Three discs of Jeff Tweedy? Yes. It’s a lot. And it’s glorious. Having your own studio, playing with your talented kids, writing songs every day, finding ways to say new things with every line. Strumming that acoustic guitar? Hmmm. Yes. Twilight Overrride! – Jammer
We sat on our favorite bench and watched the waves yesterday, late afternoon. One of our favorite activities, or is it a glorious in-activity? Another perfect Autumn day, blue skies, summer-like temps, a golden fading of the light. Folks were out, swimming, sailing, walking, biking. A little scene of perfection.
We should have been chill and full of peace, love & understanding, but, of course, all is not well in paradise. My partner & I were swirling down a dark tunnel in our minds. Our conversation was all about the raid & brutal assault on the residents in an apartment building on Chicago’s South Shore. The current very corrupt, unwell, President is at war with Blue State America, with the Big Cities, & with Immigrants. Agents zip-tied little children, moms, dads in a disgusting & immoral raid. We are the kind of people, who believe an assault, an attack on “those people,” is an attack on us too. You know, solidarity with humanity.
Hard to believe this adminstration has decided to make America a fascist, rat-fucking Dystopia. Yes. A dark fascist turn, no doubt. We have lived through bad Presidencies before, especially: Nixon, Reagan, Bush II, but this has gone so bad, so quickly, it is hard to believe, but it is undoubtably true, this is the New Ugly America, and we are under the thumb of the worst of us. We have a hostile President & Adminstration that is at War with Americans.
We struggled through a conversation. How to keep our heads above water? How to keep calm & carry on when atrocities against our fellow human beings are being carried out by our Government just south of our beautiful vista?
A fellow traveller came riding by on his bike, he stopped at our bench. We exchanged “Hello’s,” and then he talked about the horror that was on his mind too. Funny. It’s was an oddly-uplifting conversation. It was strangely gratifying to know that someone else was also consumed with thoughts & feelings of disgust, dismay, & Helplessness. At least we knew that someone else was Awake too.
Our friend is a father of three children. “What do I tell my kids? I can’t tell them they are fucked, I have to be positive for them.”
Then we reviewed the reality of our collective situation. What to do? March. Protest. Write. Speak up. Alive. Aware. Awake. Be a Witness to the atrocities. And denounce them. And, of course, Vote when & if we can. We all still want to live in the country we grew up in, even if it seems to be vanishing right before our eyes & ears.
Our fellow traveller wished us well, and then he went on his way. We got up from the bench, & walked down the path, wondering to ourselves, what fresh fuckery will be next? And how the hell do we live with it? – Jammer
We were rehearsing yesterday for this upcoming House Concert. Just the three of us (Carla, Michael & I). It’s a quite different thing without the full band backing us. In this combo, the songs are a bit elemental, revealed, stark, the bones & structure of the songs emerge, with just a double-bass, an acoustic guitar, percussion and two voices. But it seems the songs really do stand up on their own.
We started the session reading from Roberto Bolano’s “Amulet.” (1999). A stunning, hallucinatory, gorgeous, touching, inspiring book about “the Mother of All Mexican Poets.” We are thinking of a reading from the text will be a fabulous way to open our set. This will be a very unique concert. Our good friend, Lisa Zane an incredibly talented artist, singer, song-writer will open the evening with a her own unique set. So honored to share the night with her. Hope you can join us. Please RSVP to kathyslivingroom@gmail.com for all the details. – Jammer
“It was a crazy, bad week, in a string of crazy bad weeks.
First, the righ-wing purveyor of hate speech, Charlie Kirk, was murdered. His killer, Tyler Robinson wrote to his lover: “Some hate can’t be negotiated out.”
Why did Tyler murder Kirk? ‘One person familiar with the federal investigation said that “thus far, there is no evidence connecting the suspect with any left-wing groups.’‘Every indication so far is that this was one guy who did one really bad thing because he found Kirk’s ideology personally offensive,” this person continued.’
Of course, as a ‘What’s So Funny About Peace, Love & Understanding’ Guy, I abhor the use of violence. I am anti-gun, anti-violence, anti-death penalty. But Kirk was no saint. He spent most his time attacking Americans that he didn’t like with bad-faith, straw man arguments. He stirred up the hate. But even hate speech is protected by the First Amendment of the Constitution. Still, it is not so surprising that it was hate that struck him down. Chalk his death up to another casualty of hate & the culture of guns.
Then the Trump Government put the squeeze on Disney to silence the talk-show host & comedian Jimmy Kimmel. Clear violation of Free Speech.
Seems the Kimmel story has swamped the Kirk story. Why? We are so numb to murder. It happens every day in America. But not so numb to taking our right of Free Speech away. It is foundational to our country. It is an attack on each and every one of us.
The mask has fallen away, the Trump Government has revealed itself in all it’s Fascist, Anti-American glory. The Trump Government has declared war on it’s own citzenry. Democracy is under assault. The rule law is under assault. Free Speech is under assault.
We have entered a very tricky, dangerous time. One can only hope that cooler heads will prevail. Seems we are at a precipice. The Trump Government is clearly out to fan the flames, to go after anyone who speaks up in oppostition. We must all speak up in opposition. We do outnumber them. And we have a long history here in America of freedom from tyranny.
I am firmly in the camp of “Anti-facism.” You know, it’s an idea, not an organization.
Yes. I have my Antifa decoder ring, my Antifa morning cereal, my Antifa rose-colored glasses. Listening to my Antifa soundtrack: Massive Attack, Invaders of the Heart, Tracy Chapman. Where and when is the next Antifa potluck, picnic & confab?! In my Dreams Brothers & Sisters!” – Jammer
A rare Sunday afternoon show @ Cary’s Lounge. Music starts @ 4:00 p.m. 1st Set: Hannah Frank & Victor Sanders, 2nd Set: whitewolfsonicprincess. NO COVER. TIP HARD! – Jammer
Yes. whitewolfsonicprincess played a set at Jarvis Square Pottery on Saturday night. It was a maginificent experience in a gorgeous music room. Paul Bick has created, and cultivated, a beautiful, soulful, scene that always inspires. The Lovely Carla Hayden told me the best question of the night was: “Are you guys really Pagans?!” Can’t speak for the rest the band, but as for Carla I, the answer is “Yep.” We lean to the light, worship Nature, swim in the “interconnectedness of all things.” We are determined to sacrifice nothing, except bad vibes. – Jammer
Someone asked me: “What is Jarvis Square Pottery like?” My answer: “A gorgeous music room filled with beautiful people…” Hope you can join us… – Jammer
Yesterday afternoon, a gorgeous, late summer day in Chicago, everything clicked. You can’t expect it, or plan for it, or want it too much; best to just meet the day with eyes, heart & head wide open. We were lucky to be on the main stage at the corner of Belden & Oakley, playing a set at The 38th annual Bucktwon Arts Fest. It was the perfect place to be, at just the perfect time. Blue sky, blazing sun, puffy white clouds, enormous, leafy-green, sweetly-looming trees providing a bit of shade. A professional stage setup, a bold, enveloping sound coming from a massive array of old-school speakers. The sound-tech, a no nonsense, total pro, expertly dialed us in. There was a rollicking, happy, partying crowd, a gathering of the beautiful people. An amazing cross-section of humanity. The six of us played our set with conviction & fire. It was all very satisfying & gratifying. What to say? The best feeling in world. – Jammer
Story time. The Lovely Carla Hayden and I were sitting on a bench, sipping cool drinks, talking about everything under the sun, admiring the sky, the looming trees, the to-ing & fro-ing of folks on the lakefront. Suddenly, seemingly from out of the sky, there appears Daniel Connolly, looking like the Jesus of Folk; cool, calm, floating into our vision like an apparition. He is just walking around with his guitar, strumming and singing when he feels it. He has his mahogony Gibson acoustic with him, of course, he is the ultimate troubador, and he asks us if we want to hear a song. He plays, he sings, everything comes to a complete standstill. Gorgeous, beautiful, inspiring, sort of sad too. It’s like the most incredible moment. His voice, soft, and hushed, puts us in a trance. He was singing this astonishingly gorgeous song called “Low Season.” Is this the most beautiful song we have ever heard? We are silent, captivated. Did that really happen?! Yes. It did. – Jammer
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