Da Un Mondo al L'Altro - From One World to Another

Ciao a tutti,

One of the aspects of what I am doing that I enjoy the must is all the interesting people I get to meet. I enjoy people and find us humans fascinating. And that combined with not know who I am going to meet when, and at what particular event, and not knowing what learnings I will have or experiences I will share with them makes my life very exciting for me.

This weekend at a beautiful house in Beverly Hills I had yet another one of those surprises and experiences. Take for example my getting to be introduced to Folco Terzani. Up until the introduction that evening we had each known of each other, him through a mutual friend, Paula Jackson, and I through his work and that of his father's.

His Father is Tiziano Terzani, one of the world's most respected journalists and writers. Folco was not only known in Italy because of his father but also because of the works he had done in Calcutta with Mother Teresa and the like.

Ironically, Tiziano, Folco's father, started out as a journalist in Italy reporting on wars and ended up being one of the most respected advocate of peace. His writings have been translated in many languages and are sold in many Countries and used as textbooks in schools.

But when father and son got together to collaborate on a book which was to be Tiziano's last opus, the roof broke through on the phenomenon that is the Terzani.


It all started when Tiziano wrote his son Folco a letter, who was in America at the time, and asked him to come home and spend his father's last days on earth with him. During that time he proposed that they would spend one hour a day in which Folco could ask him everything he ever wanted to ask of his father, his life, career, and life learnings, and he would answer.

And so it was. Folco recorded these daily conversations and the result was a touching book entitled "La fine e il mio Inizio," the end is my beginning.

Folco is now heading peace projects of a spiritual nature around the world and there will be much to share about him and his upcoming works. I cannot wait to do so. Folco was headed to India after we met but promised we would connect on his next trip to Los Angeles and I will get to interview him for our Filippo and the Chef Radio Show.

Above you will find pictured, Folco and I, then Music Producer Amir Efrat, myself, Folco Terzani, and Italian Music Composer Marco Missinato. Finally, you see Folco's beautiful free spirit shining through in the third photo. Ahh, were we to all be that free what a wonderful world it would be.

And speaking of being free and of meeting people from different worlds, I got to spend time with Dorothy Donahue of Love and Miracles, a spiritual healer/guide and conscious co-creator. She is free indeed and so open to all the Universal teachings, connections and dimensions you can imagine. And therefore, the connection to different worlds really does apply in this case.

I had had the pleasure of meeting Dorothy before and it was great to see her again and spend time in conversation. One of Dorothy's fortes is to work with energies and help people heal or move blockages in their lives. She works with individuals, groups, and even corporations in moving energies, be they in relationship, money or whatever.

It is interesting to note that in all the pictures we took with my camera that night, these spots appeared only in the ones with Dorothy in them. Dorothy refers to them as "Blue Apples," and says that they are there because of her and it is the energy by which she works. Interesting to note that in all the other pictures with her, the "Blue Apples," are around her, in this picture with me, the "Blue Apple," is right at her fingertips, over my heart.

See what I mean about the interesting people that I meet and the things that I learn and experience?

I am sure there are going to be many, many more experiences to learn and share with and about this group pictured here.

As a group we call ourselves The Star Team and I will be happy to share more about that as the news on our development progresses. I will say this though, that we have a product we have created between the whole lot of us called "Love and Light," and we all play a part. Actually, we AAAALLLLL play a part, including all of you and all of everyone and everything else.

It is a beautiful project and I hope to share more on that later. Pictured here are Marco Missinato and Julie Smith at the top of the stairs, and Paula Jackson, Troy Ziel of Squared, Photographer and Graphic Artist extraordinare, and myself.

Yes, I am focused on a few special projects in my life and I like to get involved in so many things. The beauty is that they are all inter-related and they all are with people I love and enjoy and it all makes my life whole, complete and magical. I can't wait to share more of it.

Finally, here are two Italian musicians who have toured the world, together and separately, with some of Italy's, and for that matter, America's, biggest musical stars; Guitarist Simone Sello and Drummer Marco Piale.

Dr. Suess wrote a book long after he had written his famous children's series. It is a children's book too but much different than the "Cat in the Hat" type of books. It is called "Oh! The Places You Will Go."

In it he talks about not only the places but the people his protagonist met along the way. I am starting to feel like that very protagonist, and it is just the beginning.

Thanks for coming along with me.

Filippo

P.S. Here is a video I found on Youtube.com that well illustrates how Tiziano and Folco Terzani, Father and son came to write the book "La Fine e il Mio Inizio." (In Italian)

Intervista con un Musicista - An Interview with a Musician

Ciao a tutti,

I am sure those of you who have been following my blog have come to realize that I am starting to post about interviews that I am conducting for our Filippo and the Chef radio show. There are two reasons in particular. The first is that at the moment we don't have a convenient place on the website to post some of the fun pictures we take during the interviews.

The other reason is because we also don't have a forum on the website that we can talk about some of the fun things that happen on the way to the interview, during the interview, after the interview, etc. Sometimes we mention things on the air during the show, but there is so much going on during the show, from cooking, to "word of the day," and e-mails, and wine drinking, that we can't get around to everything.

So for as long as it serves us, and for as long as you are enjoying it, I will continue to post interview posts, like this one with Italian musician and producer Simone Sello.

It is so funny how life works, when I so wanted an Italian music producer for the two Italian CDs I recorded, I had no idea where to find one, and never did, for either of my CDs, my first or my second. Now that I am thinking about recording an American CD, I not only find Italian producers, but I am friends with them and am interviewing them, no less.

As a matter of fact, when I told Simone that I was in the studio with a producer working on an American song, he wanted to hear it. Of course he does, he has watched and been a part of some of the greatest Italian artists' growth and successes, like Andrea Bocelli, for example.

I met Simone through my friend, composer, singer, songwriter Marco Missinato. He and Simone have been working together for years on Marco's band "Naked Soul," and currently on his Pets Love Music CD series. When I asked him to take a picture of Simone and I they both realized they never had a picture taken of them together, so here they are too, taken in Marco's little home studio. Below is Simone in his bigger home studio.

Simone used to be one of the few and proud musicians that make up the San Remo Festival Orchestra. Winning the San Remo Festival in San Remo, Italy, would be the equivalent of winning a Grammy in the States, only in Italy, they conduct the event like a internationally televised song contest over the course of several days.

After having worked with so many of Italy's greats as well as the greats of the music world all over the world, Simone has some great stories and I thought you would all enjoy hearing them and is the reason why I interviewed him for our show.

Here is a more complete outline of Simone's career, who by the way, arrived at the interview in his sexy little fiat convertible as if he was in Rome, where he is originally from.

He started studying the guitar and the violin when he was about 10, and began his professional career right afterwards. He got to play with many international artists from his country, live and in the studio, and he became the guitar player in the orchestra of the world famous Sanremo Festival for 4 years, having the honor to play with such guests as George Benson, Pat Metheny, Toots Thielemans, Ray Charles, Kenny G, Michael Bolton, Celine Dion, Andrea Bocelli, Laura Pausini , Toto Cutugno, Nek and many others.

Also, he co-arranged and produced the song "Non Ci Sto", which brought the singer Syria to win the contest associated with the Sanremo Festival in 1996.

He currently lives in Los Angeles, where he works as a session guitar player, music producer and expert in computer music, songrwriter, and writes articles for music magazines. Here he has been doing much work, both live and in the studio, with such musicians as Billy Sheehan (bass player with David Lee Roth, Niacin, Mr. Big and solo artist), Aaron Carter and his brother Nick Carter, from Backstreet Boys (both multiplatinum singers), Kevon Edmonds (After7, Baby Face) and Julia Fordham.

He is a member of the electronica-art-rock band project One.O, together with Warren Cuccurullo (Frank Zappa, Missing Persons, Duran Duran)

He is also a recording artist himself, having released his solo CD "Sample This" with Compression Records, as Simonex.

He also works in composing, playing and producing music for TV, movies and sound libraries. He was among the winners of the John Lennon songwriting contest in 2001.

They don't get much better than this. I can say that too because I have had the pleasure to have Simone play guitar for my shows in the past and just listened to him turn a good song into something great. And as a singer, when you are working with someone like him, you inspire each other and the audience feels it too.

Much like the interview actually, I hope you feel it too and you enjoy the clip of one of his compositions we play afterwards.

A presto,

Filippo

P.S. Speaking of Andrea Bocelli, I just realized I have never posted a video of Andrea on my blog, though I have mentioned him. Someone who I have never even mentioned is Zucchero, one of Italy's greatest living pop song writers and singers. What better time to post a video of them than now since Simone has worked with both of them.

So here they are together Andrea and Zucchero on a video I found on Youtube.com singing Zucchero's song "Miserere," live in Italy. If you don't know this song, here's your opportunity to hear it, and if you know it, your opportunity to enjoy it again. (In Italian)