Feb. 09

Language of the next generation:
A ‘blog’? Kenny has challenged me to write a ‘blog’?
It’s not a word that smoothly glides over the curves of the ear and into the swirls of synapses to create a picturesque moment in language…

And yet it is the new catchword for something to say, running off at the mouth, diarrhea of thought, rambling of intellect (or lack of it), opinions with or without merit, and commentary on commentary. I’m not sure there are many people who have something to say that should actually be written, or read, or remembered these days, including myself. Mostly there is too much ‘verbiage’ out in the universe with too little content, just a white noise to add to the existing white noise.

HOWEVER! Since I LOVE to write, and in my own head (like everyone else), I think I have to speak for the voices that dwell there, and since Kenny challenged me… why not?

So here goes the first ‘blog’ of my life:
HI!! I am a musician just home from a wonderful tour. We froze to death in North and South Dakota, but loved working with the kids in the schools and had great concerts. We finished up in Evanston, Wyoming at a wee Celtic festival where we were honored to teach, perform, sit in sessions and make memories with local musicians and the amazing and iconic band Dervish! Lucky US!!

The world is in spasm. But the events, schools, workshops and activities we have been involved with over the past 7 weeks, have been more soulful, more memorable and more needed than ever in our 18 years of this business.

My opinion is that this 'crisis' is exactly what the soul of the world needed to rehabilitate the addiction to money and consumerism for the sake of consumerism. Perhaps it is the universe itself saying: “without each other, without quality experiences, without loving relationships (which take time investment not money investment), without compassion, giving, creativity and reintroduction to each other, your species can be eliminated”... just my little theory.

Although 'arts' money is disappearing before our eyes, bloodletting of programs, schools are digging foxholes and climbing in, communities are frozen, sponsorships have been ‘beamed up’ to other planets, and media reminds us minute by minute how bad things are... The whole reason we do this thing we do is for the soulful exchange of humanity at the point of hearing music, laughing, engaging with each other and us. So perhaps there will be those who still need to do that, and maybe take lessons to do it for themselves, and maybe school kids will be moved to carry the torch of the arts and the human experience despite the politics and the economy...

Well, I’ve done it… I’ve ‘blogged’.
Spewing forth the written word for no other reason than to hear myself type.
It is therapeutic, but I’d rather do it face to face with all our family, friends, fans and mystery people. The world of cell phones, texting, email, myspace, facebook, websites, call forwarding, answering machines, blackberry’s, laptops, and other techno mania, has left me feeling more isolated than ever. Hand writing letters, licking stamps dropping envelopes into the abyss of the mail box, reaching into the mailbox to find a treasure there from a friend, hearing a voice on the phone to laugh immediately with, looking into the face of an elder while they tell a story, holding the hand of a child while they recount a dream, whispering into the ear of a loved one during a hug… ‘I Love You’…

There isn’t a blog in the world that can do that…