So Blessed!!!!

Hey world, it's Neil T. aka Cuntry Boi aka the newly crowned King of Fashion and Soul.

It's been a while since I've written a blog but it's been for good reason. I was in the studio with my homeboy's Fake Money and At-Will working on 8 songs(2 covers, 4 originals, 2 remixs) that I'm going to be releasing over the next few weeks, while still working on my first acoustic EP.
I been busy not to mention that Team Totton drop our lastest video 'I Hate It'

We were able to premiere it last Weds to a great audience in the TONY lounge at New World Stages. Speaking of New World Stages let me just say that I am one blessed boi. From now until whenever every Weds night you can come check me out performing in the lounge for 'Acoustic Soul' with my boi Andrew Kissel on the guitar. Weds 7-8pm TONY Lounge, 

340 W. 50th St btwn 8th and 9th

SAVE THE DATE: May 9th, 2012. 10:30pm. I will be doing my first big artist showcase. 

Details to come.

I'm sure you ready to know more but I'll leave you wanting to know more.

Don't forget ya'll life is short. Live each day like it's ya last and make sure the ones you love know that you love them.

RIP Whitney Houston

The Light of the Sun

 In the wake of the digital age and auto-tuning (I'm guilty) it's refreshing to go see an artist perform live and get a better performance than the recording.
Jill Scott brought the sun to shine on a rainy night in Newark with her "Light of the Sun" tour. With 8 albums under her belt and a string of hits like "A Long Walk," "Golden," and "Hate On Me,"  Ms. Scott has something to offer everyone.

Ms. Scott's music is some of the most emotional and heartfelt music being produced these days. "I'm a storyteller first!" she confessed. "Most of my songs are 97% true." she joked.
The Light Of The Sun album touches on the loss of her baby's father while still pregnant which produced the painful yet healing song "Hear My Call."  Then falling into the trap that many of us go through on "So Gone (What My Mind Says) she deals with the catch-22 of a former lovers "diamond chip dick" *not my words*
Singing through most of her catalogue with an all male band and three male back up singers. I could not help but notice that Ms. Scott is a woman  who is in control and definitely not afraid to show that she is running thangs. She own her flaws and admits to not having it all as most people might assume she does.
Yet she remains "Blessed" as she sings "Woke up feeling fresh to def, I'm so blessed."
That's why we love her. Jill Scott has been through the pains of life and remains optimistic about what tomorrow may bring and keeps that faith so that we can bask in the light.

Do What Matters

"Remembering that I'll be dead soon is the most important tool I've ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything – all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure - these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart.- Steve Jobs, 2005"

1. I will die someday.

2. When that day comes what will matter to me?

At this moment all the material stuff seems to not be as important. What matters is that the people in my life know that I love them and am there for them. That I support their dreams and hope but nothing for the best for them. Death is a reality we all will face and while we are alive it is important to not dwell on this reality but to use it as motivation to make the most of our time and energy. 

Steve Jobs didn't solve all of the worlds problems but he did create a smarter way for us to work, listen to music, and communicate. 

If you don't know why you are alive you will never figure out what you need to do. 

I've made up my mind that for better or worse I am an artist. I'm not a suit and tie, nine to five type of guy and whatever that means for my lifestyle I'm willing to accept it. It means I could die without every recieving public recognition but it also means committing to getting my art created and produced by any means necessary. It means not waiting on a patron, donor, or fanbase to take the first step. It means having the faith and courage to speak my truth.

Your "why" for living is calling you.

Face It Fear is the Real Issue

Not to keep bringing up "The Mountaintop" but I have to speak on something that the play mentions that I keeps coming up.

In the play Samuel L. Jackson does a decent job of portraying Martin Luther King but what stood out in the play was the line 'the one thing that makes us the same as humans is that we are all afraid.'

The more I examine reasons why I do what I do I see that fears do have a big role in those choices. Fear can make it so hard to ask that person out on a date. Fear can make it hard to write the first line of a play. Fear keeps some people stuck in jobs they hate for decades.

I know that I won't eradicate fear from my life but I am willing to take up the challenge to face it at every step. Life is too short to take it for granted. 

"He who has a why to live for can bear with almost any how"- Nietzshe

That means if you know why you are alive and what your called to do then you can endure whatever obstacles or fears that step in your way.

I'm taking Action Mrs. Jackson

"Momma don't know what she's going to do, she just going to step out on the word." -Maya Angelou

Life is an act of faith. No one knows what tomorrow will be bring and as much as certain people fight to maintain control. Learning to live a faith is a skill. 

When I was younger my idea of faith was that as long as I wanted something I should take the leap of "faith" and all would work out for the best. Thankfully it did I'm writing these words after all but what age has taught me is that one should learn and gather as much information before making those leaps. Leaping into a game that you know nothing about will not increase your chances of winning its naive.

The say that God helps those that help themselves so here is to getting up, going into the world and learning to look before I take the leap of faith.

Passing The Baton

Last night I was lucky to be able to see "The Mountaintop" by Katori Hall playing at the Bernard Jacobs theater. What I love about live art is that when done right all the assumptions of what you thought it would turn out to be take you on a journey that you didn't even realize was possible.
The play takes place on April 3, 1968 the night before Martin Luther King was assassinated in Memphis, TN. One of the many themes that stuck out for me was "Live by love, die by hate." Time and time again throughout history men that have dared to change the world and strive to make the world a more loving place are often killed by the opposite force of what they preach. Think. Harvey Milk, Malcolm X, Jesus Christ, John F. Kennedy. I don't need to go on but it's an interesting idea.

Evil for better or worse is just a part of the world and no one person can seem to take it down on alone. In the play Martin Luther King played by Samuel L. Jackson pleads with Carrie Mae played by Angela Bassett to call God and tell her that he's not ready to die. "They won't know what to do with out me" he reasons.  Yet in the end Carrie Mae is able to take MLK to the future and show him all the things that will and have happened.
In the final scene Hall crafts a monologue that is a combination of a motivational speech, lecture and sermon. Which are typically one in the same. As the house lights turn the theater into a church/lecture hall the stage version of MLK let's us know that he is passing the baton and anyone of us in the audience can take the baton and continuing running the race that he ran.

Deeper than that  the play tells that we as humans are all afraid.

"Fear is the only thing that we have in common."

Nowhere in my life has this thought been more appropriate. With the right and left fighting to defend their position and staying stubborn willing to compromise. I believe it is only because of fear.
The one thing that gives me solace is that I know one way or another all will balance itself out. For better or worse, I think that the closing of big retailers such as Circuit City, Borders, and Barnes and Nobles can have positive results in the long run. Much like before technology reigned supreme people relied on word of mouth and referrals for decisions. Now with so much content and products being created people are relying more and more on friends and family for keeping up with what's relevant and not just trusting what big business puts on shelves at discounted prices. For the sake of not trying to sound like an economist I will end my theory there and hope you will take my word and go see "The Mountaintop"

Back in The Game

You have to value yourself. You have to trust yourself-Bob Lefsetz


If you don't value yourself and your unique gifts no one will. If you don't believe you can do "it"-whatever it is no one will. After meeting a few new people over the last few weeks and the death of Steve Jobs I'm convinced that if you are doing "it" for the wrong reasons in today's economy the gig is up. 
The allure of fame and fortune are going to be seen as the smoke and mirrors they've always been. If your not in the entertainment game because you truly have something to say get ready because the Idol craze, the X factor, and all these others shows that say they will make you into a star are about to be a thing of the past.

Who will be left standing? 


"Those who wish to sing always find a song" Swedish Proverb.


If you really want to sing. Go sing at a hospital. If you really want to dance. Try going to perform at a orphanage. Right now more than ever the world needs your gift. 
Money has corrupted peoples mind but now with the ones who possess the money running into the night with their treasure leaving the "99%" to clean up the mess it's going to be up to us to figure out ways to express ourselves and not connect the result to financial gain.
This may be the Renaissance we have all been praying for. Stay tuned. "The revolution may be televised.