Hey friends! I wanted to let all of you know that I have some new music up on my myspace site. I posted two brand new songs "I Don't Wanna Miss It" and "When You Want Love". Both are freshly recorded and I can't wait to hear what you think of them.

Also, I'm playing another show with the brilliant Peter Calo at the Parkside Lounge here in NY next Thur, March 26th. If you were at the last show we did together a few months ago you know what a blast it is! I hope to see some of you there!

Craig Wilson and Peter Calo Live at the Parkside

Thursday March 26th 8 p.m.

317 East Houston, NYC

Hosted By: Craig Wilson
When: Thursday Jan 08, 2009
at 8:00 PM
Where The Parkside Lounge
317 East Houston street
New York, NY 10002
United States
Description:
Craig Wilson

Click Here To View Event

Check out the new issue of Iprong magazine featuring a new interview with yours truly online at

www.iprong.com

KEANE is on the cover.

You can subscribe to iprong via itunes!

My song "Stay" just got top honors in the Pop category from the Billboard Songwriting Contest!! Take a listen if you haven't yet!

I just got back from a trip to Chicago. It was a great experience. I got flown out to play one of my songs (The Shortest Road Home) for a very special performance. I played live for a dance piece choreographed by an amazing Chicago choreographer named Valerie Gonzalez. The piece was danced by a mother who was getting ready to let her daughter go off to college for the first time.

"Put my hand in your hand, then let go if you can..."

The lyrics seemed built for this moment. It was so nice to see the physical embodyment of a song. What a great art form dance is. I've have many friends who are dancers and they always amaze me.

A couple days after this performance in Chicago I went into a brand new dance studio there called Visceral with my choreographer friend Valerie. She had me just sit on a stool in the corner and play and sing, while she improve danced. It was AMAZING! She videotaped the whole thing to get ideas for future choreography. Eventually Nick (the owner of the studio, and wonderful dancer himself) came in and did some partnering with Valerie to one of my songs.

Music is a wonderful thing and it has taken me to so many wonderful, unexpected things. To get a chance to see my songs interepreted by other talented artists in a totally different art form was really a treat. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

I am back in New York now but I had a great trip out to Chi-town.

Thanks to...

Valerie
Carolyn
Kim
Nick
Dan (for the ticket) ; )
Aly

Hi guys, once again a New York City club has decided to try to re-schedule a night of live music in favor of a corporate party. The club my band was scheduled to play at on May 20th (along with three other popular NYC bands) tried to reschedule us but we could not ALL get together on the same date since our schedules have already been planned out through June. The bands decided it would be better to cancel this show and re-schedule it for another time giving our fans the show we promised...eventually. You don't have to read on, but if you'd like to hear some of my ramblings on the subject....



As professional artists (this is our job) we take great pride in what we do and it is very hard for all of us as to cancel shows last minute. We tried everything we could to make this one work but we simply could not. Times are tough and the clubs need money (as we all do), it is sad however, that that money is not being made off of live music in NYC anymore. In the past two days...Yes, two days, I've seen 3 shows be cancelled due to "corporate events". It is no surprise that the NYC music clubs are closing at an alarming rate. In just a few years we've said goodbye to legendary clubs like

CBGB's- Where The Ramones and the punk scene began
Sin-e' - Jeff Buckley's old haunt
The Bottom Line- Springsteen played his sold out record showcase here
The Elbow Room
The Baggot Inn- soon to close
and more...

It's hard in a time when we are all being hit in the pocketbook with rising prices and lowering job opportunities to think about going out to see a show, so the clubs have to do what they have to do. I don't have a solution (other than maybe getting out and voting when the time comes PLEASE) but I do know that it disturbs me very much to see my city, a city that has been known for it's great artistic integrity and influence on the world's music industry over the years, becoming one large "corporate event". Bleecker street where Bob Dylan used to sing and write songs like Blowin' in The Wind, and Time's They Are A Changin', is now riddled with a Duane Reade where the Elbow Room used to be, and countless banks. It's true, the times they are a changin, but for better or worse in this city I am not so sure.

As anyone knows who lives in NY, the neighborhoods change constantly and rents go up and down, but for the past few years they've just gone up! Harlem is even too expensive for most folks to live. Who can pay 1500 dollars to live in a tiny one room, fifth floor walkup, in the village? Who would want to?

New York has, and is quickly becoming, a playground for the rich. That in itself is not a horrible thing, there are many places in the world that are off limits to folks who can't spend, spend, spend...Vegas for instance. The one difference between NY and other wealthy vacation spots is that New York City has soul, it has a heart.

New York has always been a place where people aren't afraid to say what they think and what they feel. In fact, most times people have been applauded for speaking their mind in NY. Whether your Jonathan Larson writing a hit broadway show about a group of friends that seem more like family living in NY and infected with HIV, or your Bruce Springsteen standing on stage at Madison Square Garden singing Born In The USA, which is definatley NOT a patriotic song, you've always had the opportunity. Even the homeless folks on the street are given free reign to speak their mind. How many times have you New Yorkers seen creative homeless folks doing something that sparks your interest (singing, dancing, giving speeches, telling jokes...)? I garauntee you there will be no homeless folks outside any "corporate events'.

To quickly sum this all up, I am not saying that NY needs to devolve into a bohemian utopia, but for so many years artists and "corporate events" have co-existed. If Chinatown can live next to Little Italy, and Soho gets along with Noho why can't a kid with a guitar and a man with a briefcase find there own spaces to live together again?

To all the "corporate events" out there listening....I won't plug in at your board meeting, please don't sip your champagne on my stage. Respectfully yours,

-Craig Wilson

Hey guys, check out my new facebook page. If you’re already a member then copy and paste this address...

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=597900525

and become a fan of mine! Once your a fan you can sign up for the mailing list, hear special preview and bonus tracks, see video’s, and more pictures, and a whole new blog!

If you are not a member of facebook, it’s a wonderful place to meet up with old friends,...and become a Craig Wilson fan of course! ; )

-Craig.

Wow, it's been a while since I have written one of these. For those of you that have not yet read my "bedroom" blogs here's the deal...

Someone I know once told me that our blogs and our myspace sites are kind of like your bedroom when you were in high school, you can post pictures, write things, and basically do whatever you want to decorate it. In keeping with that thought, here are my decorations...

A few nights ago I got to go out with my best friend. This person has known me for a very long time and has made me feel like part of the family. We have laughed, cried, shared secrets, and basically grown up together, it was refreshing.

Today I got into a discussion with someone else about the role of friends vs. business aqquaintances. The basic question was "how do you draw the line between becoming friends with someone for a business contact and becoming friends with someone for there companionship, and should a line be drawn?" All this friendship talk got me thinking.

It's a very interesting thought, especially in a business like entertainment where it is ALL people based. Let's be honest, the more people who know you, the better off you do. So is it wrong to become friends with a person who can also help you out in your career?

Here's my view...I think that you should ATTEMPT to be friends or friendly with as many people as you can. I think being a kind person who honestly is interested in others can only help you...in life and in business. If I see the president of Sony BMG (whom I have never met for the record) of course I would talk to him/her...probably about music! Music may not be the very first thing I talk about but I would be silly if I did not bring it up, it is something we have in common. Would I like him/her to say "Craig I would love to hear your music, and talk about a record deal"?,...Of course! Although I can honestly say it would also be very important to me that this person actually like me and what I do. I would want to have some level of honest friendship with someone I would be working closely with.

I tend to think that you can pretty much see through someone who is not honestly interested in you and what you do. If I met the president of Sony and they were horribly rude and turned out to be someone I could not get along with in any way, then I wouldn't want to work with them.

The entertainment business is a popularity contest, that has never been a secret. Whether you are an artist, a manager, or producer, the more people that know good things about you, your work, and your reputation, the more money you make. Making friends with people that can further your career is not wrong, as long as you can actually be friendly with them. There are too many ways to "make it" and too many roads to try than to fake a friendship for career advancement. It's just not worth it. I believe (and this is just my opinion, since this is my bedroom) that if you are honest in what you do and you are interested in others and what they do, you will make the friends/connections you need. Happiness, contentment, and honesty attracts others. Desperation, and trying too hard to be someone your not is the biggest repellant I can think of.

I hope that you all have many, many friends in your lifetime. I know I have and continue to have wonderful people in my life. If you are honest with your friendships and you really are interested in other people, you may end up with a bigger family than you first thought.

ALL of my songs from my two e.p.'s are now officially up on i tunes. Just go to the i tunes store and search for Craig Wilson. Enjoy!!! Leave me nice reviews please! ; )