The Hardest Thing

It's been a while since my last post. This is mostly because I've been so busy with performances, booking appearances for 2011, upgrading my website, and a laundry list of other things that would be too long and boring to go on and on about.

But here I sit, in my hotel room in Columbia, South Carolina, at the beginning of my first tour of 2011, and I've been giving deeper thought to a question that someone asked me earlier today.

"What's the hardest thing about being a musician," was a question that a gentleman asked me, who has a son thinking about majoring in music in college. Of course, I explained that the level of competition is extremely intense and that it isn't enough to be really good at your instrument. I also mentioned the thick skin needed for the numerous rejections one receives over the course of time. However, now that I think of it, none of those things are the hardest thing about being a musician...at least for me.

To me, the hardest thing about being a musician is leaving my family and loved ones for weeks at a time when traveling for tours.

Touring isn't the partying night after night that MTV, VH1, and the movies like to portray it as. Just like everything else about being a musician, it's A LOT OF WORK! In order for a tour to be profitable, you need to cram in as many performances within a given time span that you can. In the case of the tour I'm on at this very moment, I will be doing 26 engagements, in about 17 cities, in 5 states, over the span of 3 weeks.

Yes, going on a tour is exciting, but if you were to ask me if I'd rather go on tour or stay home and spend time with my wife and daughter, then that is a complete no brainer...stay home, of course! There are things that help bridge the distance...Skype, for example. I always look forward to calling my family on Skype because then we can both hear and SEE each other. But it's still not the same as actually being there.

When you're traveling far from home and leaving family behind, there are the added stresses of wondering if everything is alright back home, did you forget to take care of anything important before you left, etc.

In any case, I guess I should wrap up this blog post. I'm looking to go to bed early. It's just that I found it funny that, as much as I was excited to be able to go on this tour (or any of the other tours I've been on for that matter), I'm just as excited, if not more so, to get back home to play with my daughter and spend time with my wife.

By Shenole Latimer

February, 2011 Tour All Booked Up!

After nearly 5 months of careful planning and more phone calls than I can count, I have (as of 12/9/10) completed the booking phase for my February, 2011 Lecture/Performance Tour.

I'll be visiting a total of 5 states (South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, and Mississippi) and stopping at a total of 25 locations residing in 21 cities. Here are the final confirmed stops:

* January 31, 2011 - Columbia, SC
* February 1, 2011 - Columbia, SC
* February 2, 2011 - Beufort, SC
* February 2, 2011 - Summerville, SC
* February 3, 2011 - Savannah, GA (afternoon)
* February 3, 2011 - Savannah, GA (evening)
* February 4, 2011 - Jacksonville, FL
* February 5, 2011 - Pembroke Pines, FL
* February 6, 2011 - Delray Beach, FL
* February 7, 2011 - Fort Lauderdale, FL
* February 7, 2011 - Coral Springs, FL
* February 8, 2011 - Coconut Creek, FL
* February 8, 2011 - Tamarac, FL
* February 9, 2011 - Tampa, FL (afternoon)
* February 9, 2011 - Tampa, FL (evening)
* February 10, 2011 - Brandon, FL
* February 10, 2011 - Valrico, FL
* February 11, 2011 - Tavares, FL
* February 13, 2011 - Mobile, AL
* February 14, 2011 - Flowood, MS
* February 16, 2011 - Hinesville, GA
* February 16, 2011 - Savannah, GA
* February 17, 2011 - Lyman, SC
* February 17, 2011 - Woodruff, SC
* February 18, 2011 - Spartanburg, SC



Check the events listing on the following websites for more information:
http://www.shenolelatimer.com
http://shenole.fanbridge.com/tourdates/

And now, it's time to tie up the bookings for my April, 2011 tour...stay tuned for more information regarding that one!

By Shenole Latimer

Announcing My New Video Blog!

Back in April, 2010, while I was on tour up and down the east coast, my cell phone received a software update that enabled it to record video and upload it onto YouTube or Facebook. I suddenly found myself with a way to chronicle my experiences as a musician, and as a regular guy with a wife and a daughter, so that I could share some behind the scenes stuff with my fans.

I began recording short video blogs, or vlogs as they are often referred to, and posting them onto my YouTube channel. Though my friends at YouTube, and the fans on my email mailing list, knew about the video posts fairly quickly, I didn't realize until just a few days ago that I have never made an official announcement that I now have a video blog...so now I am.

Ladies and gentlemen, fans and friends, I now have a video blog!!!! You can visit my video blog by clicking the following link:

http://www.youtube.com/ricimusic#g/c/A09CC7C3DEF974CC




by Shenole Latimer

Winter Tour Planned for February, 2011

If you live on the east coast, you surely remember the monster snow storms we had during the winter of 2010.

Originally, I had a really good number of bookings for the winter...unusual for that time of year, but a welcome sight on my calendar none the less! However, what ended up happening is that almost half of my appearances were canceled due to severe weather. Not a good scenario!

This coming year I have decided to do something to help fight off any further cancellations during the winter months...go on tour down in the south, where snow is not a concern.

Really, the decision to tour in February comes from two different contributing factors. The first one I already stated in regards to avoiding cancellations due to severe winter weather in the northeast. But, the second factor has to do with the success I encountered with my lecture tour this past April, 2010. That tour showed me that I don't have to rely on a booking agent to book tours for me. Also, even with loosing my wallet, my business debit card and $400 or so in cash, plus missing out on two of my bookings because of the time I lost looking for my wallet and filing a police report, I still managed to come home in a profitable enough fashion to have made the trip worth while.

With all of that said, here are the confirmed dates and locations that I'll be stopping at so far during my February, 2011 tour:

• January 31, 2011 - Columbia, SC
• February 1, 2011 - Columbia, SC
• February 2, 2011 - Summerville, SC
• February 3, 2011 - Hinesville, GA
• February 3, 2011 - Savannah, GA
• February 4, 2011 - Jacksonville, FL
• February 5, 2011 - Pembroke Pines, FL
• February 6, 2011 - Delray Beach, FL
• February 7, 2011 - Coral Springs, FL
• February 8, 2011 - Coconut Creek, FL
• February 8, 2011 - Tamarac, FL
• February 11, 2011 - Tavares, FL
• February 13, 2011 - Mobile, AL
• February 14, 2011 - Flowood, MS
• February 16, 2011 - Savannah, GA
• February 17, 2011 - Lyman, SC
• February 17, 2011 - Woodruff, SC
• February 18, 2011 - Spartanburg, SC

There are several more locations that I'm waiting to have confirmation for. When it's all said and done, I may be looking at as many as an additional 6 bookings. Not bad for someone who doesn't have a booking agent!

Then there is the tour I have already begun to book for myself for April, 2011, which will have me traveling to some of the locations I visited this past April, along with visiting some new ones. But, we'll save that for another blog post! : )





by Shenole Latimer

A Couple of Artist Friends I Look Up To!

I just received a phone call from a good friend of mine in Ohio. She's a spoken word artist who's stage name is "NeoSouljah".


I first met Neo in 2008 during an event held for an internet radio program out of Philadelphia known as Spotlight on Jazz and Poetry. Neo and I were among several other artists that the host of the show, Clayton "Big Trigger" Corley, chose to showcase. We became friends and kept in touch, with the desire to do some work on each others' future albums at some point.


Long story short, Neo beat me to the punch and had me featured on one of the tracks of her newest album that has just been released.


This is where the phone call comes in...


NeoSouljah wanted to let me know that a major music software company called Propellerhead, that endorses the producer of her new album (her producer's name is Mike Loyd and he is credited with mixing many of the albums that came from the Death Row Records label), has decided to feature the track that I recorded on for her on their website!


But that wasn't all.


Neo conferenced in Mike Loyd and proceeded to tell us that the Fox network has a heavy interest in using that same track that I recorded on as the theme song for a new TV series that they will be airing soon.


After hearing all of that, if I would have smiled any bigger, my head would have exploded!


And then there is the text message I got a couple of days ago from another friend of mine. Her name is Jill Washington Burrus and she lives in North Carolina. Jill and I met and dated together between 1991 and 1992. Jill is an artist and has shown herself to be a very talented painter, with a very recognizable style that she can call her own.


In any case, Jill was texting me to let me know that she had just secured a building that will become her very own art gallery!


Both the news from Neo's phone call and Jill's text message were truly exciting to me. But, you may be asking yourself, "what does that have anything to do with the title of this blog. And, why should I care?"


Well, lets put it this way...these women are getting it DONE!


It's so inspiring to see other artists, especially ones that I know well, work their way through some really rough times, only to finally gain an important triumph. All of us artists gain strength from such stories, because it provides us with the hope we must always keep in our back pocket that the incredible trouble we go through to live the life that we do, and produce the art that we do, is worth it all at the end.


In a broader sense, the reason that you should care is because these women should serve as a reminder that we ALL need to find a source of inspiration and hope during the challenging times that most of us are finding ourselves in these days. And, we all need to remember that, no matter how difficult things may get at times, there is always a way to triumph as long as we are willing to work hard enough and find new ways to be resourceful.


I'm so proud to have these two incredible artists as friends and I marvel at how good they are at their respective mediums. I would encourage anyone who reads this blog entry to at least check out their work, even if you don't end up purchasing anything. Here's where you can find them:


NeoSouljah - New CD release is located at Amazon.com and iTunes (just put her name into the search engine of either website).

Jill Washington Burrus - her website is at www.thecreativelounge.org and the address to her new brick and mortar art gallery is 300 S. Main Street, Winston-Salem, NC





Written by Shenole Latimer

In Memoriam: George E. Clark (1937 - 2010)

This past August 6, 2010, I lost my step dad to bone cancer. He put up a valiant 5 year fight and, though he eventually lost his fight, my family and I have taken comfort in knowing that he is in a much better place. The following is the eulogy I wrote for his funeral.

This eulogy could have very easily taken the form that most eulogies take. That is to say, with the life of the dearly departed narrated within the parameters of a chronologically arranged format. However, such an arrangement of words and form seem too ordinary for a man who meant so much to those who knew and loved him.


That having been stated, it would not be fair to save mention of such important life events as his award winning college football career, his first marriage that saw him partner with his childhood sweet heart Barbara Preston, the birth of his daughter Linda Fay Clark, his honorable and courageous service within the ranks of the United States Army during the Korean War, or even his second marriage (several years after the passing of his first wife) to a new life partner Emma Lee Latimer. This last marriage would see George welcoming Emma’s son, Shenole Maurice Latimer, under his wing. These are all immensely important things that cannot, and should not, be forgotten.


But, perhaps what is more important is to remember George Edward Clark for the incredible and rare kind of man that he was. George personified the qualities that many people seek to add to themselves, but are not always able to acquire…qualities such as strength, dependability, and courage.


Perhaps it was his being a product of The Great Depression (George was born on October 13, 1937), or the fact that his early childhood and formative years were spent with World War II as a backdrop, that would provide George with the strength to adapt to changes and challenges that would frustrate or defeat many other men. No matter how formidable a challenge was, George would always find a way on top, while still managing to further enriching both his life and the lives of others.


George was given the name “Edward” as his middle name by his parents George and Margarite Clark. But, for those who knew him best, and for those who were privileged enough to meet his acquaintance, it would seem that “Dependable” would be a better fit. Whether it was the kind of dependability sought by employers, or the special kind of dependability he lovingly exhibited to family and friends, George ALWAYS delivered and NEVER faltered.


Unfortunately, the space limitations within these pages will not allow for a more thorough recital of George Edward Clark’s remarkable character. However, this eulogy would not be complete without venturing forth into at least a brief description of the trait that would ultimately define his character…his incredible courage.


Volumes could be written about the many examples of courage George showcased. One obvious example can be taken from the courage it took to rebuild his life after the tragic loss of his first wife. His courageous commitment to the United States Army, during a time of war, could surely serve as a clear example. One could also point to his involvement in the Huntington branch of the NAACP, and his fight for the rights of others (even if the issue at hand was politically unpopular), as one of his most understated examples of courage.


However, without a doubt, the greatest display of courage that this war veteran would exhibit came from a brutal battle, with an insidious biological foe, that would cost him 9 inches of his physical stature, 50% of his body mass, and eventually his life. That ghastly enemy was cancer. And, although he did lose this final fight, he NEVER lost his pride, NEVER complained, and remained DEFIANT until the end.


George Edward Clark…a rare kind of man indeed.

New Jazz Concert Series!

In the time that has passed by since my last blog entry, I’ve spent the majority of my time trying to help my wife get her accounting firm off of the ground. Fortunately, her company is showing signs of life, but we are still a ways off from her equaling the salary she was making from her previous employment.


However, though I haven’t had the time to dedicate towards my own bookings, I have actually managed to work on at least one project that I was involved with prior to my switching gears to give my wife a hand. The project is a jazz concert series that will be taking place during the month of September at the Levitas Center for the Arts in Southampton, New York.


Back in March, I was approached by the director of the Southampton Cultural Center and asked to become the director for a jazz concert series that, at the time, was just a concept. It was stated that it would be up to me to initiate the process of booking the acts and looking into the logistics of putting together such an event. Needless to say, I jumped on the opportunity and set about putting together a diverse roster of very strong performers.


First on my list was signing on Gail Storm. Having her brand of vocal jazz was simply a no-brainer for this sort of series. Another no-brainer was having friend and colleague Matt Marshak on the bill. Matt is a great guitarist who performs in the “smooth jazz” style of jazz.


Since I had already given a performance at the Levitas Center with my quartet this past Spring, for this series I wanted to showcase my newest creation… a fusion of classical and jazz styles performed in a duet format, with myself on saxophone and my good friend Al Quinn on piano. I have dubbed this ensemble “2-Improv”.


Rounding out the roster is pianist Sean Fitzpatrick, who will be performing in a modern jazz style with his trio, Al Quinn (the other half of ‘2-Improv”) and his hard-bop quintet, and the funk/soul infused jazz quartet led by Ahmad Ali.


I’m truly excited about this concert series!


I think the thing I’m most excited about is that, from top to bottom, the lineup of ensembles is stacked with incredible musicians that I have either had the chance to perform with, or have heard a lot about. All of us have headlined a number of shows on our own, and now we will be the pioneers for a brand new concert series on Long Island that will feature some serious jazz. And, the Levitas Center for the Arts is such a nice venue to boot!


The design of the center is that of a recital hall. But, adding to the charm and classiness of the hall is the art gallery located in the front of the building before you enter the performance space. The art gallery is well known within the art community for the incredible works of art that are often displayed there.


As I’m writing this blog, all of the ticket info is being finalized, so I hope to be able to provide all of those details within the next few days. It’s just that I’m so excited about this concert series that I couldn’t wait to blab my mouth off about it!


Keep an eye out for further details about the concert series to appear on my website, the Southampton Cultural Center’s website, and of course right here on my blog.


by Shenole Latimer