Stole this from Brian. He and his wife, Leah, were awesome to have Andy Zipf play their block party last Saturday. It was great to see Andy interact with the crowd (which included 3 dancing toddlers) and the smiles his music brought to peoples faces, and the joy that Andy had in his eyes while singing his songs. I am blessed to now be part of this great artists career.
This past weekend we had a neighborhood block party that got rained out and ended up in our house. Despite the rain, it was a rad party especially because our new buddy Andy Zipf played for the “Lower O” crew. I highly recommend you check him out. (via brianmanley)
Non-Profit Organization
TO WRITE LOVE ON HER ARMS
Hosts Live Global Webcast Monday, October 5th
From Their Florida Headquarters
Featuring Conversation and Performances By
Damion Suomi and Andy Zipf
New York, NY – September 28, 2009 - To Write Love on Her Arms is a non-profit movement dedicated to presenting hope and finding help for people struggling with depression, addiction, self-injury and suicide. TWLOHA exists to encourage, inform, inspire and also to invest directly into treatment and recovery. On October 5th the TWLOHA team will expand their outreach by launching a global outlet for honest conversation and community fused with music by Damion Suomi and Andy Zipf.
All the world will be invited to see inside the TWLOHA headquarters via SynchLive. Click here to watch: www.twloha.com/webcast
For 1 week after the webcast, fans can download free music from Damion Suomi and Andy Zipf here: www.twloha.com/webcast
“Music is something mysterious in that it has many faces. For the person singing, it is their therapy, their story. For the person listening, it is their inspiration, their hope. The goal is for the conversations that happen in between the songs to be as real and honest as the songs themselves. We are attempting to create an environment where people from all over are invited into a conversation about pain and about hope, but ultimately about redemption. We are inviting people locally, and all over the world through the webcast, to come hang out inside TWLOHA HQ for a couple of hours and have such a conversation. We believe that Hope is given a chance to show up in settings like these,” says Rich Sullivan of To Write Love on Her Arms.
“There is a line in TWLOHA’s vision statement that says ‘Beyond treatment, we believe that community is essential, that people need other people, that we were never meant to do life alone.’ It took me a long time, but I now understand what that means. There can be so much healing found in a conversation, in songs, and in just being honest with one another,” says artist Damion Suomi.
Damion Suomi and Andy Zipf are both artists on the charity minded record label P is for Panda. The label has offered to give away music off Damion’s recent 2009 release Self Titled, as well as music from Andy Zipf’s upcoming record, Our Voice is a Weapon, to coincide with the event.
“I am thrilled that TWLOHA have asked two of the Panda bands to be involved in their first ever webcast. When I dreamt about starting P is for Panda, I wanted to work with artists who did not only want to create art, but also wanted to be involved with the bigger picture. I wanted to partner with artists who shared the passion of helping others. Who believed that this world is a community and we can use our individual talents to help. Teaming up with TWLOHA is a perfect example of what this looks like, ”says Chad Pearson owner of P is for Panda.
In an effort to extend the conversation of the evening to people around the world, everyone will have the opportunity to send their questions for Damion and Andy via Twitter by replying to @TWLOHA. Questions will be chosen at random and Damion and Andy will respond to them live during the webcast.
TWLOHA began in February 2006, when founder Jamie Tworkowski wrote a story, a glimpse into a friend’s life and her first steps to recovery from drug addiction, self-injury, and depression. The story, titled To Write Love On Her Arms, along with the t-shirts Tworkowski printed to help pay for his friend’s recovery, started a movement, not only within his local Orlando, FL community, but one that was swiftly embraced by people everywhere. Many bands (Paramore, Thrice, Anberlin, Switchfoot, Bayside, The Almost) quickly picked up the message, informed their fans, and started finding new ways to donate to the cause and help out.
For more on To Write Love on Her Arms:
This is the 4th record Panda has put out. This is my friend Mike Dunn’s debut record. Its called “Sundowner” and I could tell you about how awesome it is, but you already know I think that cause I put the record out. I am proud of what Mike and his band (The Kings of New England) have created and am blessed to be part of it. You can order it from the Panda website now ($5.00 for MP3s or $10 for the MP3s and CD) or wait till Oct 6th to get it from Amazon or iTunes. My buddy Brian Manley created the artwork, which I think rules too. Ok bye.
My wife makes me laugh. She is awesome. Here is proof that true love exists.

Largest cross in the western hemisphere





Photos from my trip back from CA. These were taken with our new Pentax Program Plus 35mm Camera we got for nothing in Norman, OK. Enjoy.
I went on a long trip. This is a photo from my drive on PCH.
I miss your laugh.
I miss your smile.
I miss your kisses.
I miss you.
1 of 4 Posters I did for Damion for his residency at the Hotel Cafe in LA.
Any LA/OC/IE homies - go check out Damion Suomi this weekend at thee coolest venue in LA.
My sister and I with a friend.
BEST PHOTO EVER!!!
Started cooking at a young age. I still love the kitchen.
This is my Grandma Bessie, She came out to Papua New Guinea to make sure my parents were treating us kids alright. Kidding…kinda. She LOVED all the plants/flowers in PNG. I stayed with Grandma Bessie a few summers and I think she feed me twinkies for breakfast followed by Fresca. RIP - I love you Grandma Bessie, not just for the twinkies and fresca.
This is Zak Shultz, myself and Ralph Mieli. Zak is still my best friend. Zak had that hairstyle all the way until like 10th grade probably. Ralph is probably a pilot on Swiss Air now.
This is my mom. She is rad. This is probably the best photo I have seen of her. She was stylish for a missionary.
My parents left me a bunch of photos from the old days. While I sort through the best ones, here is one of me jumping on a trampoline with AWESOME pants. YES!