http://www.wfmz.com/news/Music-Monday-Jordan-White/-/121458/10033774/-/v2x2fh/-/index.html

Played our new song "Maybe, Amy" acoustically this morning on WFMZ-TV Channel 69 News with my friend Josh Klein laying down some leads.  You can play & download the actual studio version of the song via the Player App at the very top of http://www.jordanwhitemusic.com if you're interested.

Thanks for watching & listening :) Comments welcomed of course.

In one of my courses yesterday, the instructor was showing us a film on religion.  This class just happened to be right next to another classroom that was ALSO showing a film, at the same time.  But I didn't know this. Read on.

So halfway through it our teacher let our class out for a five minute break.  It was a bit warm inside, so I decided to go outside for fresh air for a few minutes.  Probably just about 5 minutes total.  As I was walking back, quickly up the stairs and to the hallway, I heard a movie playing with the narrarator discussing, yep, you guessed it, religion.  So I had a brief shot of panic, thinking I had stayed on break too long and the class began watching the movie without me, and the teacher was going to be pissed.  Without thinking I darted towards the classroom where the sound of the movie was coming from.. but after I got about halfway towards my "seat" I realized something was wrong.  It was the wrong room.  About 30 students who I had never seen before gave me a blank and confused stare, and probably some of them freaked out because I was basically running.  If someone came running into our classroom at random, I would have probably been alarmed too.

Anyways, my face turned bright red and I abruptly stopped myself, and mumbled something to myself about the "wrong room".

Ugh.

March comes in a like a lion
Goes out like a lamb

Let's hope that holds true this year.  I just turned on CNN and saw that the tornadoes over the weekened killed THIRTY-NINE PEOPLE.  Stunned.  Can't believe it.  One minute you're sitting in your house, or sleeping in your house, or your office building, the next minute it's lights out.  And we still can't predict where they will hit.  We can predict when conditions are favorable, but not exactly where they will hit.  We probably never will.  This spring/summer, I'm going to get that chill down my spine every time I hear the sound of distant thunder.  Even if it's just a mild evening storm passing thru. But these last two years with the tornados have been unlike anything I can remember.  

gay.

Just sayin'

I HAVE ABSOLUTELY NO IDEA HOW THE GIANTS JUST WON THAT GAME

New grad school semester started last week.  I like the classes so far.  Psychopharmacology (SP?) is quite interesting

Speaking of that, watching Phillip K. Dick's "A Scanner Darkly" on HBO right now - - - - > don't totally understand why they made it semi-animated.  I think it may play into the fantasy factor, but I think I'd prefer standard film.  I am a fan of Phillip Dick and didn't even know this film came out until a few years ago.  So I dunno.

We had a snowstorm in October here in the North-east, and only ONE single semi-storm since then and it's almost February.  We received like 3-4 inches in south-eastern PA since that "Halloween storm."

There is something about a year that is an even number than makes me smile.

Best years of my life: 1998, 2002, 2006, 2008.

Coincidence?  I don't know.

I, JORDAN WHITE, PROCLAIM THAT AS OF NOW I AM FINALLY DONE WITH THE FALL SEMESTER.  

My Lord, graduate school has so much work.  Only a couple more classes before I receive my master degree though.  Tonight's final exam, in the course Advanced Social Psychology, consisted of 2 essay questions that myself and the entire class proceeded to answer from 6:30 to 9:15 PM - nearly 3 straight hours or writing, without stopping.  Sure, a few people got up to use the bathroom, and 1 or 2 people finished before the class technically ended at 9:15, but when I left, at about 9:10, 80% of the class was still there.

You know that bad feeling of taking a test when you know time is running out?  You keep glancing at the clock, you keep your pen on the paper, writing as fast as you can, thinking as quickly as you can, making decisions as fast as you can - and every minute that goes by everything becomes a little more urgent.

Oh well, it's over now.  And almost over with the degree.

Oh and one more thing, if you're trying to quit smoking, try the E-Cigarettte. 

Like many things in life, the sweet ain't always as sweet - without the sour.  I'll get to that a bit later.

The 2011 Lehigh Valley Music Awards that I attended this past Sunday, December 4th were by far THE BEST awards ceremony the organization has ever had, and that includes last year's event when I performed.  The show was run professionally and smoothly, although as John J. Moser of The Morning Call ppointed out, a bit too long (at over 5 hours).  It was held at the beautiful and state of the "art" (pun-intended) ArtsQuest building in Bethlehem, PA - near the Sands Casino.  Once darkness fell, the audience was able to view multi-colored illuminations cast on the crumbling and rusted remnants of Bethlehem Steel through the large windows behind the stage.  It sure was something.  Personally, I was nominated in categories "Best male vocalist" and "Best lyricist" although I did not come out on top; but several friends did with their nominations.  James Supra, who has become something of a legend in the music scene of this area, is featured playing harmonica on a new song we recorded called "Before I Go Out" and he won "Best harmonica player" for the 13th year in a row, among several other awards.  Jennifer Miklus, a very talented singer who was once a part of the act Foreplay (which I also played with at different times) won an award with her band "Beyond Eden" I believe for "Best rock performance."

Now, back to my first sentence in this entry.  What was sour about the event, you ask?  Well, just 2 days before the event was to be held, a war of accusations of embezzlement and misuse of funds erupted, going back and forth on Facebook.  It seems that a (former) LVMA board member has accused another board member of misusing charitable donations and profits made from the past Lehigh Valley Music Award events.  After this person accused the LVMA board members in public of criminal activity, the LVMA board of directors released a statement. Here is the official response:

"The recent accusations by a former senior committee member of The Lehigh Valley Music Awards are outrageous and completely unfounded and without merit. This constitutes slander, libel and a defamation of character and is in the process of being addressed. The Lehigh Valley Music Awards is an annual event run by a committee whose members (previously known as The Board of Directors) in any given year strive to put forth a show we can all be proud of. From its inception and up until October 18th, of this year, the LVMA event was run under the M.A.P.P.S 501 3c, whose only known Board Member is Ian Bruce and it is that organization that is fully responsible for all accounting of previous events held under that title. We believe these false accusations have been put forth as a result of one of the LVMA 13 committee member’s unwillingness to cooperate in several lawsuits he claims he is filing against former sponsors and others whom we do not agree these suits should be filed against. We find it sad and in very poor taste that he has chosen the avenue he has as a vendetta against this committee member. The current LVMA committee members have been working hard and with full integrity to bring to you a prestigious event designed to celebrate, honor, promote and reward the fabulous musical talent of The Greater Lehigh Valley. We thank you, the musicians, the sponsors, the volunteers, the fans and all who are participants in LVMA 13 and we look forward to seeing you at this years show.

The LVMA 13 committee,

Geno Barron, Lin Bastian, Gloria Domina and Barry Hay"

I have no idea regarding the content the above but I can tell you this: I know Gloria Domina personally, and she has always shown herself to be a wonderful and caring person.  When my sister suffered a stroke in May 2010 and was partially paralyzed, Gloria did everything she could to help out myself and my parents, and of course, my sister.  Well over a year later when I ran into Gloria at a fundraising event (for the victims of the Allentown gas explosion) she still asked me how my sister was doing.  Now this is a woman who has a thousand things going on, and yet she still took the time to ask and be supportive.  That's something you don't see much these days.  

As for Mr. Bruce, who has brought forth the allegations - I really can't add anything here because I've never met the guy.  He seems like more of the guy who chooses and wants to run things from behind the scenes, although that's just my assumption.  He is very passionate about music and I admit his accusations are troubling to me.  As the Vanessa Carlton song "Who's To Say?" - well, who's to say?

But I guess it would make the most sense to talk about what I DO know - and I know Gloria Domina.  She has always been wonderful to myself and my family, so here's to hoping everything gets sorted out fairly quickly and it was all a misunderstanding.  You see, I have seen the Lehigh Valley Music Awards grow from a small gathering of a handful of people on the second floor of a bar a few years ago to being held at large convention centers with 1,000 people in the audience like this past sunday.  It is a fantastic event, it must continue, and I guess only time will tell what happens.  So THANK YOU to all who made these events possible!!

It's been nearly a month since I've posted in here - if you read these from time to time, please forgive my absence.  Some things have gone on in my personal and professional life, some good, some bad, but the fact remains that there are some people that no matter all the good things you've done for them (examples: putting them in a dozen newspaper articles, making them thousands and thousands of dollars from booking shows, having your parents give them a job when they couldn't find work, picking them up to and from countless gigs) - they still don't give a damn.  And then spread lies and badmouth YOU to other clients.  No matter how many times I'm asked about the situation, I just shrug.  I guess I'll take the high road.

But let me indulge for just a moment.  For in this situation, there was a serious discrepancy between what was said and what was actually done. The fact is, for about 90 percent of what went on, if *I* didn't do it, it wouldn't have been done.  You see in the music industry, especially at this stage of the game, *YOU* have to make things happen.  These people have the mentality that there will be some "act of God" to get them a record deal or put them on a national tour - but we know it comes down to making it on your own.  I run websites and I'm on the phone with people all week about booking shows and doing promotions, making business cards and fliers, sending demos and thank you cards to past clients - but instead of doing these things, these other people don't do any of them, and then, to make it even better (or worse) - COMPLAIN how you do it.  They complained when my website (because I was the only one WITH a website) was listed on a flier for the band.  It's just plain fucking ridiculous.  They complained that it was my email address (Jordan@jordanwhitemusic.com) that was listed on a flier, because everyone else had e-mail addresses from Hotmail or Yahoo with a bunch of numbers in it or whatever.  Mine was just easiest to remember.

This kind of attitude is absolutely TOXIC to getting things done and progressing. It says 1 of 2 things, quite loudly.  #1 is: "I don't know how you do this stuff, so I don't want you to do it" or #2 "I don't feel like doing it."  Certainly there are elements of this type of thing going on in all industries, not just in music. 

"The truth is, the truth hurts, don't you agree?
It's harder to live with the truth about you
Than to live with the lies about me" - W. Axl Rose

On another note here's a snippet of a new article by Kelly Montgomery:

Time is no stranger to singer-songwriter Jordan White. It takes time to write lyrics. It takes time to write music. And it takes time to record and mix songs. "It's been too long since [I've] laid down any real recordings," he said. For his third EP, due out in early December, White teamed with Dancing Pepper Productions in Nazareth, PA. "Scott Tice, the amazingly talented producer and owner ... just emailed me a another mix of 'Bloodshot,'" White said. The song, he explained, "is a brutal electric number. It's about the bar scene, or at least the way it appeared to me over the past few years. Alcohol makes everything seem like a good idea, but it's misleading."

Working with Tice has been an amazing experience for White because of his attention to details. "Scott came highly recommended from some people in the industry," he said. "Scott takes part in what he calls critical listening sessions, where he devotes all his attention and time to listening to the cuts, and then he waits a few days and goes back and listens again."

Other songs included on the EP are "Maybe, Amy" and "Before I Go Out." "Lyrically, 'Before I Go Out' is a rarity for me because it does not mention anyone or anything specific," White added. And the title of his latest project? "I have no idea," White admitted. One sure idea he has, though, is releasing a full-length album. "I've written probably a dozen new songs in the past year," he said. But without the backing of a label, White will have to wait.