something wrong with me

there must be something wrong with me… because i like the snow. because i like the cold. because i like to take 5 flights of stairs instead of an elevator. because i don't watch tv. because i don't like the radio. or commercials. there must be something wrong with me because i don't need laws. because i don't believe in religion. because i despise money. because i'm embarrassed by my ego. there must be something wrong with me because i don't read, instead i write. because i don't believe in a college education. because i will not trust a doctor. because i do not take pills. i don't care for the city. i just care for it's people. there's something wrong with me because i write rock, i sing rock music i love the sound of rock but i hate rock bands. there must be something wrong with me because i love my community but prefer my space. because i go far to feel near. because my god is in me, and it is here, deep within that i learn about everything. there must be something wrong with me because my knowledge has no school. because i have no hero, no master, no teacher except for one and then me. there must be something wrong with me because i don't want to be safe. because i don't avoid getting hurt. because i think it's good to fight. good to get angry. good to feel all of your feelings because if you don't then your feelings become monsters that eat your soul and the soul of the people around you. because i don't like the word god. i've never trusted it, even as a child. i must be wrong because i think vocalist are the worst singers. because i don't believe in evolution. because i don't believe history, but i'd love to learn herstory. the story of the mother because i'm sick of the story of man. there's something wrong with me because i am not attracted to vampires, not in movies or books or games. the idea of beings that feed on humans is despicable to me. the reality that humans feed on each other is as low as i can imagine life becoming. i don't need to be reminded at every movie, video game and conversation of our capacity for violence. i must be wrong because i want to know the unknown because i want to stretch my mind and earn my joy, i want to think about my music i want to taste food that i don't recognize and love culture i've never known. i must be wrong because i feel wrong when i live "right". because i feel opposite of almost all that i see.

i must be wrong because i am not confused.

i must be wrong because i am never lost to my purpose or my people.

i must be wrong because even though i have nothing, i am king.

an interview i did with batanga

i googled myself tonight for the first time in a very long time and i am extremely surprised by the amount of stuff i found. including this interview i'd totally forgotten about:

Click here to see the interview

proudest monkey

well...i feel very proud of my nomination for best latin jazz vocalist and next generation artist of the year on latin jazz corner. more so than anything else i've been featured in because it's the most real. chip boaz loves latin jazz and has a whole lot of knowledge about this music. his opinion matters so much more than, i dunno... people magazine for example. to see my name on the same list as isaac delgado is... extremely flattering and humbling. i don't expect to win anything, but who cares. i'm on the same list as the guy that wrote 'sandunguita'.



shit is crazy.



so if you've got some time to kill go on over to: http://www.chipboaz.com/blog/best-of-2010/ and vote for your favorites.



i'd like to mention that my label truth revolution records was also nominated for label of the year AND my friend panagiotis andreou is nominated for bassist of the year. hell to the yeah he is.



aight y'all.



- g

cd release

It was, overall, a really great concert. i loved the musicians i shared the stage with, i loved that so many people came out, the club was packed...it was a great night and i had a lot of fun.



but the next is intense. i'm putting together all the video footage leading up to the show as well as the show itself. but my computer is ancient so it takes tiiiiiiiime.



then there natalie's new album that we go into the studio tomorrow morning to record. i'm happy it's happening, she's an amazing singer and cai wrote some very cool arrangements for her. i'm not so happy about the waking up at 8am part. it's 2:15am as i write this...



anyway, thanks to everyone who came and made the night so memorable. i am grateful that so many amazing players played with me up on that stage. mike rodriguez, andy hunter, obed calvaire, the pana, ray west, reinaldo dejesus, julie acosta, AND osmany paredes??? you couldn't get a better band if you had all the money in the world. i am a blessed soul to have access to such an incredible amount of talent. these are really new york cities finest.



goodnight for now.



- g

a promise

it's 2am and i'm tired. it's been a full and beautiful day as many have been recently. and not beautiful because it's easy or even pleasant. beautiful because it was full of things that matter to me and as a result i lived today connected to my happenings and the lessons they brought. i would be in bed instead of writing this right now except i promised myself i would make at least one blog entry a week. and as i've learned and accepted into my way of thinking and observing things, the promises we make to ourselves are the most important promises of all. turns out any promise made in earnest is essentially a promise to the self. i want to remember this for when i have my kids and am blessed with the gift of teaching them this world.

i guess this is what i want to contemplate tonight....

we don't have many good examples in our daily experiences. most of what i can observe is a culture of self service. of me over you. of judgement and feelings of supremacy through violence towards one another. i notice this when i overhear the conversations of passer-by. it's usually someone talking to another about how they were about to beat somebody's ass for disrespecting them. or how this person is a dumbass for blah blah blah. one day i noticed how much like dumb fighting pigs we sound. and then i noticed how much like dumb fighting pigs we are treated by media and entertainment, especially movies and music. i don't understand why i should want to listen to a person, who defines themselves by their ability to purchase material things made by other people, rap or sing about how much better they believe they are than me and everyone else because they can buy stuff with paper. paper that forces us to live compromised lives so that we can buy things that don't make us feel satisfied. i am bored with movies that tell the story of men with guns. popular music and movies are reflections of this world. a reflection of what we accept and believe to be the things that matter. there is nothing we experience as a collective race that we don't deserve.

but when i think of what it is to be a true human being, or full human being i don't imagine a person that is petty and of violence. i imagine a person that is of understanding and wisdom. but it is rare to see someone this way. even our old gain little wisdom. i observe the insecurity of my elders and find it odd that they have grown backwards. instead becoming more steady in their hearts and broader in their minds they become fickle, afraid, stubborn and often dumb.

utter confusion is the best way i can think of to describe our way of being. men and women blind to each other and themselves.

with every year that i get older i feel more blessed for the experience and wisdom of life. i don't feel anxious about my age. i like wearing my years on my skin and eyes like a testament to my value and character. i have survived 32 years with my inner child, creativity, spirit and health not only intact but vastly strengthened and expanded. i am not who i was 5 years ago because i am much, much better. and to think of who i will be in another 5 is exciting. i wish all the people i love felt this way, but i think i am the only one i know. except for maybe one other.

going back to the purpose of this writing: keeping promises i make to my self. this action, the commitment of honoring your intentions, is probably the most effective way of transforming your exterior life. what i mean to say is that by keeping your promises to your self, the way you live your life will change really fast. and for the better. i promise. :)

we should remember to fill our lives of the things that matter most to us. so that we feel connected.

g'night.

- g

the cold

winter is here and i welcome it like a good friend i haven't seen in a while. i know she'll be here for longer then i'd like, but in the meantime, "hello". it felt good to walk in it tonight. the cold and strong wind on my face, my fingers uncomfortably stiff but all a reminder that i am alive. that life is season. "as above so below" they say and it is also true that as without so within. we, each of us have our internal seasons. and every season has its purpose. for me, winter is a time of internal reflection. it is a time to be still and feel the warmth of the sun within us. internal illumination. it is the season of deep meditation. we should become aware of our thoughts. then, we should become careful with our thoughts because thoughts create intentions and intentions create reality. i don't mean the kind of thoughts we think when we are conscious like, "i wish for world peace" or "i wish i were rich". i mean the thoughts that we think all of the rest of the times. the thoughts you think when you are not thinking of thoughts. the thoughts that define the way you perceive your reality. the thoughts that define your experience. these are the thoughts to be careful with. to become conscious of and to shape for yourself in the light you want to be. it is not easy. it requires that you become still enough to listen. it can be such a learning experience when it happens. and can only happen via meditation. like sitting down in lotus pose for 10 minutes once or twice maybe three times a day to keep your mind still. a korean buddhist monk once told me in very broken english, "10 minute work, easy. 10 minute play, easy. 10 minute, do nothing, very hard!"

he was right.

but eventually everything becomes meditation. that is the way life was meant to be. every action should be contemplation of the self. sleeping. waking. eating. grooming. laughing. loving. hating. fighting. everything a means of experiencing the self through this world. and learning that everything is meaningful. even the suffering.

but what is meaningful when most of us believe meaning is what an episode of a sitcom ends with. meaning is not valuable because of our relationships to other people or society. but meaningful because of our relationship with our inner self, our souls. then there will be true meaning in everything else.

i wake and i contemplate my dreams. sometimes i write them if i can remember enough. then i contemplate my awakening. how peculiar it is to be asleep then awake. to be dreaming and then real. when i eat, it is to take care of my body. when i have fun i become conscious of how it feels and love how it connects me to this experience we call life. because it is only an experience and one day will end for each of us.

i believe that the purpose of life is to become as close to our original state as possible before our return to the infinite. that is what makes life most worth it. what is creation? what is nature? it is creativity. change. seasons. snow. rain....sun. this is our purpose. to experience all that is via our inspired creativity.

we should not live in fear of our potential. we should not live in fear of our reality. it will end. and god blesses those who live life their way.

peace.

- g

i am reminded...

...that I am spirit and creativity. Something I forget to remember. Without creativity we become destructive to our self and others in little and big ways. Without connection to spirit we become disconnected from living and then nothing feels good and we lose ourselves, confuse our 'self' with broken toys. Too much noise. Be still sometimes.... Be good to you so you can be good to your people. The biggest illusion in life is that we are seperate. All is one. The true human being is truly, most essentially, a little god because like nature we create. As above so below. To understand all, understand the one. Any 'one' will do as it is all projection. The holographic reality, so the math tells us over and over again. How lost we become within ourselves. How alien to the most natural we have made each other strangers to the things that matter, the things that really matter. Silence. Nature. Spirit BEFORE mind. Art. Change. Experience. They say love is all but love is only part and not even the most...essential. Love is more like an output a manifestation and motivator a need like food but love is not all. It is a color of feeling. It is just good but broken without the rest. Silence. Nature. Spirit. Art (expression creation, not just music, painting, dance, etc). CHANGE! because without change there is fear and fear keeps us from following the lines of life, letting connections slip through our fingers. Without action/change there is no consequence and without consequence there is no destiny. We are then left to hide within our minds and our ego will grow and the ego is no friend of the true human being.

I am reminded tonight that I am, as all are, a little god. Made to create more than destroy. I am animal too but born ready to grow. And growing is serious, serious business. I speak to you so that I speak to myself. I speak to myself so that I may speak to you. We resonate our consciousness so hopefully my vibe arrives to you. Goodnight.

BP Oil Spill

“Land is a gift to us. Our extension, or rather we are an extension of land. It is not possible for us to treat the Earth better than we treat ourselves, as we are of each other. When we begin to treat ourselves with respect and love through higher understanding so will we treat this planet”
- Zaccai Curtis

The ailes of the human being are a self inflicted symptom of our collective psychic illness. We tend to think of ourselves as individuals at the expense of any community, but observation of our physical reality clearly shows that we are absolutely a collective of individual expressions. What I’m saying is that we are not just a person with a name and a family - who is born then lives then has babies, a job, and then dies so that their child grows up to do the same - but an extension of an entire living race that lives together on a living organism that is a planet within a living universe that is creation itself. To say that you are not connected to your neighbor is like saying your finger is not connected to your hand. We our OF each other.

It is not productive to blame our government or corporations for our problems. This fixes nothing.
It is not productive to blame ourselves for our problems. This just lowers our self worth and makes it easier for our psyche to be used and abused.

Our solution is in realizing that we are one. That our ego is not necessary anymore. That we are not naturally hateful, pathological, or destructive beings but beings of creativity and community. That each of us was born with a purpose that serves the whole. That this purpose is achieved through knowledge of the self and NOT defined by external expectations. And that no other knowledge in life is as rewarding as knowing your place in this world. Purpose is what we were born for and our purpose will never be and never has been serving another’s greed or ambition. A job is not a job, it is who we are. We were not meant to make money, we were made to make our thoughts and ideas.

This is what we get when we choose profit over purpose. This is what we get when we live as undeserving self-serving and self-loathing slaves to the dollar bill:

http://www.washingtonsblog.com/2010/07/you-are-not-authorized-to-see-these.html

high vs low

my first album, 'high vs low' is finally out. it was a long time coming and it took a lot of work to get here, but it's as done as done can be.

you can listen to and/or purchase all the tracks at my website www.giovannialmonte.com

you can choose any format you like and it's very high quality. the first run of the CD's will be signed by me. if you buy the actual CD, a downloadable version will be instantly available. the CD's don't ship until the 25th or so.

'high vs low' was a very long story. it's a very special project to me and my musicians and include some amazing players including my sister julie acosta, kenny growhowski, panagiotis andreou, zaccai curtis, reinaldo dejesus, chuito quintero, ray west and obed calvaire.

it features a couple of special guests which are pedrito martinez and marshall gilkes.

i hope you guys like it and pass it on.

CD release party and tour coming soon...

peace.

- g

true human-being

I am not my thoughts... I am seperate. I am a manifestation of nature. As is nature so is my true self; void of thought and question. Simply a being that IS. I do not want to be seperate. I do not seek to destroy nature. I don't share in the madness. It is a madness. Man as a whole. Strange to know this. To be so seperate from it yet in the middle completley cut off from my Source yet forever connected. The truth found within the knowledge of the Self. The ego an alien invader. The ego an illusion and impedememt to mans natural way. A secret knowledge that is everywhere to be seen. Obvious. But nearly impossible to express to those who do not already have the experience of the knowledge. Who can I share this with? How can I say it?

The world as we know it is pure madness. A condition brought onto the human consciousness by an extremely traumatic event that must have occurred as Plato's father told him. Ego is an unnatural condition most likely created as a defense mechanism by nature. Man in his uninjured, natural state is OF beast purely connected with creation. Source is the experience and not origin.

Whoa.

Good Mourning

This is a good mourning
And I've come to bring the sun like... Sunday morning
Now open your eyes
Rise then...shine
Let me stretch that mind for a good amount of time
While we were sleeping
Bad men got to keeping us
From our Selves
Got us talking big
But living little
Kind of stuck like...in the middle
We got too many broken toys
We need less distraction less...noise
See if we can't hear those giant steps
The beautiful mess that is this life
See school is...birth to the death
Something even God will profess to in every thing
Follow the line of your heart because there is no point
Feel me?
The LINE is all
Life an ocean in it's water we rise high in order to fall
The experience is all that matters
Could be bad or good, doesn't matter

Life is school.

TV the spell you been under.

Good mourning.
I came to bring my Sun like a Sunday morning.
And God's truth like thunder
Within our mind we carry hell
But may this song break the spell

Love

- g