Artwork produced by Luke Flowers, of course. And in addition to my voice, Gavin also made liberal use of violin parts from the always amazing Leora Gardner on 743.

I find this project exciting on a few levels. First, the arrangements are just moving. I love how Gavin takes the melody / vocal tracks of a song that I’ve produced and, with little input from me, creates something totally different and unique. The songs have a catchy, memorable quality all their own and a few that were upbeat are now downtempo and vice versa. I’m also excited by the fact that a lot of people will hear these tracks that would never stumble upon my music to begin with.

Have a listen to a couple samples in the orange playbar on jeffcaylor.com and you can compare 15 Minutes Away with the new 15 Minutes Away (Leonid’s Mix). You can also hear the remix of A Way to Say, as well. If you’d like to listen to any of my music, for free, the best place to go is grooveshark.com where you can simply search “Jeff Caylor.”

Pick up the new remix album today at the store. In a couple weeks, you’ll find it on iTunes and I’ll be selling the physical discs as well.

Gavin and I are working hard to promote the newest music we’ve recorded together and the following is a story from the Bury Free Press in the UK. Click the image to see a higher resolution scan of the newspaper page.

The pop icon definitely shaped me as a musician, vocalist and artist, I’m not ashamed to admit. Thriller, while it said very little to me lyrically, I have to say, it spoke volumes on a musical level. I wanted to be like this Mike, way before others wanted to be like the other Mike. And I tried. I never had enough money to get the red leather jacket with zippers (though a couple friends did) and I never could pull off the moonwalk when it really counted (though a couple friends did) but I do distinctly remember wearing a red bow tie with a pink tuxedo shirt a few times. And if I would have owned a sequined glove, I probably would have tried to work that into the ensemble as well.

Unfortunately, the thousands of tributes to Michael Jackson today will also include references to his bizarre private (and sometimes public) life while off the stage. He seemed to redefine the meaning of artistic eccentricity. In a time when we know so much about so many who make confounding choices, it’s challenging to think of anyone who tops Michael Jackson on the “Strangest and Most Shocking” list. Whether you call him a victim, a fiend or a genius, of one thing I’m certain, there IS NO such thing as bad press.

At least when it comes to music sales. Michael Jackson is proof that you really can’t stop someone from buying a good song. Seriously.

But just how important is the way people remember you?

I was telling a good friend recently that I was feeling busy and overwhelmed and just kind of needed to have some time to myself. I admitted that sometimes, recently, I avoided people who were likely to take a little more of my time than others. Just because I was busy. My friend’s response was simple and to the point.

“Don’t be a jerk.”

His response was actually harsher than that. He told me that he knew way too many “jerks” and the world doesn’t really need any more of them.

After trying to justify my “boundaries” for a minute, I finally had to agree. The world actually needs more people who will give you the time of day and less people who complain about the time you stole from theirs. The world needs more people who think about the impact they are having on the people around them and less who only focus on what they can get from the people around them. The world needs more people who are less concerned with the way they invest their money and more concerned with the way they invest their time.

We’re all here for a pretty limited number of days. Make the most of yours.

I’m gonna make a change, for once in my life
It’s gonna feel real good, gonna make a difference
Gonna make it right.

As I, turn up the collar on my favorite winter coat
This wind is blowin’ my mind
I see the kids in the street, with not enough to eat
Who am I to be blind? Pretending not to see their needs
A summer’s disregard, a broken bottle top
And one man’s soul
They follow each other on the wind ya’ know
‘Cause they got nowhere to go
That’s why I want you to know

I’m starting with the man in the mirror
I’m asking him to change his ways
And no message could have been any clearer
If you wanna make the world a better place
Take a look at yourself, and then make a change

Rest in peace, MJ.

Lyrics for What Birds Dream are posted here.
http://jeffcaylor.com/wbd-lyrics/

Lyrics for Okay are posted here.
http://jeffcaylor.com/okay-lyrics/

You can click here to open iTunes and navigate directly to the album there.

The songs I’m doing are:

Don’t Stop Till You Get Enough (RTHK’s Choice)
Man in the Mirror (My Choice)
Waiting for the Winter to End (I get to do an original song too)

Featured artists:
Violent Jokes
New Flying Machine
Latino Jazz
The Lovesong
Soho Collective
Jeff Caylor

Admission is Free!

As of today, June 2, What Birds Dream is available as a CD or digital download via my web store. You may also purchase What Birds Dream at Amazon.com.

The CD will be available on iTunes in the coming weeks. Thanks for your support!

We’re doing all new music tonight at Island ECC in Quarry Bay! New CD, What Birds Dream available for purchase for the first time. Come bring a friend and enjoy the music. Things get going at 9pm. See you there!

The Fringe Club
Hong Kong
June 12, 2009
With Good Fellas
Facebook Event Page

Thanks again to my friends at Boundless. They do some really thoughtful stuff over there, including a webzine, blog and podcast.