Lantz Lazwell is an up and coming singer/songwriter pretty much guaranteed to make waves in the near future.  Often playing both guitar and keyboards while singing, the L.A.-based musician writes heavily instrumental tunes that wrap rock and R&B sounds into a completely unique package.  

Lazwell's band also features Jamie Hunting on bass, an established musician in his own right, who has performed with the likes of Vince Neil of Motley Crue, and the one and only "Diamond" David Lee Roth--who I shouldn't have to tell you is the main reason why Van Halen was so good when it first started up. Mike Sato takes on percussion, and Matt Dickson (former Burning Spear and G-Love and Special Sauce) plays the saxophone.  

Lazwell's music often delivers a slightly jazz-funk groove over a more rock-y edge.  His vocals range from sounding like the croons of a sleepy-eyed misfit to just downright heartfelt and soulful.  It embraces enough musical stylings to win over a diverse audience, which you may be able to experience for yourself if you happen to be in California over the next few months.  He and his band will be performing shows in Chico, Sacramento, Placerville, and West Hollywood from now until February, with a full-length debut album to follow soon afterwards.

To hear some tunes and stay updated on tour dates, check out his official MySpace page.

You can also check out this video of a live performance at the Whisky-A-Go-Go in Hollywood:

The Green Living Expo is a touring event geared towards improving our environment and quality of life.  Over a hundred exhibits and vendors offer organic and natural health/beauty products, clothes, car accessories, green building & remodeling supplies, amongst many others.  The admission is free, and you may even catch an eco-fashion show while you're there.

The event just wrapped to enormous success in Ventura, California, but will also be coming to Honolulu, Hawaii on January 30 and 31, 2009, Los Angeles on February 21 and 22, as well as San Diego on April 19 and 20.  Typical show hours are from 10 am to 5 pm, and if shopping isn't exactly your thing, roughly 25 to 50 workshops are also at the Expo for all the green living education you could possibly need.

If you're interested in setting up a booth, or just joining a mailing list for updates, visit the official website.

In honor of Veteran's Day, we are featuring an award winning essay by Marine Veteran Dario Dibattista.  

The Power of One Book

Like Paul Baumer, the fictional main character of All Quiet On the Western Front, I was nineteen years old when I served in combat. Somehow I had wandered through a formal literary education in a white-bred public school, developed a strong interest in classic film, and fought in a foreign war without knowing who Paul Baumer was. It is a shame much of the civilized world no longer knows his story.

I would not read Paul Baumer’s story told in All Quiet On the Western Front, which is the cathartic reflections of World War One veteran and author Erich Maria Remarque, until the age of twenty-one. 

Paul could have been my buddy in Fallujah, Iraq. We might have - under a torrent of enemy bombardment - nestled into the ground together like children in our mothers chests pleading for survival. We might have manned a machine-gun together, our bodies becoming automatons as we performed the training conditioned within us. We might have stayed up late nights conversing about the torment of war, the malnutrition, the angst of low-standing in military hierarchy – anything but the deaths of our peers and brethren. 

Paul was not with me in Iraq. I was not with him in Europe. But like all stories, inspired of men who fought in war, we are ideologically linked – we did serve together. Blades have become bullets, catapults into cannons, shields into bullet-proof plates; the soldier has remained the same. The psychology of men who are dutifully tasked into the killing of other men or direct support of such cause will never change. 

I am glad Paul and I got to know each other when we did. My return stateside from - near daily rocket and mortar attacks and frequent road-side bombings – the pervasive threat of death was not a happy reunion. How does one remember to walk in an open field again and be gallant and without fear? How does one turn off a paranoid, high-intensity force within them that once guided their survival? How does one forget the faces of those that did not return and wear a smile again? How does one relate these feelings to those that did not dutifully serve?

I needed Paul. He was introduced to me by a good friend who knew of my plight. 

“Take this,” my good friend said after one of our drunken conversations. “Go home, and start reading it tomorrow.”

Paul became my counselor and friend from the very first words he said to me. “This book is to be neither an accusation nor a confession, and least of all an adventure, for death is not an adventure to those who stand face to face with it. It will try simply to tell of a generation of men who, even though they may have escaped shells, were destroyed by the war.” Paul’s words were a symphony of sympathy to my burdened spirit. 

We became best friends that day. I listened to all his story. We did serve together.

We shared a morbid humor, one that only men who lived such lives could have. We laughed heartily and reflectively. We were unabashed to share things about ourselves with one another.

That day we looked at each other with silent stares, our arms curled over our skulls, in prone positions on the ground as bombs fell over us. We boozed together and talked of death as our inhibitions waned. We held hands as we returned home on a sojourn which felt like staying in an alien world. We shared ammo, food, and cigarettes. We did serve together, that day.

On my couch where I had not moved since I first listened to Paul, and the sunlight dissipated outside my patio window, I cried at the news of Paul’s death. He was my best friend. He was me. He was my friends who did not make it back. He was every soldier who had ever served. I am glad I am alive to tell his story to anyone who needs to hear it – it is my new duty.

Dario Dibattista served in multiple tours of the Iraq War.  He currently attends Connecticut State University and plans to enroll in graduate school for creative writing.  To get in touch or stay updated on his current endeavors, visit his MySpace Page.

One can only imagine the questioning stares Greg Patillo must have received when he first announced he wanted to combine the art of beatboxing with that of the flute.  He still receives odd gazes, but from over 15 million views through YouTube, and most of which in admiration.  

Hailing from Seattle, Washington, but eventually moving to Brooklyn, New York, Pattillo may be the only "beatboxing flutist" around, or at least the one people are paying attention to.  Now world-reknowned for seamlessly mixing mouth-generated hip hop beats with those of the smooth melodies of the flute, he was lauded by the New York Times as "the best in the world at what he does."  

Patillo's work stems from his involvement in the Collaborative Arts Insurgency.  Performing in Concert Halls, Vaudeville Clubs, bars, parks, and subway stations, he came to combine jazz, classical instrumental music, poetry, hip hop, and comedy in various combinations.  In San Francisco he made the CAI performance space at 16th and Mission his weekly residence, further honing his skills and developing his unique musical abilities.  

Along with appearing on the BBC series Lily Allen and Friends, Patillo continues to reside in New York and perform in its various subway terminals.  Check out his MySpace Page to stay updated, and make sure to watch his "re-mix" of the Inspector Gadget theme:

Seal the Pork Barrel

Among the most glaring abuses in Washington is the willful setting aside of taxpayer dollars for the pet projects of special interests, often through last minute additions to appropriations bills. Pork barrel spending is an insult to taxpayers, a waste of public resources, and an abdication of our leaders' responsibility to be good and honorable stewards of the public treasury, for the benefit of all Americans, not just a few.

Too often it appears that elected leaders use the treasury as a campaign kitty, channeling taxpayer dollars for pet projects to preserve incumbency rather than to meet national needs. John McCain has been a tireless warrior against wasteful spending, and one of the few leaders who has the guts to challenge abusive Congressional earmarks and the pork barrel politics that grip Washington. John McCain understands that, fundamentally, wasteful spending is an issue of ethics.

As he pointed out recently as part of his longstanding, principled, and often lonely vigil against pork barrel earmarks in Congress: "Earmarked dollars have doubled just since 2000, and more than tripled in the last 10 years. This explosion in earmarks led one lobbyist to deride the appropriations committees as favor factories. The time for us to fix this broken process is long overdue." As President, John McCain would shine the disinfecting light of public scrutiny on those who abuse the public purse, use the power of the presidency to restore fiscal responsibility, and exercise the veto pen to enforce it.

Stop the Revolving Door and Restore Ethics

America deserves and demands a government that serves the country, not itself. Most people believe that elected leaders are more interested in the perks and privileges of office than in public service, and that too often the special interest lobbyists with the fattest wallets and best access carry the day when issues of public policy are being decided.

John McCain has fought the good fight against the practices that alienate the public from their elected leaders. He has fought for public disclosure of those who lobby lawmakers for a living, and to prohibit them from providing gifts to elected officials.

He has fought for greater transparency regarding the official activities of lobbyists, disclosure of those who arrange for lawmakers' travel, and require members to pay full charter rates when using corporate aircraft.

He has fought the "revolving door" by which lawmakers and other influential officials leave their posts and become lobbyists for the special interests they have aided.

He has fought for an independent ethics office in Congress to help restore the public's faith in the integrity of the legislative branch.

Democracy is Not for Sale

The American people have been alienated from the process of self-government by the overwhelming appearance of their elected leaders having sold-out to the big-moneyed special interests who help finance political campaigns.

As John McCain has said, "Americans believe that political representation is measured on a sliding scale. The more you give the more effectively you can petition your government." It is no coincidence that the most influential lobbyists with the greatest access in the nation's Capitol are also the most prolific political fundraisers, and that incumbents attract money in far greater volumes than most challengers.

Most Americans understand that competitive elections in a free country require money. Since campaigns require spending funds to communicate with voters, they know we can never take money completely out of politics, nor should we. Americans have a right to support the candidates and the parties they endorse, including financially if they so choose.

But what most Americans worry about profoundly is corporations or individuals with huge checks seeking the undue influence on lawmakers that such largesse is intended to purchase. That is why John McCain has fought to enforce long-standing prohibitions on corporate and union contributions to federal political parties, for sensible donation limits, disclosure of how candidates and campaigns are funded, and the diligent enforcement of these common sense rules that promote maximum public participation in the political process and limit opportunities for corruption.

John McCain understands that in America the people are sovereign, and deserve a political process worthy of the sacrifices that have been made by so many to keep us free and proud. As President, John McCain will see to it that the institutions of self-government are respected pillars of democracy, not commodities to be bought, bartered, or abused.