The terrible two’s evoke memories of the dreaded sound of NO, an utterance with the frequency of summer southern humidity. Toddlers and stubbornness travel in pairs. The egocentric world roars as desire develops in little people. Aware of their power, they grab everything in sight as if they were the creators of the world. Having the freedom to move without restraint is shown to be an essential human drive. But so too is frustration.
Little people learn quickly to say NO when they don’t like being separated from or blocked. They experience the world as restrictive and they don’t like it.
The larger power, a more ominous Goliath that seeks to frustrate unbridled movement, clashes with the tiny David. And in this epic war for survival, Goliath always wins, one way or another.
Reflect on this, and you’ll realize how one’s self-image is affected by such a marvelous self-made movie, and how it contributes to our default buttons as we balance separateness with intimacy, self-assurance with the need for love and approval.
With this quest in mind, I began to ask people what it felt like to say NO, to reject a request that goes against their value system, to turn away from gossip, to avoid another family member’s drama, to honor a prior commitment by passing up a better invitation, to deny a personal favor, to forsake a friend’s need for a higher need, to end an unhealthy friendship, to say NO to a worn out lifestyle, a behavior that was self-abusive, or a job that was no longer fulfilling.
The answers followed a universal pattern. No one really likes to say No.  We like to say YES because we are made for service. We are hard wired to help.
But that’s not the only motive. We also fear the response – the consequence – the outer power that still appears to be larger than us. We fear for our reputation, our image, our stature, our inability to survive. It’s as if without thinking, we draw from the well of life as a two year old and we ready ourselves for a struggle over where the line is drawn. Without much thought about whom I need to help more, myself or the other, whom I need to serve more, myself or the other, we automatically default to what we SHOULD do. We take one of the following courses by either 1) avoiding an answer, 2) saying yes and aborting the process by not following through, 3) saying yes and harboring bitterness, or 4) saying yes out of guilt, fear, an overly inflated power to save or a highly developed sense of obligation.
While I suspected that NO would not be easy for people, more eye opening was what people did after they said NO! The word always carried an explanation, judgment or self-incrimination.
It appeared to me that when we do say NO, we have to give a commentary on the reasons. We explain that we can’t because of (fill in the blank) and make sure we defend the response so as to NOT offend the other. To simply say NO or NO THANK YOU is never sufficient. A wall of explanation goes up immediately.
And then there’s the other side of NO. It’s when we say NO out of a history of co-dependency or if you will, a pattern of saying yes when we didn’t want to but were addicted to the all encompassing “need to be loved” and “fear of being abandoned”. We carry and harbor resentment over a history of saying YES and it eventually takes us down to the hell of “door matting.”
But when trampled on enough, the toddler roars fowl!  The “I’ve had it” victim finds a renewed sense of power and rage is created.
What could be a simple NO becomes, “No, I will not clean up your mess.”  “No, I will not continue to enable that behavior.” No, I will not be your crutch or your drug or your savior or your slave.” “No, I will not forgive your drinking anymore. I’m done.” “No, it’s not me, it’s you who are the problem.”
Notice a pattern? It’s not just a NO. It’s a judgmental NO. It’s a NO that has to somehow put the other person down, punish the other, make known that it’s not just NO.  It’s a NO that is steeped in resentment and past wounds – either felt for the event/person of the moment or more often and more sinister,  the painful “door matting” of our past.
Let’s face the hard fact. It’s just hard to say “no” and leave it at that. We have been programmed early on to either justify the raising of our drawbridge because we fear the consequences of NO, or worse, dropping it on those to whom in the past we have given of ourselves and whom now we call invaders and robbers.
Often underneath the fear of saying NO is a core and unconscious message. Because we already have to live with certain inadequacies, saying NO amplifies the pronouncement that we can’t meet another’s needs but SHOULD be able to. Saying NO, instead of being a simple acceptance of one’s personal limits and responsibility, becomes a shaming signal that sets off feelings from long ago that one should always be there, on alert, available, giving, helping, fixing, supporting, providing, enabling, correcting, or worse, used to medicate someone else’s pain. By saying NO, we admit that we are limited and at times powerless. And so the explanation, even the judgments, helps to cover the feeling of inadequacy.
Ironically, NO’S with judgment in the wings are indeed a way of getting back at and making others feel inadequate – of throwing bitterness around, of making sure that NEW boundaries are reset by clearly stating “not anymore.”
Yet those who re-discover the power of NO without explanation or judgment, a simple word that carries more force than any Iron Man or Thor could ever muster – find that it need not come from the bottle of a two year old, but from the interior reign of an adult - a force that is rooted in one’s core self-assurance.
Think about the times when you neither fought, defended, lashed out, judged nor explained. You simply said NO and in doing so, said YES to your own needs; you felt taller, walked more confidently, and slept better. You may have lost friends and the world you had grown accustomed to, but in the moment of saying, you knew the end was actually the beginning. With a simple NO, we are saying that we “don’t want to” and we discover that the sky isn’t going to fall.
Keeping the NO clean and simple cleanses and simplifies one’s life.
It’s not that saying NO makes life any more pleasurable. But it does make it more authentic, more self-aware and self-assured. In keeping NO’S clean, we believe that others will get what they need from a power greater than us. And that is the essence of true faith. When we say respectfully and joyfully, NO, I AM NOT GOD, we applaud our humanity and enjoy peace.
These are the times when we speak most deeply from integrity – when we respond to the world through a simple word that means we neither live in, for, nor through others – for we are all passing through this world.
But that we do live in, for and through ourselves and in our own unique world; only in our confidence in and not hatred of - a larger power within us – can we find a resting place.

My Symphony Of Life 19

My featured guest on this show is Leslie Grinnell of Eddie’s Wheels (www.eddieswheels.com). This episode is in memory of Daisy and you’ll hear more about her in this show. Many of you know that I love animals. With that being said, I’m an animal Advocate. I’m always staying updated to what’s going on with animals. Over the past 20 years, Leslie has personally cared for a succession of disabled dogs including Buddha, Hardy (a Doberman with Wobblers), Autumn (a Dobe with spondylosis), Toby (Rotti mix with torn ACLs), Nick (boxer with spinal fracture), and Nelix (a 3 legged cat). Founder, Eddie built his first dog cart for Buddha, his companion Doberman in 1989.  A mechanical engineer by trade, he brings his lifetime experience as mechanical designer, welder and inventor to the task of designing mobility cart that supports pets in a bio-mechanically sound way.

What they offer:

Standard Rear Wheel Cart-

 For pets with normal strength in their front legs and shoulders,  who need assistance in the rear

 Carts are sized by dog’s weight, age, activity level, and exercise terrain

 Optional stirrups available for dogs with neurological deficits that cause foot dragging or knuckling

Neutral-Balanced Carts-

• For dogs with forelimb or shoulder pain or weakness, wobblers syndrome, degenerative myelopathy, elbow dysplasia, hyper-extension of the carpus

• By moving the wheels slightly forward and using an adjustable support strap under the chest, the yoke will rise slightly off the shoulders, making the cart weightless for the animal.

Fully Counterbalanced Carts

• All standard carts can be upgraded to counterbalanced by the acquisition of new axles, brace bars and a support strap.

• For pets with serious forelimb deficits will remove up to 40% of the weight borne on the front legs.   For dogs with advanced DM,  cervical IVDD, osteo-arthritis.

The Variable Balance Cart

• The full counterbalance position, with the wheels all the way toward the center of the cart, will take up to 40% of the dog’s weight off the front legs.

• As the wheel is shifted further back, the dog bears a larger percentage of its own weight on his front legs. At the standard position, about 5% of the dog’s weight is added to front legs, making the cart track perfectly with the dog’s forward motion.

• Appropriate for dogs recovering strength in the forelimbs following surgery or FCE, or dogs with degenerative myelopathy, taking the place of upgrades.

Removable Saddle Option

The removable saddle option is available for dogs for which lifting the dog into a cart is difficult or painful.

• Giant dogs such as Great Danes, Giant Mastiffs etc.

• Dogs with weak or painful forelimbs

• Clinic carts – removable saddles can be reversed to use for males and females

They also offer Hospital Equipment.

In the ten years that Eddie’s Wheels has been building custom mobility carts for disabled animals, we have personally evaluated, measured and fitted hundreds of disabled animals for their carts.  We have noticed the dramatic change that occurs when an animal is properly supported on its pelvic floor in a healthy normal stance.

I hope that you’ve enjoyed My Symphony Of Life- Pet’s - Barkussions.

Today our featured guest on The Tour Bus Music Show is Alexis Brown and Jason White from Knoxville, Tennessee’s Straight Line Stitch. In this interview T. Mic and Ana discuss with Alexis and Jason everything you want to about the band. From it’s inception to their extensive & rigorous touring schedule and their newest album, The Fight Of Our Lives. We go behind the scenes and talk about the bands creative process in crafting their dynamic songs. We also get a peek at the the personal lives of Alexis and Jason’ life off the road.

This hard working band has worked their way through the battlefield of night clubs, theaters, major concerts, and the rigors of the road to gain the respect of rock fans across the country and fans from around the world. They have shared the stage with some of rocks greatest acts and dominated on headlining shows all over the U.S.

The line up of Straight Line Stich is: Alexis Brown - Vocals, Seth Thacker - Guitar, Jason White - Bass, Kanky Lora - Drums, Kris Norris - Guitar

Kick Back and Get ready To Rock!

You can connect with Straight Line Stitch At:
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/straightlinestitch
Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/straightlinestitch
Reverbnation: http://www.reverbnation.com/straightlinestitchofficial


They may be coming to your town. Tour Schedule:

• Friday May 18

Inner Circle Entertainment Complex  Cincinnati, OH | 8:00PM

• Saturday May 19

Sarge's Tap Danville, IL | 4:30PM

• Sunday May 27

Southport Hall Jefferson, LA | 8:00PM

Tuesday May 29

World Famous Celtic Irish Pub Pascagoula, MS | 8:00PM

• Tuesday  June 5

Dirty Dog Bar Austin, TX | 7:00PM  

Everywhere I turn, I hear about relational drama. It’s either “I don’t do drama,” “too much drama for me” or “she’s a drama queen.” Not only have I heard it used in melodramatic tones. I’ve walked into the trap.
For all of its’ negative connotations, RD (relational drama) is an energy source, a thruster for take offs and a fuel for many a gossip circle.
I have entertained a mix of reactions toward this type of drama, from bothered to bewildered – enhanced by the lack of an agreed upon understanding.
Like a Sherlock without the luxury of a Watson, I have probed many people for their understanding of RD and all I manage to extract are illustrations rather than definitions. People can tell when its’ going on, but few are able to understand the source or the purpose.
Often described as heavy, burdensome, draining, lacking rationale and filled with tragedy, heaves and sighs, RD makes the movie “Imitation of Life” pale in comparison.
There is, however, a strain that runs throughout every illustration. And it has to do with power, or the lack thereof.
RD seems to always unfolds it’s napkin at the table of insecurity and low self-possession. When people are at a loss, either of self-discipline, self-control, self-direction, those at the table, or anywhere nearby, are called like firemen to not only put out their desperate internal fires of self-deprecation, but to give of their own water supply.
Not just manifesting insecurity, it seeks to find a source from which to drink, a well that will quench the thirst for safety. RD is steeped in a default fear of a meaningless existence.
RD arises out of one’s insecurity with self, limits of self and acceptance of self. When my life lacks meaning and purpose, I then have to find a way to buffer myself – a way to compensate for my deficiencies. And what better way to prop myself up than to bring another person down? What better way to make myself feel better than to make someone else feel worse? What better way to deflect my faults than through the insidious escalation of another’s?
Such might be a rational behavior if the object of one’s gratification needs were not a human being who is being asked to give of his or her life force in order to sustain the insatiable quest.
The antithesis to charity and compassion, RD breeds contempt, resentment, bitterness and guilt. It feeds on escalation of emotion but finds only a partial satisfaction from the other.
Like a vampire seeking a constant supply of blood, so too does RD.
Simply reflect on bullying in school by kids who believe security is found by taking it from another, schemes by financial wizards who use other people’s money  to garnish their wages, marriages that “tit for tat” with “you did this” responded by “you did that,” friends who play a game of put downs instead of pull ups, battering husbands whose greatest source of self-regulation is through physical abuse, drug addicts who blame the world for their problems and always have a circumstance with which to explain their fallen nature.
RD is a world of take, take and more take. And those who fall prey to it find that with enough practice, such a pattern can take root and spread.
It’s a disease of extraordinary proportion. Our lack of ease (disease), our lack of comfort, our lack of assuredness leads us to do what has been done since the beginning of time. We violate another. We become violent – verbally, emotionally or physically. The tragedy is that we are not seeking a war victory or even a battle victory. In the fight itself, we are filled with enough renewed energy until the next shoe comes off.
Violence begets violence as RD begets RD.
RD is the result of a perceived lack of oxygen to the soul, which leads us to grab the person closest to us and in that moment of desperation, seek to take a bit of theirs.
Even more demeaning to the human person is the awareness that with enough struggle, the person we’re seeking oxygen from, instead of personalizing and feeling threatened, will start fighting for their rights and the negative emotions escalate.
There is nothing more forceful than an insecure person who knows where to push the trigger of “you’re not good enough” in another and releases a surge of reactions that serve to bolster shame – an atmosphere of toxic fumes that engulfs every participant, creating a web of confusion.
To say that drama can captivate is one thing. To allow one’s soul to be captured by RD is yet another. For RD feeds on confused interpersonal boundaries by mixing the “I” with the “You”. There are no chairs on the stage of relational drama and people are constantly walking into each other.
This leaves me wondering, how can one be freed from the grip of RD? What happens to someone who plants the spear into the ground of his or her existence, who places a chair on the stage of life, sits in it and and simply says to the world, “I want to sit in my own chair, thank you very much. I don’t want to sit in yours or for you to sit in mine. I want a relational drama-free zone.”
To sit in one’s own chair, rather than weaken one’s power, actually expands it. And one begins to be freed.
Freed from blaming the world for one’s lack of power, from the advertising master that says wearing this perfume will attract hot men, from believing that the new body building routine will make one more attractive to women, from comparing one’s world to another’s, from the half truth that money will create happiness, from thinking that someone else is going provide salvation, from blaming someone for being successful and from relationships that build nothing but fast moving interstates enclosed by stone walls.
I may not be the best at it, but I have learned to sniff out RD in the same way a dog senses the coming of a stranger. Would that I could bark as loud.
If low self-esteem is the fuel for RD, then the water hydrant must be filled with self-awareness, self-evaluation, self-direction, self-soothing and ultimately, self-acceptance – born of flesh and human error but made whole by the ability to move beyond a power struggle.
It’s been called names – The Peace of Christ, Serenity, Enlightenment, to name a few.
I call it creating one’s own meaning given one’s life circumstances, playing the hand dealt, becoming self-possessed.
This attitude, while a narrow pathway, leads to peace and helps us navigate through gift of everyday living rather than script it, direct it, cast it, orchestrate it, star in it or write the reviews.
Life is a great play already. There’s no need to do any more than enjoy one’s own daily show in one’s daily chair – allowing everyone else to do the same.

Please join me in welcoming Johanna Cook to the show! We’re going to talk to her to find out about her love of cooking. Johanna is showing us busy moms that with just a few basic skills and simple ingredients, making great meals for your family and friends IS possible everyday of the week! You can visit her website at www.mommacuisine.com.

On upcoming My Symphony Of Life Episodes

we will be bringing you more interviews on:

• Entrepreneurs/Mompreneurs

• Authors

• Cooking

• Crafts

• Parenting

• Wellness/Beauty

• Reviews

We will also provide additional content around the holidays to help make them all that more special.

All of our writing, poetry and journaling tips will be provided for you on our blog at www.mysymphonyoflife.com and www.audiosmaximus.com.

Our website has received a bit of a facelift and are currently making even more upgrades for you, our viewers and listeners conveinence. It's is back up and available for you at: www.mysymphonyoflife.com

Thank you so much for listening to our podcasts and reading our blogs! We value you all and are happy you have become a part of “The Nation”!

In this episode The Tour Bus Music Show is stopping by the “Jazz Lounge” with an interview and music with the extraordinary Matt Cusson.

Matt is the keyboardist for Brian McKnight and is an award-winning singer/songwriter and pianist in his own right. Ana and I sit down to talk with this gifted self-taught musician and get a picture of the man behind the music. We’ll also talk about his musical influences, such as Stevie Wonder, James Taylor, Djavan, Miles Davis, and John Mayer, just to name a few.

A few interesting facts about Matt:

• In 2009 Matt won (by unanimous vote) the John Lennon Songwriting Contest's top annual prize - the Maxell Song of the Year - for his jazz ballad "One of Those Nights".
• 3 time winner of the amateur night competition at the legendary Apollo Theater
• That song won the Billboard Songwriting Award in the Best Jazz Song category, and came in second in the International Songwriting Competition.
• He’s also performed with, including Stevie Wonder, James Taylor, the Roots, Babyface, and Javier Colon.
• He’s performed with Brian McKnight on "Live with Regis and Kelly"
• He was a featured performer on the international "Michael Jackson - Man In The Mirror" tour in 2010.
• Perhaps more inspiring is his constant effort to share his talent by supporting various charities, such as the Susan G. Komen Foundation, Songs of Love, Defenders for Children, Hillcrest Educational Center and Community Resources for People With Autism, as well as his local food pantry.

We hope that you enjoy the show as much as we’ve enjoyed talking with Matt.

You can finds out more information about Matt Cusson at: http://www.mattcusson.com/ and http://www.reverbnation.com/mattcusson

On this episode of The Tour Bus Music Show we have the pleasure of talking to Singer/Songwriter and the “Original Freedom Child” Misty Gonzales. Her latest cd is “Rock and Roll Freedom Show”. Her music has been heard on television shows such as the Nickelodeon Network - "Degrassi", MTV - “The Hills” and “Tough Love”. Her songs can also be heard in films such as Universal - “Bring It On 5 Fight to the Finish” - Gatlin Films - "Beauty 24".

She’s also a Partner of FREEDOM CHILD ENTERTAINMENT This company is an independent record label, a partnership between media mogul Tom Wilson and Singer/Songwriter Misty Gonzales. They are involved in various charities around the world. Speaking of her travels, we’ll go in depth of her 2^nd trip to Haiti, how she and Tom Wilson are making a great contribution to the youth there with their “Freedom To Dream” project and her experiences during the trip. We will also be going behind the scenes in her musical career on how she has become such a powerful force in independent music. We'll talk about her Rock N Roll Freedom Show and the experience of attending one of these live shows.

She enjoy’s hearing from all of her freedom children at her website: http://www.mistyfreechild.com/. You can also find Rock & Roll Freedom Show on iTunes - http://smarturl.it/MistyGonzales. Thank you so much for listening to the Tour Bus Music Show!

Today we have the pleasure of speaking to Gretchen Baker who’s the co owner of Baby Gassy Gooma, Gooma Models and Fashion Friends Club

She’s also an author, clothing designer, doll maker and a successful female entrepreneur. I like Gretchen’s quote "Our mistakes, our failures, our poor choices don’t have to keep us from our God-given destiny. It’s not about how you've started, it’s about how you finish". We’ll hear more about this from Gretchen.

We have an announcement to make in regard to My Symphony Of Life. T.Mic and I have been thinking about the direction that we would like to take in regard to this podcast. There are several formats that have been on our mind. I understand that previous posts have been quite long to listen to. You see the average person has a span of approx. 30 minutes of driving to and from work in which a podcast can be heard. With that of course it can be heard once you get into work. We’ve decided to break the podcast into different sections which will start with this podcast. With that in mind will bring you a weekly podcast which will be broken down in segments. These segments will be broken down by You Being The Conductor You Were Meant Be In Your Life!

Be the conductor you were meant to be in your life by learning with the content that we share with you. We are on this journey with you and in such we shall provide creativity, connection, and a way to empower yourself in strength, growth, knowledge and motivation that will help you in all areas of your life. Let’s take these steps together.

Note one- Interviews that will be held with authors, life coaches, professional bloggers, and mompreneur’s.

Note two- Cooking- talking with those who have a passion of sharing their love of food including sharing tid bits for your kitchen that are must haves!

Note three-Crafts- We’ll share craft ideas as well as video’s on our blog also.

Note four-Parenting- explores the issues of parenting including being a step-mom to journey of single parenting.

Note five- Reviews- Here we’ll talk about products, items, book and movie previews. Not only can people read the post on our website but new customers can also hear about it as well to grow your brand in other media.

On a side note our writing, poetry and journaling segments will be only available on our website.

Thank you so much for taking the time to listen to our podcast as well as reading our blog. Thank you again Gretchen Blank for taking the time to talk to us here on My Symphony Of Life podcast.

Until next time, be the conductor you were meant to be in your life

Ana

“The story of Easter is the story of God’s wonderful window of divine surprise.” Carl Knudsen

There is such a temptation to intellectualize and even materialize the world of spirit.

We seek to understand. We long to see with our eyes and feel with our hands.

But the world of spirit, which is the invisible foundation of healthy mental attitudes (admittedly, my opinion), cannot be held, touched, seen or even understood through an intellectual pursuit.

It can only be gently accepted by a humble pilgrim who knows that life is but a short yet wonderful gift held in dignity – in and of itself.

The world of spirit is a world of darkness and light, joy and pain, beauty and ugliness. The world of spirit is indeed, a mixed blessing, a power that cannot be contained or owned – it can only be received with open hands and allowed to be blown away by the winds of time and need.

The world of spirit makes no distinction between the glamorous and the deformed. Each person on the wide spectrum of humanity and in the divine’s choice of time and space, is endowed with the power of healing and the gift of teaching. We learn from all people; we are recreated through each relationship, we take from all we meet and we give to all we encounter. Such is the power of human connectedness.

The season of Easter is a world of spirit – a time where the window of one’s soul is opened anew with an anticipation of divine surprise. It is a rich surprise party that celebrates a deep and abiding trust that all is well, and all will be well, even if our physical world tells us differently.

It is a time when joy comes, not in discovering one’s next plan or chapter, not in finding answers to one’s problems and concerns; but rather, in the total dedication of the will to that of the Living, Breathing, ever Loving Author of one’s precious life.

It is to pray the powerful yet simple prayer, Spirit of the Living God, fall afresh on me. Melt me. Mold Me. Fill me. Use me. Spirit of the Living God, fall afresh on me.

It is a time when we once again, choose to accept and authentically reveal our inherent worth and dignity. With such a renewal, a baptism of worth, we are committing to question the false idols we have created in our vain attempt to find security in this passing world. Even with hesitation, shame and fear, we know the truth and we seek to live it – regardless of what the worldly powers say.

Like the blooming azaleas, it is a window of opportunity that comes around once each year – a season when we live each day more aware of the spiritual mission of Jesus, whether we choose to be companions of his or not – a mission that is steeped in non-violence, justice and peace – a mission that in practically every way, is counter to what we hear, see, taste, feel and long for.

It is a world that scandalizes in its embrace of those we hate and scorn – a world that undermines all that we thought to hold dear and raises up all that we held in disdain.

The Easter world is not just any spirit. It has a clear and unambiguous mission that disavows any association with violence, injustice or war. Yet, it moves as an untamed wind – at once a well defined and narrow pathway that paradoxically has no boundaries – a messy, sticky, murky unchartered and unscientific journey- a constant invocation, a request that we be “shown the way”, that we then choose to “walk the pathway shown” and that we “trust the journey more than the goal – one step at a time.”

It is a journey of stepping on injustice and picking up people , resisting glamour and enhancing authenticity, taking off the iron mask of wealth and worldly power and exposing the true self of simplicity, shutting down the world of “doing for the sake of finding love and acceptance” and opening up the world of “being for the sake of authenticity and validation.”

It is a world where all decisions are made in the interest of the anawim, the poor and downtrodden, the invisible, the unjustly treated, the voiceless. It is a world of balancing love of self with love of others, of dignifying the poor within myself and the poor that lives among my spiritual brothers and sisters.

There is probably no other time in our history where the world of the Easter Spirit was more needed more than now.

For we have become drugged by the half truths of headlines whose other half is often buried in the back section weeks later; we have become addicted to the poisonous verdicts of self-declared judges of cable news that feed our drive to create enemies; we have become possessed by the lure of unending technological advances that destabilizes our sense of worth; we have become shamed by the false gods of both corporate advertisers and corporate preachers who feed our self-hatred with “you are not enough as you are” and “your diverse pathways to divine fulfillment are disingenuous.”

It will take nothing less than the Spirit of Easter, nothing more powerful that of the Resurrection itself to stand against these worldly empires.

Spirit of the Living God, fall afresh on me. Melt me. Mold me. Fill me. Use me. Spirit of the Living God, fall afresh on me.

Would that this season be a time of renewed melting, molding, filling and using, I believe a wonderful window of divine surprises awaits us – as well as a further glimpse into the Kingdom of God.

In this episode of The Tour Bus Music Show we sit down with Ekotren Guitarist Keith Finnell. Along with featuring four rocking songs from Ekotren, Keith takes us on a journey from the beginnings of the band to present and talks with us about their growing pains touring, recording experiences, and how the band keeps churning out great music despite that challenges of the modern recording industry and the lackluster economy that all bands are dealing with these days.

Listening to the band's music on ReverbNation is what first called our attention to them. Their playing style along with the voracity of their music grabs you by the bawls and starts slamming your head against the stage. That being said there is also quite a bit of diversity within the songs themselves. One minute you are listening to pounding hurricane of hard rock and the next you are in the eye of the storm with acoustic guitars and pristine harmony vocals and then it takes off into a grandiose mix of powerful chords and melodies and then before you get your bearings it's back to ripping you head off with the pounding drum and guitar assault.

The band has been touring in recent times with groups such as Staind, Chevelle, ill nino, (hed) pe, Powerman 5000, Straight Line Stitch, and Diecast. Their most recent release, The Dead Of Night was produced by Paul Trust and achieved an overall tighter, aggressive, and professionally produced album than it's predecessor. That being said, 2008's Light the Fire was and remains a very good album in it's own right.

We hope you enjoy the interview. You can find more information about Ekotren and purchase their swag by visiting the links below and the ones mentioned in the podcast.

http://www.reverbnation.com/ekotren

http://www.facebook.com/EkoTren

http://www.myspace.com/ekotren

http://www.last.fm/music/Ekotren

http://www.amazon.com/Ekotren/e/B001LH3WYM