Back to the Future Day

The day movie geeks like me have been preparing for has arrived. Nearly 26 years in the making as Back to the Future II was released in theaters November 1989. If you don't know the story you shouldn't bother reading any further.

A lot of movies about the future are distopias while BTFII had a brighter vision of the future. The movie gave us something to shoot for and something to believe in. We were going to have flying cars, cool glasses, hover boards, and smart houses. All of those came true though not in the way we expected and none of them are everyday items as shown in the film. Maybe in another 30 years.

There's another side of the whole Back to the Future thing and that's the personal side. Everyone has hopes and dreams and I was the same age as some of the characters when BTFII came out. I had so many ideas of what life in 2015 was going to be like. Like anyone I had good times and bad times leading up to today. I thought I was going to be a rock star like a lot of kids that age and like Marty. Well, I did finally complete that rock album I've been talking about doing since I was 4 years old (at least it seems that long). 2015 has been one of the greatest years of my life. Anyone close to knows my passion for music and this year I did three albums of different genres and a spoken word album. Jazz and classical also in the works. My musical career, check, that came true and like the technology it didn't come true as I thought it would in 1989 but it was as awesome as I had hoped. Poetry, well I dreamed of that too, and some how some way, I was going to publish a book. 2007 I published my first book and yesterday I celebrated the fifth anniversary of the second book with the third book coming soon. The one thing I didn't predict was writing fiction.

I expected to be rich and that one didn't come true, we all expected that, right? I'd like to be a full time writer and musician but that didn't come true. I am doing a lot of commercial work in music along with my own projects. As I look back though 2015 came out pretty much the way I thought it would back in the day. There were a lot of years it didn't look that way and far from it. I'm fortunate to still be around. That being said I'm happy with the way 2015 turned out. Now if I could have that 17 year old body back!

One thing I didn't predict then but was inspired by BTFII was my story “Zarna's Discovery.” That story is my view of the future and was inspired by Back to The Future.

A little comparison:of the technology dreamed up by the BTF writers:

No flying cars and in fact they are not much different than they were 26 years ago. They do have a combo airplane/ car but it's certainly not common place.

Smart houses are the new thing though no thumb print entry. Bio security was nothing new even in 89 being used in many Sci-Fi films. However, it isn't until 2015 that some of those technologies like the thumb print are starting to become common place. It's far from perfect as we saw last year with the iPhones on the day they came out hackers already got around it.

Holograms are still a work-in-progress and like Jaws 15 it still looks fake.

Hover boards are out there but cost $10K plus and have to have a special copper surface to work which is far from what the writers had in mind. I see them fading fast into a dream of the past.

Automatic dog walkers are still a thing of fiction as are neon curbs.

They never foresaw cellphones and the internet.

Well that's it. I'll leave you now so that I can celebrate Back to the Future day. It's a holiday that only comes once, today. So what's your Back to the Future story?

Poetry CD

Here's a list of poems that will be on my poetry CD. This isn't the order they will be but just the list for now. It is made of of poems from Innocence Lost, Apollo's Flame, and Infinity's Tomorrow. The goal is to have it completed by the end of September which is the five year anniversary of the publication of Apollo's Flame.


Hopeless (part 1)
Romantic (part2)
Impossible Heights
Open Mic Night
The Day Lucille Sat Still
Hospital Food
Innocence Lost*
15 Minutes 'til Midnight
Autumn Vista
That Cat Can Play
Island Time
Just A Kiss
Naked
Love Poem
Take Me Home*
Star Dust
Complaint Department*
Love Waves
The Lady and The Piano
Superman's on Roids
Pit in My Stomach
Subway of Dreams
Language of Love
A Greek Tragedy (Featuring Puma Perl)
Easy Like Sunday Morning
Lioness on the Prowl
Love Potion #9
Whitman Park
If She Only Knew
In The Pale Rusted Moonlight
Dear Muse (Featuring Puma Perl)
If She Only Knew
Mona Lisa
One Man's Trash
Love Waves

Book of Short Stories

I've decided to do a book of short stories with a title of "Standing Still." Next year I'm planning on doing some storytelling festivals which I haven't done in a long time so some of the stories will be written for the festivals. I just finished writing a story that's been bouncing around my mind for a long time which is the first of many more to come. The stories will be in a number of different genres. No plan for release date as of yet I'll write the stories as they come and when I think there's enough to finish the book I'll finish it.

To Charleston

To Charleston

My first book was published by Book Surge Publishing out of Charleston, SC. The team of both black and white people were wonderful to me especially when everyone knew that a book of poetry from an unknown 30 something writer from Ohio wasn't going to pay their salaries. That didn't matter, they believed in me as a writer. Later I would publish several fictional stories with them as well. My experience with them in the beginning was what led me to have the confidence to write more. They also encouraged me to do readings and performances which led to me touring all over the country. I'm forever grateful for what they did for me. None of which they had to do. My account manager told me of how excited he was to publish my poetry because the world needs more poets. There aren't enough poets, too many gangsters, killers, and haters and not enough creators. Amen to that. In 2012 I visited the city for the first time and caught just a glimpse of how beautiful the city is. Full of art, culture, architecture, and wonderful people. This is the Charleston I know and love. Some horrible things have put Charleston in the news. A cop murdering a guy and trying to cover it up and then the mass shooting at the church. These despicable acts were committed by two individuals. I want you to know the Charleston I know. The one whose citizens helped a nobody become a somebody and treated a stranger like I was family, like I was part of that wonderful artist scene in that beautiful city. I pray for peace and healing for my friends and for God's blessings.

Neon Moonlight Out of this World album drop

Album drop! Out of this World by Neon Moonlight is now available.

 What Out of This World is all about is old and new technology coming together. With the explosion of tablets in the last six years have come a number of apps and many being synthesizers. The cost of owning all these would be thousands of dollars but now just a couple of hundred. The particular ones that got my attention first were the Korg apps, which is what all the songs were produced on. These machines were something I could only dream of back in the 80s and 90s. They were way out of the price range I was able to afford. All of the sudden one of the most iconic Korg keyboards, the iPolysix was available as a $20 app. So I downloaded it and began playing around with it. Then I downloaded the Gadget app which featured drum machines, bass synths and leads all on an iPad. You could take it to the park, or out on the trail and write music. It started out just playing around with these retro sounds, then I began writing with some hip hop and dance artists who wanted to incorporate those retro sounds into their songs. Next I began writing some songs of my own, the first being '84 Time Warping, and I sent it out to friends like I usually do with all the music I write and they loved it. It was a surprise to me since it wasn't really serious work. The more people I shared the song with the more who loved it. A DJ I work with sent it to a label that does exclusive songs for dance clubs around the world and they ate it up! I signed on with them and they picked up a few more songs later on. I also posted the songs on Reverb Nation where I quickly went up to top 10 in the world dance artists. Since, I've fallen but still remain in the top 200.

Here it is folks, a year after I began writing the songs on the iPad I have 13 of them on the album. Looking back I remember how much fun it was to produce these songs. Thanks to all my fans hope you enjoy it, and dance your ass off to it! I remember those days when I was still in High School and I'd go to Akron Music to play the keyboards, then I could only dream, but now... It's here and it's out of this world!

The direction for the next album will change somewhat as I introduce some more chill, deep house and songs with vocals but don't worry, there will be plenty more of these songs like you hear on Out of This World.

Track 10 I Should Have Loved You Better

Track 10 I Should Have Loved You Better

More taste of ambient soft synth rock this time with a psychedelic feel to it. The song is about reminiscing after a bad relationship, admitting your faults, and remembering that even if that person is no longer with you they were something very special and that part never goes away. This becomes clear after time and “as the bitterness washes away.” Looking back I think I should have been more loving in this relationship. It isn't so much about wanting someone back but admitting to yourself there was something that you keep and many lessons learned. Although if that is the way the lyrics speak to you as the listener that's perfectly alright. There is some bright electric guitar and a solo at the end. Kind of like the cherry on top of the ice cream. There are seven different synth tracks and some airy flute behind it to give it an even more psychedelic feel to it.

Next up track 11 Bad News

Track 9 My Cherished One

Track 9 My Cherished One

This is another soft rock song on the album. It has an ambient sound with the flute guitar and piano and trance vocals. This song is for those couples who have been together for a long time and look back at their lives. You know when that person means the world to you. I approached this song from that point of view. This is what love should be and I think you're pretty blessed if you look back on your life and this song is exactly how you feel. At the time it was written my parents had just had their 50^th wedding anniversary.

Next up track 10 I Should Have Loved You Better