Hello my friends,
There's still a lot more to chronicle. I thought I was going to be able to do it in just one blog. It looks like it's going to have to be two. Well, let's get right to it then...
Monday-Wednesday, August 10th-12th - Leaving Johnson City, TN to go to Asheville, NC to spend a couple of days off in between shows with my new friends, the guys from Pondwater Experiment. They're a band I met when I opened for them in June (see blog #1). This was another unexpectedly incredible experience. When I arrived it was like a reunion of old friends who hadn't seen each other in years. Yet we had only just met 6 weeks prior. I felt so welcome and comfortable there. Great to see them again. What I didn't know was that I was to participate in an ancient Native American ritual, the sweat lodge. My new friends study and live Native American culture and spirituality. They have sweat lodges right there at their home in the woods. On my second morning there I woke up at the crack of a misty, gray dawn.
I was out there at 6:30am with 5 other folks hanging around the nee-pee, a smaller, dome shaped version of a tee-pee is the best way I can describe it. There's a fire going outside the nee-pee that one of the guys started at 3am. In the fire are large stones that were out there baking for over 3 hours. We all go into the nee-pee and sit around a small pit in the ground where the heated stones are to be placed. One guy, Tim, stands outside and passes the stones with a pitchfork to another, inside. 7 stones are placed in the pit and the passer joins us and closes the flap to the nee-pee. It's almost completely black in there except for the dim red glow of the stones. Herbs are placed on the stones and water is poured on them. It starts heating up in there real fast. The guy leading the circle, George, is chanting and praying both in Lakota and English. Nathan, the guy to my left is gently playing a drum, chanting as well. It gets intense. I'm drenched in sweat and feel like I can't breathe. I hear the hiss of the steam rising as the water hits the rocks. Colours are swirling in the air. My head is spinning. I can't breathe. I'm gasping for air. I start to panic. But then I realize that noone else is gasping. They're all used to this. It's just that my body is reacting out of fear, having never experienced anything like this before. The heat builds in intensity. The drumming stops. It's so still and quiet now. The leader continues gently praying, almost in a whisper, sending prayers out to people by name. Such a mix of sensations. On one hand it feels so supportive, nurturing, spiritual, and gentle. Simultaneously and conversely, my body is still reacting violently, gasping, head spinning, colours flashing. Let me out! Then they open the flap. Air! Sweet, cool, life giving air. Light. We exit the nee-pee on our knees as it's a low to the ground structure. Tim is there bearing a large jug of water. It's just water, but it's referred to as medicine. "Do you want some medicine?" he asks. YES!!! I shout silently to myself. To him I just nod in a daze and reach for the jug. His face is very close to mine and he's looking me directly in the eye making sure I'm alright. Angel, the young lady who was sitting next to me in the nee-pee gently grasps my hand and asks if I'm okay. I am. In fact I feel great! The amount of love and care from these folks is astounding. I'm overwhelmed with emotion. Steam is rising from everyone's bodies in the cool air. They all look like celestial beings. I suppose I do too. So, after a 20-25 minute break we're back in. What??? I thought we were done! 7 more stones are added. The heat from the first round pales in comparison to what is about to take place. More chanting, more prayers, more drumming, and an intensity of heat I've never before felt in my life. I'm drenched again. I'm gasping and rocking back and forth wondering how I'm ever going to be able to breathe. Yet I'm breathing and I'm alive. More prayers for unknown folks and then Nathan, the drummer, who's sitting next to me, starts praying for me and wishing "our new friend, Randy" a safe and blessed journey. With the combination of the heat, the lack of air (or at least the feeling that I had no air), and hearing those words of care and genuine support and friendship, I lost it. I started bawling. Then, just as it felt like it couldn't get any hotter, the flap opens. Cool air and light. Silence. It's over.
After a final break with some more "medicine" we go back in, flap open to the light and cool air, and Tim returns with 3 peace pipes. They're filled with various herbs. No, not weed or even tobacco. It's a mixture of healing, soothing herbs. This is how the sweat lodge is concluded. It's a way of bonding and coming back down to earth after an incredibly intense experience. We sit quietly in a circle and pass the pipes around to one another until they're finished. The only sound is the inhaling and exhaling of the pipes. The entire sweat lodge took 2 hours.
I feel so blessed, honoured and privileged to have been invited to join in this powerful ritual. I feel changed somehow; altered in some way for the better, and I'm empowered to continue the tour. I spend the remainder of the day sharing food and conversation with various members of the household as they come and go in their daily routine. Then it's late afternoon and I say my reluctant farewells, give and get hugs, and set off for my next performance. I'm so grateful to have made such genuine, beautiful new friends.
Wednesday-Friday, August 12th-14th - The Carolinas. My first stop after that wonderful respite with my new friends is back at Barley's in Spindale, North Carolina, where I first met them back in June. I'm greeted warmly by the folks there who remembered me from last time. It's a weeknight so it's a smaller audience than there was when I opened for Pondwater Experiment. It's a good, simple, uneventful, laid back gig. But I met some great people and experienced more of that southern hospitality that I've come to cherish on this tour. Tim (another Tim, not the stone bearer), a local musician, lent his sound system to me for this show. Barley's doesn't have one and I used the Pondwater system last time. When I arrived it was completely set up for me and ready to go. Cool. After the show I asked Tim if perhaps he had a place for me to crash. While he didn't have the space for me, his wife immediately started making phone calls to find me a place. I'm blessed and grateful. She finally got in touch with Ivan, who works at Barley's but wasn't working that night. Ivan let me stay in a spare room at his house. This total stranger trusted me to stay alone in his home and to lock the door behind me the next morning, as he had to get up much earlier than I did so he could go to work. Not only that, I woke up to find a plate of eggs and toast wrapped up and waiting for me in the kitchen. The dude let me stay alone in his house and made me breakfast! All together now - Life is good! :)
Next, it's off to Greenville, South Carolina. I arrived early, so I walked around town for a while before heading to my performance at Smiley's Acoustic Cafe. Greenville is a great town; a nice, dynamic, modern, yet laid back city. The center of town is vibrant and artistic. There's a concert by a local band going on in an open square. Kids playing in the grass, folks sitting on blankets, sharing food and listening to the music. I met the folks from a local radio station who had a booth at this event. I got their info and will keep them in mind for airplay for my next tour.
So, I arrived at Smiley's Acoustic Cafe. The name of the place conjured up for me an image of a small, laid back coffeehouse. I was surprised to find that it was a rather large restaurant/venue with a complete stage set up with lights and a full sound system. They also had a performance space outside in the back where a jazz band was playing. The place was electric with the energy of a full house. After a gourmet meal of seared Ahi tuna with mixed greens and risotto (Smiley is a real person and he's the chef, cooking up some fabulous, delectable delights), I was ready. They set up the stage for me and announced me. It was something like "for the first time ever at Smiley's Acoustic Cafe, all the way from New York City, Randy Stern." A round of applause and I was off. The audience was great and I wound up playing the entire evening with 2 sets of music. Oddly enough, this was the first gig of the tour where I got the biggest response for a cover song. Apparently this audience was impressed with my rendition of Bob Seger's "Against the Wind." Cool. Dave, the manager of the place and the guy who booked me, paid me more than what we agreed on and set me up with a motel. Another successful gig on this whirlwind adventure. I'll be returning to Greenville.
Next day, Friday, I'm in Raleigh, North Carolina for a laid back cafe gig at Loco Lu's Coffeehouse. Loco Lu is a super nice guy and his coffeehouse is a family run business with his wife and son. I'm grateful for their hospitality and delicious free coffee! :) Another place I'll be returning to.
Saturday-Monday, August 15th-17th - Visting Chesapeake, VA to visit with an old friend. John Coleman and I go way, way back over 20 years. When we were kids we played in a prog-rock band. Yes, it's true, I was 19, it was the 80s, I had a mullet and I loved Rush. :) I've seen John periodically over the years, but not often. I knew I was driving through VA, where he lives now, and made sure to contact him. Funny enough, his band, Motorpsychic, was playing this Saturday, as was I. It was perfect. After my little coffeehouse gig at Bean There Cafe in Chesapeake, I headed over to nearby Virginia Beach to check out John's band. It was so good to see him again and to reconnect. Great to hear him playing again too. They were jammin' on some great old Allman Brothers, ZZ Top, and Led Zeppelin tunes. So much fun! I played some harmonica with them and sang "The Weight" by The Band. I also got to meet John's lovely lady, Katy. They're soon to be married! My how time flies and people grow. But as much fun as that was, we had the most fun after the show. I met some more friends of John and was invited to spend the night at their house. Laurie and Butch opened their home to me and we all ended up singing and jamming on acoustic guitars into the wee hours. The next day and night was more of the same, with more new friends to be made, more jamming, and a real special treat from my old buddy. Apparently over the years, John has discovered and developed a talent for cooking. He's become quite the gourmet chef. Over the course of the day on Sunday John cooked and barbequed more than enough food for over a dozen people. But not just food. This was like 5 star stuff. Exotic ingredients, textures, flavorful sauces, curries, home baked foccacia from scratch, shrimp with some sort of balsamic/grape/glaze reduction, different pastas. It was crazy!!! He was in the kitchen literally all day. Like a mad, culinary scientist/artist whipping up concoctions you might find at some of the classiest restaurants in New York City. Another evening of acoustic jamming followed, and then, sadly, the weekend was over as soon as it began. It was Monday and I had to leave for DC.
I'll stop there, folks. I know it's a lot. I hope you're enjoying reading it as much as I am writing it. It brings me back as I put the words down. One more blog ought to cover it. Really. So, stay tuned.
love,
Randy :)