we are back in albuquerque after three months of touring. i have wildflowers growing in my yard and i cannot sleep at night. i am reading "my happy day in hell," by george faludy. i recommend it to everyone. one of the best books i have read. we have a new record coming out this monday, october 9th. so i am going to write a little bit about the songs.
in the river- the lyrics to this song are about a story my grandpa once told me, about when he was sick in the hospital, and he watched his body float around the rooom and then out the door. he then found himself by a river and his mother called him from the other side. he went out the middle but she then told him to go back. intially this song was called "for flannery o'connor."
the way the wind blows- heather and i wrote this together after spending some time in budapest, going to the dance halls and watching the dancers swirl around each other. i could never understand why everyone danced, i wanted to just listen to the music. i'd rather watch the dancers in a silent room, and then listen to the musicians afterward. teka, a quartet from budapest, played the first night of our stay in hungary, and we will never forget it. their records are amazing.
song for joseph- is about george bush, not joseph stalin. fernando pessoa, of portugal, says "i would rather be the world, than govern it"
fernando's giampari- is not dedicated to pessoa but sulo calin's son. fernando would play the second track from "darkness at noon" at full volume and dance around with his school back pack on frontways, like an accordion. he would also steal my beer and drink it. he is four. his father, sulo is an amazing musician who put me up in romania, in his village of zece prajini. he plays in fanfare ciocarlia. he and three of the other roma musicians from ciocarlia feature on this track.
god bless the ottoman empire- this track's main influence was "gainsbourg percussions,' by serge gainsbourg. yes indeed.
waltz for strings and tuba- heather trost wrote this song and it reminds me of nino rota. it is good to drink to. heather prefers red wine.
oporto- heather wrote this one, too. it came out of 'the moon under water," from the second record. that is the rio grande river in the back ground.
gadje sirba- i wrote this for ciocarlia. "gadje" means stranger, in roma dialect. sirba is a style of dance, like a polka. the roma musicians pissed themselves laughing when they heard what i had named it.
the sparrow- i wrote this the day after coming home from romania.
salt water- i must say that it is difficult to record when sitting on a cliff overlooking the ocean. difficult but rewarding.
there is a river in galisteo- galisteo, n.m, is where i hope to live one day.