Fever Dreams

The other morning I broke a tooth eating a bagel. As things turned out Laura had to go to the dentist, and since I was giving her a ride (so I could use the car to take the cat to the vet) I was able to make an appointment for the next morning. So at 4:00 AM on Thursday morning I woke up shivering and couldn't stop. It was warm in the house, so it could only mean that I was sick. Since I had the dentist appointment, I ignored it. I got myself bathed and dressed and into the car.

I got to the dentist and after about a half an hour got x-rayed and inspected. I was hoping it would be something simple, but it turns out I'll need a root canal, a rod put in and a crown. Since none of that is in the budget, I had them patch it as best they can until I can get in next month which means I'll only be eating soft food for a month.

I walked the two miles home in the 20 degree weather and wasn't feeling so good. I thought it was because I hadn't eaten much since I broke the tooth, so I ate some oatmeal. I had trouble finishing the bowl and my head began to hurt. It turned out I was running a fever of 101.6. I took an aspirin, got some juice and laid down on the couch and spent the day in various states of consciousness. Luck was with me as the fever broke rather quickly and my appetite started to return. I watched a video, Sean Connery as 007 in Goldfinger, one of my favorite movies when I was about 12 years old (and yes I would still love to own an Austin Martin DB-5). It's still entertaining after all of these years, but I've watched too much Mystery Science Theater 3000 to not crack wise at certain things.

I also question things. Like, Goldfinger has a stud farm in Kentucky. Wouldn't the locals question the employment of a hundred Red Chinese or North Korean guys in matching blue coveralls? "Hey, Bubba. Did you see that rich Kraut hired a bunch of Kor-e-ans out at his horse ranch?" Did they run errands in town? ("You fill gas tank now, Yankee Imperialist running dog lackey!" "Now hold on there young fellow. We are not Yankees!") And there's all of these people working horses and stuff that have nothing to do with the fiendish plot. Aren't they going to notice something? "Gee, Mr. Goldfinger has invited the biggest mob bosses in the country for some kind of orientation. I wonder if I should tell the FBI or something?" He'd have to bribe a lot of people to keep them loyal.

But it's still fun. Bond saves the day, defeats the bad guys and ends up with Pussy Galore.

After that Laura came home and made noodles with broccoli and onions with a peanut coconut sauce she got at the Winter Market last weekend. Yum! She was doing pretty well and in spite of my having a fever and her running on four or five hours of sleep managed to have coherent conversation. She only said, "What did you really say?" four or five times. Then I ended up back on the couch until four in the morning, falling in and out of sleep having strange thoughts and dreams.

Which brings us back to today's topic, fever dreams. What is it about being sick that makes us dig into long forgotten memories and strange dreams? And as people who know me know, I have some pretty strange ass dreams all the time already. I can't remember details other then one dream. In it I was going to play guitar for a crowd of people and an old friend, Dave Firestine, showed up. So we went into the room to play and sat our stools at the rear of the hall and asked the audience to pick up their chairs and turn around. You'd think that someone might have noticed that the stage was set up in the rear of the room, but that would be logical.

But it was pretty continuous that I'd dream, wake from it and go over it in my mind and then go back to sleep repeating the process. Or I'd be in that state of not awake, but not quite asleep and things were popping up from thirty plus years ago. Little details of things long forgotten. Like an image of looking out of a car window while on vacation with my parents. What the hell does that have to do with anything now? I don't know.

There's no real point to all of this. I'm still a bit out of it. I need to heal up for tomorrow night's Solstice Celebration at the Mercury Cafe in Denver where Tuatha will be playing. I'm looking forward to it. We played last year and it was a good gathering. Our local priestess is doing the ritual between our sets so that'll be good. Time to shake off the old and bring in the new.

Happy Holidays to you and yours!

Happy Thanksgiving

I think of Thanksgiving as a Rastafarian holiday. Maybe it’s from years of listening to reggae music. There’s a Jimmy Cliff album called “Give Thanks” and the words “give thanks and praises” show up across the board in songs from Bob Marley to Toots and the Maytals.

So here we are on Thanksgiving Day giving praises to Jah for our abundance and blessings. In the attitude of gratitude, here’s a sampling of things I’m thankful for.

I’m still here!

I’ve survived relatively intact. I’ve got all of my fingers and toes and limbs and they all work.

Family and friends

“Good friends we’ve had,
good friends we’ve lost,
along the way.
In this great future,
you can’t forget your past
So dry your tears I say…”
-Vincent Ford

If it weren’t for my family and friends I’d be living in my car and celebrating the holidays at a rescue mission. Seriously. I’m not so good at keeping in touch with people from my past and I regret that, but I keep them in mind and hold them in my heart. And I’m thankful for the wisdom they’ve shared, the adventures we’ve had and the good and strange times.

Music

“One good thing about music
When it hits, you feel no pain…”
-Bob Marley

I can’t imagine a world without music. It’s given me so much inspiration, emotional shelter, and shared ecstasy. There’s nothing I love more then being on stage looking out at a room full of joyous dancing people. Many times I’ve been on the other side, dancing to a great band with the lyrics reflecting the things in my head. In my darkest times, often a song would give me the strength to carry on. I remember coming home from a live sound gig. I don’t remember what was bothering me, but I had a serious case of the blues. Instead of going to bed, I turned on the TV to unwind and Saturday Night Live was on. The musical guest was Jimmy Cliff who did a passionate version of “Many Rivers to Cross.” Tears rolled down my cheeks as all of the sadness and despair was washed away.

Good Food

The holy trinity for me is friends, music and food. There’s ritual involved, preparation, anticipation for the coming meal as stomachs growl and good smells drift in from the kitchen. Cooking for me is always an experiment. I never know how it will turn out. I can use the same recipe, same ingredients in the same kitchen and it will be different the next time I make it. I guess I cook like I play music. I like there to be structure, but I also like to improvise. A perfect holiday for me would be friends gathering together for a shared meal followed by a jam. I like pot luck’s because there are always surprises with dishes that I’d never dream of. Broccoli enchiladas come to mind. Sounds like some kid’s worse nightmare, doesn’t it. Wonderful. Thank you, Carol Rose where ever you are.

“Jah”

By whatever name you call the Great Spirit, the Primal Force, All That Is, Source or even if you’re not sure there’s anything else, I feel through my experience that this Universe we inhabit is vast and alive. What turns a seed into a tomato? I give thanks and praises to that Universal force that gives us the life and the abundance that we share today.

I’d like to give thanks to you for taking the time to read these words. I’m still finding my way with this. I appreciate the support and interest.



Give thanks and praises to the Most High
Give thanks and praises So High
He will not deceive us my brethren
He will lead us again
Oh take the veil from off your eyes
Look into the future of realize

When my soul was hurting deep within
And I’m worrying to be free, desperately
So guide and protect I and I, Oh Jah, Jah
Through all these ages
Guide and protect I and I, Oh Jah, Jah
Through all the stages

Give Thanks and Praises…
-Bob Marley

Mid Week Blues

It's been one of those weeks. We had to deal with a backed up sewer line yesterday. Luckily it was discovered before it could do any damage. Thanks to Marylea, we found a plumber who knew a guy who does root routing and doesn't charge much. He doesn't work nights or weekends anymore, but he was available. His name is Al Honeycutt (no relation as far as I know, but looks like he could be family) and he runs Al's Sewer Service here in Fort Collins.

Today I did my volunteer bit at Eco-Thrift where I test and dismantle electronics and computers for recycling. It gets me out of the house and allows me to do something for someone else. When I came home there was a message from my mechanic wondering when I might be able to pay him and pick up my car. I have no answer to that question. And that started sinking me into another level of depression. But I went on line to check e-mails and there was one from Lalla Rookh bass player Jim Abraham. The message had a link to a series of photos that made me happier and gave me a little hope.

The link is:
http://flickr.com/photos/barackobamadotcom/sets/72157608716313371/show/

I hope it does the same for you.

Remembering Merl Saunders

A couple of weeks ago I was driving home from the Witches Ball in Denver where I had performed with Tuatha. It was the usual late night drive from Denver to Fort Collins and I usually bring music to play to keep my mind occupied and alert. I was driving a Subaru with a tape deck, so I brought a batch of cassettes that I don’t get to listen to often. The first thing I played was “Go” by Stomu Yamashta (A great album that includes Steve Winwood, Michael Shrieve and Al DiMeola. Worth seeking out if you’ve never heard it). The other side of the tape was “Sports” by Huey Lewis and the News. That didn’t fit the mood, so I pulled out an old reliable, “Live at The Keystone” by Jerry Garcia, Merl Saunders, John Kahn and Bill Vitt. This recording is one of my favorites of Jerry. He was playing just a Fender Stratocaster into Fender Twin Reverb amps with no effects. It’s basic and pure and his playing is lyrical and inspiring. Being a guitar player I always tune into what’s going on in guitar land.

But not on this night. The organ caught my ear. It took me back to nights in San Francisco or Berkeley hearing that band at some club or dance hall. I could see in my mind’s eye Merl with his black leather cap rocking behind the keyboard with a grin on his face. Listening as I drove I could hear the details of his playing, how he’d change the drawbar settings or change the speed of the Leslie speaker cabinet’s rotors. And I really keyed into his playing; how he’d comp behind Jerry’s solos keeping the groove going or his soloing. I’d forgotten just how good his playing was. And the whole band, John Kahn with his Motown and blues influences and the solid drumming of Bill Vitt from Elvis’ TCB Band, holding down songs like “Hi Heel Sneakers,” “I Second That Emotion” or “How Sweet It Is.” I rode that music all the way to Fort Collins and had it ringing in my ears the next day.

That’s when I learned Merl Saunders had passed away.

At one of those shows at the Longshoreman’s Hall in SF, I met Jerry, Merl and Tom Fogerty, the former Credence Clearwater Revival guitarist, who was playing with them at the time. I was with two of my bandmates, Ronnie Lee Smith and Richard “Snakehips” Sinkler and we had a quantity of a candy called “Zots” with us. Zots had a hard candy coating with a fizzy candy in the middle so when you got through the outside layer you got a little tongue rush. We’d already shared some with members of Dan Hicks and His Hot Licks who were also on the bill. Singer Maryanne Price took one from us reluctantly but after a few minutes turned to me with a smile and said, “Can I have another?”

There was no real backstage area, just a place beside the stage where the musicians gathered before taking the stage. We decided to share our stash with Jerry, Merl and Tom asking, “Would you like a Zots? It’ll give you a rush.” Tom Fogerty was quite apprehensive. “It’s not drugs is it? We’ve got to play.” Jerry was more direct. “Candy rots your teeth,” he told us explaining that he’d recently had a bunch of dental work done. Merl was more laid back and I don’t remember his comments, but it broke the ice. We shared a little herb and I mostly talked to Jerry about his pedal steel playing complimenting it highly. He took it with a grain of salt, as he didn’t think he was that good at it and quit playing it around that time.

They were kind and tolerant of us young fans. Soon they were on stage and delivering the goods. I remember most being on the dance floor and sharing smiles and more Zots with one of the Lickettes. It was a good night.

I told Laura about listening to Merl on the way home from the gig in Denver. She just smiled and said, “It was his way of saying goodbye.”

Goodbye Merl Saunders. Thanks for the music. I guess Jerry, John and Tom needed an organ player. RIP.

Greetings Earthlings!

Just what the world needs, another freakin' blog!

Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Paul Honeycutt. I live in Fort Collins, CO after being raised in Northern California (Hayward, Humboldt County, Sonoma County), living in Tempe and Tucson, AZ, Charlottesville, VA, Skagway, AK and a few other assorted places for short periods of time. I'm a musician who plays six and twelve string electric and acoustic guitars, mandolin, lap steel, musical saw and assorted percussion instruments as well as sing. Some of the bands I've played with include Captain Fishlips, Kilgore Trout, Full House, The King Salmon Nuke Spooks and many other groups you've never heard of. Currently I focus my attention on three groups, Lalla Rookh (www.lallarookh.com), Tuatha (www.thatha.net) and The 4:20 Special String Band (no web presence at the moment).

Why am I doing this? For no good reason other then as another outlet of self expression. I have no set focus. I may write about politics on one day, spirituality or music or just general observations on life on earth in the 21st Century on another. I don't really have a cause to promote, or an axe to grind. I'm an absurdist. I look at the world with a slightly detatched outlook and tend to think life is more or less a musical comedy.

What I hope you get out of this is a little entertainment that gives you pause to look at the world in another way.