Everybody say Naples is nice. But I thought it was......

This trip is one that I didn't see coming. A few years ago, a slight miscommunication caused me to miss my flight, which in turn meant that I was a "no show". The Promotor at that time was turned off and wouldn't consider bringing me back. It was a horrible misunderstanding. In this business Promotors talk to each other. So I wasn't surprised when I didn't get booked in Italy for years. So I'm feeling blessed that this gig came through. Thanks to Anna Komninou and GiGi Testo. 

2:48pm

I often talk about these airport bathroom experiences and they're never good. Well, I happened to go in the bathroom thinking that there wouldn't be a lot of guys in there at this time. 

I go in and just as I thought I was the only one. Yay!!!! 

I go to the stall, and no sooner than I unzipped, a man walked in and went to the stall RIGHT NEXT TO MINE!! Whhhyyyyyyyyyy!!!!! Why would he do this? There must be at least 7 empty stalls!! Why must you pee in the one right next to mine? So I start getting all paranoid. "Maybe he's some sort of freaky dude" I thought to myself. So I had a really smart thought. I'll hurry up and pee. I'll just push it out. Ya know? I'm sure you all have tightened your stomach muscles to make your pee come out faster and harder. 

So when I did that, the pee shots reflected off the stall and got all over my shirt and hands. "DAMN!" I thought to myself. And I know the freaky dude saw it. I was so mad at myself. 

But whatever. Worse things have happened. I washed the pee off of my knuckles and fingers, and blotted my crotch area.  I then bought a copy of Ebony magazine with my Shero on the cover(Chaka Khan), and I bought a bottle of water that nearly cost $5.  Sheesh. Airport prices are nuts. Anyway Naples!! Yay!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

5:38pm

I don't remember this coach seat being so roomy. Well anyway, there's a bunch of movies that I can watch that I missed when they were in the theater. For starters there's "Looper" and "Argo". But I'm more excited about watching "Singing In The Rain" and "The Wizard Of Oz" yay!!!!!!!  Don't judge me. I like what I like. LOL

7:29pm

OK. This is my last rant. I promise. 

So I'm sitting in my seat next to a brunette with long hair. She decides to tie her hair up with a little hair tie thingy. Is it ok that she sorta fluffs her hair out first before pinning up? I'm sitting next to her! Does she not realize that her hair stuff is going to get all over me? Dandruff, lice, hair and the like? Am I supposed to not say anything? I got annoyed quick. I tapped on her shoulder. And before I could say a word, she muttered "Oh excuse me." So I grabbed a lock of her hair and pulled it so hard it made her neck snap and her friggin teeth clacked. Well in my mind I did.

Why are people so rude? She actually got a little spicy with me! Well, she didn't say anything but her attitude said it all. 

This is not the time. I just got finished watching the Trayvon Martin case before I got on this plane. Surely I could elbow this woman in the cranium and claim self defense. She did fling her hair on me and I felt threatened. It's not like I shot her dead while she was screaming for her life. It's a simple elbow to the nose to push her nasal cavity back a little. 

I'm kidding. But I was annoyed. Don't judge me. LOL!!!!!!!!!

June 28th 3:16am

I'm in Brussels. My flight leaves in a few hours. I have time to kill. So I go and smell a few colognes. 

Random thought, remember when we all watched MTV? Remember the song "99 Luft Balloons" by Nena? And Joan Jett and the Black Hearts? The only reason I know of those songs is because I watched the video. And they played them frequently. So I even knew the words. This is why I believe in the relevance of visuals and media with respect to music marketing......

10:57pm

When I arrived, GiGi(the Promotor) picked me up and I immediately learned that he's a soul man. No commercial music for this guy. He mentioned Joe Claussell and showed me a tattoo he has of Joe's logo. That's beautiful. I knew I was in good hands. 

I slept in my hotel room and now we're eating in GiGi's cousin's restaurant. The food was made within minutes of ordering. Everything was made with fresh herbs and seasonings. The flavors were dancing around on my palate. The vegetables were fresh. The food kept coming. Even the bread was seasoned. Basil, Pesto, oregano and peppers were everywhere. 

June 29th 5:12pm

Can you believe the restaurants are all closed? They open after 7. So we're headed to McDonalds! LOL. GiGi says that it's better than the American McDonalds. The Italians are a very very proud people. They love their own stuff more than anything. 

8:47pm

I'm in my room, and I can see that the sun is going down. It's beautiful here. The sky seems wider. Even the clouds have more personality here than back home. Sure, there's prostitutes right outside my hotel and graffiti everywhere. But I know Gods touch when I see it. This picture is what I saw from my hotel window.  Do you see Gods hand?

9:57pm

GiGi arrives and we're off to dinner. 

This guy is a real soulful dude. As we're driving he has his hand on the volume. So we're listening to the music and he plays with the volume as we go. Like a DJ!! You know how DJ's turn it up and down for dramatic purposes? This guy is doing that in the car!!! And it seems as though he does this when he's in the car alone. I'll bet he does. LOL. Amazing. It reminds me of someone falling in love for the first time. He was so excited about it. LOL. 

10:21pm

I'm having the freshest Mozzarella cheese I've ever tasted.  And the pizza isn't anything like NY pizza. Not better or worse. But pleasantly different. GiGi's pizza had french fries on it! 

June 30th 2:09am

I'm here at the club. GiGi is all over the crossover like Joaquin(Joe) Claussell. But it's tasty.


 He knows what he's doing. I'm impressed. My mood isn't great. I really don't want to do any talking. Its a little after 2am and at this time of day I can lose my voice very easily. At the same time I don't want to act like I don't want to be bothered. These people support my career. And the people seem excited. 

2:55am

I'm just getting off stage and WOW. The crowd was so alive and energetic. I couldn't go wrong. They were ready. And my voice held up. Thank God. DJ Cat Johnson was in the crowd. He's a brother from Naples who represents Soulful house out here. I had fun. 

My flight leaves at 6or so. So I need to go back and get ready to leave. But I don't want to leave. The party is nice. And we're outside! The sound is amazing. Theres plenty of drinks and attractive people. Everyone is dancing and being

 festive. The fellas are drinking and the ladies are acting like they're not already drunk. This is a party!!!!! DJ Luis Radio is playing a good set.

 The crowd is electric!!


 It pays to have sound. 

3:44am

I'm waiting to leave. And waiting longer than I should is never good. I allowed myself to get very angry. I made it very clear that I wanted to leave at a certain time and I should have left a half hour ago. But I know things happen. I'm unhappy but I want to remain professional. It's not easy to keep a smile when you're angry. But that's part of this business. I'm angry at this situation. But not at the Promotor. I don't know what happened, but I've learned from experience that it's always best to be cool. Always. 

5:58am

I'm about to board the plane, but I'll bet you wanna know what happened. 

Why I was made to wait and such. 

Well the owner/boss wanted to wait till the very end of the night to count money and blah blah blah. I didn't have that long. But he didn't care. The Promotor tried to explain things to him, but he still didn't care. He may have had a few drinks. It took them a while to make it happen but they did and I arrived to the airport safe and on time. Now imagine if I would have gone off on them. It not only would have been bad, but it would have severed a good relationship. I hope those of you reading this that are new artist, and on your way to becoming traveling musicians remember this. Stay professional. Leave the hood in the hood. Everything is not what it seems. It may seem like you're not getting what you want. But the ENTIRE situation may be beyond your sight. Always be cool. Eventually things will either work out, or you'll know not to come back. In this case, things worked out lovely. Thank God. I can't wait to get home. Dawn(Tallman) is coming by this week. We're going to finish her project this summer amongst other nice treats.. I'm excited!!

P.S. I had every intention to end this blog but u had to share this last photo with you. We all got our declaration cards. Everybody is looking for a pen. This one man must have had a pen in his bag. But instead of taking the bag out of the overhead bin, this genius feels its better to stand in the chair like a monkey.  Here's the good part. Nobody says a thing. Nobody. The stewardess walked by him and didn't even look in his direction. What's that?!?

Do you realize if a Muslim man would have done the same thing he would have been subdued? OK. Maybe that was a bit racy for you. 

Lets say if I was doing the same thing. I honestly don't believe that I would have been ignored. It's these things that make me uncomfortable. I'm concerned about what we tolerate from white as opposed to people of color. What do you think? Do you think if I'd have stepped into a plane seat the way this man did, no one would ask me to sit down?

When will things change?