Down to Earth is now Down to James

It's been a weird week to say the least. Down to Earth has completely and utterly demised. Dead. Gone. Buried. No hope of being revived. It all came down, in the end, to lies. The entire band was built on lies. Myself, Matt, and Dustin... all had the wool pulled over our eyes by a con man. When the lights came on and the truth began coming out, the con man started scurrying around like a cockroach would. We caught him in so many lies that he couldn't keep up with what he had told to whom.

Last night my oldest son and I went over to his studio to pick up the gear I had stored over there. I was not really looking forward to going over there and took Tyler along to keep me in check. I'm not inclined to get too over the top as I want to be a good role model for him. Things went good once I got there. There was some idle chit chat as the 3 of us loaded my stuff but I couldn't stop looking at the con man. He was very different from the last time I saw him. He looked unhealthy. His eyes were sunk way back in his head with black circles around them, his cheeks were drooping off of his face, he hadn't bathed or shaved in days. He looked like he had been drug behind a truck doing 40 mph down 10 miles of bad road. He looked old and worn out.

I almost felt vindicated as I drove from his house for the last time. Obviously, his actions were catching up to him. Even Tyler noticed how bad he looked. He asked me why the guy looked so bad and was acting so differently. The ride home turned into a good teaching time between me and Tyler on what guilt can do to a person and the importance of honesty and integrity in all that you do.

You shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free. That's exactly how I feel! I feel free. Once the light was shed on all of the lies and I realized the weight of the oppression I had been under, it was liberating once it was over. Here, now, today... it's a clean slate. I have new opportunities to pursue, new music to write, new journeys to begin. I know I'm sounding like a Hallmark cliche, but that's really how I feel. I already have a couple of guys wanting to work on some stuff. I'm also going to start producing my good friend Grant. He's an amazing song writer and the public needs to hear what he has to say.

For those of you who don't know... I have my own personal My Space page. I can be found at www.myspace.com/markellisonguitar. Stop by, check it out, leave me a message and keep in touch.

Simply put, Down to Earth is just one step on to something better. I'm just along for the ride.