"10 Laws" came about from a conversation I recorded with a friend of mine named VCJ who is a legend of the Santa Barbara hills. VCJ is a timeless spirit and his list of ten laws is basically the hunter gatherer's code of ten that he sees as a set of 'stars to keep his ship of life sailing straight'.

When you show up at his doorstep he's always home and he always invites you in for an epic evening of conversation, clove cigarettes, and wisdom. I probably recorded over four hours of him talking but something about his ten laws stuck with me. He only said once. Each law corresponded to one of his ten fingers - he recited the list while working across his two hands. Later, when I was back home and eventually sat down to try it with music, it just all fit so perfectly.

The song and the ten laws are a kind of prescription, a simple list of ten laws that help someone stay grounded in a world endlessly speeding up. I see the track, "10 Laws" as a song but also as a piece of "musical technology" that offers wisdom to our new reality.

I think everyone finds a certain law that resonates with them the most. My favorite law is "always rest whenever you can." That's good medicine for me.