The Nation of Hipness

My music store

2011-10-13T12:26:00.001-07:00

My Allegiance to the Jazz

2010-08-09T18:34:00.000-07:00

I pledge allegiance to the Jazz
of the United States of Jazzocracy,
and to the Republic for which it swings:
one Nation under a groove, in the spirit,
With melodies and funkness for all

A change

2007-08-08T12:31:00.000-07:00

Okay, Okay I am finally going to get me a new microphone. I am so broke but I really need this microphone. I mean I already have one but I think this microphone will help my career. I am so excited. I'm going to name my microphone Daphne! IS that a weird thing? I don't know some people name there cars. I like the name Daphne. I was going to name it Hermione, but I will save that for when I have a daughter. But Daphne it is. Okay I think I'm done here!

Things I think are evil and things that piss me off!!

2007-07-30T08:52:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone! It's me Saalik! I'm finally back and ready to blog. Today I want to write about things that I think are evil.

1. Sprint - they just take all of your money and come up with crazy charges! Plus your calls are always getting dropped. I mean I've stucked with them for 5 years but I'm getting a little pissed now. EVIL

2. Certain Leaders of Power - I will not list the names but you guys now who I'm talking about. I think it's a shame the way things are happening today. People need to wake up and pay attention.

3. The Detroit Pistons from the 80's - I could never stand that team. They were just so evil.

4. Anything dealing with Paris, Lindsay and Brittney - Enough already, if these lady's were sistas they'd already be in jail and no one would know about it.

5. Computers - Sure we need them in are daily lives but it's a necessary evil. That's still evil though.

6. Anything that needs batteries - Again this is a necessary evil but I hate batteries and wireless devices, especially digital cameras because you have to keep getting batteries unless you get the rechargebles which are way to much money!

7. People who talk on their cell phones while driving - okay if you have a bluetooth that's ok but most people are trying to concentrate on their phone convo and they turn into some mental challenged driver. Wait to you get home.

8. People who talk loud as hell on the cell while in a public place such as: CTA train, restaurant, you get the point - one thing that really pisses me off, man ohh man, is when people are talking loud as hell on their cell phones. They act like they are the only person in the world. And don't get me started on the damn walkie talkie phone! No one wants to hear your conversation no matter how fucked up you are. Have some common courtesy.

9. Weekend Drivers - okay weekend drivers are those drivers that only drive on the weekend. They are the worst. They don't drive during the week because well they suck but on Sundays they get their car out and they just drive so slow and they have to be brain dead.

10. Non - tippers - Okay as a former server and a musician this is something that really gets me going. People who don't tip should be shipped to Iraq. I mean someone is providing a service. And no matter how bad the service is at least give them something/. I hate it when people order a whole bunch of food and don't tip. Fuckers!! Listen if you can't afford to tip, order the food to go! That's what I do. And for those people who don't like to tip musicians that play in restaurants. FUCK YOU TOO! I hate it when you are playing the music and the people enjoy it but they don't tip. I mean give a penny or something.

Ok that's it for today but I will have somemore some other time!

Been a little lazy with this blog

2007-05-24T21:34:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone, I've been a little lazy with this blog. But I thought I would start writing in it again. You know with the myspace and the facebook thing it's been a little tough to keep up.
I'm in a great mood right now! I feel so free. It's nice to have closure even when it really isn't it. I've been writing a lot of music lately some good other not so good. Just got through finishing doing press work with the Chicago Children's Choir for our 50th anniversary celebration. I just love the choir and I want to do whatever I can to make it great.

Pictures from new camera

2007-03-25T19:24:00.000-07:00

I just got a new camera. I love it. Tell me what you think of some these pictures?

I've almost had it.

2007-01-08T20:23:00.000-08:00

Listen here as a Bulls fan I'm upset so this is what I tried to do. I traded for Kevin Garnett. Yes that's right I did. So here is how I did it.

http://games.espn.go.com/nba/features/traderesult?players=99~2377~1981~2435~2456~3003~261&teams=16~16~16~16~16~4~4

What I hope happens for the future

2006-12-28T11:35:00.000-08:00

Okay I am excited and worried at the same time. I'm not sure if Obama is going to run for president but I know Edwards is. I said about two years ago that I would like too see a Edwards/Obama ticket for the 2008 election. I think that would be great. You see I think having Obama as the vice president will give him the desired experience he needs in the White House. Then in 2016 he can run for president. i'm not sure if this country is ready for Obama. I like John Edwards and his ideas. I think if he had ran instead of John Kerry then the election would have turned out quite different. What do you think? I know I'm a black man that would rather see Edwards in than Obama. No not really, first of all it has nothing to do with race. I like them both. I hope Obama does great in the election if he decides to run. I just think he could have a little more experience and that being vice president for 8 years or 4 would be great. Okay peace out.

Happy Holidays

2006-12-20T19:19:00.000-08:00

Hello all! I've been pretty busy of late with my new job,
so I haven't had much time to blog. My computer was also on the fritz so that's another thing.
Just wanted to say Happy Holidays to all. Peace and Love

On the Sunset Strip

2006-12-04T22:42:00.000-08:00

Okay here is the deal here. I just got through watching one of my favorite shows: Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip and Heroes. I tape these two shows every Monday night along with How I Met Your Mother and The Class. I watch the Prison Break. I know I'm a lame, but Studio 60 was so good tonight with the dialogue and the music and everything. It was very heartwarming. I never thought I could get that much into a show, but Studio 60 has me hooked. I just want to that tonight was a great night for TV.

Peace

My Brother and his Look alike

2006-12-03T20:31:00.000-08:00

This is for my brother lol

http://www.myheritage.com

My first game of the 06-07 season

2006-11-28T21:56:00.000-08:00

Out of the blue today, I decided tat I would go and see the Bulls play the Knicks. I knew it would be a good game because Bulls vs Knicks are always great. The only thing that I was really worried about was finding a ten dollar ticket. I couldn't find one online so I just took a chance at the United Center right before the game. My luck was not luck. I had to buy a standing room only ticket for 20 bucks. I'm a die hard so I went ahead and bought the ticket. So as I went through the United Center through Gate 2 to check my bag, I was trying to figure out where to go in this huge place. Finally I went all the way up but I didn't know if I had to stand up or not. So i found a seat and I sat down. It's kind of like the Press Box View on NBA Live. It was nice. Four guys from Forever Plaid Sang the National Anthem. (it turned out that I went to school with one of the singers) So there was a nice tribute to the old Bulls to the new, which makes you want to cry if you are a true Bulls fan. I love Sloan and Stormin Norman. Anyway on with the game. All I can say is this it was worth the 20 dollars. Ben Wallace did a pretty decent job. Ben Gordan played a good game as well. As i matter of fact everyone who got some decent minutes did a great job. I was just looking forward to the free Big Mac and seeing Viktor Khryapa geting in the game.
Overall I would say besides the 4.25 price on the ice cream bar that this was a pleasant experience.

Kosmo Kramer A.K.A Racist Pig

2006-11-21T00:37:00.000-08:00

Ok I heard about this but I didn't want to believe this crap. So I went on youtube and watched for myself. I just just lost total respect for Michael Richards, you know the guy who played Kramer on Seinfield. I watched this video and I was appalled. He just kept repeating the word over and over. When he said 50 years ago you would have been hanging from trees with a fork up your ass. I mean come on man. What a racist. I mean I have never heard anything so hateful from anyone. Why can't people just I dunno stop being asses. I want to see how much press this gets. I want to see if this gets as much press as Mel Gibson's tirades went. The thing about Mel Gibson's is this. We didn't see Mel, but we sure saw Mr. Richards. This is ridicuolous. People are still freakin racists in this country. I don't even jnow why I am responding to this. But I am. I mean we still have these stupid celebrities out there such as O.J.

O.J., if he did it or not, I don't care, but why in the hell would you write a book, If I did it it this is how I did it.

What kind of bull is that? Are you such a narcissistist that you have to stupid shit like that. Whatever. People are just full of it all.

I'm done here

Today is a Day

2006-11-20T08:30:00.000-08:00

Good Morning everyone. Today i am at my new job. Believe it or not. I'm a lab technician at one of the City Colleges of Chicago. Computers though not chemistry. I'm pretty satisfied right now with my life. I have a couple of gigs this weekend so I have a lot to be thankful for. So I will bid adieu for now. Go Bears and the Bulls need to do something

2006-11-10T13:15:00.000-08:00

Gabcast! My Blogger iin the world of hipness #2

My Tunes

2006-11-09T21:42:00.000-08:00

Couldn't sleep so I went out to vote!

2006-11-07T05:54:00.000-08:00

All right. I had a problem this morning. I couldn't sleep. So I decided to get off of my ass and go across the street and vote. Might as well get it over with. You know, I had two choices as well to vote. I could use the touch screen or the paper ballot. Guess what I chose?
I chose the paper. For some reason I don't trust those touch screens especially after I saw the movie Man of the Year with Robin Williams! I highly recommend it. So it was nice to vote and get it over with. Of course I voted all Democratic. I didn't see any Republicans that I liked. I don't think I ever will. Which brings me to another point.

Yesterday I watched Alexandra Pelosi's documentary Diary of a Political Tourist.

It made me think about the democrats and the upcoming election in 08. I'm not sure who is going to be running for president in 08. I wish Howard Dean would have been on the ticket in 04 instead of Kerry. Kerry just seems so dry. Do you agree with me on that? I would like to see John Edwards run or maybe even Sir Albert! One thing though that is cool is going out to vote. It's very important. Check you guys outr later.

Can You Believe This?

2006-11-05T06:43:00.000-08:00

Okay so I went on this site and uploaded my picture to see who I looked like. Not sure if I agree. You tell me.

It is a new day!

2006-11-01T13:54:00.000-08:00

Okay last night I got to watch the Bulls dismantle the Miami Heat. I've never seen the Bulls play like that.They were fast and furious. I just wanted to say that I am a big fan and that I am saying that they will when it all. Now I know this picture is of another Bulls team but guess what? They won a championship. Here's hoping the 06-07 Bulls do the same thing!

What NBA Player are you?

2006-10-27T14:18:00.000-07:00

Chris Webber
Take Which NBA player are you? today!
Created with Rum and Monkey's Personality Test Generator.

Not feeling so good

2006-10-26T09:23:00.000-07:00

You know what? I'm not feeling to good right now. My throat is killing me. It seems like when I go to sleep it gets worst. i'm not sure what to do. I have to be doing a play very soon and as of right now I feel like crap. I can still talk it just hurts. Well I'm going to cut off now. I'm going to go back to sleep. You see when I get sick I kind of cut off from society till I get better. This is actually the first time that i've been really sick in a year. I think I'm going to go to the doctor. Maybe I can get some antibiotics!

Peace

2006-10-23T22:23:00.000-07:00

Gabcast! My Blogger iin the world of hipness #1

I'm back

2006-10-23T21:57:00.000-07:00

Okay check this out. Since I can import my blog on blogger on facebook, I decided to start posting again. I'm not sure if anyone is going to actually read this. I um, I'm tired. I feel like I'm not doing something right. I'm not sure what it is though. I do know this though, I'm a jazz nut. However today I felt like a choir geek all over again. I mean, I'm in this alumni rehearsal and all the choir geekness just poors out of me. Not singing in a choral group for about 3 years has been tough. I mean I've been singing in a choral group since i was in 2nd grade. Somehow I feel like i've become lazy with my singing, choral wise that is.You know what's weird as well is that I used to be very spriritual. I'm not as much as I was. I mean there's not a lot of religion in singing ballads. But anyway i'm going to get some shut eye and get some sleep. Good Night and Good Luck

It's been a long time

2006-07-08T20:30:00.000-07:00

You know I haven't written in this blog for a while. I don't think anyone really reads it. I mean with the whole myspace thing going on, it's hard to keep it up. I'm in a pretty decent mood today. Some people say it's love. I have no idea. I'm a little worried about tommorow. I don't want to be hurt again, but I feel I must do what I have to do.

I hope all is well with everyone. Peace

New Year

2006-01-01T18:33:00.000-08:00

I can't believe it is 2006. The year has flown by.

I will write in the next blogs.

Starting Fresh In a way

2005-08-19T11:37:00.000-07:00

I decided today to erase all the music off of my mp3 player:
http://www.creative.com/products/product.asp?category=213&subcategory=214&product=9288

I wanted to give it a fresh start. It's a lot of work because I had over 5,000 songs on it. I ind of look at it as a clean slate in life as well. i mean school is about to begin and I'm embarking on my last few classes towards my bachelor degree in Music Vocal Performance.

I'm really looking forward to moving on with that. So that's about it for now.

In the Mood

2005-08-16T09:48:00.000-07:00

I'm excited. I just finished writing lyrics to Joe Henderson's Black Narcissus. That's one thing that has me going. I woke up this morning with a fresh attitude. Right now I'm listening to some Clifford Brown. I love the song Jordu, it just swings so hard. Anyway I have a rehearsal tonight so I have to get some things together. Peace

2005-08-11T11:41:00.000-07:00

This is me playing Sammy Davis Jr. for a The Rat Pack

2005-08-08T16:24:00.000-07:00

Biting the Bullet

2005-08-08T16:16:00.000-07:00

Music Resources

2005-07-27T20:42:00.000-07:00

You know I haven't written in this blog for a while. Sorry. Anyway, I was practicing my jazz piano in the book Jazz Piano Mark Levine, and I saw some examples to play featuring the wonderful of intervals. For example the first two note's in Billy Strayhorn's Chealse Bridge has an interval of an ascending major second. That's cool, but I wanted to hear it and since I have a huge library of music on my computer. I searched for it on winamp. www.winamp.com

And guess what? Yes indeedy I have a recording of it with Cassandra Wilson it's beautiful. But what made me really happy is this: If I don't have the recording, I at least have the sheet music for it. I feel so fortunate to have an ample supply of music resources.

Okay that's enough bragging. Peace

Always An Adventure

2005-07-18T23:07:00.000-07:00

Ever feel like you're beinig watched? I do. I mean do you think God has like a huge television with great PIP.
(that's picture and picture) Sometimes I think God is just laughing at us. He or she knows whats going to happen so why not laugh it up. I said he or she because how do you know if God is a man or woman or both.

Anyway today was a productive day in a way. I had an audition/rehearsal to sing for a wedding band. I had to learn the songs Use Me by Bill Withers, I'm so tired of being alone by Al Green and Brickhouse
I haven't sang this kind of music in awhile so I was really nervous. So here is the story: AAA Always An Adventure
I first got in my car to go to Indiana to get some gas. I was playing some music in the car, the songs I was supposed to learn. Anyway on my way to Indiana I'm at the stop light on 106th street waiting for the arrow to turn green so I can make a left turn. They're isn't a sign that says wait for the arrow, but I want to be safe so I wait. Next thing you know "Bang" I fall face forward to the stering wheel. Someone hits me. I can't believeit. I'm on a tight schedule beacuse I have to be on the North side at 8 and it's almost 7 and I haven't got any gas still. So I tell the lady that I'll check the car after I turn. I get out the car and I get out the car and there isn't any damage. So I drive on and decide not to get the drivers info. I should have and you'll find out later.
So I finally have my gas and I have to pee. I go in the gas station and wholla, no bathroom. On with the show must go on. So I drive on. As I'm driving, I'm trying to figure out which way to go. Should I go down 95th street to Ashland or 87th. Well I ended up getting misdirected, so I went the only way I knew. I went by my house and I took 93rd to Stony to 87th street. Okay I'm in business. I'm almost at Halsted, but the next thing you know, my car starts making a werid noise. It sounds like Nascar, except my car doesn't go that fast. So anyway to make a loneg story short. My car is in need of something that needs improvement. But hey I got in the band and I met a very beautiful woman. I'm going to throw on my charm the next time I see her.

Okay that's it

The Nation of Hipness Theme Song

2005-07-18T13:11:00.000-07:00

2005-07-14T09:29:00.000-07:00

This one of my favorite pictures. My mother took this picture about maybe four years ago I think.

This is actually going to be the cover of a cd that I'm planning to do called Father & Son. I'm not sure when the cd will happen but it will. My father to me is my best friend in the world.

I just wanted to say that.

Oscar Brown Jr's Influence

2005-07-08T14:49:00.000-07:00

This is my very first post on this thing and the first thing I wanted to write about was the influence that the late Oscar Brown Jr has on me. You know it's weird. I've been singing the song All Blues for awhile now, and it never really occured to me that Oscar Brown Jr. wrote those lyrics. I mean that song is my favorite, probably the first tune I ever learned how to play.

I heard Mr. Brown sing the song for the first time two weeks ago. It was beautiful. I mean I only had the cd Sin & Sou, but now I have even more of his music. Oscar Brown Jr. was a great man to me. One of the all time greats. I just wanted to say that for my first post.