Rock WILK: NEWS

A love story………………

Finally found it, Hopes and dreams
New adventures
The world is an oyster
For us, Anything is possible
Even probable

Promises, dreams, plans
Eyes wide open
Follow the yellow brick road
Follow the yellow brick road

Hold hands and take that plunge
Into the unknown
With confidence and all the fear that goes with it
All new, carry the old, try to lose what you don’t need
Lose what’s gonna hold you down
Weigh you down, Hold you back,
stagnate, lose it, Lose it

Keep moving forward
Keep it on the up
Ups and downs are better together
Ups are higher, downs are scarier

We can make it, we will make it
Take it and make it our own
We got plans, nobody does it better
Doin’ it our way, we like it that way

Not quite what we planned
Can’t always get what you want
We can do it, we can make it to the end

What’s the end?
Where are we now?
Not quite what we planned, scary place
Stuck on the side of the road
Feeling alone

Breaking down, letting go just a little bit
Outside starts to get in
Bubble burst, shock to the system
Outside gets inside
Butterfly swoops
Snot covers my clean house from that “stuck in” nose

New house of horrors
Stand up, scream, push back, fight for your life
Helpless roar of the lion getting shot down
Shot down, held down, hosed down,
Broken down, feelin’ like a lamb
gashed, bruised, busted limbs

Blood is everywhere now
Flowing with tears of defeat
What couldn’t be beat, is beat down
Pounded flat, lifeless

Blinded, deaf ears can’t hear where home is
Blood everywhere
Can’t breathe, slipping away, sliding back
Holding tight
Darkness, night, flight
Just can’t be
But I can’t see
The end.


Go to the music page to hear more. Be sure to check the MySpace page, as well, www.myspace.com/wilkmusic .
Peace
Rock WILK

Whatup everybody, sorry to have gotten this to you a few days late, my weekly WILK newletter. Just wanted to let the last weekend of summer go by without any heavy hearts. I hope you all had a great summer and are now looking forward to the next phase, autumnal equinox is here, a most beautiful time of year, leaves turning to beautiful colors and then falling, signifying change, as is the case every year, something we can all count on. What can you count on?

Featured song of the week from "Broke Wide Open", "The Chain"

2 people meet and begin a journey, neither having any idea of where that journey might take them. As they travel together through the experiences of what becomes this "union", this "entity unto itself", the story unfolds. it builds up, it breaks down, it speeds by, it slows to a crawl, it's exciting and then it's boring as all hell, and all of a sudden, it's exciting again. The ride is fun, the ride is a pain in the ass, it means more to you than anything else in your life, or sometimes you just want to lose it, it's safe and secure, like the soft blanket that you brought your first puppy home in, but it's also feeling like shackles, you're holed up in solitary confinement, feeling like the walls are closing in on you, that your head is gonna get crushed by the ceiling getting closer and closer to pushing you down, all of a sudden freedom means you have to escape. Or you can't imagine living without this relationship. Everything you do becomes somehow related to this family that has been formed, for "better or for worse", it's you. You two. You too. Or you don't recognize yourself any longer, can't remember who you are in the deepest part of yourself, you're lost. And to think, at one time, for a short while, for a long while, on and off, this other person made you feel whole, for the first time in your life, you felt at "home" This is where you can finally fall asleep at night. One thing is for sure, life can be unpredictable, but you gotta live it, and part of the deal is all of the confusion, the passing or "fleeting" thoughts that can be so strong, they can change everything in an instant. Chain of events, Chain link fence, Shackled and Chained, the Unbroken Chain.

The Chain

SUPPORT INDEPENDENT MUSIC. Feel free to leave your comments about "Broke Wide Open" at the comments page as well, love to hear from you.
Be well and see you next week.
peace
Rock WILK

Hey everybody,

How’s it going out there? Mad hot here in Brooklyn, but we “kinda like it that way, love when the weather get’s hot”. [quote from one of the songs on “Broke Wide Open”] Hmmmmm… just had a great idea. The first person who can name which song from “Broke Wide Open” that quote comes from, will win a free CD of the album. Second person gets a free “IAmAPerson&SoRU” T shirt, and the 3rd person will get a free “Samah” T shirt.
[you can see the t shirts at the “buy stuff” link. Just email your answers from here at the website, at the contact page, and win yourself some cool “WILK” music and merchandise.
OK, a little bit of fun, so get to it, figure it out. ;)

Well, lots going on with “Broke Wide Open” this week. To those who have already ordered CD’s, they will finally be shipping sometime this week, so look for them to show up at your mailbox very soon, and thanks for being so patient. From this point on, delivery will be MUCH faster, usually less than a week. You can also download the music here at the site, so fill up those IPods and whatever other mp3 players you carry around to add “WILK” to your own personal life soundtrack.

Don’t forget, everything is also available at the MySpace site, www.myspace.com/wilkmusic. Definitely check there as well, because the 2 sites are quite unique to one another, and you don’t want to miss anything. [you can actually hear 4 full songs at the myspace site, see more pictures, more info….] Be sure to say hello when you visit either place, I always love to hear your comments. Also, “Broke Wide Open” will be available at ITunes, Napster, Rhapsody, EMusic, etc, etc, basically everywhere you can buy music over the web, probably by early October, or sooner. I’ll be sure to keep you posted on that information, as well.

Video “stuff” is a little behind, but coming very soon. I’ll be sure to let you know over the next week or so, when you can expect to see something. In the long term, there will be a documentary being done on “the making of” my album, but in the short term, there will be some very cool and unusual visual “candy” coming your way, so I’m very excited about that.
Working furiously to get it to you soon!

OK, I’m gonna keep it short this week, don’t want to bombard you with too many words, so good luck with figuring out that song, go win some music or a cool t shirt, and we’ll see you all next week with more news, keeping you in the “WILK” loop. I appreciate all the support!

Peace
Rock WILK

What’s up everybody? Hope it’s all good wherever you may be. Alot going on with “Broke Wide Open” this week. First of all, the short song “trailers” are officially over for now. They just might show up in the future, perhaps as ring tones. [yes, I do read all of the emails that come in]

This week you’ll notice quite a few changes to the site, including an updated bio/history of “the making of” the album, complete with alot more photos, and a whole lot of “thank you’s” that I just couldn’t fit into the liner notes in the CD booklet. Also, at the music page, you can now hear shortened [approx. 60 second] audio clips from every song on the album, and if you click on the song titles, you can read all the lyrics, along with a short description of each song.

In addition, you can purchase the CD of “Broke Wide Open”, as well as being able to download the music, at the “buy stuff” page.

Also newly available are T Shirts, “IAmAPerson&SoRU” and “Samah” T’s, so pick ‘em up while they last and show your support in style!

The WILK “official” website will continue to evolve each week, including new VIDEO content, which will begin next week, so keep checking back and stay tuned…………….

Also, check the WILK MySpace page, at www.myspace.com/wilkmusic for even more fun stuff, including being able to listen to 4 FULL SONGS!!! Please feel free to continue to leave comments at either page, I love to hear from you.

I’m sending out a huge thank you for all of your support thus far, I never take that for granted, and always appreciate you taking the time not only to listen, but to share your thoughts with me. So spread the WILK word, I salute you for supporting independent music and we’ll see you next week with more.
Peace2U
Rock WILK

OK, folks, finally got the t shirts people were asking for, that were already available at the samahmusic.com site. They're here, so have at 'em! Proudly wear an "IAmAPerson&SoRU" t shirt and send a strong message of unity and equality. Support Samah Productions by wearing a "Samah" t shirt, to help keep the music and the stories flowing. Head over to the purchase page and check 'em out.
Celebrate diversity and THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING INDEPENDENT MUSIC!!!
Peace
Rock WILK 4 Samah Productions

Whatup everybody??? Hope this finds you all well, happy, healthy and enjoying what’s left of this summer. Lot’s going on here in “WILK”land. Starting next week, there’s gonna be some video content showing up here and at You Tube, so stay tuned for more information on all of that over the next few weeks, Very excited!!
I’m also in the process of putting the live show together, getting ready to get this music LIVE AND IN COLOR, SOON, ANYWHERE NEAR YOU!!! Not gonna be your conventional show either, so stay tuned and YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED. ;)
This week’s trailer is “Black and White”, dealing with more social issues that seem to be on my mind with every breath I take, each day of my life. I feel that this is one of the more important songs on the album, a song that is TRULY about community, and something that we really need to think about. Here’s one of the reasons why……. Some words taken from a song that didn’t make the album, but relevant to this weeks story..

“Let’s talk about Sean Bell, He was 23 years old
He was about to marry the woman he loved, The mother of his child
And just like you and me, And him and her, and he and she
His friends wanted to throw him a bachelor party and send him on his way
Know what I mean?
To the rest of his life
You know a big party for the wedding was planned
I bet friends and family came in from all over the country
But you see this day was damned
Because that night Sean Bell
And by the way I know I will NEVER forget his name,
Walked out of the club with his friends
And the lives of so many people were forever changed
50 shots sprayed out……….
Have you ever heard, even one time in your life,
A story like Sean Bells, about 3 guys who were white?”

I don’t think so. This weeks trailer is dedicated to Sean Bell, may he Rest in Peace. Head over now to the music page and be sure to click on the song TITLE, “Black and White” to read the story and hear this weeks “trailer”.
See you all next week!!
Peace
Rock WILK

WHATUP PEOPLE?
Well, “Broke Wide Open” is officially available and out here in the universe, but I’m still bringing the “trailers”, so here’s this weeks story:

“Be Quiet” is a love song, and love is complicated. Love will really make you look in the mirror sometimes, make you face your demons, make you really feel what’s inside of you, but only if you’re open to it. Love can also be contrived, thought out and prepared for. What exactly is love? A feeling? Can we control it? Is it really “blind”? One thing for sure, love is real, and when it hits you, it’s undeniable. I think that we can learn more from love than anything else we experience in our lives, because it’s the most visceral feeling we can have, it’s so unique to each of us. Let’s face it, love can make you stoooopid! Make you do things you never expected to do, make you wonder who you are. Hmmmm….

Head over to the music link and be sure to click on the title, “Be Quiet” to read the story and hear the music from this weeks short trailer.

Just a reminder that you can now purchase my solo CD, “Broke Wide Open”, or download the music if you prefer, at the “purchase” link here at the website. Spread the word!!

Thanks always for all the support and look for lots of WILK news, coming over the next week or so. Some very cool things on the horizon, there’s a lot going on, so stay tuned……
Until then, keep enjoying what’s left of this summer and we’ll see U next week!
Peace2U
Rock WILK

Fear not, got all of your emails requesting downloads. You can now download "Broke Wide Open" or if you prefer, you can pick and choose your favorite songs and purchase them individually. Still gonna be exclusively available at this site and at the MySpace site for a little while, but getting it all together, slowly but surely! ;) Available at ITunes, Napster, etc, etc in a short time. Also, a few of the short "trailers" have been made available for free download, so feel free to go to the music page and rip 'em off the site and have the coolest ringtones around! Just a "heads up", With regards to the CD, there are only going to be a limited amount manufactured, so if you want to have the physical CD of “Broke Wide Open”, including the cd booklet, jewel box artwork and graphic design of Danielle Oteri [you can reach her at danielle@danielleoteri.com],you better pick one up while you can.
Enjoy, and see you soon!
Peace
Rock WILK

The “WILK” solo album, “Broke Wide Open” is now available, exclusively here at www.wilkmusic.com for a limited time. I wanted to make this album available to all of the people who have supported me in the past, right to the present, before this music is formally “released” to the rest of the universe. It’s been a gift working on this project, and I appreciate all of the emails and comments that have come in over the past few months, leading up to this day. Every word means a lot to me and I don’t take your thoughts for granted. So now that you will be able to hear the complete songs, I hope that you find the music and the stories interesting, appealing and compelling. I also hope that you will keep coming to the website and continue discussion about all of the issues that I have brought to these songs. [look for a more "interactive" blog to be added to the site soon] That’s really what I want from this project. I want to make a difference, to make some type of contribution to my community, in whatever small way I can. To make people stop and think about the world around them, to have people feel connected to everything and everybody around them. To understand that everything we do, everything we say, has a profound effect on all of us. “In our every deliberation, we must consider the impact of our decisions on the next seven generations”, from The Great Law Of The Iroquois Confederacy.
So…… hoping you buy lots of CD’s so I can put the money back into this journey and take it to the highest level. Make “Broke Wide Open” your “one stop shopping” for your holiday gift shopping. ;)
Enjoy the music, dance to it, sing it at the top of your lungs, read the words out loud to your friends and family, and all good things like that!
Keep checking back at the website for updates, and I’ll be sure to keep you all up to date. Thanks again for all the support and see you all soon!
Peace and much love
Rock WILK

Whatup everybody? We’re days away from the release of “Broke Wide Open”. This week’s trailer is short and sweet, a tribute to the beautiful city of New Orleans, still reeling in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. I re-visited Spike Lee’s documentary, “When The Levees Broke” recently, and when I see the faces of the people directly affected by Hurricane Katrina, it makes me think of people all over the world dealing with major adversity. This is such an important time in history. It makes me think of the importance of community. That’s why I love New York City so much. If you ride the subways here in NYC, as millions of people do every day, you are automatically part of the greatest example of what community means. Read more at the music page, and be sure to click on the song title, “New Orleans [A Warning]”.
Also, I’d like to send a special “thank you” out to everyone, for the tremendous response to “Song For My Mother”, last week. YOU’RE tributes to her and the song were just amazing. As one person commented at the guestbook, “sitting atop the ferris wheel...her spirit in stillness “, I must say, she would have loved to have heard that! I am profoundly moved by the love that poured out, all over that song for MY mother. Thanks for that, and keep the comments coming in at the guestbook page for all the songs.
OK, that’s it for this week, and look for more this week on the release of the album.

Hope this finds everyone well as we approach the middle of summer. We’re another week closer to the release of “Broke Wide Open”, and this weeks “trailer” is “Song For My Mother”, a song I wrote for my mother, Phyllis Wilk, whom you’ll actually get to hear singing in this production. I recorded her on my cell phone as I was driving her to the hospital one day, which turned out to be the last of many trips to the hospital for us. Here’s an interesting bit of information about this track... I actually decided to add the recording of my mother to this song AFTER I had already completed the production. When I added her voice to the arrangement, I was amazed to find that the recording of her singing in the car was in the SAME KEY THAT I HAD RECORDED THE SONG IN!!! I was able to create a simple string arrangement around her that fit perfectly with the rest of the already finished production. Good ears, mom!!!
So, as always, head over to the music page and be sure to click on the song title to read the whole story. I would love to hear your comments about “Song For My Mother”, and all of the songs, which you can always share at the guestbook page.
Enjoy and see you next week!
Peace
Rock WILK

Ooh, feel the humidity here in NYC! Mad hot, but all good, here in the most beautiful city in the world. Looks as if the release of “Broke Wide Open” might be a staggered release, cd’s available at the “official” website on the 31st of July, as announced, but probably showing up in stores and on the web [ITunes, etc] sometime over the month of August. Which brings me to this weeks short audio trailer, “Johnny”, which is really all about rolling with life’s little surprises. As we all know, life doesn’t always bring us what we expect, opportunity isn’t always in the form we might have envisioned, the movie isn’t always quite what the book was, in our minds anyway. It’s all good though, as long as we stay open, take a deep breath and accept all of life’s surprises. You never know what you might learn……………. As always, go to the music page, and be sure to click on the song title to read the story and hear this weeks “trailer”.
Note to self, and a good rule to get thru each day,
IAmAPerson&SoRU ……………..
“Celebrate Diversity”
Enjoy “Johnny” and see you next week.

somtimes people say the strangest things, and it's even more amazing when it's someone close to you, someone who is, perhaps, part of your social circle. Anyway...........To me, the legendary jazz bass player Charles Mingus explained what I'm feeling better than I could, when he used a version of a famous poem, [attributed to Pastor Martin Niemöller (1892–1984) about the inactivity of German intellectuals following the Nazi rise to power and the purging of their chosen targets, group after group],on his song "Don't Let It Happen Here," on the album "Music Written for Monterey, 1965 Not Heard...Played Live in Its Entirety at UCLA," which after a small release was out of print for many years until re-released on September 26, 2006. He changes and expands the ending:

"One day they came and they took the Communists
And I said nothing because I was not a Communist
Then one day they came and they took the people of the Jewish faith
And I said nothing because I had no faith left
One day they came and they took the unionists
And I said nothing because I was not a unionist
One day they burned the Catholic churches
And I said nothing because I was born a Protestant
Then one day they came and they took me
And I could say nothing because I was as guilty as they were
For not speaking out and saying that all men have a right to freedom
On any land
I was as guilty of genocide
As you
All of you
For you know when a man is free
And when to set him free from his slavery
So I charge you all with genocide
The same as I
One of the 18 million dead Jews
18 million dead people"

As we sit and watch, this continues all over the world. In Darfur, Ethiopia, Congo, just to name a few places.
It’s easy to ignore
if it’s not at your front door
Make like you don’t see anything, can’t hear a sound
But the world's getting smaller and smaller
And at some point, you have to speak up

Let people know who you are
You can make a difference
And it’s your responsibility.

Hello everybody!

Back for another “trailer” this week, getting closer to the July 31st release of “Broke Wide Open”. So this week’s “trailer” is about plastic surgery. Society drives people to alter themselves, for sure. Pushes people to have elective surgery, that in some cases, can be life threatening. For that matter, think of all the things that can lead up to that plastic surgery. Depression, Bulimia, Starving one’s self, McDonald’s, Lots and lots of ice cream, Anorexia, potato chips by the bag [sound familiar?], fasting, fat burning cream [huh?], whipped cream, I guess we’re just all over the place with this, but the list goes on and on. We definitely have to work on our self image as a culture, don’t you think? We’re all guilty of it. What’s UNDER the surface? Oops, see...I’m guilty right there... what’s wrong with the surface???? Anyway, just some observations...
Go to the music link and be sure to click on the title of the song, “Bye Bye”, and read all about it, including a poem I wrote for my grandmother just before she passed away. Click on the mp3 to hear a short remix of the song. Some “tongue in cheek, [kinda/sorta]” lyrics. Also, if you haven’t heard the other songs yet, I would love to get comments on all of the music up at the site thus far. Anyway, hope you all are enjoying the summer and we’ll see you next week with the next song “trailer”. Keep the comments and emails rolling in, I really appreciate them and always learn alot. Thanks for that.
Until next week.
Peace
Rock WILK

whatup everbody? Hope this finds you well. So this week I have decided to put up a complete song. This will be the only complete song until "Broke Wide Open" is released, but given the subject matter, it just didn't feel appropriate to release this piece any other way. Head over to the music link, click on the title. I hope you enjoy this song and I hope you take a minute everday to love something.
Feel free to comment at the guestbook page.
See you next week and Peace2U
Rock WILK

What’s up, everybody? back for week 2 of releasing these short “trailers”, and this week’s song is called “I’ll Treat You Like My Own”. Head over to the music link here, and be sure to click on the title [it actually say’s “click here”], and you’ll get the “story behind” the song. ;) Be sure to keep the comments and emails coming in, because these short “trailers” are kind of a new genre, U know? Also check the photo gallery link for new pics each week, as well......
Hope you find this weeks story interesting and see you next week……………………………. One week closer to “Broke Wide Open”…………….
Peace
Rock WILK

OK, so I got a ton of emails, all mad at me for putting up such a short audio clip, so I PROMISE next weeks clip will be much more revealing, [and longer] sorry for that. Just trying to keep it all fresh for the official release.
:) Stay tuned and keep the comments coming. Always welcome and much appreciated.

here we go..... each week until the official release of "Broke Wide Open", I'm gonna release short audio "clips" from some of the songs on the album. My musical version of movie "trailers". Enjoy the first.... be sure to click on the title, '"Stroke" trailer', here at the music link, to read all about the story behind the song.
introducing, "Stroke"

Well, this cat begins his journey out of the proverbial bag today. It’s been a long story getting to this point, but the “release” begins, gradually, on this day, so mark it down, for all the world to see, on June 9th, 2007, this story begins to be told. “Broke Wide Open” is a project that started in January of this year, was all written while riding the subways and busses of the New York City Mass Transit system, and was, and continues to be the most amazing experience of my life. 12 new revealing songs created among the intense, stimulating and moving [literally and figuratively] diversity of this great city. Once all of the songs were safely sung into my little digital recorder, and the lyrics were written down into my black and white ticked “composition” notebook, always with a number 2 pencil [remember first grade?], I was off to the studio in my loft, here in Brooklyn, to bury myself in this homemade recording studio for the next 5 months. The “studio” is a small room built in the middle of the loft, in between the bedroom and the living room, 6 feet wide and 17 feet long, with a 3 foot by 3 foot vocal booth in the middle of that small space. Perfect for my needs. Just me and my macbook pro, my 3 guitars, my microphone, my Apogee Mini Me and Mini DAC, Mackie 824’s as monitors, Sony headphones, my controller keyboard and Logic Pro, living together alone for 5 months. My own little “Real World”, “put 1 human and some instruments and recording equipment in a room together for 5 months and see what happens!”. Literally, the only time I left that studio during this time was to go running each morning. I often would pick a bridge, and run into Manhattan to start my day, and what a perfect way to begin each day. Running toward the most breathtaking view in the world, lower Manhattan, whether it’s from the Williamsburg, Manhattan or Brooklyn Bridge, is a very cool way to wake up and get started, trust me. This would always give me the energy that I would need to get through each day of this intense process. After a quick shower [very necessary to survive in that small room all day ;)], I was usually working by around 11am everyday, and I was always in for a long session, generally until about 4am each day. The clock just seemed to move at warp speed, I would turn around and the world was silently sleeping around me. I was completely cut off from what was going on outside of that little room. I lost 20 lbs during the making of this album, I was just forgetting to eat. Interesting thing was that I was never really tired, though, I guess because I was completely immersed and concentrated in these songs.
Beginning Monday, there is going to be one short clip available at this website, along with the lyrics to one of the songs on the album, which is slated for a July 30th release, every week. I’ll tell the story of each of these pieces of music, “open the window” a little bit to my process, and hopefully that it will enhance the experience of getting to know these new songs. Please feel free to make any comments at the guestbook page and let me know what’s on your mind. You can also participate in the blog that will be created at www.myspace.com/wilkmusic as well, if you wish.
So that’s where I’m at, at the moment. Look for this cat to begin to move out of the bag this coming Monday, and I hope to hear from you each week during this gradual release. So spread the word, "Broke Wide Open" is coming soon!
Enjoy the summer and I look forward to getting this new music out to the universe on July 30th.
Peace
WILK

solo album from WILK will finally be available on July 30th........... stay tuned....