Some time ago, I asked my friend Dan Monick to play drums on a track I was working on. He loved the tune enough that he ended up raving about me and the song to a mutual hipster friend.

"Dark horse, eh?" the friend responded.

I'll never forget that. I knew what he meant and was deeply flattered but, at the time, I could never bring myself to fully own that tag.

George Harrison was a dark horse. He named his record label such. Hung out in the shadows for a long time keeping quiet and patient until one fine day in 1969...BOOM! his mojo jumped right off the friggin' charts. Turns out George was one of the coolest Beatles on the planet. He looked cool and he sure as hell sounded cool coming out of the woodwork with bonified Beatle classics like "Something" and "Here Comes the Sun".

When the Beatles split up, George released "All Things Must Pass", a TRIPLE album of backburner "Harrisongs" that John and Paul had deemed "not up to scratch". It was the biggest album of X-mas 1970 and went on to sell 6 million units, easily outpacing his former bandmates seasonal solo offerings.

I really love that story. I guess the dude's time had come. Fuckin' David and Goliath! Just think, he's got John and Paul, the two most influential songwriters of all time, telling him his shit's not good enough- that HE's not good enough. How intimidating is that? How many others would've crumbled and threw in the towel? And what does George do?

"Piss off Beatle Gods, I'm making a triple album with those orphans you don't want and it's gonna be the biggest and best solo album any of us will ever release!" And that's exactly what happened.

I'll tell ya, I'm really feeling that dark horse vibe lately. I wonder if this is the "tipping point"- where you work work work and then your cart comes to life and starts rolling all by itself. Today, all the hard work feels almost effortless. I'm not as afraid of people. I'm not afraid of going solo. I'm not afraid of school. Not afraid of being hurt. Not afraid of owning my strengths even if it threatens others. It's crazy. I'm not pulling, it's pulling me. Honestly, I feel like a celebrity whose mojo just keeps on rising.

See, I'm used to dialing it down for you. Gettin' small. People-pleasing bullcrap. Can't let her know how I feel. Gee, did I offend you? I'll never say nuthin' ever again. Oh? You don't like my songs? That's ok. I don't mind. I'll just tuck them away where nobody will ever find them and we'll all live happily ever after.

God, it's taken me a long time to fully absorb how this line of thinking will never, ever work. It's too much work for too little pay. I mean, knowing when to keep quiet and not make waves is high on the list but mistaking that for turning my sunshine down has been a real problem for me. Somebody out there told me a long time ago never to show my cards. If I do, I'm weak and I'm gonna get hurt like some scared kid at Spaceland with his arms folded, loving the band but too ashamed too let anyone see. Lies. And I don't wanna play ball like that anymore.

So here I go, America! Lettin' the chips fall where they may, pullin' all the stops tills the wheels fall off and singin' outta key till your earballs bleed! All you naysayers, all you haters, all you hip critic jagoffs, I'm not listenin'! Tell me I'm shit and I'll know I'm on The Path and I STILL got mad love for you! Only God can judge me. Ungh!

I AM THE DARK HORSE.