Hello Kiddies,

Just got a fabulous Christmas present today, learning that The Red Plastic Buddha is now part of the amazing Music Genome Project at Pandora Radio. If you're not familiar with Pandora, you need to check it out (http://www.pandora.com).

Pandora is the ultimate mix tape, live and constantly updating, available anywhere you can get an Internet connection. You can build your own station based on your own personal tastes, or dig on someone else's station. Once your station is created, Pandora will suggest songs for you based on the bands you've chosen. The more data they have to work with (in other words, the more direction you give), the better the suggestions you'll get.

There are SO many great bands in the world right now who will NEVER get air play from the monolithic corporate dimwit media giants, it is up to us music lovers to go out and FIND the cool unknowns. MySpace is a great tool (just dig our friends list), but the Inet based radio concept is on another level entirely. In my opinion, Pandora is way ahead of the curve. We are very flattered to have our music available there.

So it's Christmas and 2008 is finally winding down. It was a great year for The Red Plastic Buddha (we met so many great people and played with some outstanding artists), but it was a tough year on a lot of folks. With the election of Barack Obama (also from Chicago, ahem) and a sea-change in D.C., perhaps people can find the hope to keep stacking days on top of each other. I've learned that hope is as necessary to humans as water, and without it we tend to get lost inside ourselves. When we allow ourselves to be separated from our fellow human beings, bad things happen.

Hope and love are the things that tie us to each other and make life worth living. Our collective experience this year with other musicians and people involved in music has been a constant source of hope for us. We are part of a tribe so vast and amazing and diverse that it humbles me to know that this is where we belong.

So THANK YOU to everyone who gave us a listen, who watched our videos, downloaded our songs, BOUGHT OUR RECORD & merchandize, reviewed us, booked us, played with us, provided us with wonderful sound & light, designed our posters, took our photos, promoted us, shared our music with friends and/ or listeners, fed us, cheered for us, laughed with us, bought us drinkies, interviewed us, shared their thoughts, love and homes with us. We are eternally grateful to have shared life with you.

2009 will find The Red Plastic Buddha back in the studio. There are nine songs ready to go, and a very important tenth song is still being pieced together. We look forward to the challenge of eclipsing Sunflower Sessions and showing off our new members. We'll continue to play selected live events (next show will be the fabulous Kinetic Playground March 21) and several of the Buddhas will be engaged in solo and collaborative recording projects (more to follow). In all, it should be a very exciting year.

Finally, my official benediction for 2009: never wait for conditions to be perfect before acting. Don't wait for someone to save you, don't look to others to make the changes that will move you toward your dreams. If you act and fail, look for the lesson in what went wrong. Then try again. Every time you fail, you will learn something, and you will improve your chances for succeeding the next time. We grow toward our dreams like a flower grows toward the sun. We're never going to figure it all out in this life, but if we keep trying and growing, we'll accomplish far more than we would have ever thought possible.

Remember, I believe in you.

Happy Holidays everyone, and a very Happy 2009 to you ALL!!!

Peace,

Tim