Artist:   American Zen
Author:   The Hippy Coyote
Project Format:   mp3 song downloads individually, or as album (Downloaded albums from Shaolin Records include BONUS ITEMS* .)
Price:   $6.99 album, 0.99 song
Record Producer:  Richard Del Connor
Record Label:   Shaolin Records
Release Date:  Memorial Day, May 25, 2015
Album Website at americanzen.org:  12 pages of song lyrics

I've been bitching and moaning about our being in the Middle East, since 2001.

Before we sent our troops out of the country, I said, "Don't send our troops." Even my closest friends thought I was nuts. I won't bother you with all the excuses and reasons I heard from everyone, or that I read in the newspapers, or heard on the television... about WHY we should spend billions of dollars to kill people in the Middle East. Hey, you are probably one of the people who said, and is still saying... all those violent vengeful hateful reasons why it is necessary to kill those terrorists.

Now WE are the terrorists. We strike terror into the heart of women, children, teenagers, adults, and seniors of the Arabic countries as we parade through their streets with automatic rifles.

There was a guy in North Hollywood who was seen by the police with an automatic weapon a few days ago. They had over 100 police and SWAT units sealing off the neighborhood for four hours as they hunted him down. Isn't that what they should be doing when they see one of us in their country with an automatic weapon?

We killed thousands and thousands and thousands of people in just one year. (The gun, plane, and bomb manufacturers are loving this war.) For every American killed by a group of terrorists, we paid them back with ten times as many murders. That'll teach them!

Yep. We've taught them what to do to us.

War is stupid.

But no one believes me. My parents think that war is an intelligent way for people to solve their problems. I don't ever take their advice anymore.

My daughter's friends still argue with me, "We need to show them what right and wrong is." How do I explain to people that what they think is right--is wrong.

Like preaching to a herd of cows, my words and peaceful philosophies only result in, "Moooos."

I told Scott Karahadian in May 2014, "I've written enough love songs for a dozen lifetimes. I don't want to write about my homelessness. The only think I want to write would be an anti-war album."

Then, just a little after midnight, as Memorial Day was beginning, I wrote a poem about a father trying to dissuade his son from joining the military. The next morning on Memorial Day 2014 I woke up with a dozen songs and poems in my head. By lunchtime I had written 8 lyrics.

After spending the afternoon with my son Rory, (he liked the lyrics as I read them all to him), I hopped into the back of my truck (home) and wrote the music for these 8 lyrics to create 8 new songs. Recording them on my iPhone, I had just set a new record for myself of authoring 8 songs and one poem in one day.

I've since recorded the vocals and created the basic tracks for the album on my Zoom NH4n 4-track recorder.

I'll finish writing more here, when the album is complete. I'm going to give myself until next Memorial Day to release this album. It's another hard rock, classic rock, American Zen album without acoustic guitars. It's going to rock you out of your socks. I live many purposes and many goals, and this is one of my finest goals, to complete and release this album of 8 war stories.

Rather than try to explain to people that war is bad... which creates dazed and confused looks on people's faces, "Mooo," I decided to write each song from the perspective of people who believe in war. Well, not actually all of them. One song, "War Sucks," is obviously my voice with my perspectives. Another song, "Bags On Their Heads," is my personal perspective.

Until later, please don't shoot at anyone. (That includes me--no matter whether you agree with me or not.)

Visit the americanzen.org website for a dozen webpages with lyrics to album: