It's Christmas, Man. You know how Christmas candy goes on sale the day after Christmas? Some of it could be marked as much as 90% off. What a difference a day makes. It's still fresh, although it might be shaped like a tree or an elf. Sometimes I feel sorry for the poor rejected candy. I guess if I can personify an object to that degree, I should also be able to imagine that the candy sprouts arms and legs and dances around when the store closes. This is cartoon material. Speaking of cartoons, many years ago we toured Japan around Christmas time (supporting the Japanese release of our Christmas album, actually) and noticed that cartoon characters are an important part of the Christmas theme. Bugs Bunny meets Santa. The one Christmas icon you don't see too much about is Jesus. But there's plenty of Bambi.

We enjoyed taking some time off in November. It gave us a chance to work in our new drummer, Paul. One of the coolest things about rehearsing with a new band member is that it's especially fun to learn new songs. Everyone's on the same page and the creative possibilities are high. New songs include, "Love and Truth"(Greek), "The Hornpipe" (Dutch), "Auf Der Jodleralm" (German), "Tryzinka/She Told Me" (Slovenian), "Mickey Mouse Polka" (Polish) and "Big Charanga" (Brave Combo). Ask for them and we'll play them, if we're in the right mood.

TINY TIM BIOGRAPHY: E! Entertainment Network came to Denton to interview me for an upcoming E! TRUE HOLLYWOOD STORY about Tiny Tim. It will air early next year. I'll let you know the details as they're revealed to me.

Speaking of BC-friendly TV, the Christmas season brought us two cool gifts. The television programs, ED (NBC) and THE STREET (Fox) will both be using some of our Christmas music in upcoming episodes. Listen for "Ave Maria" and "Frosty The Snowman." I've never seen these shows, but I've heard they're okay.

And ALL WOUND UP, our long-awaited kid's album is set for a January release. If you don't have children, have some ASAP. Or, don't worry about it. Adults of all ages will like this too. Included are our samba version of "Chopsticks" and meringue version of "Funiculi, Funicula," and Bubba's original masterpiece, "Spaghetti Twist." The album was a collaboration with our friends, Cathy Fink and Marcy Marxer.

GOOD DOGS: I found two German shepherd mix strays the other day. They had that "We're happy, but desperate. Please help us." look. One of them was on her way to being emaciated and the vet thought they had been on the run for a while. They were probably dumped. Anyway, they're about seven months old and very affectionate and you can see their pictures on the Denton Humane Society web site at dentonhumanesociety.org. The foster family has named them Sugar and Spice.

Make light of every word you hear. Do something different.

As another year comes to a close, I can't help but reflect on how it was, or rather how I thought it was. Since music/entertainment is my profession, I generally think about issues that relate to that. But I can also dwell on personal concerns, big picture stuff and where to eat lunch. I analyze so much, at times I really think that I was put here with a set of clues ( more added as I age) and it's my duty to figure out what's up. But the set of clues, at this point, is obviously too incomplete to be able to say I know exactly what's going on. I do have a strong feeling that I sort of know something vague. But I'm humbled almost daily and I hit these bumbling streaks that are so stupid, they're comical. You know, like when the ferris wheel stops and you're stuck at the top and you decide to climb down. But you forgot that you're wearing slippery shoes and that you brought your cat along, so you'd have to carry him, too. About halfway down you realize that the ferris wheel is starting to turn again and you're trying to go down on the side that's going up and your cell phone starts to ring and your cat's claws feel permanently imbedded in your neck and shoulder. Whatever, you know what I'm talking about. When I'm not dealing with being an idiot, I can occasionally see some things so clearly. For instance, the world of showbiz is in sad shape right now. It's a place built on illusion and mystery and both are gone. There is really no "behind the curtain" anymore. It's all there for everyone to see. It's like the mystery used to be a gourmet truffle in its own precious wrapper. Now it's a stale M&M on the floor of the bathroom, by the toilet. More than ever stars seem like people that just got lucky. But maybe that's the way it always was, and the audience at large eventually just had to know the truth to set itself free. Perhaps we're in the ridiculous final stages of star obsession. And as the information age gets more and more out of control, everything, I mean everything, becomes equally meaningless and trivial. Faith Hill and Eminem are the same as burping and farting and all are very popular right now. Hand the reins to a ten-year-old and see where you end up. I'm not criticizing Faith and Em, mind you, I'm just making a point. Actually, the worst I can say about them is that she's bland and he's scary and may be capable of murder. But, maybe these personas are, in fact, well-crafted illusions. They want us to think Faith is bland and Em is a bad boy. When, in reality, neither is neither. My God, why do I even care? That's the saddest part of all. I'm attracted and repulsed at the same time. Although this is how I make my money, and popular trends certainly affect me to a degree, it's disturbing to worry about how many CDs N'Sync has sold. But the machine is so thorough and so good at attractive packaging, it's really hard to not be manipulated along with almost everyone else. Buy into it or get angry at it. Either way your attention has been nabbed. In the midst of all of this confusion, I have figured out something. It's nothing earth shattering really and in some ways it's as trite as a 1950's science fiction movie. Like it or not, we're part of a big ol' experiment, involving all of humanity reluctantly peeling back the layers of self-discovery, as we remain trapped in the pen of earthliness. Mass media continues to feed us surface beauty or surface beauty disguised as something else just as sensational (lowest-common-denominator stuff). However, though we don't realize it yet, our interest in this is diminishing dramatically. We're craving something truly new and lasting. Superficial perfection is becoming predictable and boring. And words are more empty than ever. Maybe they have to mean nothing so we'll stop hearing them. When all of our fancy tools start to fail us in the big picture, we'll be able to move ahead and grow up. What is important? It's time to look around us and think. Have a Merry Christmas and a thoughtful New Year.