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“I’ve been falling so long it’s like gravity’s gone and I’m just floating.” – Mike Cooley, Drive By Truckers

Will I Miss the Sky?
Good morning existential crisis, your arrival is like the punch-line in a good joke. Things happen. We live in a little community where you see the same people all the time, you know the shop-keepers, neighbors and resturant owners, for good and bad. You say hello to the passing scene, spark up little conversations about this and that. Then one day something happens. A fluke accident. Death. Death, you are now a stranger, one day you will be a close friend. You try to remember the face, the laugh, you hear lines like “Will I miss the city lights? Will I miss the snow? Will I miss the laughter? Will I miss the jokes? Will I miss touch? Will I miss love? Will I miss you?”  – Yoko Ono

Time on your side. vs. Time on my side.
I look through Fashion magazines all the time (it’s sort of part of my day job), a line from an advertisement sticks in my head….Time on your side….. music comes swirling in, cuz that’s what’s going on inside my head… (music, colors, visions) next thing I hear is, “Time is on my side, yes it is. Time is on my side, yes it is.” The Rolling Stones. The mind makes funny connections. Time on your side, time on my side – I realize that is a very different thing.

Saturday morning.
I’ve embraced this existential crisis. Today I have it with yogurt and tea. I discover that Antony and the Johnsons have a new live album, “Cut the World.” I see the Secretly Canadian logo in the corner of the ad. (We sent 10+1 to them, along with many other labels.) I see a little ray of light. I look foward to hearing this new piece. I am inspired by the creative work of others. The way someone runs a little community business, the way we support one another in life, or the way a fellow aritst creates a new surprise. I remember the face, I remember the muse. I see our project taking flight and opening doors to new worlds. Then incoming: “Man gets tired, Spirit don’t, Man surrenders, Spirit won’t, Man crawls, Spirit flies, Spirit lives when man dies.” – Mike Scott, The Waterboys

— Carla

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Yes, it’s always time to choose. If you are for peace, someone is for war. If you want to “save the planet,” others want to drill, and cut, and burn. John Lennon & Yoko Ono showed us how to mix art and politics. Lennon was the biggest pop star in the world, and he fell in love with Yoko, and together they became very high-profile conceptual artists, and promoters of peace. A perfect example of how to mix art and politics. And yes, once John was dead and buried, then everyone wanted to make him a saint. But he was no saint. He was a man, a charismatic, talented and committed artist; a “heart on his sleeve” kind of guy. Whatever he was doing, being in a band, or being a “house-husband,” he was always fully committed. “Power to the People” was probably a better slogan than a pop single, but John’s heart was in the right place. Today we all need to choose sides too. There is no middle ground. We can choose to live with love and heart, we can choose a progressive politics where we value science and the planet, and human rights, and women’s rights, and gay rights, and immigrant rights, and a social safety net… or not.  But we must choose, and if we don’t, that’s a choice too. So yes, we choose to wear our politics on our sleeves too. Obama/Biden 2012!– Jammer

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Just watched a video of The Flaming Lips performing Pink Floyd’s complete “Dark Side of the Moon.”  What might be a weird pipe-dream idea, turns out to be an exhilarating work of mad genius. What a perfect match. The stoic, oh so British, Floydians meet the funky, shaggy-headed, Oklahoma freaks, the Lips. Pink Floyd’s great, diamond-hard songs stand the test of time, and The Flaming Lips make it a party, a celebration, and a profound cosmic adventure. It’s a religious ceremony of ecstasy and humor.  Instead of bread and wine, it’s confetti and balloons, with dancing girls and cheap, space-age costumes. It’s over the top and cheesy and oh so life-affirming. And the cheesiness is not a flaw, but part of the allure of the whole funky experience. The Lips’ incredibly charismatic front man, Wayne Coyne, oversees it all with a benevolent, glad-handing demeanor; he wears these over-sized bear paws, and he walks over the audience in an enormous plastic bubble. Wayne is just the best. He’s the leader of some weird, intelligent, cosmic cult. And all it takes to join is a pair of ears and a beating heart open to love. And The Flaming Lips have the chops to pull it all off.  Steven Drodz and his burned, beaten and battered Fender Jazzmaster will win you over as he alternates between guitar and keyboard.  The Flaming Lips are funky and cool. Pure, sonic, r&r, love! – Jammer

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We played the Elbo Room Saturday night (8.25.12). One of the great rock clubs in Chicago. A very photogenic scene. They have a real-deal stage with a professional back-line. We blasted through a 40 min set, a nice mix of originals and covers, although we’re thinking fewer covers and more originals next time. The sound guy did a fabulous job. Smiles all-around. Jammer debuted a new hat, which he has decided to immediately retire… a little bit too Fat Albert. Carla’s voice was in fine form: strong, entrancing; and Tim and Rich (bass & drums) proved again they are one of the best rhythm sections in the business. Are we in the business? The never-ending city tour continues… – Jammer

photo by Karen O’brien

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This portrait of the Lovely Carla, whitewolfsonicprincess’ lead singer, came out of a working session with the inspiring and gifted photographer Michael Doubrava. We enlisted Michael to take some photos of the band, and this “out-take” emerged from one of those sessions. The strange twinning of  images seems so gothic and spooky. For some reason it makes me think of Edgar Allan Poe and Lenore. Black & White Cool! Thank you Michael! – Jammer

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If you know our band, whitewolfsonicprincess, you may also know Black Forest, our edgy, on the fringe theater company. Think: “rock and roll theater!” For the last 14 years or so we’ve performed at the “Abbie Hoffman Died For Your Sins Fest” which is hosted by Rich Cotovsky and his Mary Archie Theater Company. Abbie Fest is just like the famous Woodstock music fest of 1969, except probably, a little less mud, and instead of music, it’s a festival of plays, comedy, performance, etc. It’s always the third weekend of August, (this year Aug. 17,18 & 19).

Black Forest performs a new piece called “The Dogstar Raves On,” on Saturday, August 18 @ 6:55 p.m. It’s a waring-blender of a performance piece with scenes, monologues, mayhem and music. We are excited to have all the members of  WWSP join us onstage for this performance. We also are very honored to have a wonderful guest performer: dancer/choreographer Sara Zalek collaborating with us. The lovely and multi-talented Hannah Frank is doing lights and sound. It is always great to be a part of the Abbie Fest! A one-day pass for the fest is $10.00 and weekend pass is $25.00. Check it out! – Jammer

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I woke up Friday morning and hit the alarm. It rings at 6 am on the days of my “straight” job. Me: “We can sleep in tomorrow.” Jammer: “Today’s not tomorrow.” Jammer makes his pot of coffee. I make the bed. I move the sheets around in the darkened room, my head starts playing the song “Jesse” a Carly Simon hit from the album “Come Upstairs.”

“Jessie, I won’t cut fresh flowers for you,
no Jesse, and I won’t make the wine cold for you,
no Jesse, I won’t change the sheets for you,
I won’t put on cologne, I won’t sit by the phone for you”

The song was a hit on the  WLS charts in 1980. I was working as a Nurse’s Aide on the cardiac floor of Elmhurst Hospital. 2 North. Images of that time come rushing in. It could have just been a moment of nostalgia, I have no other explanation, but as I go through the morning motions, the flood-gates open, and for some reason, I am overwhelmed with sadness. I walk to the kitchen. Put the kettle on. Jammer sees me crying. He comes to my side. He hugs me. He says, “I want to cry too.” Now Jammer always says he hates nostalgia, I’m not sure why, I guess because we can not go back. I have been open to all kinds of music, I love the way rhythms and sounds can unite us, and help us remember the stories of our life’s experiences. Sadness is an old friend of mine, when I cry, I know I am connected to my feelings. When I remember a dream, I know that I have been sleeping. When I laugh, I know that I am happy. Our senses are little pieces of “the whole.” Our senses help us make this beautiful mosaic we call life. – Carla

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If someone told us that Brian Eno is a real-world Elf starring as himself in the “Lord of the Rings”, we wouldn’t be surprised at all. Eno has always seemed a little other-worldly; he is an intelligent, super-inspiring, creative catalyst, and a consummate collaborator. He has had his finger in many, many musical pies. He is of course one of the originators of “ambient” music, and has collaborated on some great albums by Roxy Music, David Bowie, Robert Fripp, U2 and Talking Heads. Eno is a formidable secret agent of change. He always seems to be thinking outside the box, and he is always devising strategies to break the rules, and to see what happens. He approaches the creative process as a game to play.  And usually, the results are pretty amazing. It’s sometimes hard to pinpoint exactly what Eno does, but some of the albums he’s been associated with are the finest works you can imagine. For instance:  “Low,”  “Heroes,” “Unforgettable Fire,” “Joshua Tree,” “Achtung, Baby,” “Fear of Music,” “Remain in Light,” “My Life in the Bush with Ghosts”  – Imagine!  Eno Lives! – Jammer

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Jammer was blown away listening to Colin Stetson on Jian Ghomeshi’s radio show “Q.” Sometimes an artist/musician can can kick down the walls and change your world. Colin Stetson is one of those strange and exotic birds. When you hear him play, you think there must be studio trickery or electronic looping or something else going on, but it’s just one man, his sax, and an array of microphones capturing his performance. He uses the whole instrument, and makes it much more than a saxophone. Not many folks change the way you think about an instrument, or about what makes music, music. But Colin Stetson does. He opens our hearts and heads to what’s sonically/artistically possible. He imagines and creates a unique musical vision, and brings an extraordinary physicality and technique to the task. It’s all very inspiring! – Jammer

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This weekend we played at the first annual Bucktown Tree and Garden Walk. The Garden Oasis Stage was set up right next to Club Lucky. A well-equipped stage: lights, monitors, a full back-line. The band certainly felt at home. The main stage is just the ticket. We played for nearly an hour; a blazing set. It was hot, the sweat was flying, and Jammer nearly spontaneously combusted during “Fallen.”  The band is getting tighter, and we continue to evolve and explore together. It’s becoming a big sound! The event was organized and hosted by Chicago music mogul and good friend, Michael Teach and his own CAUDOG Records. After the show Karen O. asked Jammer, “What’s up with the Neil Young schtick?”  Karen, good or bad, it just comes naturally! – Jammer

photo by karen o’brien