"Everyone Starts with the Sweetest Dreams, Living Long Life Living Beautiful Scenes"

"The Other Ripken" was a script I wrote in a night, and then started filming then stopped filming to go film something else, then started filming again, then went and filmed something else and it went on and on like that. Thankfully, Jeff Bader and Portal Street Film and I were able to sit down and finally finish up and now, days awway, the film premieres in California! That happened fast. And slow!

Among the press the film is getting, is mentioning our cast...Adam Way, Jeff Bader, Dusty Cash,, Mike Schoch and a name that gets mentioned and is absolutely integral to our film, Philly's phinest, the great G LOVE.

So how did this happen? I'm so glad you asked because I've been dying to tell the story but wanted to wait until the film was done, plus G is always touring and recording, and the last thing I wanted to do was get in his way of him doing that job. Which by the way must be a Pennsylvania thing, everyone has 4 jobs, all my buddies I grew up with have day jobs or two and then are in bands or firemen or bands WITH firemen, and G is no exception, he's a musician, artist, writer, and even has his own hot sauce!

I'd known when the script turned out like it did for the movie, we needed a strong voice. A great voice sets the tone for everything, whether you have a Morgan Freeman voice or an Andre 3000 voice, I knew we needed a voice with some flavor. I didn't have to look far, as at that time I was watching G's wonderful doc "A Year and a Night" which I thought was great and refreshingly honest (trailer!) but THAT VOICE. There wasn't anything like it and here's a little more of that sound but the thought was, would G be willing to come out and bless this little film? Would schedules work? Would locations work? A quick call to his manager Jason and the good folks at Philadelphonic, and as the film gods smiled upon us, we were able to hammer down a time and a city, somehow our worlds merged in Avalon New Jersey on a beautiful summer night.

The crew for the evening was Tim Fennell and myself on a porch in Avalon, and we were expecting G, how would he show up? The main road had limos drive by, motorcycles, hummers all driving by, but rolling right up, pedaling on a bike was the man himself! Great time filming, talking movies music, family and he was on his way, why... rock star stuff? No way, G had to get some rest as he was getting up with his son early that next morning. Just some Cool Dad Livin'.

So fast forward, and in early reviews of the film, the first thing they mention? That "voice"! So thankful that I followed my gut and so thankful G Love came out to bless this film, and I'm writing him a part into everything these days. He deserves a film career as his 11th or 12th job too!

Now some folks aren't familiar with G's catalogue, and that's okay, we like to introduce things here. What I did was came up with a list of favorites, and my list was going long, my goal was to get it to 10, so what I did was remove songs that I really love and enjoy but that you can also easily find on GREATEST HITS collections like "Cold Beverage" "I76" or "Baby's Got Sauce" (my wife wanted this one as #1) but we got this list to a little more than ten and in no order, here they are, you should hopefully be able to find these anywhere you can find your music these days, please try a few of them, there's so much life to them, there are happy songs, sad songs, songs about rude roaches... also you may want to put on your dancing shoes...here we go:

"Peanut Butter Lips": One of G's newer songs. Fun song and FULL DISCLAIMER: you will absolutely sing that chorus all day long "peanut butta lips, peanut butta lips" I'm sitting at my kitchen table right now and I'm singing it and just did an air kick.

"Honey Bee": This one may take a little more digging than these others, it's off the "SWEET N BLUES" ep, which is a companion piece to G's "SUGAR" record. "Honey Bee" is absolutely worth your time searching for it "buzzz wit me"

"Weekend Dance #2": It is downright tragic to me that this song wasn't a massive massive hit. Everything about it works. You know how that song "CHEERLEADER" was on 24 hours a day every day last summer? I feel like "Weekend Dance #2" had all the components to be a song like that. This song should be played on every single radio station on Fridays at 5:01pm. It's not too late, radio stations that happen to reading this (and I like to think you all are)

"Recipe": If you forced me to make a top 3 or 4 list, "Recipe" is on it, no diggity, no doubt. Has this great beginning where you IMMEDIATELY start moving and the song keeps you moving the whole time. You won't do your normal dance moves to this one either, you know that dance move you do when you walk by your mirror and no one is looking? THAT'S the dance move this song will have you doing.

"The Things That I Used To Do": I feel like this song should be it's own genre. It's 10 flavors of music in one song. "Tim what sort of music do you listen to?" "Well I like a little of everything but listen to mostly things that sound like 'The Things That I Used To Do'"

"Pull The Wool": FAR too many people sleep on this one. This song feels like when you go to a party and you don't really know anyone, then somehow it all works and before you know it, everything does a 180 and you're out there smiling and shaking your moneymaker. Song is exactly like that, including the full 180 smiling/dancing part.

"Dreamin'": Know how I said "Recipe" would be in my top 3 if you forced me to make a top 3? "Dreamin'" would also be there too, and maybe, just maybe, would be #1 "are ya feeling the feeling that I'm feeling?" hell yeah G, I may spin this right now and you should too.

"Love": G has a few songs called "Love" try 'em all but I like this one off his "Hustle" record. Incredibly warm, incredibly catchy and a great video to boot. Let me see if I can find it (UPDATE: I found it)

"Beautiful": Love this one, we get G crooning with Tristan Prettyman who's got some great songs of her own too. G at the top of his game? Tristan at the top of hers? Together? It's a reeses peanut butter cup of songs, getting the best of chocolate, getting the best of peanut butter. (not to be mistake with "Peanut Butter Lips" or that they mention peanut butter in this song too and I feel like I'm talking too much about peanut butter, let's move on)

"Sneakster": Sneaky good this one, last song on the "Lemonade" record which is a very funky delightful record, this one pops on and is a full on rocker, plenty of flavor on an already very flavorful record.

"Peace, Love and Happiness": Another one of those songs that should have been so so huge, great beginning, great writing and you're not just singing the chorus by the end of it, you're BELTING out that chorus.

"Just Fine": I remember this song coming on the radio late one night and I had a car full of people and everyone just got quiet and listened to it. It just had everyone thinking. This one will get you in the feels.

"Won't Cha Come Home": I'm not counting but I know I'm waaaaay beyond my top ten songs for you all to check out. Not only do I love this one, I asked G and Jason if I could direct the video (I think I may have only asked, I don't think we ever much talked about actually doing it) but I wrote out the idea for it which I don't think anyone has seen or heard about, not even G or Jason, so here's the exclusive "We shoot on the Beach in Avalon New Jersey. G is walking next to and singing the song to 'video girlfriend' as the camera stays on video girlfriend who isn't paying attention to G, she can't be bothered, but G is singing the song to her soulfully "Won't cha come hoooome now". This is a crowded beach day and while G is singing his heart out to video girlfriend, he is getting hit by a stray beach ball, getting wiped out by waves, stopping to help a lost kid find their parents, all the while singing to video girlfriend, who has broken her stride. G tries to keep up with her brisk walking, he steps on a jellyfish, he trips over a sunbather and attempts to smoothe it over with angry boyfriend of sunbather, all the while still singing to video girlfriend. Towards the end of the song. Video girlfriend stops. Look at G, smiles. Takes his hand and they walk back. ALMOST colliding with a surfer, not this time, and why? Because love always wins"

So that's how G. Love came to bless this little film, and I hope he comes back to bless many more of them. We premiere on March 4th!

Enjoy the tunes, enjoy the film, here we go....

Take care and be good,

Tim