I said, “Yes“, to a very scary opportunity.

After reflecting a bit on my life, that courage to say, “Yes”, to scary opportunities is what has gotten me to where I am today. I am of the mindset that if I want to do something, I do it. (Note: I post the goals attained below as examples only, I don’t normally share this stuff but it will help me make the bigger point I’m trying to make.)

I wanted to bench press 350 lbs…I worked out like a maniac and attained my goal. (Oh, and for all you weight-lifters out there, I also weighed in at 138 lbs when I benched 350.) That’s one of the reasons I won “Strongest Man on Campus” at the U of A back in the day.

I was upset with my level of cardiovascular fitness and the fact that I didn’t really like running…so I bought a book on how to run a marathon and 6 months later I ran my first marathon.

I wanted to be a flamenco guitarist…so I moved to Seville to study flamenco, worked my booty off while living there, then worked my booty off even more upon my return to the US to make a living doing what I absolutely love to do.

I saw the Bourne Series and fell back in love with martial arts (I really wanted to be a ninja when I was a kid!), so I searched the internet, found who taught the type of martial arts shown in the movie and now 6 years later I have worked hard enough and long enough, consistently enough and diligently enough that I’ve been promoted to a black belt, or it’s equivalent, in 2 distinct martial arts. Crazy!

Now to the symphony…I got a call from the Chandler Symphony Orchestra asking me to compose a symphonic work that could be presented for the Arizona Centennial Celebration concert they were presenting. Had I ever written a symphony? No. But I took their request for me to write one as a validation from the universe that I am supposed to write a symphony. It’s been a dream of mine since I was 19 years old and a world I still had barely dipped my toe into. So, I said, “YES!”.

A year earlier I composed a Marimba Quartet with Flamenco Guitar work for the amazing percussion department at SOU and at that time I thought I was crazy to even attempt it…oh, the sleepless nights! But I did it and the ensemble loved it! So that gave me the confidence to take it up a notch and compose a symphony. What an amazing opportunity for me to dive into composing for orchestra.

Writing the symphony…well, now we get into real personal stuff. Because this piece was to debut at an Arizona Centennial Celebration (which is of special importance to me because of my heritage, more on that later), I wanted the work to feature a guitar that would be the voice of Arizona’s Mexican heritage. So, I started with guitar, my strength!

I noodled on guitar and came up with, what I believe, is a fantastic melody. A heart-wrencher. My own measure of when I know a musical idea is good is when I can feel it in my heart…literally! I get that feeling like falling in love, or when watching a super-emotional part of a movie, a feeling like I’m going over a precipice. When I get that feeling with my music I know I’m onto something. Well, you can’t plan that and I was lucky enough to find a melody like that and I ran with it.

Then I had to build the symphony…how did I do it? I just started! That’s the key…START! I try to put my mind’s negative thoughts aside and push ahead (much easier said than done!). If I get stumped or have a question, I leave it until later. I get everything out of me as fast as I can until I don’t have music pouring out of me. Then, it’s time to go back and fix, change, edit, arrange, develop further, question, reflect. Usually, then I get in another flow and more music starts coming out of me…then I flow with it, let it come out unfettered, just get it down. When it ceases, I either take a break, or I return to one of my trouble-spots in the composition.

Amazingly, things started filling out, the symphony began taking shape and as it did, my confidence grew. There were a lot of things I had to fix and tweak, but I have to say that when I turned the final draft in to the Jack Herriman, conductor of the Chandler Symphony Orchestra, the piece was done. What a sense of accomplishment to hand over a piece of work and know that it’s done. Especially in an artistic endeavor, that is a true blessing!

Setting a goal to lift a particular heavy weight, or run a certain distance, or earn such & such amount of money is very easily quantifiable. You either attain it, or you don’t. When your goal is of an artistic end, then when is the finish? I can go on and on about this, but I mention this only to illustrate my joy, my sense of peace at reaching the “end” point in the composition. That’s a VERY COOL FEELING!

Well, if you’ve read this far, you probably want to hear it…luckily for all of us, I have a fantastic fan (Marie Elena Pavlet) that shared a short video where she took excerpts of the World Premiere of my first symphonic work entitled, “Viva Arizona“. I was able to perform with the Chandler Symphony Orchestra as they played my composition to a packed house of 1,500 people with other patrons sitting in the lobby listening to the concert!

You’ll also hear excerpts of my new guitar piece, “Tierra“, which I debuted in Sept. 2011 at the La Guitarra California Festival.

What a learning experience and now I can’t WAIT to write my next symphony!!

Have a beautiful day, and remember to say, “Yes” to those scary opportunities sometimes!

Your amigo,

Chris Burton Jacome
Flamenco Guitarist & Composer
www.chrisburtonjacome.com

It doesn’t take a huge amount of genius however to figure out that if you exert yourself more than just sitting on your couch, you’re going to burn more calories and be in a bit better shape.

Here’s the article:

http://www.livestrong.com/article/411494-is-flamenco-dancing-good-exercise/

Here’s to your health and to flamenco…and a big “Ole!” to those who can incorporate both!

Chris Burton Jácome
Flamenco Guitarist & Composer
www.chrisburtonjacome.com

For those who doubt the workout benefits of Tai Chi, I would just recommend taking classes for a month. You will certainly see that you get a workout from the practice of the art form. I really enjoy the mental workout each practice presents. There are an infinite number of things you can focus on each time so really it?s more about picking one or two things to keep steady in your mind while going through the movements. Every session shortens the mind body gap as you get better awareness of your movement and more conscious of the choices and decisions you?re making with each movement. It?s really an exciting journey.

Then spirit?Tai Chi provides so much opportunity to cultivate that which can?t be seen. I think we can all agree that there is much inside of us that cannot be seen. How do you see an emotion, a thought, a dream? What we actually do and express each day is a tiny fraction of what is going on inside of us. Tai Chi allows you the opportunity to meditate while moving. Each practice gives you a chance to quiet all of that ?stuff? that?s going on inside of you and either focus on some aspect of ?the stuff? or leave it all behind and be present with the motions your body is going through at that moment. Generally, I choose the latter. It?s a wonderfully calming and peaceful experience to be so focused on the movement, the practice, that everything else is just background to what ?is? right now. What I?ve found even more fascinating is the power of the mind. That while I am so focused on the present, my mind is still working in the background. I?ve come away after a class with answers to questions I didn?t even know I was contemplating!

If you’re up for something new and have ever contemplated taking Tai Chi, I couldn’t recommend the practice of Tai Chi highly enough.

All the best to you and your wellness,

Chris Burton Jácome
Flamenco Guitarist
www.CBJFlamenco.com

PS…I practice Tai Chi at Phoenix Shaolin. Sifu Robert Gardner is a great teacher of the art.

These are 2 of my favorite classic rock songs:
“I Love You” by Climax Blues Band

&

“Lady” by Little River Band

I could listen to both of these songs over & over. I hope you get as much enjoyment out of them as I have over the years. Amazing songs, amazing performances and amazing production to the recordings!

HUGE OLE!!!

Chris Burton Jácome
Flamenco Guitarist & Composer
www.CBJFlamenco.com

I hope to one day get the chance to collaborate with Mr. Knopfler. That would really be a dream come true! Until then, I’ll just keep loving his music.

Thank you for your incredible gift of music, Mark Knopfler!

Your fan,

Chris Burton Jácome
Flamenco Guitarist & Composer
www.CBJFlamenco.com

I have had some ideas for songs with some comical elements but I’ve never actually completed one. These two songs below are a couple of my favorites.

#1: Brad Paisley (who is actually a PHENOMENAL guitar player if you don’t already know) has this song “I’m Gonna Miss Her” about fishing that just cracks me up every time I hear it. I hope you enjoy it:

#2: Lynryd Skynrd came out with a song called, “Gimme Three Steps” several decades ago and the story-telling is absolutely magnificent. I had actually heard this song dozens of times and enjoyed it just musically when one day I was sitting in traffic and actually LISTENED to the lyrics and I was rolling with laughter. My favorite parts are when he says, “Excuse Me” and when he says, “You could hear me screaming a mile away”. VERY FUNNY STUFF!

Enjoy, and please let me know if you have any comedic songs that I should be aware of.

Ole!

Chris Burton Jácome
Flamenco Guitarist & Composer
www.CBJFlamenco.com

Admittedly, I wasn’t a big fan of the last change they made to the Newsfeed but this time they’ve gone far enough to warrant me writing something about it. My question:

Who in the H*&% does Facebook think they are?

I know you’ve gathered quite a bit of information about my life and about every user on FB, but again, WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE to decide what news is relevant to me!?!

Here’s a bit of news for you, Facebook…

YOU DON’T KNOW ME AT ALL!!!

You think you know me because of the tiny little posts I put on my wall every now and again? Because I “Like” certain businesses/bands/artists? Because I “Like” my friends’ posts?

WRONG!!!

You know a teeny, tiny, infinitesimally small Facebook part of me and that is all. You, Facebook, have gotten WAY too full of yourself to presume you know me and what’s important to me. I don’t want anyone telling me what IS or ISN’T relevant to me.

Facebook…you’ve become pretentious. You’ve gotten full of yourself. You think you have all the info when you don’t know anything substantial about anyone.

Here’s wishing you come back to reality,

Chris
www.CBJFlamenco.com

You be the judge…I’m comparing chorus’ here…
Saigon Kick’s song (wait for the chorus, it’s catchy!)

Christina Perri’s song

I think they’re close…not close enough for copyright infringement or anything…just close!

Have a wonderful day,
Chris Burton Jacome
Flamenco Guitarist & Composer
www.chrisburtonjacome.com

Hey, if you’re going to learn about $$ and business…it would be wise to be taking tips from one of the wealthiest dudes on the planet!

Warren Buffett’s TEN RULES FOR WINNING….

Thanks again, Tien Wong, for posting such positive and powerful info!

Here’s wishing MUCH financial success to all of you dedicated musicians and artists out there!

Your amigo,

Chris Burton Jacome
Flamenco Guitarist & Composer
www.chrisburtonjacome.com

As a kid, one of my favorite cartoon characters was “Quick-Draw McGraw“. El Kabong is like Quick-Draw mixed with Desperado.

Just in case you didn’t know, we guitarists LOVE Danger!!! Enjoy this video, I know i did.

Ole! from your amigo,

Chris Burton Jacome
Flamenco Guitarist, Composer and…
“The Most Dangerous Guitarist in the World“…who sheds a tear every time he sees the movie “Rudy“.
www.chrisburtonjacome.com

Last May, about this time in fact, I submitted my song “Ritmo-Canix” (from my latest album LEVANTO) to the John Lennon Songwriting Contest.

And then…

Promptly forgot about it.

Was it intentional? I actually think, YES! As a professional musician I have created, out of what I believe to be necessity, a tortoise shell of protection for myself so that I won’t get my hopes up too high for any given opportunity. I can’t tell you how many times in my career I’ve heard:
“This person knows so and so, and they really like your music and are going to get you a record deal“
or
“This gig doesn’t pay anything but it will provide you tons of exposure“
or…
well, you get the idea.

I’m not saying that the people who have told me these things throughout the years were insincere. I have no doubt they had the best of intentions. However, because of the nature of the game, it’s just so rare that any of these things actually do happen the way you think they’re going to happen.

So, when I received the letter from the John Lennon Songwriting Contest in September that “Ritmo-Canix” had actually WON the Grand Prize in the John Lennon Songwriting Contest World Music Category…well, I was freakin’ stunned right out of my safe little tortoise shell!!!

Honestly, as you get further in the business of music, it gets harder to stick your head out of your shell and risk your neck. However, I am starting to realize that it’s that much MORE important every day that goes by.

I have to GO BIG! If not now, when??

I feel so fortunate that I have the amazing fans that I do, and because of their support and their votes “Ritmo-Canix” was the recipient of the Lennon Award in the World Category on May 1st, 2011.

This has been such a lesson in “going-for-it” for me. I’ve stretched my neck out further this past year than I have in my entire career and I have been rewarded by the universe for my efforts. I am going to take that as a sign that I need to continue to stretch.

I know this tortoise is going to win the race!

I’m going to continue to search for ways to GO BIG. I hope you do too! We only get one run at this. This isn’t a “trial run” we’re on right now. This is THE REAL DEAL! Are you in it to win it?

Your amigo,
Chris Burton Jácome
www.chrisburtonjacome.com

Enjoy!

Your amigo,
Chris Burton Jácome

I have come in to contact with several aspiring professional musicians recently that don’t want to take lessons. I can’t speak for other instruments, but with guitar it seems there’s a badge of honor that goes along with being able to say, “I’m not formally trained” or “I’ve never taken a lesson”. One question…

Would you go to see a doctor that posted these quotes on their wall?? A lawyer? If you really cared about the quality of your care, or the quality of the product you are buying…I think you’d probably choose someone who takes their business, their career, their product seriously and someone you know has done their due diligence, knows their stuff.

I don’t know, maybe that’s just me…

So, let’s put it on the wanna-be-pro-musician…if you, instead, were a wanna-be-doctor, would you say the same thing? No. Unless you wanted to get arrested for practicing medicine without a license…hmmm, there’s an interesting idea…

What I’m advocating is this: All of you wanna-be-pro-musicians should poop or get off the pot. Take lessons weekly or even 2 or 3 times a week, buy books, buy videos, start actively improving yourselves instead of just hanging out and hoping to gain some knowledge whenever it happens to come your way. What are you waiting for!? If you don’t take your life choices, decisions and career seriously then who will?

Here’s what Branford Marsalis has to say about the students he’s been teaching as of late:

Thus endeth the sermon. Happy Wednesday everyone!!

CBJ
2010 Grand Prize Winner (World Category) of the John Lennon Songwriting Contest
www.CBJFlamenco.com

I thought you’d want to be in the loop about a video I recently put up on my youtube page. It’s an instructional video on how to play the basic percussion part in “Ritmo-Canix”!

Enjoy, and please remember to visit: www.chrisburtonjacome.com/ritmo for information on how to help my song “Ritmo-Canix” win the LENNON AWARD! I need daily votes from all of my fans until April 27th, 2011 to hopefully achieve this monumental award!!

WON the GRAND PRIZE
in the
John Lennon Songwriting Contest World Category!!!

I think this calls for a HUGE ?ˇOlé!!!?

Now, with your help, ?Ritmo-Canix? could win the Lennon Award!!

?Ritmo-Canix? is now competing in a head-to-head online voting battle to become the Lennon Award Winner for the John Lennon Songwriting Contest World Music Category! The song that receives the highest number of votes in its category will be declared the LENNON AWARD WINNER for that category!

Again, the voting starts Monday March 28th, 2011. Anyone can vote once a day starting on March 28th, 2011 and ending on April 26th, 2011!

To vote for ?Ritmo-Canix?, please follow these steps:

1. Visit www.JLSC.com
2. Click on ?Cast Your Vote? then scroll down and choose the ?World Category? (lower left)
3. You MUST register your email address (sorry about that!)
4. They (JLSC and Sonicbids) will send you an email and you must click on the link in that email to start actually voting.
5. That link takes you to the ?Email Address Confirmation? Page
6. IMPORTANT: you must then follow the ?Please click here to continue? link.
7. CRUCIAL: Scroll down to the ?WORLD? Category (lower left) and select ?Chris Burton Jácome ?Ritmo-Canix??.
8. Give yourself a big hug from me, because I am so very thankful for your vote and your efforts!
9. Have a beautiful rest of your day.

10. Please repeat steps 1-9 daily until April 27^th, 2011.

www.CBJFlamenco.com

Enjoy!

Your amigo,
Chris

“…’Levanto’ is a fine example of a guitarist successfully composing, arranging and performing music for the stage.” © Patrick Ragains – www.minor7th.com

HUGE ˇOlé!,

CBJ
www.CBJFlamenco.com

Once again, the program is from 1:00-2:00pm (California Time;>), on Sunday December 19th, 2010.

Here’s the link to listen in: http://www.kcbx.org/Pages/Programming/listen_live.html

Happy Holidays!

Chris

Help Chris get a Grammy Nomination!

I am very excited to announce that my new CD, ?LEVANTO? is in contention for a Grammy Nomination in the ?Best Contemporary World Album? Category this year! I bet you can hear me yelling, ?ˇOlé!? from where you are right now!

I really need your help. If you wouldn?t mind taking just a few minutes to brainstorm about whom you know and who your contacts might possibly be connected to within the music business…

Did your cousin date Madonna?s bass player?

Does an old high school friend now work for Capitol Record?s recording studio?

I am reaching out to anyone and everyone because only NARAS (National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences) members can vote for my album and get it Grammy Nominated.

I am the underdog here. ?LEVANTO? is contending for a category that has many artists with big record companies behind them and big budgets. But, I know a lot of wonderful people (YOU being one of them) and I know that grass-roots efforts like this can sometimes build momentum and really make a difference.

A chance like this only comes a few times in a lifetime and I have to jump on it with every resource available to me and my most precious resource is all of the truly remarkable friends I have made throughout my lifetime.

So, please consider calling or emailing a friend on my behalf and ask them to consider voting for ?LEVANTO? by Chris Burton Jácome in the ?Best Contemporary World Album? Category for a Grammy Nomination. If you have a blog, or know someone that would be willing to get the word out on a large scale, please send them my way.

Oh, and there is a timeline?the voting has already begun. Ballots are due by Nov. 2nd, 2010 and some voting members are already submitting?so please act fast.

I can?t thank you enough for your consideration in coming to my aid and helping me out with this. I promise I have a big hug to give you next time I see you.

Your amigo,

Chris Burton Jácome
Flamenco Guitarist & Composer

CALO FLAMENCO went on an extended Alaska tour, we left on Sept. 28th and just returned home on Oct. 11th. Nearly 2 weeks of Alaskan fun and a LOT of flamenco shows!!!

Hang on as I try to give you a quick overview of what we did…

Tuesday…Got in to Anchorage and went to dinner.

Wednesday…We did a school show on Wed. the 29th and then Martin and I taught a workshop at a local dance studio.

Thursday was a marathon day of Teching (for all of you non-theatre folk that means we were staging the show, we were setting up lights and sound). You lose all sense of time and space when you’re in the theatre all day long. But we went and had a wonderful dinner hosted by our dear friends Jason and Evan.

CALO Tech

providing a great show means SO MUCH more than just bringing the artistry, we spend a ton of time behind the scenes to make sure the show sounds spectacular and looks spectacular.

Chris & Lena Jacome @ Discovery Theatre

Kris Hill, Adrian Goldenthal, Chris Burton Jacome - SOUND CHECK

Bernadette Gaxiola and Molly Duran - Staging the CALO Bata piece

Kris & Adrian at Jason and Evan's fiesta on Thursday night

FRIDAY OCT. 1ST/SATURDAY OCT. 2ND…
These were the big shows at Discovery Theater in Anchorage. The audiences were AMAZING and we had nearly full capacity for both nights of our shows! Ole!!

Teching on day of concert.

Martin looking out into the auditorium.

my guitar headstock.

Lena getting set to head back to hotel for a short break before the show!

Our monitor board…

Getting some food in before the show…

Molly in the hall backstage…

CBJ in the dressing room…

The girls stop for a quick photo while getting ready…

On Saturday I gave a Guitar Master Class at UAA. Toby played a Piazzolla piece quite beautifully!

Nick played a Soleares, and in pretty good compas too!

(our last day in Alaska, we went to Denali State Park)

We just got back from our trip and I have GOT to figure out a way of being better connected while being on the trip so I can upload photos and write blogs while on tour…it’s something I aspire to.

I will add more photos and details soon…

~CBJ