Well, here we are…  It’s been ages since I last posted.  Long story short, SXSW wrecked my brain and I’m just now finding myself again.  As Bono says in Yahweh, “always dark before the dawn”.  

The dawn is certainly here.  The Year of the Dragon is upon us and it’s power is unmistakable.  I feel like I’m drawing from a different energy.  One whose depth is immeasurable, but significant.  I’m excited to see where this leads me and if I can capture all the potential that I’m feeling right now.  Certainly Sunday was a great start!

Sunday night, I was named the winner of the Ultimate Singer-Songwiter Competition @ Walt-Astoria!!!  This is the very first place I ever started playing open mics in NYC and where I started to develop a good chunk of the songs that make up The Life & Times Of’s first album, “Gallows and Glory”. 

I also just released my first music video which you can find below!  I’m super proud of this little song, “Emerald Eyes”.  It was born out of my new love for the uke and represents my first time working with both GarageBand and iMovie.  I had absolutely no clue what I was getting myself into either time and with the help of great friends like Alma my co-director, we created something that I think is very special.

The Year of the Dragon is here, my friend.

“Emerald Eyes” written and performed by Cedric Lamar, directed by Cedric Lamar and Alma Elizabeth Hicks.  Falling in love has never looked so damn cute!  Please watch and pass it along to someone you love.  Happy Valentine’s Day!

For years I had a dream of being able to jump into a van, tour the nation, and share the songs that I’ve written with anyone willing to listen and who had the heart enough to care about how our stories intertwined.  On Tuesday, March 8th, that dream will become a reality as I hit the road with fellow musicians and friends Lawrence & Leigh.  The icing on the cake it that we’ll be doing it all for a good cause with Can’Did Touring.  

In a day and age where we are constantly pounded in the face with the likes of Charlie Sheen and whoever the next celebrity breakdown the tabloids decide to push in our face, I cherish the opportunity to give back the communities that have also chosen to take me in and listen to a poor midwest boy via brooklyn, ny and his guitar.

If you’re in Charlottesville, Ashville, Charlotte, Chapel Hill, Nashville, or Austin, come say “hi” and bring a can of food while you’re at it!  In return, we’ll play pretty songs for you and hopefully send you home with a tune in your head and a hop in your step.

Cheers!

A Goodbye Poem - I wrote this a while back and today I dedicate to the people of Arizona that, like me, are stunned that a person could feel that violence is their only option…

This is the story of a boy and his gun

Who longed to be remembered for something he’d done

Who turned years of neglect into an army of one

And today was the day he’d burst like the sun

Yesterday a stranger and tomorrow he’s gone

True fame for a second is second to none

The countdown is over, the day’s finally come

The only unfinished business - A Goodbye Poem

Goodbye Mom & goodbye Dad

Goodbye friends I never had

Goodbye world & goodbye God

Whether you exist or not

Words to the page kept coming and coming

And the tune in his head kept humming & humming

Can there be such a thing as too little, too late

When given the choice to destroy or create?

So this is the story of a boy and his gun

Who woke up one morning and then wrote a song

Traded his gun for a mic, his rage for the stage

Took a deep breath, and then blew them away

He blew them away

He blew them away

(Now what do you have to say?)

He sang for forgiveness, He sang for his sins

He sang for the hopeless, regret, and revenge

His voice cried out like a natural disaster

The beat of his heart pounded faster and faster

Cause the number of lives that he could touch, change, or save

Makes the gun seem so foolish, and the pen seem so brave

The gun, the sword, the bomb, the knife

The thought, the word, that moment, this life

Our shame, our guilt, their game, their rules

Our pride, our joy, our boys, our girls

Some day, some sign, some way, dumb luck

The verse, the bridge, the chorus, the hook

Can there be such a thing as too little, too late

When given the choice to destroy or create?

So this is the story of a boy and his gun

Who woke up one morning and then wrote a song

Traded his gun for a mic, his rage for the stage

Took a deep breath, and then blew them away

He blew them away

He blew them away

(Now what do you have to say?)

Tonight, December 23rd, I’m gonna be playing some songs that I never get to play anymore, and a few new ones that don’t quite make it into the full band’s repertoire.  It’s also a good chance for me to practice playing solo again before I tour down to Austin, TX for the South by Southwest music festival.  Of course I’ve played solo many times before, but after sharing the stage with these beasts in the band, it’s gonna feel somewhat lonely up there.  No worries though.  I’m a professional and will find a way to rock no matter what:-)

The holiday season always creeps up on me.  Somehow I feel unprepared every year.  This year in particular I have so much to be thankful for.  Even though part of my brain is already looking to January and beyond, this seems like a perfect time to pause, reflect, and rejoice.

Cheers!  

Tomorrow morning the band and I are going back into the studio!  We got 2 songs that just must be recorded a.s.a.p.  “Who Really Knows” and “Breakdown”.  We think that these are the singles that we didn’t get to put on the record, and that will hopefully be the tunes that will put us on the map in a major way.  This will be only my 2nd time going into the studio, but I already feel more comfortable.  Maybe it’s cause these songs feel so tight already that it’s just a matter of going in and knocking them out.  Of course I’m a little nervous, but I’d find it strange if I wasn’t.  I also have a strange feeling that something big could potentially happen.  I hope tomorrow is the beginning of that something.

New Song - WHO REALLY KNOWS @ Arlene’s Grocery, NYC

Can’t you see… You’re in love with me… You just don’t know it yet

Our stars have crossed… We’re no longer lost… You just don’t know it yet

The CMJ Music Festival was last week here in NYC, and we were honored to be a part of the Everything Independent showcase at Spike Hill.  There were so many great bands to see, cool people to meet, and drinks to be had in so little time, but we made the most of it:-)  My personal favorites were the much anticipated, The Travelling Band, from Manchester, UK, and the new band Bad Books from Atlanta via Brooklyn. 

We made a lot of friends and connections and can’t wait to do it again next year.  In a review of the showcase, we were labeled “TV on the Radio meets Kings of Leon”.  Both super successful bands with unique and devoted fan bases.  We’ll take it!