SodaHead - Mark's Blog

Appearing LIVE in concert!

2008-04-01T14:46:08Z

0 raves

I'll be playing New Music West, the popular west coast music festival held in Vancouver BC, on Friday May 16 at 10:00pm at The Chapel. I will appear with Dan Kosub and Ried Jamieson. Contact www.newmusicwest.com for tickets! I'll be playing songs from my new album, Complex State Of Attachment. You can hear the first two singles, Magic Spell and Siddhartha, at my Mypsace page - www.myspace.com/mhildreth. I hope to see you there!! With love and respect, Mark.

Sharing the love!

2008-03-18T06:39:36Z

Mark

+1 raves

I have posted 2 NEW SONGS from my forthcoming album, Complex State Of Attachment on: www.myspace.com/mhildreth This is the first public glimpse of anything from the new album, and I'm STOKED to share it with you!! The full album will be released in the summer of 2008, and I hope you can come to see me play live! It is a good time! With love, Mark.

Love

2008-03-05T17:10:31Z

Mark

+1 raves

I'm about to finish my new record, entitled Complex State Of Attachment, and I want to explain what the title means. There was a group of American scientists who were having a dialogue with the Dalai Lama about the nature of human emotions, and the concept of attachments. They were exploring the Buddhist philosophy of breaking attachments to the outside world, so that we can achieve joy and peacefulness, and become aware of how we cause all of our own emotions. One of the scientists asked the Dalai Lama about love. Isn't love an attachment? To another person, attaching our sense of happiness to something outside of ourselves? The Dalai Lama thought about it for a moment, and replied that love is "a complex state of attachment," one that exists outside of the realm of normal attachments, and, when realized in an integrous way, one that can allow one an experience of one's own essence and humanity. The second I read it, I knew it was the title of my first album. This album is an exploration of love: love for self, love for humanity, romantic love, and love for all things. I'm exploring what love means to me in all its forms. The record is due out in the summer 2008. I hope you like it. Mark. Complex State Of Attachment will be available through my website at www.mark-hildreth.com.

Birthday Pawwwty!!

2008-01-24T22:58:36Z

Mark

+2 raves

So it's my birthday, see? And I was thinking about how these things always seem to be made out to be more than they are...people keep asking me, do you feel different?? hahaha, and I do! I feel so hopeful, excited and optimistic about the future!! I never felt comfortable in my own skin as a kid, I really didn't see myself very well, I had a very poor self-image, and my self-esteem was never very high! It's funny, I was realizing today that, as I get older, if I'm really honest with myself, I think I kind of stopped growing emotionally when I was about 11! So, now that I am marking a birthday, which is supposed to signify that you are a year OLDER, I feel like I am only just admiting to myself how young and immature I really am - how much I DON'T know! Well, I guess that is kind of a sign of maturity, isn't it? Funny, that.... Mark.

I LIKE!

2008-01-12T02:53:38Z

Mark

+1 raves

Hey, check me out at my new page on ILike! http://www.ilike.com/artist/Mark++Hildreth Peace! Mark.

To be or not to Be

2008-01-01T18:41:34Z

Mark

+2 raves

Every year TONS of us make commitments to ourselves to change the way we live, by marking the turning of a new year with a "resolution." This implies that we see and are aware, in some way, that there is an area of our lives that we are not entirely happy with, and that we have the potential and capability to change it, to grow. It implies that we have a sense, although we may not choose to admit it to ourselves during the REST of the year, that there are areas of our lives that we are not completely, 100% satisfied with, and we resolve to improve these areas. It seems to me that this awareness is incredibly powerful, and holds a lot of potential for the growth of our race. The fact that we have a virtual space in our minds where we can conceive of how we would like our lives to be - that we can conceptualize a better us and a better world - is incredibly profound, and is, I think, what sets us apart from all other species on our planet. I've been thinking: what keeps us from making these resolutions with ourselves in every part of our lives, during EVERY part of the year? Why do we wait until New Year's to admit to ourselves that there is something we would like to be different in our lives in a substantial way, and only then commit to upholding ourselves? Is it fear? Or just a lack of mindfulness? Are we really even committed to making this change? Or is it just another way of satiating our desire to SEEM to be the kind of person who really upholds a sense of ideology and ethics, when we are really not committed to making change in our lives at all. I have made lots of resolutions that I have not upheld. I've been afraid of what it would mean about me if I didn't uphold it, and so have quit. And I have also been afraid of what it would mean if I DID uphold it, and quit also! But here's what I'm thinking: You either do it, or you don't. It doesn't MEAN anything about you as a person whether you uphold yourself or not in these "resolutions." All that matters is, you either do it, or you don't. What is it's as simple as that?

What if suffering is a choice?

2007-12-25T00:01:21Z

Mark

+2 raves

When people ask me what kind of music I make, I tell them that my music falls somewhere between Elton John and Stevie Wonder. I say this because Elton John was my first and still my biggest influence, and is, in my opinion, an incredible songwriter and performer. But Stevie Wonder is the direction I am going with all of my music, since it seems to me that he writes his songs from a standpoint of compassion. What I find most amazing about him is that, ASIDE from his increduble genius as a musician, his songs explore and promote compassion, understanding and love. If you listen to the radio today, the vast majority of the music artists seem to be making is all about suffering. "My girl left me..." and "Life sucks..." and "Why can't I be someone else..." etc. By suffering, I mean the negative emotions we attach to our experiences as human beings. I had a realization that, when I write from a standpoint of suffering, and when I write ABOUT suffering, in a sense I am promoting suffering. I had a long period as a person and a songwriter where I believed (told myself) that I was a helpless victim of this terrible cause (suffering) and that I needed to express my angst and sadness at this awful affliction reality had perpetrated upon me. As it turns out, this was a lie. What if suffering is a choice? This is not to say that suffering is not a natural part of the human experience. We all have experienced suffering, and we probably all will again at some point in our lives. But consider the staggering ramifications if suffering is actually a choice, and that we are not in fact the victims of suffering, but that we are inflicting it upon ourselves and we are all GETTING SOMETHING OUT OF DOING IT. Just a thought. Tell me what you think. Mark.

Videos hooray!!

2007-12-20T18:14:42Z

Mark

+1 raves

Hey, I just added a new video (the first of MANY) to Sodahead, Myspace, and Youtube. You can URL it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ryez_ncD03I I am gonna post LOTS more of these, because they're really fun to make, and I want to just be myself and connect with people! I hope you enjoy it, and check in on my website, as we're in the process of TOTALLY re-designing it! www.mark-hildreth.com With love, Mark.

Miss Molly!!!!

2007-12-06T00:36:56Z

Mark

0 raves

OH GOLLY my new record sounds AMAZING!!!! I've been in the studio for over 4 months working on it with my producer, Warne Livesey (who makes things sound AMAZING) and it has been one of the most AMAZING experiences of my life! I have really been in a state of joy since we started the record, and pouring that particular ingredient into the music seems to work very well, IMAGINE THAT!! I can't wait for you to hear it. It will come out in the spring, and will be available all over the net, at ITunes, Myspace, and of course at my website, www.mark-hildreth.com. You should stop by soon! The record is entitled "Complex State Of Attachment," which is a phrase that the Dalai Lama used to define Love.