2012 HOLIDAZE

well , it seems as though the craziness of the season : with the Thanksgiving /Christmas  celebrations
and family gatherings, and the shopping, and the festivities and the travel , is all finally winding down.
J a n u a r y  soon come with freshness, and quiet winter beauty, as a new year shall unfold, and we
look forward to spring and the birth of newness .
time to get back to recording . . .

. . . . . . Christmas eve ,
BEST ONE YET  !  . . . . . .

WINTER SOLSTICE

this time of year reminds me that the shortest daylight  winter days, are completely
opposite our experience on June 21.
delicate balance . How fragile it is . . . .

EARLY WINTER

The solo acoustic shows have been going well. I am increasing my musical following
and enjoying the atmosphere at the Mt. Charleston Lodge .
Recording at home. We are in the early stages of the next original music project.
More to come on this , and video ideas for this website.

A u t u m n f u l l m o o n

the air is dry and crisp. This full moon brings good tidings I believe.
Heavenly stars shine brightly in the sky this evening.
I can almost imagine what it must have felt like to be a traveler through
the desert during the 1800s under such a bright moon.
This western sky is extremely beautiful. I am grateful . . .

" been a long time comin' "

Well . . . today I purchased a loop station.
this method of recording / performing has been on my
list for quite awhile, and finally I have an opportunity to take
creative ideas to this level of technology.
It's about time, tom . . . .

SATURDAY NOVEMBER 10

. . . We have had a fantastic Saturday !
We found an amazing tree nursery and rock yard " Stoneworld Company".
They've got a couple of acres of  beautiful cut stone , raw stone , flag, etc.
We purchased a concrete bird bath complete with mosaic bath bowl.

I auditioned this afternoon at the Mt. Charleston  lodge;  with gentle snowfall
as my backdrop , visible through the large windows behind their stage.
A roaring happy fire, in the round center fireplace of the room , added to my
delight as patrons responded positively with applause and complimentary nods
during  my 30 min.set .  I got the gig ! Every Saturday 5-8pm during December.
I will post updates here on the blog about these shows.
I have never played gigs in a ski lodge. 7,600ft. above sea level is a long way
from the St. louis bayou. ( smiles)

N O V E M B E R

               G     R      E   E     T      I      N       G         S     !

Work has begun . our new Christmas song is alive and well. our basic layout has been
established and I strongly believe this is something very worthwhile , at least so far as
Christmas songs go. LK is onboard from his studio and I am building my little
work station for recording  new music right here in Las Vegas. Internet collaboration !
Video is up on the site , thank you mr.  CP for those efforts from Pennsylvania ..
 We are thoroughly enjoying life , especially with the cool dry air ( 70's) here in the
desert southwest. More to come regarding the long distance cooperation .

O C T O B E R 2012

G r e e t i n g s  !

The desert southwest is an amazing geological spectacle . The mountains which surround
my new hometown provide so much beauty. I have been enjoying the "newness" of seeing
their majestic peaks for nearly 9 months everyday . This is far different in so many ways from
the familiar landscapes that I'm used to seeing  in the midwest. Now that the seasons are changing,
even my favorite month of October has taken on a different look providing me with another geographic
comparison during this season known as autumn. I have always felt more alive during
these months of less daylight as compared with the months of June/ July. The air feels different,
birds migrate, and the sunlight gives us lengthy shadows and softer presence.

Since the last blog, our music page is up. CP has created a video page( it is almost complete)
and several new Mp3 have been posted.

Please visit the I-Tunes / CD Baby links provided to purchase downloads from the
two most recent albums released in 2011 and 2012. We thoroughly appreciate the
support which you have shown by visiting mongomon.com  as we are constantly
working on and improving this website to ensure that you have the best browsing experience
possible.

mid - september

. . . the worst of the summer heat is gone. shadows in sunlight are fall- like.
I have experienced my first ' monsoon ' season in Vegas . August thunderstorms.
We are excited about newness with the website . full speed ahead .
Music Page is soon come.

August Energy

the half moon  light shining through the windows in the clear atmosphere
of the desert southwest, is a gentle and  familiar visual treat.
I love this type of light. I am thinking back to summer nights during my wild
youth, when we would sneak out onto local golf courses . Several of us boys and girls
hippie-like would dance in pure innocent joy bathed in this sort of magical moonglow.
We could carry our acoustic guitars and play to our friends comfortably situated
on a manicured soft golf tee or along the banks of a golf course creek.
I am blessed to have memories like these. they say : "life is made up of moments"

. . . . we've made progress towards completion of the website over haul.
my team members are not all entirely local and code can be tricky sometimes.
I am pleased with our current direction in this website " facelift " and thankful for
the good energy surrounding this project.

As of this writing, the M U S I C  page is next .
new territory /  ear candy /  creative applications

summertime

The summer of 2012 forges on into the month of August.
This is usually the hottest time of year. Not a favorite of mine.
I have escaped to Maine and deluxe locales along the New England coast
many Augusts in years past. Currently residing in the desert southwest,
August at home brings me dry heat with no humidity, hot sun, and the
need to stay hydrated. I am becoming a desert dweller.

Progress continues in the rebuilding of this website.
We are thankful for CP ,  our newest team member/designer
with his incredible talent and creativity in moving this project forward.

more to come in the weeks ahead !

California Dreamin'

We just returned from a marvelous vacation to the Santa Barbara area.
Fantastic reunion with old pals and lots of beach time.
I had never visited Ojai , and now I want to live there because it is absolutely
breathtakingly beautiful. Thanks to our gracious friends in Cali.. We luv ya !

J U N E 2012

Reggae in the Desert festival yesterday all day. lots of excellent music from all
and a mellow crowd . vending , dancing , partying in the Nevada sun temps
pushing 106* had everyone feeling ire. we had a great time and today is recoup.
Looking forward to this week / progress on our website / marketing /  etc.

. . . I listened to ' Boys Life" through headphones tonight. in the dark.
more than once. each listen revealed more sonic delight.
Thanks LK for your technical advice and for your musical inspiration.

J U N E 2012

 We have been lucky to have found a new webmaster / tech - director / designer
for mongomon.com . This has been confirmed within the last couple of days and I am
elated  by this news . New ideas in marketing , as well as  progress in updating our site are underway.
There have been several setbacks in production concerning promotional videos for the current
album project and some if not most of these setbacks were unforseen during the last few months.
Hopefully ,  a brand new era for mongomon.com begins. Forward on !

May 18 2012  it is a blustery day in the suburbs. bright sunshine  blue sky and wind gusts pushing 50mph.
dry desert wind. howling outside the window . safe indoors, out of the elements as the wind roars,  I am
reminded of the crashing waves of the Atlantic / bashing the beaches of the National Seashore Cape Cod.
I am missing my team member Fojammi. He was a major contribution on so many levels . Creatively, 
Technically, Artistically.
understandably , mongomon.com  begins a new phase slowly ,  gathering knowledge ,  gaining strength ,
welcoming new team players and co producers / artists / techs  to our family.
I am optimistic and upbeat . networking locally.

fojammi

I am saddened by the news of the passing of
Dan Stefacek  aka  "Fojammi". He was the webmaster and designer for
mongomon.com . He is greatly missed.
His battle with cancer is finally over, although his high spirit, abundant sense of wit,
and artistic contributions live on ! Rest in Peace my bruddah.

SPRING 2012

  we've been promoting and marketing  and learning and working and posting and calling, and thinking, and laughing with the new work.
all is well .
 stay positive y ' all 

N E W RECORD IS FINALLY R E L E A S E D !

Whew !  mongomon.com was hoping to have our new album released
during DECEMBER 2011, but . . . well you know.  We just needed a bit
more time to make it sound just so much better . And it does, Ladies and Gentlemen.
The title of the new work is  mongomon.  I thought we'd make our album name as simple
and hopefully  as  memorable a record as we could. This music is performed /
written/ mixed/ and mastered from spring > summer  > fall  and during early winter
of 2011 , with many good blessings and "happy accidents" cheering us on along the
ever changing path ; twisting and turning while   spawning inspiration bathed in musical joy.

JANUARY 2012

. . . new beginnings .  mongomon  moves west.