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The tandem pull of the sun and the moon
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wThursday, July 26, 2001 |
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How annoying... my template doesn't want to change. I guess I'll have to keep y'all in suspense as to what musical gems I've been listening to lately. heh.
Had a great weekend last weekend -- tried to write about it yesterday and lost the post to blogger-fu. So it goes. I'm too lazy to rewrite what I wrote, so I'll just add a few tidbits.
I went to my friend's housewarming party. The house is in the middle of the Open Space Preserve up on Skyline (the ridge on the west side of north sillycon valley.) -- no neighbors for at least 3 miles, unless you count the deer, coyotes and bobcats, and a single lane dirt road through the golden hills is the driveway. The hottub sits on top of the hill with a view down the valley on the west side to the Pacific. The scotch was 12 years old and the jam lasted til 4am. It was a lovely time.
As I ponder graduate school, I wonder how I can think about leaving the west coast. I truly love it here. The coastline is said to be the most spectacular in the country; beautiful coastal redwood forests in the mountains overlooking the Pacific, wonderous marine biodiversity, and the Sierras just a few hours away. Mind you, I haven't lived on any other coast, being a midwest transplant, but I know I'd miss this.
I'm pretty jammed up with work these days, and am blowing off the Indigo Girls (at the Mountain Winery, no less) to stay home and be productive. I damn well better get a lot done today and tonight.
Whimper...
posted by
Just Mary at 8:27 AM
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wMonday, July 23, 2001 |
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Anyone out there using netscape for windows or mac and having problems accessing the discussion feature? Shep is telling me he can't get to it... wondering if any other netscape users are successful or unsuccessful. Either use the discuss to tell me "no problem" or email altheaSPAMSUXDEAD@pogueBABYMESHRAmahone.org .
Be sure and take out everything in capitals above in the email address.
posted by
Just Mary at 7:53 AM
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wThursday, July 19, 2001 |
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Kira knows Louden Wainwright III! Delightful to see him quoted on her blog. I've been a fan of his since the early 80s. I've always thought of him as singing the "rich white boy from connecticutt blues." His father was Life Magazine publisher Louden Wainwright. (now you know). I don't think I've heard of a songwriter who's written more songs about suicide (the MASH TV Show theme song, "Suicide is Painless", is his... he had a cameo in the movie singing it). Incredibly bitter, quite funny at times... I had the "pleasure" of shaking his hand backstage at a High Sierra Festival, where he performed "IWIWAL" along with several other gems he's written over the years. He was curt and unfriendly -- quite a curious soul. But he's still one of my favorite singer songwriters, both for his real and obvious angst, and his bitter and twisted sense of humor. I can't think of another songwriter quite like him. And I pity him as a human being -- he's spent much of his life unhappy, I think.
This was back when I was "cool" and worked for the Dawg and got to hang out backstage -- a truly boring place, for the most part, full of people competing to see who is the most connected and hence "cool." The only time backstage was ever cool was the night at the Maritime, where "backstage" was an 8x12 foot room, and Marshall, Grisman, Corea (Enrique), Anger, Craven and a few others had an impromptu jam before a show. I regretted not owning a D5 that night... (analog taping deck of choice among those who's passion is taping live music)
That was the only time backstage was a treat. People assume that being backstage makes you buds with the musicians, that you get to witness cool things and party with the band. It ain't like that... instead you usually simply get to meet a lot of folks who know musicians or who are trying to know musicians and want to know if you can help them achieve that goal. Its pretty twisted, for the most part.
I suppose dissing being backstage somehow makes me even "cooler." I'm so freakin hip sometimes it kills me. Heh.
Back when I first became a deadhead an moved to California, I wanted nothing more than to get backstage to meet the God-like musicians that made up the Grateful Dead. I was convinced they were holy persons of a sort, or had to be to create the kind of musical space they did. But as I got to know a few people, I began to learn some ugly truths of life behind the laminate curtain. That musicians were simply human beings and that the dynamic of adoration could create some truly fucked up dynamics within an organization.
I'm way looking forward to Saturday, when my friends Carrie an Peter are having their housewarming party. They found a new place even more isolated near Skyline in the hills of San Mateo County, no houses or people around for miles, and a clear view over the hills of the Open Space Preserve to the Pacific. Should be lots of jamming -- a day of some seriously needed soul nourishment. Can't wait.
Got a website to launch before then, so getting to "eat drink and be Mary" will be sorely required. And with the internet being hosed because of the fire in a baltimore tunnel taking out huge chunks of Worldcom's network, this is especially challenging. Nothing like trying to preview a site on a test server when you can't always access a website, ftp a file or see all the graphics on a page. Yippee ki yay, this is what I need right now.
Moo.
posted by
Just Mary at 4:01 PM
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wWednesday, July 18, 2001 |
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Well more to be excited about. I'm heading to the east coast in September to hang out with my wacky relatives. My Aunt an Uncle are celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary with a small gathering of folks. I'm touched and honored they thought to invite me.
My aunt and uncle are amazing people. Both in their 70s, they are currently on a tour of Nova Scotia. Both are extremely sharp, with great senses of humor -- reminds me of my father (my Aunt is his older sister). They are both very catholic and very conservative, which is oddly comforting in a way. I guess because it reminds me of my father; it feels very familiar. Mind you, their points of view are antithetical to my own, but that's ok. We don't have to think alike to enjoy each other's company.
I highly value my connection with them. Not just because they knew my parents and were good friends with my parents in later years, but because they represent for me, a link to family.
posted by
Just Mary at 11:14 AM
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wTuesday, July 10, 2001 |
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Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh
It's been far too long since I went to a festival.
The High Sierra Music Festival was last weekend in Quincy CA and it was a jam-packed three plus days of fun, sun n frolic.
My friend Rose and I headed up there together Thursday morning. We decided we'd take our time getting it together -- I got up at 6am and did my food shopping/organizing/getting cats to boarding kennel stuff and got to her house about 11.
The drive up was gorgeous, especially once we got to the Feather River -- a beautiful ice cold mountain river winding through a canyon of ponderosa-clad granite mountains. The colors in some of the rock slabs and house-sized boulders were spectacular -- blues, reds and yellows amid the granite. I have missed the Sierras.
There were so many highlights of the weekend for me... I'm still buzzing from it all. My drug of choice was caffeine -- there was a 24 hour espresso bar an some nights the music went til dawn. When I wasn't seeing a band or performer or sleeping, I was playing with other folks.
My favorite performer had to be Tony Furtado. I had thought he just played banjo, but he also wields a mean slide guitar. In fact, there were things he did with that slide that I didn't know were possible. He blew my mind. He had an awesome bass player with him also -- Bill Rich. They were just fantastic. A woman from the Living Daylights -- a Seattle based jazz jam band -- came on stage with them blowing some excellent sax. I'm having a tuff time pinning down what kind of music they were playing -- but it got good n weird at points. The strangest part of the set was when they started doing this Woody Guthrie tune -- an this rapper came out an rapped some freestyle stuff. Heh. Wonder what Woodie would have thought?
Enjoyed Bela's set an Acoustic Syndicate. Loved seeing Box Set duo -- they have the nickname in California of "the Indigo Boys." Hanuman was also excellent -- I thought of James when they were playing -- their mando player was clearly influenced by Grisman. They also did a late night ripping set with the Living Daylights dubbed Living Hanumama. Living Daylights, Jazz Mandolin Project, Steve Kimock Band... all good stuff.
Overall I think I saw about 1/3 of all the music I wanted to. With temps in the upper 90s, hanging out in our camp was much more pleasant in the day than the hot sun of 2 of the three stages. I also spent a lot of time playing, which was fantastic an cathartic as hell. My fingers were pretty thrashed by the end of the second day -- I just haven't been playing enough. But my friend Rose, who works as a labor and delivery nurse, gave me this surgical cream called Emla. Awesome stuff... totally numbs the fingertips so you can keep on playing without pain. Apparently its used in her dept for circumcisions. heh. I've heard that an old fiddler's trick involves Preparation H...
Ah, but my body could not keep up with my mind's desire to be festive. I messed up my back the first day hauling camping gear. On Sat night I felt pretty good -- 2 double espressos over ice kept me jamming til 8am.... I just went walking with my geetar an found different folks to play with. Unfortunately, the next day I woke up with "contact dermatitis" on my leg -- an allergic reaction to my socks that I sometimes get on my leg involving a nasty rash and swelling. So the rest of my festival was pretty laid back. But sweet nonetheless, involving ice cold mountain stream fed swimming holes, two really decent massages, some good sleep an visiting with old an new friends.
"Life may be sweeter for this, I don't know
Feels like it might be alright..."
posted by
Just Mary at 8:49 PM
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