I am going in to a brand new phase of my life – in so many ways-and look forward to sharing with you how I navigate through them – including the not so good moments.  I was looking at msnbc yesterday and they were mentioning the importance of failures.  The most poignant moment was when one of the 8th graders they were interviewing mentioned how she there are now such things as failures…She classified them as obstacles that define you! I said a little prayer to God and asked that he only fortify that within her and her entire generation. As we become numb to school shootings, child molestation, and concepts like depression, anxiety, and the like, it will be up to the next generation to try to NOT analyze themselves to a pill based solution. I hope that they learn to just be themselves.  I hope that by example they can look at me and my contemporaries in a way that demonstrates that life is not only in the analysis but in the execution and creation of it-at its craziest level. If they are not laughing at you, your dream of creation isn’t big enough.  Just ask my students who tell them this….Yep you got it….Me! And how did I learn about this, through those same failures, obstacles, and laughs.  But I learned just who I was!

If you have broken bread with me, you know that I always give thanks and end it with,…..”And through the way we walk, and talk, and play our music, and live, may they know you!” That just means that acceptance in God’s plan is part of the perfection. What perfection?….The only thing that is perfect in this world.  That no matter where you are from, no matter your walk of life, you will be challenged. So, just remember your FLO as I do mine…the way we do it for the Love of ourselves!  Follow this and you’ll be fine though the good the bad and the ugly!!! And what does that make us?…. perfect in being You! Dream it! Do it!

Peace and Love

MJ

www.washingtonlife.com

Peace and Love

MJ

Time to go do P90X, shave, get my “hur” cut, and roll on to the Alley.  Looking forward to seeing y’all there.  Happy Holidays to you all!!

Peace and Love

MJ

Please contact Kat Summers at kat@threekeys.com for more info.

Thank you!

Thursday 12/08 with Phil Martin
8:00 pm Buy Tickets 10:00 pm Buy Tickets

Friday 12/09 with Marcus Mitchell
8:00 pm Buy Tickets 10:00 pm Buy Tickets

Saturday 12/10 with Marcus Anderson
8:00 pm Buy Tickets 10:00 pm Buy Tickets

Sunday 12/11 with Marcus Anderson
8:00 pm Buy Tickets 10:00 pm Buy Tickets

After a year of non-stop traveling, performing, recording new material, and aggressively developing his forthcoming lifestyle brand, the multi-talented Johnson will be unveiling new songs from the FLO Holiday album, along with all of the Marcus Johnson favorites you’ve come to know and love over the course of his career.

Brimming with energetic as well as refined, and rhythmic takes on the holiday catalogue, the FLO Holiday album is the perfect gift for friends, family, and even yourself. Click here to buy FLO Holiday. Don’t miss the opportunity to pick up the new FLO album and what better gift to accompany this ideal stocking stuffer, than to bring that special someone to the actual live show itself! Click here to buy tickets. Tickets and space are incredibly limited for this four-day stint, so be sure to purchase your tickets now!

Blues Alley is one of the truly iconic destinations on the DC musical map. Having provided a stage for some of the biggest musical names of the past century, Blues Alley now welcomes home DC’s own, Marcus Johnson–who is fresh of an extended business trip to Paris and is excited to play in front of a raucous, jazz-loving DC crowd. “The FLO Holiday album will be one of the most popular albums we’ve released” said Johnson. “I think this will be an instant classic among MJ fans!”

As an acronym, FLO–meaning For the Love Of–is more than a CD, it’s even more than music…it’s a lifestyle.

For more details on this and other exciting announcements regarding the FLO brand, be sure to check out Marcus Johnson in December, for his final Blues Alley appearance of 2011!

Joining Marcus on stage will be:

Phil Martin
December 8, 2011 – 8:00 PM and 10:00 PM
Performed at various international jazz festivals
Released three solo jazz albums with “Realization” as his lates album
http://phillipmartin.net/main.html

Marcus Mitchell
December 9, 2011 – 8:00 PM and 10:00 PM
Rising saxophone artist in smooth jazz
Headlined at the legendary Blues Alley Jazz Club in Washington, D.C.
http://marcushmitchell.com/bio.html

Marcus Anderson
December 10-11, 2011 – 8:00 PM and 10:00 PM
Multi-talented composer, saxophonist and flutist
Recently released his third solo jazz album, “Now”
2009 winner of the Capital Jazz Fest Challenge
http://www.marcusanderson.net

The temp may be chilly, but the talent is deep, the spirit is warm, and these new FLO tracks will be HOT!

If it seems like Marcus has been short of breath recently,
it’s because he’s been a man on the move. Ever the multi-tasker,
this JD/MBA, entrepreneur, musician and youth empowerment advocate
has been crisscrossing the Atlantic playing shows, working on
new music, finalizing the launch of his forthcoming FLO wine
label, speaking on law and business school panels, and
participating in a series of nationwide empowerment and
advocacy campaigns.

Now, as he preps for a 10-day trip to Paris for a series of
shows and meetings, we were able to sit in on with Marcus
and his agent for an unscripted, unedited, behind-the-scenes
Q+A and goal-planning session. Here’s a brief snippet of
the much longer conversation between MJ and Doug Eldridge.

Doug Eldridge, DLE Agency: MJ, you’ve been
on the grind. Call me ‘Mother Goose’ but I worry about your
health.

Marcus Johnson: No. You sound like
‘Mother Johnson.’

[Both laugh]

MJ: Seriously. I hear you, but this is
the pace I’ve gotta keep between now and December to get
this stuff done. It’s like you always tell me, D, ‘it’d
be simpler if you were just a musician.’

DLE: No doubt and to be clear I’m not
suggesting we adjust the goals, I’m suggesting perhaps
we alter the pace. Look, in the last month alone, you’ve
been on the road finalizing the terms of the FLO wine,
spoken at the national launch of the ’Hear Our Voices’
Anti-Bullying Campaign, spoken to JD/MBA students at
Georgetown, Howard, and now at American as well. You’ve
spearheaded the launch of the Red Cross ‘Holiday Cards
for Heroes’ campaign all while playing across the
country, finishing work with JURIS and looking at new MJ
materials. That’s not me reading from a list, that’s
just the top of my head.

MJ: True…[laughing] and to be honest,
I think there’s even some stuff you forgot to rattle off.
I see it this way, even though I am a serial multi-tasker,
I believe God never gives us more than we can handle and
quite frankly, as we always say ‘I shall pass this way but
once.’ My music is evolving. The FLO wine brands are going
to have a phenomenal launch in 2012. The JURIS collaboration
with Young Pulse is phenomenal. You are putting together a
series of international appearances and partnerships for me in
’12 that will blow our fans away…and between all of that, I am
happiest at the keyboard, but I feel most fulfilled when speaking
to children of all ages. Whether it’s the middle and high school
kids at the MJ Music Camp this summer, or the law and business
students that I speak to on a near-weekly basis. I balance a lot,
but the keyword there is ‘balance.’ [Laughing] I’m just getting
warmed up man. You’re the one that says ‘this is a marathon,
not a sprint’ so maybe you should up the tempo if you’re having
trouble keeping pace with me.

[Both laughing]

DLE: I get what you’re saying MJ. In an age of
pre-Madonna, high-maintenance clients on both the sports and
entertainment side, it’s nice to work with somebody that brings
that old-school ‘just rub some dirt on it’ attitude when it
comes to work ethic and pain tolerance.

MJ: No doubt. We’ve got some amazing things
ahead of us over the next several weeks.

DLE: in terms of focus and prioritization,
I want us to really emphasize the ”FLOat Away” email on
Fridays. I think your fan base would love the opportunity
to join you on the jazz cruise.

MJ: That’s going to be great. I agree!

DLE: Additionally, I’ve got you booked for
a series of magazine, TV and online interviews between now
and Jan 31 that will also pull the curtain back on a lot of
the things you’ve been doing over the past year, unbeknownst
to your fans, followers, or members of the media. You’ve never
been one to trumpet your good works, so I’m going to do it for
you. For my purposes, the worst label someone could you is
to say ‘Marcus Johnson is one of the best-kept secrets out
there.’ It’s time to change that.

MJ: Sounds good to me.

DLE: As for Paris, we’ve got three shows,
a video shoot, a photo shoot, a half dozen meetings, and
[censored at request of Agent, as they cover a series of
unannounced projects at this point.] All of which make
for a busy week.

MJ: I’m pumped. I’ve been working hard
for a long time. I think my fans will be blown away by
some of the things that we’ll be unveiling over the
next couple months.

DLE: Me too, Marcus. Now seriously,
photo shoot, video shoot, what am I going to do with
these bags under your eyes?! They look like Samsonites
under each lid! You need rest!

[Both laughing]

MJ: Please! These bags are
Vuittons if they’re anything, and they’re a sheer product
of hard work, long hours, and an unwavering commitment to
the goals I want to see achieved.

DLE: Well said. Do you know what that is?
It’s the difference in being good and being great.
You are the latter.

MJ: But the best is yet to come.

For Part II of this conversation and for more information
on the forthcoming series, “Marcus Johnson: Unplugged and
On-Point” check back next week. In the meantime, you can
always follow Marcus on-line: www.threekeys.com and on

Twitter: @MarcusJohnson3k and on Facebook: marcusjohnson3k