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We watched “The Beatles 64,” yesterday. Amazing, exciting. Surprising. It features newly unearthed, never before seen footage of the Beatles when they visited the USA, played the Ed Sullivan Show, Carnegie Hall, and chilled out in Harlem with Ronnie Spector and the Ronnettes. Who knew!?

Gil-Scott Heron famously told us: “The Revolution Will Not Be Televised,” but he didn’t mention that Albert and David Maysles were most likely filming it while it was happening. The brothers had cameras rolling for many significant events of that decade, including Monterey Pop and Gimmee Shelter.

A case can be made the 60’s didn’t really start until that fateful night on the Ed Sullivan Show. The Beatles played their music for 70 million Americans, many of them screaming and crying in joy and ecstasy. The nation was still reeling and mourning the murder of JFK. This little group of mop-tops captivated and electrified the youth of the world, and yes, changed the world as it changed them too.  

Turns out the 60’s, and the optimism and good vibes of that decade, seemed to die right around the time (1970), the Beatles broke up. The Rolling Stones at Altamont, and the Manson family murder spree also kind of put the nail in the coffin of that hippie credo: What’s so funny about Peace, Love & Understanding, indeed?!

Hindsight is revealing & deceiving, nothing is all that neat and simple. But it’s clear that you can’t understand the 1960’s if you don’t include the improbably brilliant journey of the Beatles. It is all still sort of astonishing even now. Right time, right place, magic happens. They were one of the few bands that just got better, more creative, and genre-busting with each recording.  Their explorations with fashion, drugs, mysticism, meditation, avant garde art, and world music, became our explorations too. The Beatles became the example, the myth, and the template for everyone else who ever tried to  follow or emulate them.

The craziness of Beatlemania is still pretty unfathomable, unexplainable. As John Lennon says, they experienced it as a sort of ride in the eye of a hurricane. We get an insider’s glimpse of those four lads birthing Pop Culture into being; a magnificent, thrilling, tsunami & joy-ride of new energy.

To see it all now? Another world. Did all really happen? Was it just a dream? A blast of enthusiasm, innocence, good vibes, humor & fun. As Paul said: it was all “A bit of a laugh.” Of course, it was much more than that, but that was close to the heart of the beginning. – Jammer

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Comment from Bob Smith, who came to the Electric Medicine and whitewolfsonicprincess show on Saturday. Doesn’t get any better than this…

“For all the music I get out to listen to, last night was unique and spiritual in a rare and beautiful way. The environment was peaceful, the people were positive and welcoming, the musicians were warm and inviting. This was one of those intimate gems of a night.”

It was quite the night… – Jammer

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The New Manifesto…

Yes. Something clicked for me over the weekend. Saturday, we plunged into other things. Playing music with our band. Sinking into the process of songwriting, and then bringing those songs to a small group of accomplished musicians. We all needed to do it. Desperately. We lost ourselves in the creating.

Then, later that evening we rode our bikes to a little storefront place, and plunged into the good vibes of a ramshackle collection of souls, a loose community of seekers of good vibes, good music, and moments of glimmering transcendence. 

It dawned on me that yes, of course, we live in a Blue Bubble, a place very different from other parts of the country, but we wouldn’t want to live anywhere else. I truly believe we are on the right track. This is our America. It is the right place, the right time, the right stance, the way to live. It’s a welcoming, open-armed and open-hearted place; a multi-cultural stew of Humanity. It’s a beautiful thing, indeed.

Over here the policies are inclusion, non-discrimination, good cheer, smart conversation, a compassion and an empathy that rides inside everyone’s hearts. We do have it figured out. Our side may have lost the election  by the slimmest of threads to the forces of unreason, hatred, division, BUT WE ARE NOT WRONG. Our instincts, our policies, our politics, are correct. 

We are on the path of soul. 

So, yeah, you know, a new Manifesto. It’s a Manifesto of Love & Creativity. We have to navigate around the coming Tyranny. Do our best to tune that evil, death-generating shite out, to keep our heads and hearts in the game. There is no place for despondency, there is no giving up. We are on the right side of history. No doubt. There may be dark times ahead, but we will gather together, and bring & bathe in, the Light.

This is just a little detour, a setback, a wake-up call. – Jammer

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We swam in the big sea, and it was completely exhilarating. All of our energy was focused on one big event, (see previous post), and it happened. The reception was rapturous. Maybe the audience was better than the band? I don’t know, we did good. A few minor kerfuffles, (ok, mainly due to me), but that just affirmed that it was a live performance. Nothing really threw us off. 9 musicians, the finest, most extraordinary musicians and humans that you can ever imagine, all bringing it to a room of devoted fans. The feedback loop was quite exquisite. Lots of smiles, kind words, and heartfelt kudos afterwards. This morning it all seems like a strangely wonderful dream. whitewolfsonicprincess; it really is an entity, an energy, that is bigger than all of us. Band and audience joining together to create a higher vibration. Golden. Really quite the thing. Not sure how it happens, but when it does, there is nothing better. – Jammer

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Hello All – Our new album, “Love Without Fear,” drops globally on October 28. Album release show at Evanston SPACE on October 31. Special Edition CD will be available at the show. Plus of course our two fabulous WWSP Tees. 

Tables and seats going fast:https://www.ticketweb.com/event/white wolf sonic princess-w-baba-yaga-stew-space-tickets/13856553

We have also just released two singles from the record, you can check them out on Soundcloud here:

And be sure to read the rave review of Revelation Blues from Indie Boulevard Magazine here:

So, Have You Heard Revelation Blues by whitewolfsonicprincess? It’s Got Me Ready For That October 28 Album Drop

Hope to see you on All Hallows Eve – James & Carla

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It was a “spirit slot.” You know, opening the Main Street Fall Fest at 11:00 a.m. on a gorgeous Sunday in October. Thank you Lighthouse Rotary, Main Dempster Mile, Dan Coyne & Rob Brady for letting us do our thing.

There were a few early risers with us during setup. whitewolfsonicprincess at our church service. Singing our truth to the street, and to the gloriously blue sky. Once we fired up the amps, and took our places onstage, we had a happy little crowd with us.

It was a big-time, real-deal, professionally appointed, sound-system & stage; fabulous, thunderous vibrations. B&B Productions, a first class act for sure. They dialed us all in. It all sounded magnificent to our ears. Afterwards lots of kind words and smiles. What a kick. We stuck around for La Furia, Suite Mollie and Tributosaurus doing Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. It was all quite inspiring. Neil’s song is still ringing my ears this early Monday morn: “Tin soldiers and Nixon coming, we’re finally on our own, this summer I hear the drumming, four dead in Ohio…” And Stevie Wonder’s too (thanks to fabulously funky Suite Mollie) – “Living just enough for the city…” Yes. It was quite the good time. – Jammer

Photos by Karen O’Brien

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The 2nd single from whitewolfsonicprincess new album “Love Without Fear.'” One of Carla Hayden‘s finest vocals & lyrics. The band really brings it too. Album release show at Evanston SPACE on Halloween October 31st. Hope you can join us to celebrate. Tickets here: https://www.ticketweb.com/event/whitewolfsonicprincess-w-baba-yaga-stew-space-tickets/13856553

Jammer