I went to Chicago on business this past weekend, to meet with Edge of We Are the Multitude. We worked on some new material and recorded the drums for a new song, "Sons of Destruction". The song is fully written, we only need to finish recording the guitar and vocals - at which point we will make it available for listening.

Edge and I are also working on solo songs to be released on a split EP in the not-too-distant future. So far I've written and recorded the bulk of three new songs:

Pax Americana (already available for listening on myspace and facebook)
Four Women (And One Child)
Why Lie (I Want A Beer)

I've already begun performing these at GioSafari shows. So I am looking forward to making them available for people to download and listen to their hearts' content.

Here are some pics from my trip to Chicago. To see more, click HERE:

In March 2010, I played at the NX35 music fest in Denton, TX. Here's a short montage featuring clips of some of the songs I played. The rest of the footage can be found on my youtube channel: http://youtube.com/giosafari09

Hello. In my last blog entry I wrote a bunch about the freegan feast and Pull-ups for Peace. Here are the videos that I also shot that night, took me a while to get around to editing them!

As always, there is much going on in my life these days. Here's what I'm up to:

1. Freegan Feast 4/12 - I've been hanging out with the NYC Freegans since mid-December. I had dumpster-dived in Orlando with Food Not Bombs, who also feeds the homeless with the food that they find; after moving to NYC I was looking for ways to minimize my expenses and figured that freeganism was the way to go. So after a long search I came across the freegan.info site (linked above) and began going on trash tours with them, rescuing food from grocery stores, pharmacies, party stores, and bagel shops all around the city. You can read more about some of those experiences HERE.
On Sunday night I went on a trash run with the freegans and picked up a shopping-cart-ful of fruits and veggies to be cooked and served at my home on Monday night. I was to host.
The event went great! I would guesstimate that about 30 people came in and out through the night and we all shared a fabulous meal consisting of curry, soups, and pies made from rescued asparagus, green beans, sweet and non-sweet potatoes, tomatoes, cauliflower, tofu, butternut squash, apples, lemons, herbs and spices, and a whole lot of bread. We all had stimulating conversation, excellently healthy (vegan) food, and a great time (despite that, admittedly, I suck at card games).

2. Writing and recording - I'm working on new material this week with a Friday 4/16 deadline. I am expected to have three new songs ready at that time. I've already completed "Pax Americana", "Four Women" is in the process of recording and I'll be composing the music for "Why Lie? (I Wanna Beer)" tonight. So I'm well on my way! The lyrics for these three songs can be found HERE.

3. Pull-ups for Peace - this is the last project of the recent days. I am doing a workout program that will, theoretically, enable me to do 100 consecutive pull-ups. The most I've ever done at one time was twenty and that was shortly after moving to New York. I recently was only able to do fifteen. I'm into week three of an 18-week program (designed to enable one to do 100 push-ups) and going strong. Last night I completed 47 pull-ups in a span of about seven minutes.
I plan on partnering with an organization working for peace in the city of NYC. If it works out, I'll be seeking sponsorship from my friends and family to raise money for myself and the organization. More details and nifty videos soon to come.

Excuse me, ladies and gentlemen
I’m very sorry for the interruption.
I know you’re on your way, some place important,
But I just have a few things to say.
Please don’t just write me off as insane.
If you’ll let me be honest, I can explain
The reason I’m begging here on this train
For nothing but your time of day.

Be careful not to glance in my direction –
Lest you be tempted to make a donation,
To fish through your pockets, to make diff’rentiation
Between all the various coin sizes.
Perhaps generosity’s not your true aim;
But to silence your conscience, to cover your shame
For gripping onto your wealth just the same
As the gold calves this world idolizes.

Though I ask, I’m not in need
Of your food or your money -
Just smile and acknowledge me,
Learn my name and how I’m doing.
I don’t need your quarters in my cup,
I don’t need your apathetic “love”.
Give me a hand shake, give me a hug.
Treat me like a human being.

Some say I’m smelly, dirty, lazy
With a look in my eyes a little crazy…
The PTSD makes everything hazy,
Explains why they look glazed over.
Not to mention my use of narcotics,
Whatever it takes to get my fix
For a broken world – tired, hungry, and sick
‘til I wake disillusioned and hungover.

But what else can I do to cope with my plight?
How else can I manage to sleep at night?
It helps me keep warm and equips me to fight
The demons rank and file on my shoulder.
An army of one decorated hero,
Forgotten by country I stand all alone
On the field against my formidable foe –
With a bottle alone I feel bolder.

Still instead of your pocket change for a beer,
Perhaps you can lend me a listening ear.
Let me know that you care with a smile sincere,
Let me know that we’re in this together.
For my burdens are heavy, a staggering load.
I've carried them for years down this yellow-brick road,
Tapping my heels, “there’s no place like home.”
But if you help, they’ll feel light as a feather.

After participating in newmindspace's Valentines Day mural in February, I knew that I would be involved in some of their future events. The next one that piqued my interest was to take place on April 3rd at Union Square Park, NYC's part in the International Pillow Fight Day festivities. So I had been planning on joining this event for at least a couple months.
When it came to the day of, I thought that I might make a special GioSafari appearance at the event. Rather than maul people with one (or more) of my pillows, I would sing songs about peace and love. So I made my way down to Union Square with my guitar and harmonicas, draped in the flannel onesie that was given me by my sister as a Xmas gift last year. I settled on the fringe of the battle grounds, opened my case, scattered some GioSafari stickers about, and began singing my heart out.

I watched the pillow-happy thousands-strong crowd as I sang, musing at sightings of certain recognizable characters: Bert and Ernie, Spiderman, Gumby, and my personal favorite, DJ Lance. Reciprocally, many people approached me with their cameras. I'm hoping that I'll get to see some of those pictures!
About half an hour into my set, a group of high-school-aged girls stood nearby watching me play. They held signs that read: "ALL YOU NEED IS LOVE" and "FREE HUGS." Also they seemed pretty awesome. My suspicions were confirmed when they asked whether I knew any Beatles. Do I know any Beatles... ha! We sang a few of their tunes, then moved on to Bright Eyes. It wasn't too long before the 90's requests came to the fore: Oasis, Sublime, Third Eye Blind. I obliged until the crowd dissipated.

I played for a little while longer, repeating some of the songs I had played earlier. After all, I only know so many songs with an energy to match an epic pillow fight like this. Having only made three bucks and change, it wasn't long before I decided to retire my guitar for the day and join in on the festivities. I stashed my guitar safely behind police barricades, grabbed an abandoned pillow, and jumped right into the thick of battle.
Then my mind gets to work. It seems to me that we could learn a lot about our society, how and why it is so violent, if we were to study the microcosm of violence that is the pillow fight. There is one example in particular that best illustrates what I'm talking about:

I got into the festivities late, but it wasn't long before mob violence was turned against me: "Get the guy with the ONESIE!" What is it that could cause a group of 5 or more people to gang up someone? One solitary person and a pacifist like myself, at that? The person need only be DIFFERENT. "GET THE GUY/GIRL WITH THE ___________" (insert differentiating feature: suit, costume, mask, hair color or style), until we all conform, lest we become the victims of pillow-gangs or of some other form of violence; until we all think, talk, look, and dress exactly the same. We need only look at our society's dealings with differences in race, gender, sexual preference, religion, or politics to see how this plays out on a macro level.
But my spirits were lifted when, a little while later, I came across a young lady who was exacting vigilante justice. "Whenever I see a group of people ganging up on one person I try to jump in and help them out. I've made many rivals..." Now that's what I'm talking about!
Despite having been ganged up on and thinking way more than playing, I did have an excellent time with people who mostly had peace in their spirits, violent though the event can seem. There were countless people lining the outside of the circle with FREE HUGS signs and t-shirts. If someone fell to the ground, the surrounding violence paused so that they could stand again. And nobody took a blow too seriously. It was all in good fun.
Many people woke up sore today; some with black eyes and feathers in their lungs; some with vengeance in their hearts. As for me, I'm definitely looking forward to being an advocate of peace again next year! Until then, shalom aleichem.

Weebly isn't letting me upload pics for some reason, but you can see them on the GioSafari facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=165279&id=263408467256&ref=mf