Are you the master of your mind?

Recorded in Agropoli with Francesco Citera on accordion. The song is about how most of us put all our efforts into controlling the outer world, while inside we go to pieces. Devote a little time to listening to the crazy voice in your head every day, and then sometimes you can get away without doing what it says. Link to lyrics

We flatter those we scarcely know

A song inspired by the poem Life's Scars by Ella Wheeler Wilcox. Recorded in Agropoli with the most excellent Francesco Citera on accordion. Lyrics

All the time - w/Francesco Citera

I'm very honoured to be able to be able to play with musicians like Francesco Citera. He's completely at one with his instrument. We only have to play through the songs once and he's got it. A real virtuoso. He doesn't have a website - he's too busy playing - but search for him on Youtube and be blown away.
Lyrics

You are not the voice in your head

I'm a big fan of Eckhart Tolle. He's an inspiration for the modern age. A new prophet. The main thing to know is the voice in your head is just a program that gives answers, suggestions and ideas based on your experiences. Your actual consciousness, who you really are, is much deeper. We're actually sleep-walking through the day.

It's not dark yet

A classic track by one of the greatest artists of our times, Mr Bob Dylan. This is sung on the terrace of my girlfriend's Uncle's Hotel in Agropoli, watching the sun go down. Filmed by Francis Cassidy, the Stray Photographer.

Satellite of love

I used to live across from Bar Sciue Sciue in Agropoli and Alessandro, the owner, is a real character. I got behind the bar last week to sing him a song and cheer him up.

Bit of a Buddha

My consciousness fades in and out. Sometimes I've got a widescreen sense, the next moment I'm staring at the ground while I walk mumbling to myself. It's sad. But knowing you're crazy is half the battle. Right!?

Toyboy

A cover of an old Jack Stafford song. He's one of my favourite artists. If not the favourite.

Society

I had always thought that Eddie Vedder wrote this song - a classic for modern times about our obsession with the material world, with poignant lyrics and a haunting melody - but it turns out it was written by guy called Jerry Hannan. I only found out when I covered it and credited it to Vedder, only to be corrected by my fans. I don't know how he and Eddie crossed paths, but Vedder made it famous when he covered it for the soundtrack for the film Into the wild.

Here's Hannan's version below... I think they use the same backing track. Strange.

ADD

I stayed with a crazy American family on tour while on tour in San Diego in 2006 and their child was out of control. They said he was diagnosed with Attention Deficit Disorder, and the song was originally called Parental Deficiency Disorder.

Thanks to everyone at Bakery Art in Agropoli for letting us film there.

Go there for some great cakes! Bakery Art, Via Giuseppe Mazzini, 21, 84043 Agropoli Salerno, Italia

VERSE 1
G D C G
I hear you've got a kid, wild and free
Em C D G
And you don't know, what it could be

He's wrecking your house, destroying your home
Can't be left for two minutes alone

Just when you're on the edge of insanity
You discover the term ADD

Now you can give him plenty of treats
Chocolate, cookies, crisps and sweets
Drive him to school, never walk anywhere
Don't let him play outside
When he's hyper with pent-up energy
Get him tested for ADD

Make all his food tasty and colorful
Sugary drinks and ice cream by the tub-full
Everything's processed, nothing's fresh
Minimal vegetable, plenty of flesh
Then when he's at Grandma's and won't sit down for tea
Blame it on the ADD

Let him stay up late every night
Get up in the morning whenever he likes
Indulge his rugged rebellious streak
Give him a new toy every week
When people say he's spoilt
Whisper to friends that it's ADD

MIDDLE
C
Fill him with fear of the stranger danger
The candymen that don't need the dark
Keep him off the streets he could get by a car
And away from the syringes in the park
Give him all the freedom in the world, as long as he's inside

VERSE 2
Let him spend days in combat game sessions
Sign him up for karate lessons
Build up his collection of ninja toys
Stick him in daycare with bigger boys
Then when he makes his sister bleed
Spank him for his ADD

Keep him quiet with animation
If he's causes ttouble he goes in isolation
Don't bother to plead to get him to read
Talk to the kid like a kid
When he can't master his ABC
It's another symptom of ADD

Give him 300 channels and a remote control
40 games for his portable console
20 cereals and 30 shoes
Kill his attention span and ability to choose
So if he doesn't win the spelling bee
He'll be able to say it's his ADD

Memorize the symptoms on Wikipedia
Spout all the stats you heard in the media
Blame the teachers and his education
Sedate him with Ritalin medication
While you at it get something for your anxiety
Float away together on ADD

When he's older and wiser and his life is a mess
Can't cope with working or get any success
He'll remember the snacks of his infancy
All the sugar you ate in pregnancy
When he accuses you of parental deficiency
Plead the 5th and ADD

Eindhoven

I lived in Eindhoven for 2 years. Happy memories. Strolling along the Stratumseind, singing in the old Effenaar, dancing in the now defunct Dans Salon. Formative years. It's not a beautiful place, but it is honest.

Fancy

I thought I should do some covers, not alway me me me. Here's a reinterpretation of pop's current No.1 song - the best selling or most viewed or however they count it these days... song in America.

The real world

I wrote this song the other morning while I was thinking whether to play the guitar or check my email. Early morning is the best time to write songs as there's a direct connection to the unconscious, and they just flow out.

Social media is one of societies modern ills. There's a lot to be said for unplugging oneself from the social online whirlwind. I think it's slowly destroying a lot of people's ability to concentrate, eroding their self-confidence and their happiness.

Please share.

5 years on

If I had an idol, then David Bowie would be up there. His songwriting is very special and I love his song '5 years' in particular. It describes the day that people find out the world is ending... why we're not sure, but what we do know is that there are 5 years left. I took up the narrative with this song, 5 years on, which describes the events on the day that the world actually ends. Lyrics

Sorrow's never far away (A winter in Perdifumo)

When I came back to Italy with Maria after 8 months travelling Australasia with her it was a bit like being in a movie. We moved straight in with her family. I didn't speak the language. We were living in the countryside. She went out to work all day with her father and I stayed at home with her mother and grandmother. Looking back on it it was not a sensible idea. Especially when the winter came along. Then it turned into a true tragedy when her father got leukemia and was sick for a year before succumbing. Sorrow was never far away at that time. Lyrics

Nepal and India

Kathmandu was a trash can. The air was so dirty I could hardly breathe. I spent a week there and that was enough. After that I was in India for a month again. Now I'm back in 

Dr Ajeeb

My Ayurvedic doctor in India, with his mother.

The island getaway

http://theislandretreat.in/ Recommended if you're looking for somewhere to unwind. There's nothing else to do here!

A donation of chillies

Fishes

Local businesses donate most of the food. Twice a week a collection is taken from 5 local fish shops who all contribute something.

My iPad is very popular here

Tea time for the assistants

Joshy with his son

Joshy runs the centre, looking after over 150 children from a few months old right up to late teens. He's been doing it 12 years and has never had a holiday. The Foundation is two big buildings built on land his father used to farm, next to their home. He has 9 brothers and sisters, who also help out at the orphanage and also a home for the mentally handicapped that they also run. What a family!

Lunch for 300 people

Band practice

Mother and Child foundation

I visited Mother and Child again at the weekend. It was great to see the kids again.

Vimal

Manager of the island resort.

Sunrise on the island

I wake around 4am for yoga and meditation with the crows before the suns up at 6. Then early to bed as there's little to do. I'm the only guest and two locals work here taking care of me.

Entrance to the island

Island life

I've settled on an island in the backwaters of Kerala, near kollam. It's very beautiful and very quiet. Shrimp nets surround the tiny island (200m long and 150m wide) and fisherman work the waters from early evening to late morning. The water is very shallow, less than a meter. I swam around the island once but it was tough going and the bottom is very slimey and cold.

Big catch

Strong guys to pull in this net. It's huge. Half the men in the village are involved it seems. Varkala is really beautiful with the cliff tops and the black sands. A great place to kick back.

Back in India

Back in the craziness. Waste deep and wading. Great to be back in the land of Ayurveda. I'm having a much different experience this time - last time was cushioned in a resort. Now I'm starting to understand the place because I'm staying with locals. Meeting people from the north and the tiny expat community here, so get lots of different perspectives. Already been hiking in the jungle with newfound friends. Haven't left Travandum yet. Need some wheels and a phone. It takes a long time here - especially because there's a festival on. Got to get used to Indian ways.

New album in the pipeline

I've been doing a few days a month on the new album. It's slow going here in the Cilento. The studio owner is quite booked up, especially in the summer as he does live sound. But that suits me fine. There's no hurry.

I've happy with the sound of the songs. It's quite a creamy sound. It's mostly analogue equipment and multi-tracked vocals. These layers give it a very rich quality

Five will be 'produced' this way with other musicians on them, and seven will be just me solo. It's too expensive and would be even more time-consuming to do them all. Not that there needs to be 12 songs anymore. The concept of the album is a loose one in these digital days.

The songs are all about my time here in the Cilento. I've been here two years now. It's hard for a rolling stone to settle down. My girlfriend's father was very sick for over a year until he died a few months ago, from leukemia and that was one of the reasons I stayed as long. Now I'm not so sure what to do. It's very idyllic here in the summer, with lots of visitors and things to do... cycling, beach volley, jamming with friends, festivals, beautiful fruit and food... but the winters are long, in cold houses, with deserted towns

I fly to India on September 11th (cheap flight!) and will stay there for a few months. The plan is no plan. Hopefully Maria can come and visit me. The reason for India is to learn more about Ayurveda, which I'm fascinated by. A largely ignored science of life.

Maria's family wanted to turn the house here into a B&B, but after a very inspiring yoga festival in the north of Italy a few weeks ago, we had the idea to turn it into a yoga centre, come cycling centre, or retreat for group holidays basically... even a dance studio. And then in the summer run some mini-festivals of music and yoga and the suchlike. Only a few in-the-know Germans come this far down Italy, most people stay up in Tuscany, and this would be a good way to get some tourist euros. The locals don't have much money, and even if they did they aren't much interested in alternative festivals and so you need tourists.

So maybe half the year in India and half in Italy. Wouldn't be too bad.

No plans to tour for the moment. It's just not profitable. Takes a huge amount of time to organise the shows, then few people actually come to them, and those that do don't buy CDs anymore. It's really tough for musicians to make money anymore.

I'll do the best I can with the new album. Make some nice videos. Try for a record deal this time with some smaller labels around the world, and maybe that leads to something.

We'll see.

Jamming with Klaus

Thanks for the music lesson

Bliss beat festival

Just had a truly inspiring weekend at a yoga festival in the north of Italy. Wonderful people and teachers.

Yoga stars

Studio

Another session in the studio in Ascea. Slowly getting the album together. Drums today with Denis Citera. Top stuff.

Dog food never tasted so good

Garden fresh

Sunday afternoon

Jamming with friends in Perdifumo. A lovely lazy Sunday.