summer soul session

“We cannot think of being acceptable to others until we have first proven acceptable to ourselves.” 

― Malcolm X

i am just returning from a short hiatus to park county. it was so good to get away. i flew out highway 285 with a coupla friends, got turned around on the gravel road needed to get to the cabin, and arrived about 10p, just as the twilight faded to starlight.
we stayed at the home of my dear friends just past fairplay. and although i say cabin it is really much bigger than that. it has 3 bedrooms, a game room, 2 baths and is on 15 acres. the only real drawback i can think of is that the water has a very odiferous and silty sulphur content which makes showers and tap water really a chore. there were deer, jackalopes, horses, cattle, hawks, and a multitude of other creatures great and small.
we spent the 4th at the salida indendence day festival. salida is a small bohemian art community nestled in farm country just south of buena vista colorado. salida has become one of my favorite tours to entertain friends and visitors. there are sweet galleries and vintage shop, cafes and organic food venues dolloped like fleurettes on a wedding cake. the oh-so small town american celebration was quaint, colloquial, and actually felt refreshing. there were festivities, rafts, paddleboats and canoes along the arkansas river which flows along a mountain shoulder. cherry ginger basil lemonade, kids on bikes and with balloons, vets, and pets on leashes all intermingled with the usual suspects to create a sense of patriotism and summer fun. and that fun permeated our adventure.

my friend tommie and i were taking a walk on the ranches on the evening of the 4th. its a gravel road and there were wildflowers everywhere- orange, purple, yellow and white. the ranch parcels are seated just north of 285 and are delineated into sections of 18-36 acres. as we meandered along the gravel road, we were yakking about some things we hadn't discussed much recently. she got married in november and although we have seen each other at birthdays and holidays, we haven't had the time or opportunity to just share our thoughts about what's been and what's next so we were taking this chance to fill this space.  tommie had stopped (as she often does) to make a point when we heard the distinctive lawn-mowerish hum of a dirt bike coming up from behind us on the path. we scooched over and the driver came to a complete stop to my direct left, parked his feet onto the gravel, turned off the engine, turned me and stuck out his hand saying "i'm john meyer" with sunglasses in place and a lonely spooky smile. i shook his hand and mentioned that we were friends of his neighbors which he followed with a smarmy and additionally chilling "i'm so glad you came. would you like to feed the llamas?" i looked to tommie hoping she would pass, but since she is an animal rights activist i didn't really have to wonder if her next words would include yes. as seemed to be his fairly greasy way, he offered us two options- to ride on the buggy or to walk to his property and meet him with the nutritional concoction he used for his 4 furry creatures. 

as we entered the meyers property, the llamas - especially the brown one became extremely territorial, coming to the edge of their fence to see just who the hell we were -even looking at us with a mistrustful and "go ahead- make my day" look in their eyes. we trekked beyond the llama pen  along a drive which curved around through the middle of two large aspen groves with an additional curve up to his house on the right. the 4 wheeler parked next to the house like it hadn't been running in days. there was a 5 ft.american flag hanging from the 2nd floor balcony, and a trailer and a fishing boat were parked up behind the driveway. it was very much like a scene from chainsaw massacre.. we knocked on the door twice and there was nary an answer. as we were now completely spooked, we headed back down the drive to get out to the main gravel road with a quick stop to chat quickly to the over alert llamas. we headed back to our cabin and had dinner which i made in the city and brought down- roasted salmon with cucumber dill, jicama confetti salad, quinoa and black bean salad, and a lemon frosted yellow cake (the last 2 purchased not made).  i have to admit here that i woke up several times that night with the worry of slasher dreams- probably a result of the "criminal minds" marathon i had been enjoying earlier in the week. the tales of john meyer began on the 4th of july. they have already been told several times, been embellished, tailored, quoted, and compared. it has been suggested that john is a relative of michael meyers.

the 36 hours in the high country seemed to add a few months to my life. i got back to denver with ready to have a couple more days away from work. the real estate on the front side of our units has become one of my therapy projects. i clipped and watered and mulched quite a bit last night when the heat of the sun had flown. 

a knuckles sandwich

image credit... residentialadvisor.net

i still remember the 1st time i heard him and saw him spin records at the warehouse chicago- it was 1979- i was 21 and so very naive and hanging with my friend medusa, nealina, and greg- frankie was using 3 turntables and inventingly reworking records as i had never heard them before. he was producing his own music in a live setting with thousands of witnesses and critics. in my mind (and being from chicago) he will always be the founding member of the house party- although larry levan was having a similar life experience in nyc. to this very day, i jump for joy when i find a new mix of his available, whether its a record or a recording of him spinning live. last week he played the boiler room gig in nyc. it's classic and pure frankie knucles all the way through- a little bit of jazz, a little bit of rock, a little bit of soul.

their pioneering and their genius has guided a few generations of turntable musicians with a hard working mindset and an invitation to look at music as an evolving moving thing. that nite in chicago changed my life and opened my imagination to the ways music can move me.

here's an excerpt from frankie's 2009 podcast at residential advisor.

if you've even got a passing interest in house music, there's very little chance that Frankie Knuckles' name has escaped you. Starting off as a clubber in the New York disco scene—his first job was to spike the punch at Nicky Siano's now legendary The Gallery gatherings—Frankie soaked up the knowledge passed down to him from his good friend Larry Levan, and managed to secure a residency alongside the Paradise Garage luminary at the city's Continental Baths. What with the Levan connection, it wasn't long before he was headhunted to become the resident DJ at Chicago's Warehouse, a predominately gay and black club where he became a local pin-up for his sets of sublime soulful disco. Playing records that even the hardened Chicagoan disco DJs had never heard of, his reputation shot skyward, but in 1983 he decided to leave the Warehouse and start his own club called Powerplant.

The venture was successful, but Frankie's mind was already on getting into music production, and just three years later, the club closed, and Frankie started putting records out. His first 12-inch was a cover of Teddy Pendergrass' "You Can't Hide," which he produced alongside Chip E and Joe Smooth and put out on Rocky Jones' DJ International imprint, but his biggest hit came the following year when he updated Jamie Principle's "Your Love" on Trax Records. Even though Jamie's track had been circulating on tape for years (and is disputed to be the first house music track ever recorded), many people attributed the record to Frankie (Larry Sherman's decision to capitalize on his popularity by labeling the record "Frankie Knuckles presents" and not mentioning Principle didn't exactly help matters), and from then on he was a name to be reckoned with on the international house music scene.

After moving back to New York, Frankie stepped in for Junior Vasquez at the Sound Factory for a couple of years, and has carried on producing and DJing internationally ever since. While other house legends have been happy to live off their former glory, Knuckles has been active throughout this decade, releasing two full artist albums and plenty of mix CDs, the latest being his forthcoming Motivation Too CD which hits the shops in October. He's also playing the Electric Zoo festival in his New York hometown next month, so we thought that now would be a good a time as ever to get the man to mix up an RA podcast for us. We caught up with Frankie by e-mail to ask him about the RA mix, his first Motivation mix and why he closed the Powerplant.

all for a song

so i came across some bookfsmart software which slurps all the info from my blog and will put it into book form. so i am considering putting together a book. i can't tell you how not simple this process is. i am only doing this so i can give it to people i know, but i am judging what my process has been so harshly anyway.

i have one version done, but it happened way too soon. i am now working on a 2nd version that is basically embracing the stepwork and the gifts that brought with it. i don't know how long this will take, but i am not going to rush it. i am thinking it would be a good gift to give for my 7 years.
it is indeed a re-learning adventure. i came across this post which i had completely forgotten.

"under the influence"

Walking on a cloud
Feeling high
It happens every time
Whenever I'm with my guy

Tripping on love
And it feels so good
I can't help myself
And I wouldn't think I could

Plus he's got that certain drive
That I'm a victim to
Love's really got a hold on me
And there's nothing that I'd rather do
i guess the post title could lead to a wrong impression. no- i have not used. nor have i "fallen in love". i am, however, under the influence of something newer in my life. there have been distinctive and noticeable changes in my reactions to life recently. i feel as if i am being graced with patience and serenity in ways that are new and could be intoxicating.

a good portion of the reasons why are due to this spiritual program i am adapting for my life. it seems to fit more comfortably with each wear. with every working of the last 3 steps, i move toward peace. and part of it may also be an overarching relief about who's in charge with the ensuing inauguration of president-elect obama. i know i feel much more secure with someone i feel trustworthy in that position. and a good portion, no doubt, is the grace i have received these last two years, from scraping out all the sediment on my insides through this blogging process.

i have managed to clear away so much wreckage and make room for life again in an exhilarating way. this is a vibrant and colorful journey. the destination is still not known to me, but the pit stops and side bars have been life altering. i definitely am under the influence. of what i am not certain, but it feels a whole lot like love as i think it is.
posted at kickintina on January 17, 2009

i heard this remix by frankie knuckles today and can't get it outa my head... hava listen...