We traveled to the “land beyond O’Hare,” over the weekend. We played a movie-fundraiser at an American Legion in one of the far western suburbs. It felt like we were going to another country. A Harder Country. The American Legion was filled with two-fisted drinking Vets, horror-movie geeks, heavy metal kids, and the parents of horror-movie geeks & heavy metal kids.

You might think this would not be the most promising of audiences for our “neo-psychedelic, folk rock ensemble,” but everyone was friendly and welcoming. There was college football on every TV screen, there were video poker machines lined against a wall, there was a back-porch smoking section for those folks with their smoking addictions.

There was also a “Hanoi Jane” sticker in the urinal in the men’s room. So all the males in the place could go make their peace with Jane Fonda, members in hand. Funny. The 60’s culture war still lives. Jane, of course, is famous for doing a photo-op with the Viet-Cong at the height of the U.S. war. Not very popular with most Vets. Also there was the guy with the “Cops Lives Matter” t-Shirt. The subject never came up, but one might surmise this could be Opioid-Land and Trump Country.

So yes, we felt like invaders from another planet, folks from a completely different tribe. But really, when it comes down to it, we all really have much more in common with these folks than these cultural markers might indicate. As the Dalai Lama reminds us: “We are all Human Beings first.”  What’s funny, two of us, (the two hippiest of the peace loving, flower-waving hippies), actually grew up in suburbs just like this one, but truth be told, we never felt we fit in, always seemed like fish out of water, couldn’t wait to escape to the Northern shores of Lake Michigan.

Surprisingly, the show was exhilarating, cathartic. Our lead singer started our set by ringing the Tibetan prayer bell three times for “Peace and Love.”  That got everyone’s attention. There is something about trying to win over a room. Our band played a tight, battle-tested set, we have played a number of good shows lately, our set is strong, it flows well, the sequence of  songs allows us to reach a satisfying crescendo.

It was hot. The sweat poured. It all just felt fantastic. We knew we were making an impression when the guy playing video poker actually stopped, turned around, and watched us. That was the best tribute of the night. – Jammer

It is hard to put into words, the happiness, the excitement, the relief; our latest album, “The Alternate Boot: Vols. 1&2” is complete, and boxes of cds were delivered to our door this afternoon. A long time coming for sure. A double-cd set. 14 songs. 61 minutes of music. We’ve lost count of the endless hours spent writing, rehearsing, recording, mixing (and mixing, and mixing again) & mastering these tracks.  An incredible group of musicians helped us bring these songs to life. And an amazing group of friends and fans donated to our Indiegogo campaign to help complete the project. It has been an incredibly rewarding journey. Can’t wait for folks to hear what we’ve created. Fire up your sound systems, get your headphones ready. The Boot has arrived! – Jammer

Our band, whitewolfsonicprincess has had a string of excellent shows. Good music rooms. Exuberant audiences. The band has tightened and loosened. When we are in full-force, there are seven of us now. The musicians all really listen to each other, there is an extraordinary conversation going on. A tale told consisting of vibes, invisible waves.

Each show is different: the music, the room, the energy, everything is always morphing, growing. Pretty thrilling for all of us. We seem to be connecting with new folks at every show. We can’t ask for more than that, or, of course, we can and do, we feel we are just at the beginning of something pretty amazing. It’s a great feeling. Still, at the same time, we can’t take anything for granted. Every show really is a new beginning.

Anyway, last night, one of our good friends, an extraordinary musician and past collaborator came out to see us play. After the show he said to me that our band was “Comfort Food for the Soul.”

Comfort Food: “food that gives emotional comfort to the one eating it, these tend to be favorite foods of childhood, or linked to a person, place or time with which the food has a positive association.”

At first I was a bit taken aback, I thought, “Is that good?” Upon reflection, I’d say, yes, I hope it’s true. That would be a great and humbling mission: feeding souls with our music, one soul at a time. That’s the good work, for sure! – Jammer

photo by Jeffery Korman

Could you bottle that? 

I always talk about catching lightening in a bottle, catching that magic, somehow, capturing the un-capture-able in a live performance, whether it’s theater, dance, poetry, music, etc. Somehow holding the moment of lift-off, transcendence, ecstasy, and then, once you have mysteriously, improbably, bottled it, every once in awhile you could uncap it and take a whiff? Get high on the fumes of the eternal.

Last Saturday night we played a little storefront place called Jarvis Square Pottery. It’s a little treasure. First time we walked in we fell in love. And all the elements of the night came together. Our band whitewolfsonicprincess played a tight, powerful, rocking set, and the room just vibrated with positive vibes and energy. Sometimes the audience is just another member of the band. Band and audience are in conversation, a conversation of vibes, creating something else. What you are creating together is bigger than you can imagine, bigger than you can explain.

It was that kind of show. I can’t imagine how it could have played out any better. Could you bottle that? Nope. You can’t. You can only experience it. It’s the whole thing. The whole love. – Jammer

Video stills. Yes, we created a new video featuring our song “Brown Eyes,” a little mash-up of images from a live performance, and some other cool imagery that Carla found. It all came out better than expected. Here are a couple single frames, they look pretty cool on their own. – Jammer

They say, if you want a successful Indiegogo campaign, you should have a video. So the Lovely Carla and I decided to give it a go. This one features our song “Brown Eyes,” from our upcoming release The Alternate Boot: Vols. 1&2. The challenge was to take video that our friend Trisha Connolly captured on her iPhone, sync it with our studio track, and layer in some other cool imagery. Owls!

It was a bit of a challenge, the lighting at The Store was kind of dark, but we love the saturated colors and the blinking lights. Another little creative rabbit hole! Hope you check it out. Also, be sure you visit our Indiegogo page, our campaign runs until Nov. 2: https://igg.me/at/alternateboot

We need your help and support to fully realize beautiful dream! Thank You! – Jammer

Hello Friends & Fans -We are so excited to announce whitewolfsonicprincess’ new album – “The Alternate Boot: Vols. 1&2” to be be released a bit later in 2018. We are reaching out for your help to finish up the project and to secure funds to promote to radio stations near and far.

Please consider joining our Indiegogo Campaign today! We will be running the campaign from September 15 to November 2. We have a number of cool “perks” as “Thank You’s” for your kind and generous donations. To learn more about our project, to donate, and to claim a perk, go to: https://igg.me/at/alternateboot  We are grateful for your support!

Thank You…

Carla & James

We have performed in some extraordinary places: A 100 year old church, a sidewalk, a park, a black-box theater, an attic, a kitchen, High Street in Edinburgh, Scotland. Every time we play, we give it our all. There really is no other way.

This last weekend we performed as a trio at the Milwaukee Art Museum. An extraordinarily beautiful building designed by Santiago Calatrava. Breathtaking.

It was a perfect day. Blue skies, sparkling lake, sunshine pouring down. It all came off perfectly; the ride up, the setting up, the performance, the post-show takedown, the post-show meal, and the ride back.

We were totally in tune with the day.

What an amazing, inspiring building, what a incredible experience. The event was all light and sunshine and the improbable expansion of human consciousness and creation. We filled this extraordinary space with our uncommon sound. Vibrations. Yes. It was validating. A good one for sure. – Jammer

Photos by Carla Hayden & Joan Levergood

The Lovely Carla and I always talk about “expanding the circle.” Meeting new people. Making new friends. Performing in new places. Pushing forward. Creating an inclusive vibe.

We are so excited to have the opportunity to perform at the Milwaukee Art Museum on Sept 9, 2018, @ 1:00 p.m. We will set up in the atrium. A gorgeous setting for our performance. There will be a special lineup for the show, just three of us: Douglas Johnson on double-bass, James Moeller on acoustic guitar and Carla Hayden on vocals & percussion.

We hope to fill that amazing space with music and energy, expand the circle, make new friends. A free show, open to all. We’ll let you be in our dream, can we be in yours?

Jammer

One advantage to being a band that plays music in the Chicago area, the opportunities to play seem pretty inexhaustible. There are bars, churches, art galleries, street corners, concert halls, parks, homes, basements, coffeehouses.

This weekend we played the Rock House in Glenview, and leading up to the show, I kept quoting an old Ernest Hemingway short story,  “A Clean, Well-Lighted Place.” So true. A very nice, clean, well-lighted, little venue, serving coffee, snacks, pizza, beer and wine. Did I mention the lighting was great and the sound was superb? An excellent music room.

First time we ever played there, first time we were ever in Glenview, for any reason. The trek from Evanston was actually quite beautiful. We rented a car; an enjoyable a tree-lined jaunt.

We shared the stage with one of our favorite bands, The Remember Knots, and they debuted some new tunes and totally captivated the room. A hard act to follow. We did our best to fill the space, and keep the positive vibe going.

There was sort of a David Lynchian decor: red drapes, dangling chandelier, all that was missing was a little dancing guy. We felt good about our performance, lots of good post-show comments, made some new fans, sold some CDs. That was a good one!  The Never-Ending Tour continues… – Jammer