  They were two different languages with some overlap, but I knew what was going on, and was able to use that knowledge to have a better understanding of the troubles of society.

When I was in the Governor’s Office of Alabama for 10 years of my career, I was known for riding with Troopers, talking with them, and getting to know more about the dangers they were facing and what they were doing to protect and serve.

When I was the communications director of Dallas ISD for six years and a seventh year when I was done fooling with the incompetency of Michael Hinojosa and predicted the financial catastrophe and problems that have come in his administration, I was known for my closeness with the DISD Police Department. For seven years of my being a part of the district I carried my own police radio–I was number 706.   There were times when I got to calls as quickly or even one or two quicker, than the officers of the department.

I say all this to attempt to show I’m not at all down on police officers.  I know of their own pains and struggles. They constantly live with the threat of danger.   One officer I knew at Auburn University Montgomery was patrolling through a campus building under construction one night and the next thing he knew, his face was crushed by a pipe from a still unknown assailant.  Even with a Double-Zero alert sent out to all law enforcement agencies within 100 miles, no one was ever found who did that to him, and the officer almost lost his life and if he’s still alive today, is severely disfigured.   I know of the stories of multiple marriages and divorce.  I know how little money they make.  How they often work two or three other jobs, work over time whenever they can, just trying to scrape by to keep their lights on, to pay child support, to live a half-way decent life when they’re not at work.

AMERICA, WHERE ARE WE GOING?

So, America, I ask again, where are we going?  We have a legal system that benefits most those who abuse it or just don’t follow it all together.  Chicago, in it’s infinite wisdom, makes it illegal to own and possess certain firearms in its city.  But the Bad Guys don’t care about that.  And so the break into homes, rob people, and on, and those who believe in the strength and protection under the law, get victimized by the very laws designed to protect them.

I could go on and on with a list about what else is wrong: the economy, national healthcare, illegal immigration, the Gulf Oil disaster … but in her talk Tuesday night, Veronica Galaviz said that we “need to stop victimizing the victim.” She’s so right.  The question is, how in the world to do we get America back to where that’s even possible?

Parenting: 31 Years Ago Today, I was 14. Today, My Eldest Daughter is 13

On July 3, 1979, then-President Jimmy Carter came to Merced, California for a townhall meeting.  Lillian came with him.  The Merced Sun-Star held a drawing the days prior to his arrival and I was one of the 2,000 people luck enough to get in.  I wasn’t a fan of Carter’s, and my late Grandpa Andy Sheptak is about the only person I know who years later still admits he loved the guy, but since elementary school I’d wanted to meet the president. 

Today, my daughter Chandler, 13, is going to an all-day outdoor concert.  She’s got her heart set on meeting some bubble-gum rock guy who sounds to me like Tiny Tim, but that’s another story.  It’s Christopher Drew and his band is called Never Shout Never. I hear her exclaim those names and words constantly.  I bet she even says them in her sleep.

But early in the morning the morning of July 3, 1978, my dad dropped me off at the Merced Community College Gymnasium to stand in line to see the president.  This morning, I took Chan over my Flip camera (Gawd, do I hope she doesn’t lose it or it get soaked) and took the chance we father’s do and let our kids begin to accept more and more responsibility.

Our adventures are different, but ultimately, at that young age, we both struck out to find out more about life than sitting at home watching TV.  That makes me proud for her, and makes me snicker a little bit, that I’ve been able to have such a positive influence in spite of others.

BTW: I’ve met every president since Carter, save for Mr. Obama.  And at the rate he’s screwing up the country, I’m not in any real hurry to keep the streak going.