American Broke. Are we all broke? Are we all broken? Do we lack leadership, focus, humility, a connection to reality and a connection to each other? Do we walk around with our heads in the clouds dreaming about being a country of Americans where anything is possible? Or, are we already that country?

All good questions, but those questions are for another blog on another day, the American Broke I'm writing about today is a group of 20-somethings I first was introduced to when lead singer Levi's the Name took the stage at Fremont Fridays -- A Seattle summer concert series I've been attending to shoot photos and video for my YouTube channel. 

Levi performed there and leapt from the stage into the crowd. I rushed toward him with my camera and was lucky enough to capture some of what I call the "magic." You know, the moments in a music set where an artist is completely free. Like Eminem says, they lose themselves in the music, the moment, they own it; and they never let it go.

Luckily for Levi, he doesn't have to let that moment go because I was there. I was standing patiently in a small crowd with my little vlogging camera rolling just waiting for a moment like that to pop off. And now that moment will exist forever in the photos I snapped and on the video I captured. It exists, and that's the great thing about taking photos and making videos. These moments that were once created and forgotten, can exist and promote a band to new heights. They can grow an artist into something bigger, more glorious and monumental than they might have ever imagined. A viral moment can virtually make money overnight if it reaches enough eyes. 

I sat down with American Broke at Seattle's Central Saloon prior to their latest performance and discussed the formation of their new band. I told them that the ego can be either friend or enemy and can lead them accordingly. Front man Levi said he's gotten over that feeling of imposter syndrome, the condition of feeling anxious and not experiencing success internally, despite being high performing. And now the band's focus is just on making music and having fun.

While thoughts like that are now behind them, a healthy delusion of grandeur might not always be a bad thing. Developing a false or exaggerated belief about one's status or importance can actually lead a band toward the objectives they might desire. The term was first connected to megalomania, a self-important preoccupation with power and control. But these days, power and control don't seem to be what American Broke are all about. 

In just a short timeframe, Levi has managed to build on his blossoming hip hop following and pull together a band that booked the Central Saloon, the self-proclaimed oldest venue in Seattle that has hosted countless legendary bands. Levi got together with his bandmates Evan on guitar, Atreyu on bass and Leo on drums, and put together a 30-minute set that rocked a Friday night crowd so hard the venue invited them back for another performance Wednesday night. 

It seems that somewhere between your 20s and 40s, people lose the ability to toil in their delusions. Some stop dreaming entirely. So for me to cruise south and look at a group of 20 somethings for one night who still have that glimmer in their eyes and spirit in their souls was a pleasure. When I sat down with the fellas at their table and pointed the camera at them, the first thing I was asked was, "Do you like rock music?." Indeed I do. The bands on the wall at the Central were all in my walkman back in the early 90s. Nirvana, Alice In Chains, Sir Mix-A-Lot. I played them all. And they all started somewhere. Thank you for that reminder.

The formula is simple. If you want to start a rock band and book gigs around the city, you sit down with your buddies in a basement, put some songs together and do it. You focus your energies toward a common goal. No more lamenting on the past. You focus on the freedom you possess. You focus so hard that the energy turns into something tangible. Something real. Something that's begun, that's beginning, that can grow, transform and magnify your gifts. 

When you have some talent in your 20s, sometimes you don't realize all you have to do is focus your energies toward a goal and the power of the collective force will take you right to it. Naw, America's not broke. Not as long as the spirit of rock and roll exists in the youth. After all, one rock song might be just what we all need to change the world and walk around with our heads in the clouds dreaming about the possibilities. A country of young men and women with the leadership, focus, humility and connection to each other that still realizes that anything really IS possible.

It was the day after a hard rain and the clouds sat as still in the sky as a dragonfly on a lily pad with a toad within striking distance. The breeze from the previous day hadn't disappeared completely, yet it was the kind of day where you could take your jacket off and pretend Mother Nature had turned up her glow to a sleeveless comfort level until that breeze shot into your sleeve, straight down your spine like a razorblade, and you were quickly reminded that spring wasn't quite all the way here. It was that kind of day -- yep, the perfect day for soccer.

As I arrived at Gateway Middle School, I easily located Coach Torry Hollimon with his squad of 5-year-olds on the far field. He was easy to spot as he stood hunched over the little soccer ball in the green grass. He was dressed in all red with the word Coach in white lettering across his back. It was the first time I'd seen him in this role. To me, he'd become known as T-Spade. That's who he was in my world since I'd begun taking photos and video of him throughout last month in preparation for an upcoming album release next fall. I had become accustomed to calling him Spade in interviews so that people could get used to hearing his stage name, but today, to me, the parents and all the kids, he was simply Coach Torry.

His older 7-year-old twin children had finished their game and were now on the sidelines. They were fresh out of their socks and chin guards, as his daughter practiced cartwheels and his son kicked errant soccer balls into a giant puddle. They celebrated each splash as a resounding accomplishment and every plash seemed even more glorious than the next. The balls that managed to splash closest to his sister seemed to be the ones he exalted in most. She took a break from her cartwheel practice to slip back into her cleats and tip toe into the waters to fetch the floating balls for her brother. Only for him to set them up and directly launch them back into the puddle, almost like little missiles onto an imaginary battleground.

The game they had created looked like so much fun that I decided to kick one of the errant balls into the water myself. I lined it up, carefully looking around to make sure no parents noticed I was acting too kidlike, and flicked it with my toe like a rainbow into the center of the puddle. Satisfied with my little splash, I turned my attention back to the field as the warmups ended and the game begun. Coach Torry kept his energy high and his spirit turned all the way up as he inspired the children in a manner only he can. Their little eyes affixed to his quick mouth as instruction exited and lesson's of sportsmanship and positivity entered the young minds. Two team mothers took time from their Mother's Day to flank the huddle of youngsters, occasionally translating a few words into Spanish for their young one to fully understand coach's important message.

It was obvious the kids were lucky to have such a spirited leader, as I watched Coach Torry call his youngest son back to the sideline and patiently tie his shoelace before sending him back into the game with a little pep talk. The same way Spade had captured my attention with his clever word play and unmatched lyrical imagery on stage was exactly how he commanded their young minds by leading with positive intention. As the day came to a close and the BG's (blue & golds) left the field with a victory, coach Torry gathered his three children, their socks, their chin guards, their snacks, their sports bags and all their soccer balls, under both arms and headed on a long march back to his vehicle. About halfway there, with his arms filled and his heart full, he took a moment to greet his brother who he noticed posted up on the sideline enjoying a look at a family member playing flag football on another field. The brothers joked, giggled, teased and enjoyed a moment of hard-earned leisure before we eventually found our way back to the parking lot.

As we rode off toward a new adventure, I couldn't help but think that the kids were lucky to have Coach Torry on the sidelines. The sun was out, the temperatures were brisk, the puddles were deep, yet Torry was exactly where he needed to be. The kids are blessed to have him as their coach.

Morning ramblings about that more dynamic individual within us

 Do you ever feel like a far more dynamic individual exists within you than you ever have the courage to show the world? There's glimpses of them that sneak out when you're faced with obstacles and are asked to meet them face on. When you're tested, that dynamic individual shows up and conquers the obstacle in front of them in a manner almost magical, then disappears into a realm of existence that's safe and secure. Locked away in that safe space. Hidden from others until that next obstacle presents itself. There's safety in obscurity. Nestled in a little corner of your world surrounded by the familiar, yet dreaming about the fantasy of success you know is sitting there waiting just within reach. The formula is there. You wake up every morning and know it exists. People talk about it. You listen to them and know all about the steps necessary to climb that ladder of life toward becoming your most dynamic self. You see that greater self everyday in the mirror when you wake up. Sometimes you might even poke them by making an attempt at this or that just to show the world a glimpse of that dynamic individual that exists within? There might be a little taste of who you could be already existing in our universe. But instead of allowing them to learn and grow, you decide to sulk away in that cozy corner of obscurity. Every now and then you might peek out into wild world of substance that you know would enlighten your soul and others greater than the universe ever intended. That energy is in you. It's around you. It's in your biosphere. You wake up with the choice to harness that energy into something great every day. What you do with it is solely up to you. Do you listen to the outside stimuli begging you to spread your wings and fly? Or do you cower in fear of the unknown slowly finding comfort in a dreary routine. Life becomes a regular checklist of mediocrity if you let it. There's nothing wrong with being mediocre, but when the gifts in you are ready to blossom into the most glorious version of yourself, why not give them the warmth, love and fuel necessary to become the best version of yourself. The self the universe deserves. I'm not special when I choose to write about all this. I know everyone is fighting this battle. It's in me the same as it's in you. But my gifts are special. Those close to me know that. When you open your heart, mind and soul to an individual and understand their mission in life is greater than most, there is an unwritten responsibility for them to hold themselves accountable for striving toward that mission. Once you know them like that, it's also your responsibility to help foster the tools necessary to tackle that mission. People these days often speak about life being nuanced, or a slight difference in appearance, meaning, tone or sound. It's become a catch phrase that gets them out of something stupid they might have said or done. That excuse they can give the public that allows them to toil away in the depths of mediocrity. Life's not all that nuanced, there's black and white, there's right and wrong. Through a clear lens most human beings can decipher that, yet they often choose to argue for a world of gray. Living in that gray abyss of the unknown. The freedom to explore a world of exuberant color where we walk the universe fully expressed is always the best choice. My advice, choose to be dynamic, choose to step out of obscurity, choose to move with substance in each action you take, choose to bless those around  you with positive energy, choose to develop a routine that walks away from mediocrity -- and lastly -- choose to be so fully expressed that your tiny segment of the universe glows with glorious color so bright that nuance is a thing of the past and that gray safe existence ceases to exist. It's in you, it's in me. Shine on.