Anancy-tales of an urban spider

News from the World

2006-08-11T11:09:00.000-07:00

In this dusty town
Beside the river
The towers crawl upward
Facing dusk light

The lowlands overgrown
With the green
The bottomless heaven of
Cool white dew

Im cut off here
From my homeland
Whom shall I send
My letters to

Because the news is all war...
War still roaming the countryside
After all these years.

Wake up!

2006-08-11T10:23:00.000-07:00

Fatigue makes cowards of most men.

How I feel

2006-08-01T14:46:00.000-07:00

This morning I woke up
and the world does not feel like
It is going to make it.
With the heat and the war and rumors
Of war.
I woke up this morning with my
two yr old daughter saying "Up Da, Up "
and I knew what I needed to do.
But there is so little time and you
don't even know do you?
Ava sings to me when we
drive to her day care.
She sings to me!
So Take Warning...I am resolved to
Force clarity upon you.
Who knows maybe you'll like it..
I will not be lazy and I will never quit...
Know this.

A message to you rudi...

2006-08-01T14:44:00.000-07:00

STOP KILLING EACH OTHER.

What should we do about that moon? by Hafiz

2006-05-16T13:02:00.000-07:00

A wine bottle fell from a wagon
And broke open in a field.

That night one hundred beetles and all their cousins
Gathered

And did some serious binge drinking.

They even found some seed husks nearby
And began to play them like drums and whirl....
This made God very happy.

Then the Night Candle rose into the sky
And one drunk creature, laying down his instrument,
Said to his friend-for no apparent
Reason,

"What should we do about that moon?"

Seems to Hafiz
Most everyone has laid aside the music

Tackling such profoundly useless
Questions.

AMUN-RA

2006-05-11T10:43:00.000-07:00

The Sun
Longing for the Dawn
Floats through taut-darkness
Speaks ancient sweet-tongued spells
Voice aflame in the eastern sky
Bright burning ships binding
The great devil
Ra bends down and wipes away
Memnon grief from the leaf
As golden haired Aurora weeps
Gathering stars in her arms
She sings, 'Rise up, Rise up...
And face the day'
She forgets that with the hours
We too grow old
Tithonus celestial robed as we are
With serpents and thunder clouds
In our way before we reach the chamber

But the Light never dies
Gives us the faith to carry on
To rage against the darkness
To face the day

And we being made a little
Lower that the Sun
Children of the Light and so much brighter
Give on last azalea sigh
Pull the blanket of Anubis
Over us to leave the Twin
Smiling in the empyreal sky
To chase dreams to the other side
And see
That just like the Sun
We too are still searching
Longing for the Dawn.

Those Who Stand Up And Speak

2006-03-31T12:37:00.000-08:00

In the stinging heat of central
American jungles
Among snakes and pyramid temples
In Prague-city of a hundred spires-
In New York, in Dallas
Among the contract movers and buyers,
In Dublin and Belfast,
On the red stone streets of Tiananmen square
I hear they cut them down
Those who stand up and speak.

Zapata stood
El Hombre Indian clothed
Ghost horse rider.
Mexico City feared him
Plan of Ayala in right hand
Rifle and reins in the other.
Spreading poison truth among
Drooling hacendado codo.
Stood and demanded Libertad, Justicia, y Ley!
Told his jefes...
"Everything the government offers you is a lie."
Then one day while searching for cool shade,
Weary of politricks and war
They made sure Emilliano couldn't
Stand up anymore.
Yeah, they cut them down
Those who stand up and speak.

In Dublin city May 1916
The Irish Republic Brotherhood stood
"Poblact na Heirean"
Shook the shores of England
As Patrick Pearse poet warrior
Who held it a Christian thing
To hate evil, to hate untruth,
To hate oppression.
He knew his foe strong and wise
But even heads of state with their
Mercs and lies cannot undo miracles.
"Life springs from death and from
The graves of patriot men and women spring forth nations"
But one thing I know...
That after they've ordered a trench to be dug
Deep enough for a hundred bodies
They line them up and they shoot them
James Connolly, Thomas Clarke,
Pacifist Francis Skeffington, Macdermott.
They cut them down
Those who stand up and speak.

They tracked Che' Guevera down
In burning Bolivian jungle 1967
While in the Pentagon halls fat generals
Scheme and Cuban-Castro dreams
What is definite is the decision to struggle
The consciousness of the need for revolutionary change
Yet Che's own funeral dirge was the staccato singing of
Machine-gun firing squad
Body just discovered in these still
Unchanging...ideal conditions for the fight
Yeah, I know, they cut them down
Those who stand up and speak.

So don't you ever forget Beijing
When one man stood
Face fuzzy from satellite reception
Fronting tank and communism back against the wall.
With a sack in each hand
Glancing over right shoulder-gestured
Come join me in this revolution!
No one knows what happened to him
But I guarantee you they
Cut them down
Those who stand up and speak.

In Czechoslovakia-
Spring of Prague...
Poets, playwrights, workers, students,
Teachers and songwriters stood.
For there was no question of
Overthrowing communist regime
No question of snubbing Soviet alliance
There was floating in the air
A clear desire
An irresistible force toward freedom!
Freedom of literature!
Freedom of the arts!
Freedom of music!
Honesty in politics and public life
No more red stitch across the lips
Hands and feet cut to the nub.
-August 21, 1968-
Soviet-German, Hungarian and Polish
Errand boys stormed into the city of spires
And "trpelivost".
German divisions wore Russian Red Army uniforms
Their own bearing too much likeness to 1938
Past Nazi disgrace.
Now Slovack, Czech, student and workers
Sing in the street lined with war-machines
"You have tanks and guns,
We have truth and our finest hour-
You only have the power to beat and betray
Beat and betray
We only sing a song
And this is what we say...
Go away, go away, go away!"

But they cut them down
Those who stand up and speak.

Here in free America!
Man of Jesus peace and neo-Gandhian persuasion
Martin Luther King stood
Then he marched and he marched
Just another Christian soldier
With weapon of love in his hand
From Selma to Birmingham to
Washington D.C. ghetto streets
Exposing racists redneck segregation
He chanted...
"We have a moral responsibility
To disobey unjust laws!
To expose evils that are rooted
Deep in the structure"
Then he stood up
With those television, newspaper bulbs flashing
Speaking out against Vietnam and
American Imperialism
$500,000 was spent to kill one enemy soldier
Only $35 a year was spent to assist one American
In poverty"
He prophesied and said
"Your own government the greatest purveyor of violence!"
Networks and demons scrambled into dark corners
Then they shot him down
Because he didn't stay seated!

Still the people sing on...
"You have tanks and guns,
We have truth and our finest hour
You only have power to beat and betray
To beat and betray

I only sing a song and this is what I say
Go away, go away, go away!

Yeah I know I know
They cut them down
Those who stand up and speak.

The Blues and Mr. Johnson

2006-03-18T09:14:00.000-08:00

The blues linger in my head
Like dust kicked up by a breath
Spit down by the high noon sun...
Makes a man seek shelter and
A cool drink, some courage to face the night...
But the song slithers,
Searches for the beaten heart,
Caresses and cares for,
Lulls to sleep with firewater and swayin' hips...
The beat of a shaman in a asphalt jungle
Pokes and prods this white Czech-Irish boy
To run...Run headlong into the dream
The soul that born the violence,
The sufferin', the blues...
Blurred vision of beat prophet with
No teeth, guitar in lap and a voice
That pours over me like gravel across my face...
Lonely wanderer,
Seer of doom and despair looks up at me
Sitting there in my uncomfortible chair and
I swear I saw the blues leap out of that ancient sage
Stand up on the stage
Let out a hollow, hair-raisin' scream...
Walk up to me like a man and then punched me out for the night.*

*(the first night I saw U.P. Wilson and Robert Ealey at the Bluebird)

3rd St. and Houston

2006-03-17T12:04:00.000-08:00

She waits at the curb
Between 3rd St. and Houston
Wanting to cross the street and come to me
Greets me with a smile and a poem
" I know you
Looking into your earth tones
Your laughter makes peace and
I can't understand where or how
But the wind through your hair
Reminds me of November....
I miss the kiss just after you leave
So promise you never will."

What the Hell

2006-02-28T08:40:00.000-08:00

My real love
I always keep a secret

All my poems are sung
Outside her window

And when she lets me in
I take a thousand oaths of silence

And then God says...
But then she says

What the hell, josef
Why not give the whole world my address.

*leave it to carrie rose, paul maccartney, and hafiz...
to break the spell of nothing to say.

don't feel it!

2006-01-19T17:21:00.000-08:00

Man...I don't know whats wrong with me lately
I just don't feel like writing these days.

My knee

2006-01-15T16:31:00.000-08:00

I bleed alot lately...
that is because I seem to take a chunk of skin off
Every day I work.
I'm not doing anything dangerous:
Unless you count handling beverages of 160 degrees,
Mopping around sharp objects, dealing with money in a safe
with teeth ( that I always seem to get nicked by), mingleling with
some really wierd people EARLY!!! in the morning and late into the night.
No, I not doing anything dangerous.....so I cant figure out why I'm gettin'
cut up all the time.

My knee seems to be all better...

Merry Christmas and then some

2005-12-24T17:59:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas and have a happy New Year !!!

Drink Less...
Be nicer...
Try love....

Write a song...
Write a poem...
Write a letter and mail to someone you love.

Focus.
Don't let anyone get you down...
Fight for your rights.

Make some new friends
Out of old enemies....
Love.

Read more...
Walk in the grass more...
Hug more.

Take deep breaths...
Be hard to offend...
learn to forgive.

Positive is better...
Patience is better...
Sunsets are better...

Watch the sun rise
As often as you can
Recieve the gifts given to you.

Be thankful
Be hardworking
Be humble.

Remember where you come from...
Believe in the future...
Love.
Merry Christmas and have a happy New Year...

2006... here we come.

the new web

2005-12-05T08:16:00.000-08:00

I have been moving into a new web this weekend.
My limbs are tired but my spirit is strong!
Momma spider is happy and the little ones
Have been exploring
Looking for treasure.
Still on the southside tho'
Which is fine with me....

soon we will throw a web welcoming party!!!!
hellz yeah.

manic...

2005-11-28T10:04:00.000-08:00

........this aching in my head is killing me.
The chanting, the drumming, that incessant rythm
On the stereo mingled with the candles haze makes the
Devils in my room excited, acting crazy- making it quite uncomfortible
For me to stay....
So one night I drove my chariot through the clouds
And the satyrs that ran beside me reminded me
That the demons we hide inside will always find a way-
Jumping out of ourselves,
Exposing our race for the frauds that we are.
This generation has been left with a thin future....
So it seems that these are the last days
Then again, you would never know
Until its too late.

Judging by the fierce look on my brother's face,
Jaded, giving up on the quest...
Because I've seen the fear in his eyes.
The uncertainty, the blind vanity,
Shaking his fist at the guitar playing seraphim...
" I know -O- exists, I just don't understand
Why nothing has been done for 2000 years...
Now, Everything has gone wrong!!!"

but the music, the revolution, and the gathering of wings
Clears the head.
Makes me see that the only thing
We can give each other are beautiful,
Brief moments of peace.
An escape from the choas
That swirls outside our doors.

One night,
My bothers and I painted the heavens
Pastel colors of purple and blue...
A dark deepness to retreat into
One can stare forever into the azure eyes of creation
With her gentle wisdoms and twinkling forevers.
Opening the windows to my soul I bent my neck back
Put my hands at my side
Giving myself up to the moon
And the brightest star...
Fell face first into the midnight.
The moon has a voice, a song...
Man has tried to take it away with new religion.
She scorns me...being a man
Turns away from me with golden haired sister
Rising up from the east.
Time has done more damage to her sullen craters
And dust frowns than any space junk
Left behind by a careless continuim.

Floating toward the light ,
The thing that keeps me from the beginning....
The never returning,
Are the cries of my brothers
Tormented by the shadows dancing about the fire.
So I must return to comfort them...
We have the keys, the powers to put out the torment
Because there are words and promises that cannot be broken.
Songs to soothe us,
Silences that move us,
So, well-beloved do not be afraid.
There are no limits to the hallucination of the pure soul.

but the doors have been left open
And thieves have made themselves house-guests.

The dragon waits in frayed used cigar boxes
With his chemical kisses and pandora death.

I have tasted the poison,
The numbness has taken the joy from them.

The sleeper awakes to find himself
A cardboard box house broken on the sand.

p.10-15

the spiders epiphany

2005-11-28T09:56:00.000-08:00

Little fly
Thy summers play,
My thoughtless hand
Has brushed away.

Am not I
A fly like thee?
Or art not thou
A man like me?

For I dance
And drink and sing
Till some blind hand
Shall brush my wing.

If thought is life
And strength and breath;
And the want
Of thought is death;

Then am I
A happy fly,
If I live,
Or if I die.

W.Blake(the fly)

Upon Dreaming Walt Whitman Dying

2005-11-23T08:20:00.000-08:00

Lulled into closing heavy lids
After countless hours of
Computer image and television
Jerusalem politic
And the president telling me
What to think...
Even tho' I do not think he cares.
The sandbags over my eyes commence...

the sun stands black rising and
the high amber moon rests in mists
peaking through the branches just
below the tree tops in my mind

children are playing in a
burnt out field being baby sat
by box full of micro-chip
latch-key security hung about
the neck like fatherless noose

voices echo through the pillowed pillars
inhabitants of the surreal stage
they turn their heads to see
with eyes glazed over like
static and fly paper film
hand on the touch pad-remote control
passive punks playing in cyber web
the spider in no where to be found,
but the vibrations!!!!!!!!!!!

whitman wakes---
tangled in cobweb confusion
desperate
searching for trees in this
asphalt jungle
looking for unpolluted river or
unlittered lake to swim skinny
dipped free
searching grand canyon red stone grooves
like lost tourist looking in the desert
for the nose of the sphinx.

he turns to me
with horrible grandfather expression
parent watching his own children
shoot up information heroin
--all I could say to him was...
'thats just the way time and things are walt.'

whitman revelation:
the future holds futile hours of
computer cartoon meaningless experience.

then he let out a scream...NO!!!!!!
wakes the quiet couple next door
lights come on in the pretty pink house...
but I'm a heavy sleeper and I love
my whitman dreams
he sleeps in my bed with
blake and ginsberg
while charlie parker plays

see i have never met this man
but he turns to me and says
'I didn't come to confuse the world
but to free it.'
poet messiah of young america
son of man
old man picks up walking stick
and begins to shatter screens
empty eyed video carcass wasteland
plastic splinters piercing the heart
of babylon almost reality.

the sheep are scattered
bleating on the plain
the shepherd is dying
a prince cries in the wilderness
'walt whitman, my father, is dying'
shocked by soul failure and
vision of poetry death
old man closes his eyes
cradled in the arms of poet son he whispers,
'son, you knew me, all this time....even before
you read me.
everything i wrote was for you,
leaves upon a page...
fallen from a tree.'

the heartbeat ceases beat
the sun stops shining
the moon disappears new
the rain is falling outside
my crying window...
head heavy in my dream hands
The phone rings
Birds sing
A train rolls in the distance
Attic fan clanking
dreams are sinking

Sitting up in bed
Squinting from bright daylight
Reality
"He's dying, he's dying...Walt Whitman my father is dying!"

Aston "Family Man" Barrett

2005-11-22T16:04:00.000-08:00

Happy Birthday Aston Barrett...
Your bass lines are the very reason why I fell in love
With the reggae sound.
The smooth but bold sound hooked me
The moment I "heard" Waiting in Vain.
The night PH7 played at the Ridglea
With the Wailers was one of the musical
highlights of my life....
Your solo dub cd "Cobra Style" plays in my auto daily.
Thank-you and Happy Birthday....
YOU ROCK!!!!!

Losing is good for the soul

2005-11-07T09:02:00.000-08:00

So the Astros lost the world series... yeah!
Guess that means I can freak out about the Cowboys now.
Really there are too many distractions for a man too focus
On the prize.
Haven't written in a while...been busy dying.
but life in the web is good... house is cleaner... and the little ones
are gettin' big.
Work is work...
but music is... a whole nother world.

Sub Oslo has been in all my stereos these days.
"Celestial Dub", "MelAfrica", and "Reel to Reel Dub" is about 30 minutes of flying...
Johnny Cash's THE MAN COMES AROUND (American IV) keeps ending up in the
stereo in the living room.... I love his version of "Danny Boy"
My eldest dtr used to sing this song with Cash playing in the car stereo when
she was just 3 yrs old. wow.
My other dtr so little loves Cash's "I'm so lonesome I could cry"
me I love it all... reminds me of family and me at 5 yrs old.
good vibes.
Lets see.... new stuff.
I love Joe Strummer and the Mescaleros STREETCORE....I know 3 yrs old but it
takes me a while getin' my hands on something being a poor spider.
"Coma Girl", "Get Down Moses", "Long Shadow", "Arms Aloft"
is a great start for a record.
Strummers version of "Redemption Song" is amazing...argh!!!!
"All in a Day" very cool, "Burnin' Streets" good song..."Midnite Jam" a cool jam.
The last song "Silver and Gold" is a great last letter.
I miss Joe Strummer. :(
really I do........................................................................................................................

Matisyahu and Damian Marley are on heavy rotation in my car and discman.
I love Matisyahu's "Heights" and "Close my eyes".....who am I kiddin the whole
disc is off the blade!!!!! Matisyahu LIVE AT STUBB'S get it today!
Then there is my boy Damian Marley...
His new record WELCOME TO JAMROCK is VERY GOOD.
No one toast like Jr. Gong....
Its revolutionary, its uplifting, its teachin', its dancin', its a little wierd at times...
and surprising at every turn.
Yep, I want to make a record with Damian Marley.
The song "Welcome to JamRock" is the song of the year!!!!
Get it or ask for it for Christmas......

I also burned me a copy of some Confusatron stuff....
Better not take this band for granted Fort Worth.
Someday you're gonna say "man I wished I caught a Confasatron show"
and you will have no idea of what passed you by while you where sleeping.
I would have to say that the tour to Colorado that PH7 and Confusatron took
in July was one of the best times I have had in about 10years.
All those boys were there...."whoo C'mon!!!!"

Well thats all I can say about that.

Astros win the pennant!!!

2005-10-20T10:48:00.000-07:00

Thank-you Roy Oswalt.
You will be remembered for years to come in my family...
I will teach my girls how to focus because of your example.
"...And the winning edge will always be yours."
go astros

the answer

2005-10-20T09:22:00.000-07:00

The answer lies in more than just the self...

it lies in the love of the self.

love

2005-10-20T08:55:00.000-07:00

Where there is love...there is no imposition.

words to live by

2005-10-20T08:52:00.000-07:00

Love one another.

The Great Pujols

2005-10-19T16:32:00.000-07:00

Note to the Houston Astros:
Don't throw Albert Pujols anything near the strike zone!!!
Throw it in the dirt or throw it at him....

Sincerely,
Astros fan since I could play catch

love song (improvised)

2005-10-07T10:16:00.000-07:00

I
been thinkin' of our world
as if it's not our world
but something someone
forgot
and left behind.

You
been tryin' to find a home
as if it's not our home
but something we have
trashed
and left behind.

I
think we all should settle down
stop actin' like a clown
life is a gift
when you learn...you live
you grow.

You
been running to and fro'
as if you just don't know
and something somewhere
is forgot
and now behind.

I
been thinkin' 'bout our world
as if it's all our world
let me help you stop
and take some time...

stop and watch the clouds move high above...
smell a flower...
hug a friend...
watch the sun set fall into the west...
count the stars...
make a wish...
catch up with a friend you've got behind...
share some laughter...
cry some tears...
wake up now and watch the sun rise...
take your blessings...
choose today.

banks suck...

2005-10-03T18:08:00.000-07:00

Tell me...
How is it when you put your money in the bank
and they say it'll post the next business day....
but it posts three days later and its your fault
when you have an overage.

fuckin' banks.

Dylan and the hypocrites

2005-10-01T13:38:00.000-07:00

So I've been listening to Bob Dylan
and his "LIVE 1966"(The Royal Albert Hall concert).
I've listened to this cd about a 100 times now and let
me tell you it doesn't suck.
In fact it could be one of the most powerful live
performances I've ever heard.
So it boggles the mind to think that there were people
at the show who just didn't get it.
Booing him, calling him names (Judas, Sell-out), and overall
just forgetting what was going on all around him.
Dylan was in a zone....creatively.
His latest albums "Bringing it all back home", "Highway 61 revisted",
and "Blonde on blonde".....is a collection of music that some artists
would sell their souls for. Some say Dylan did just that.
Here's the thing tho' that I just can't understand....
In a world environment where EVERYONE was clamouring for change
Bob Dylan's fans couldn't handle their hero changing.
Hypocrites...every last one of them.

I've been daydreaming about how the lives of those people who boo'd
and jeered Dylan turned out...
Some grew up to be lawyers, some stock-traders, one stayed a manager of the local
coffee shop till he overdosed on heroin, some became husbands and wives,
some became child-abusers, some just lived their mundane lives as the high-school janitor,
some became war planners,
some became soldiers and died in the war, some died of heart disease....
did they ever find true love...
or did they just give up.

New Orleans

2005-09-05T12:35:00.000-07:00

I just read an article by Ann Rice about the city of New Orleans...
Yes,
we have failed.
This great country that boasts about its civilized and superior will,
Chose to drag its dragon wings
when God speed was nessary to save thousands of its own.
Once again we are confronted with the race question...
Poor people will always be the ones who suffer...
they carry the inheritance of the kingdom of heaven..
I don't think that the wealthy and powerful have ever gotten over that.
Yes,
We failed them...
The United States of America???
please!
And it will always be like this until enough of us say "something must be done"
But it is going to take alot of us...all of us.
So, to the people of New Orleans..."I am sorry...I would've called the helicopters, the boats,
the shelters, to the border on Sunday morning...but Im not the President, Im not the Gov.
Im not the mayor...Im just a little ole spider in Texas trying to duck storms of my own.
We will take care of you here in Texas...we will find you food and shelter and new communities
to grow and share with. Because we do love you...and we want you to live again. please forgive your leaders for they do not know...Something Must Be Done.

Colorado or Bust part 1& 2

2005-08-01T09:02:00.000-07:00

It's been a few days since I visited the page...
What can I say I've been busy with life and the monster that is Pablo.
Its good to be back in the Fort...Colorado was nice but its not home...
What it is is a magnificent playground!!!!
And where do I begin about the trip to Colorado....
We departed Funkytown at about 12:30 a.m. and drove all night
into the morning.
There were alot of energy drinks being consumed, many, many, many licks off the pipe,
snacks galore, some sleeping was done...and an overall buzz was floating in the air.
Two vans and a Blazer... Two bands and an entourage. (the boys in Confusatron went too)
We listened to Manu Chao, Outkast, Sublime, Phish(live in Austin:) , Bob Marley,
The Mars Volta, Jimi Hendrix, Peter Tosh, Galactic, Black Uhuru, Damian Marley,
RJD2, Gorrillaz, U2, Old 97's and many more...
I slept most of the way up to Colarado and was shuffled from
Spot to spot in order to make the ride more comfortible for somebody.
I still haven't figured out who that was.
We arrived in Vail at about 3:30 pm... unloaded the equipment at the club and
then drove to our condo!!!!
The place we stayed at was SWEET!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
5 rooms, a kitchen, 5 bathrooms, an incredible back porch with a view of the rockies,
6 bottles of liquor waiting for us, pizza, more energy drinks, beds and couches evrywhere.....
A pool and a hot-tub.
So we all took the nessessary breaks...showers and such...
Then made our way back to the club.
The line-up for the show was Darrin Kobetich, A'hummin Acoustical Accupuncture,
Cofusatron, and Pablo And The Hemphill 7!!!!!!!
All night the music was bumpin'...
From Darrin's mastery of the six-string...to Confusatron's all out assault on "pusherman".
The night was over before I knew it and it was time for me to crash...because I was
fightin' the altitude all evening.
All I know is that The Sand Bar in Vail, Co. felt Rude Boy to their soul.

The next day came early...Friday morning...in Avon Colarado!!!!!
I know this, I smiled when I woke up and said "kick-ass" to myself.
Eggs and potatoes... a couple cups of coffee... 65 degrees.
About twenty people waking up everywhere in the condo....
The mountains right over the roof tops, Cool Clean air......................
No need to worry about level red air days.
Lets see...they tell me that some stuff happened last night,
but I was out upstairs.
Dre' jumped off the loft balcony onto three air bed matresses, Jonathan and John got so droned
they forgot where they were, All the liquor was drank...WOW!, We picked up three more
people, lost one in the crew.Supposedly there was hash...I didn't see any.

I went swimming, then hit the hot tub...mmmmmmmmmm felt good.
Dried off and started to get ready for our next show.
Loaded Joe's was way too small for Pablo and Confusatron but we still Threw Down!
The fact that it was a coffee bar made it easier to play(having a soft spot for coffee shops)
We also sold more merch at Loaded Joe's than any other place we played. Go figure.
Another side note...we opened for Zion I...at 6pm. Another first for Pablo...
They were nice kids tho'... I felt a little sorry for them having to follow us...
" The Monster that is Pablo and the Hemphill 7"
I was scarred we were gonna break the nice stuff in the shop.
After the show we hung out a little, ate some pizza, got a hold of some Really good ses,
and prepared ourselves-slant eyed- to go see Galactic at a bar called 8150 in Avon.
OH MY GOD Galactic Kicked ass!!!
The building was literally bouncing...I shit you not. Go ahead I dare you to go check out
A show at 8150 in Avon Co. ...it just might be the coolest(hot) place to see your favorite band.
We got out of the show around midnite...Cammi and Steffin got harrassed by the cops
because they were sleeping in the Van with the REALLY GOOD ses and it stank up
the whole parking garage.(hahahahahahahahahahahahahaha) thats funny to me...the whole
parking garage, unlit no less!!!
Well needless to say Cammi and Steffin got a warning about sleeping in the van and then
the cops wrote the plate # down...that made for a Fun drive back to the condo later.
Paranoia!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
So we make it back to the Condo...no problems....still geeked about the Galactic show we
just saw. And ready to party!!!
That I'll tell you about in a couple days.....peace.
*************************************part 2
So Friday night was one of the best times I have had in a long time...
We drank alot...we smoked (really GOOD stuff) all night, we watched Jonathan become
a rock-star, we wrote letters on the guys who walked around without their shirts...letters
"G" "P" "E" and "A" and let them(Jonathan, Justin, Lucas, and John) try to figure out what
we were trying to spell...HIGHLARIOUS!!!!!!
We ate tiny pizzas, John thought the condo was on fire(that was funny too), Matt sang
"sex in the butt is good, sex in the butt is great" and has a better singing voice than I expected,
John and Jonathan kept on shouting "whoo, c'mon!" all night...like red-necks.
Marcus and Justin practiced their fake laughs...I think they did that all night I'm not sure,
We listened to Galactic on the stereo!!! We hung out outside under the Colorado stars,
We watched Jonathan walk into the glass backporch sliding door...hehehehe...that was really funny. We talked about our dreams, we hugged each other alot, the girls tried at every turn
to get us to do something stupid...and usually the real drunk ones did.
We talked about Jazz, we talked about reggae, we talked about funk, we talked about hip-hop,
we even talked about pop hooks. I found out that Brian is on his way to be a holy man...
Steffin is getting old and is alot like me, Jenn is a saint, Cammi is a brave girl, Marcus is one awesome planner and my favorite ph7 member to raze, Andrew is so calm, John and Jonathan are brothers from "way" back, Justin is now known as "Supa Glue"
and Lucas is the coolest guy I know.
To end the night we sang a few songs, smoked some more, took a couple shots, and found
our way to our beds.
And then Sat. morning...
Once again all I could do when I woke up was smile.
We ate breakfast...eggs, tortillas, potatoes, veggies, mmmmmmmmmmmmmm.
A couple cups of coffee, some h2O...
Took a shower and started packing...All-right we had to be out by 1:00.
No-problem...
For some reason everybody in the crew was packed and ready to go.
Good bye Avon, and Vail...
beautiful condo...
Good air.
Here we come Denver!
Dulcinea's 100th Monkey was our destination in Denver.
I rode with Justin in the van with alot of the Equipment...it started raining.
Mountains and rain just make me really nervous when you're driving ...
and Justin thinks my cries for my momma is hysterical when he's cruisin' down mountain
Curves at 60 plus....
Gives me the shutters just thinkin about it.
So we listened to Beck( he is the one), we listened to Lee Perry, Old 97's, Peter Tosh,
and Phish.
We filmed the aftermath of an 18-wheeler wrecked in the river....yeah Im paranoid!!!!
Roads, rain, weighted vans, mountains!!!!!
Things can go awry.
We didn't talk much...Justin...the silent type.
Downtown Denver is surreal.
Dangerous...the kind of place where you never know....
We set up at the club...did a kick-ass sound check (rude boy)
and went serchin for some food.
We ate at some crappy chinese place and then hurried over to Dulcinea's
and boomed into Green-light Girl.
the show was good...only about 30 people in the club...
Music was tight! People danced....fellow musos liked it....
Confusatron was givin' the reigns to close the night out and they did.
Like Champs.
when the show was over we all did a toast at the bar...dont remember what the toast was
but it was a nice gesture of unity. and free liquor.
I was told that our cd was going to be put in the juke-box... that would be cool.
Pablotron packed all the stuff in the vans and then realized that the blazer was going to get
on the road back to Texas....while the vans wanted to camp and spend the night one last time.
So we hugged Jenn, Marcus, Cammi, and Steffin goodbye and sent them back to the Fort!!!!
Camping is a story on its own
Soooooo until then... love.
**********************
**********************
The Blazer went south to Texas... the vans and our "guides",
I use that term loosley because I could have sworn they were trying to lose us...
traveled north to Boulder.
The consensus was that for our last night in Colorado we would camp out...
Wake up early and get back to Texas ourselves.

So there we are at midnight driving the mountain roads;
following our "guides"....driving around for about an hour and a half...
Almost dying at every wicked turn, cryin' out for my momma, wondering if the
"guides" were trying to kill us.
We finally took a wierd road and into a camping area on the side of a mountain and
piled out of the vehicles.
Now I do admit when I moved the large log out from the middle of the road
I should've known...but I was tired and I just wanted to get out the sleeping bag
And fall asleep looking at Colorado stars.
We had'nt really got unpacked... I think a tarp was being put down...
When out of the corner of my eye I see someone not in "our" group raise his arm
and fired off a round into the air.
"POW"
It was strange once I realized that the crazy man holding a gun had'nt shot one of us
Yet,
All we needed to do is get the hell off his camp site.
One of our " guides" tried to argue with the clock toting Colorado red-neck....
Know I knew the "guides" were trying to get us killed.
Whats funny about the whole thing is that their campsite-tent, cars, ect.
were covered in camoflauge....we couldn't see the freaks.
Oh but I saw the man with a gun...and I hate guns!!!!
So we packed up real quick like and drove a few more yards up the wierd road
To another camp-site. And parked it..all freaked out and tired....
with the crazy man and his gun a hundred yards away.
The camp went up pretty quickly...I think its called adrenalin.
We had a big circle.Talked till we slept...
It was nice to sleep outside, the air was cool and clean, there were noises, flying insects,
and an overall oneness with nature vibe.

I was the first to wake up... I think it was about 6:30 am.
I took a long walk with my blanket over me...locked eyes with a moose(it won the starring contest), saw a beautiful sunrise, was stalked by a squirel in the trees, ate my muffin that
I bought the night before, changed my socks, talked to some joggers who were nice enough
to tell me that the site we chose to camp in was not a legitimate camp-site and that if the
camp rangers came buy they would tiq. all the cars......and for some reason I thought that was
funny after all we had been through the night before.
Woke everyone up and told them the skinny about the Rangers and so with stealth like
ability we were ready to go in no time.
The most difficult thing to do was trying to turn the Vans around on that wierd road.
Finally it was done and we were on our way home....alive and unticketed.
The drive back was mostly a blur to me because of the two red bulls and many hits...
But we got back to Fort Worth at about 3am Monday.
It was good to be back home.
It was good to see my girls.
It was good to sleep in my bed.

I must add the following days back caught me in a small depression...
Maybe it was the back to work, or dishes dirty in the sink, or the whole
you're not in Colorado anymore joseph...

Welcome back to the real world...

Restless and wanting some reggae music

2005-07-08T20:14:00.000-07:00

So here I am again...
Everybody in the web has gone to sleep.
I am wide awake...
Listening to the Old 97's and wishin'
I was as cool as Rhett Miller.
I think I will crawl out from my corner tonight
And go to the Moon.
I hear there's some reggae on Berry st.
maybe I'll tell you all about it when I get back...
...................................................................................
..................................................................................
................................................................................
ok so I'm back
and ...you should've been there too...
The Moon is one of those bars that has history,
Even tho' the names have changed thru' the years;
The plot of land that keeps the Moon is magic.
It felt real good to get out and roll the windows down and drive tonight.
The air cooler than I expected...
10 dollars at the door!!!
No problem... Darth Vato deserves it, Can't Hang deserves it!
The place was already packed when I walked in...
Cant Hang was already skankin' on stage.
Good sound like an early 311, with Barrington Levy as
The music instructor.
The people were already moving on the floor...
The beer was being drank quickly...smoke was everywhere,
And The Moon had a vibe of love floating in the air.
Man, I love this town when the vibe shifts that way...
Shot of JD, A red bull , A couple coronas, a few licks, oh and a tecate'...
Thats when Darth Vato took the stage.
Now I am biased...but
I love Darth Vato.
They are kick ass reggae band that will get more and more...
If they persist.
But what I want to talk about is the way they make musical alchemy.
The moment when the whole building that is trying to keep
Music within its feeble walls buckles under the intense positive vibe
Pouring from the dancefloor and stage.
Its like an act of love-making in its most primitive artistic state...
And I LOVE being there when these moments occur.
It was in the middle of "Vato" doing 'Pop Music' and 'Another Ska Song'
The people who came to the show were in the middle of ecstasy.
It was all I could do to keep myself from running the stage,
but I chose to skank it in place. Man it was a good scene...
In Fort Worth they are occurring more and more.
Kerry, Steve, and Eric...and sometimes Justin
Lay down a mood that is so wanted and needed in our lives.
The escape... the revolution... the love ....the lust...the frustration...
The hope... the show.
These are things I feel like I hear in the songs.
Have you ever been in the middle of this vibe???
Man, you've got to get there....
Tonight, I felt joy, I saw a stage glow, I watched couples fall in love,
I made new friends, I hung out with some ole' friends, I felt the earth move,
I lived a bit more, I died, I was reborn, I took a deep breath, and realized
Fort Worth might as well be called 'Little Kingston'
because it is gettin' hotter and hotter!

morning rain

2005-07-05T13:56:00.000-07:00

Raindrops
Hanging on the phone line
Waiting to finish their descent
Fallen from the summer sky
At 35 feet per second
Landing headlong on the wire
Surely they would shatter
Falling their way down to
Earthly mire
But I know...
They slid swiftly off the roof
Safely upon a circus tightrope
Under the bigtop in the rain.

If You're Lucky

2005-06-30T20:59:00.000-07:00

Woke up this morning
With the sun in my eyes
Still reelin' from the dreams last night
Clouded my mind
...And don'tcha hate it when it's bright outside and
Ya' searchin' for your shoes
Turn to see the empty bed
Just can't shake those lonely blues

******************************

So you find yourself alone
Wondering...how, when, and where...
And the friends that you got seem to
Really not care
About the look in your eyes,
The feel of depair,
Words of advise sayin'... ' joe,
Lifes just not fair'.

*but still you rise up
into the dawn
reach for tomorrow
because everyday comes...if you're lucky.

***********************************

Found my way home this mornin'
With the sun in my eye
Still reelin' from the things I've seen
That have clouded my mind
And don'tcha hate it when it dawns inside
This is the life you choose
Turn to see your empty bed
Never gonna shake those lonely blues...

* still you ride on
into the dawn
you dream for tomorrow
cause everyday comes
If you're lucky.

music (part 2)

2005-06-24T13:28:00.000-07:00

So I feel like I didn't talk about Bob Marley's album Legend enough..... See it seems like the ultimate cliche' reggae c.d.,But
The fact is the compilation is so full of amazing songs that I could probably
talk about them every day.
Like... "Redemption Song" (its Bob Dylan- apocalyptic -summation of everything feel), " Emancipate yourselves from mental slavery, none but ourselves can free our minds, have no fear for atomic energy, none of them can stop the time." true. true!
or "Could you be Loved" ( the disco reggae song that ask a question...knowing full well
what the answer is.) Yes, I can be loved. "Then be loved."
What was cool about this tape to me was that it was sorta' speaking my language,
having read the Bible all my life. Very king David like. When he was a shepherd.
The music, the rythm was subversive...and I loved that about it.
The lyrics were some of the most poetic words I had ever heard....
Like..." when I see you comin' round the corner, you make me feel like
a sweepstakes winner." (Satisfy my Soul) beautiful.
Theres... "No woman, No cry" ( I think everybody knows this song,no really
I think everybody knows this song), "Get Up, Stand Up" (my man Peter Tosh on the lead vocal),
"I shot the Sheriff" (lost in the Clapton hoopla and did he or didn't he (bob marley) mystery
is the fact that the song is about an herb plant and an oppressive law enforcement).
See I feel much better now
...but I really wanted to tell you about one of the other tapes,
Bob Marley's "Rebel Music"!!!!!!!
This was the one that got me fired up about reggae...and of course it also was a
compilation. But a kick-ass compilation none the less.
Songs: 1. Rebel Music(3'oclock roadblock)
2. So much trouble in the World
3. Them Belly full(But we Hungry)
4. Rat Race
5. War/No More Trouble (live)
6. Roots
7. Slave Driver
8. Ride Natty Ride
9. Crazy Baldhead
10. Get up, Stand up
Ten songs that sent me reeling... asking for more. And when I think bout deeper.....
The music that shaped my mental approach in my own songs and poetry.
The first song struck me because I could hear the frustration in Bob's wail
in the intro... almost like a war cry. The dark mood of being pulled over and
having your person searched is evident and the frustration is mounting.
The second song..."So much trouble in the World" is one of the most saddest songs
I know. The whole idea that this world can't see what is really going on.
Reminds me of Marvin Gayes tone and romantic approach to protest.
"Them belly full..." also scrambled the naive brain of mine...This song is musical hypnotism.
The lyric 'a hungry man is an angry man' is a gunshot over the heads of the rich, the upperclass, and politicans who think they have control. " Rat Race" is the uppercut on the tape...and its only been 4 songs. I took this song to say to me ...dont get too involved in the hustle n' bustle of things . especially vain things, power trips and such. But you got to give it up for the rythm section of Aston Barrett (bass) and Carlton Barrett (drums). The heavy and dry communucation between them makes you cotton-mouth...your feet shufflin'... conscious.
Thats what "War" does to you. "Roots" and "Slave-driver".
I've applied "Slave-driver" to many a boss...heh..Makes them very uncomfortible.
"Ride Natty Ride" sticks out on this tape because it sounds so happy.
Yet still weaving the web of warning.
'guh deh dreaddy guh deh' could be one of my favorite lines of all time.
The tape ends with "Crazy Baldheads" and "Get up, Stand up"
The last song cemented it for me... 'preacher man dont tell me heaven is under the earth,
I know you dont know what life is really worth.'.....
'and now you see the light, stand up for your right.'
Lets just say I was changed from that period on, life was different.
I had a lot of work to do...and so do you.

The Portrait Of The Gringo Jesus

2005-06-23T23:08:00.000-07:00

The portrait of the gringo Jesus
Hangs on the cracked wall
Above the baptismal in the
Olmitto Baptist church.
Two lovers high from the
Cannabis they smoked
Kneel below Him trading vows,
No older than His mother
When He last came to earth;
Their child cries in her
Grandmother's arms
rustling in the second row.
The ooooohhs, and aahhs.
Sniffles and shuffles
Don't seem to distract
The gringo Jesus
As He stares to the east
Expressionless messiah
Rosy cheeked and fare skinned...
The piano song "Olivia"
Fills the chapelmind
Takes movements-memories-
Years ago there was no sound
Coming from the house...
Young poets sang their poems
In the arroyo canyon
At 3 a.m.- there in the winter fog
Songs are heard for miles
Along the floodgates
The echo reminds me
Of the portrait of the gringo Jesus
His blue eyes gazing off...
Can't hear the I do's,
The cries of babies, songs of
Faithful disciple, prayers of mothers,
Fathers curses, sisters rage, and
Friendships fading.

Newlyweds run down the aisle
As church bells ring out
In Olmitto, Texas.
Still the potrait of the gringo Jesus
Stares off into the unknown
Like distracted man in love.
He's dreaming of Jerusalem,
Worrying about the crosses,
Interceding for the children...
My brother Marcus
Never did believe in the
Divinity of mother Mary
Yet, he seemed to hold a secret
With every woman he touched-
He being another fallen angel
With tattoo soul and needle poked skin
Given another chance to live
Through Elizabeth union and
Child Olivia
Little cherubim watching close by.

The portrait of the gringo Jesus
Hangs above the baptismal
Pathetic reminder of this
White-washed world
Long since moved on.
He stares out the stained glass
All day
Celestial day dreamer
In the empty Olmitto Baptist church
He doesn't notice there is no one
There anymore...
The wedding feast travels
On the road to Mexico
Where Jesus is a little
Darker skinned,
Where He's not afraid of
Drinking wine,
Feasting on fajitas and
Good laughter,
Sitting at the tables with
The gentiles, the poor leggless beggars...
While guitars play on the beaches and
In the bars where Jesus
Should be in the first place.

Proof positive He knew me even before me

2005-06-18T10:52:00.000-07:00

A Noiseless Patient spider

A noiseless patient spider,
I mark'd where on a little promontory it stood isolated,
Mark'd how to explore the vacant vast surrounding,
It launch'd forth filament, filament, filament, out of itself.
Ever unreeling them, ever tirelessly speeding them.

And you O my soul where you stand,
Surrounded, detached, in measureless oceans of space,
Ceaselessly musing, venturing, throwing, seeking the spheres
to connect them.
Till the bridge you will need be form'd, till the ductile anchor hold,
Till the gossamer thread you fling catch somewhere, O my soul.

Walt Whitman

Most days

2005-06-12T14:22:00.000-07:00

The day comes again
As tho' nothing is happening
All living tucked back into a dream
One hundred and twenty seconds
Of sleeping.
Year after year after year
Child after father after grandfather
After great-grandfather
Across the Atlantic
Into the old world
The day moves on...
As effortless as Sophia
Reading the hieroglyphic destiny
On my dry palm...
As tho' everything I do
Has been coded in the Torah.
Night after night
We return to the streets
With the lantern in hand
Searching, fumbling for the
Faith of our fathers...
But the day goes past
East to west
As tho' balanced there...
The great atomic ticking
On the celestial wall
Generation after generation
All breathing becomes a curse,
A praise, a thank-you whispered
In a morning prayer
While we drink our coffee
Read the newspaper...
June 25th 2012
soft watch at the moment of.......

most days I can't remember.

The power of reggae music

2005-05-25T10:29:00.000-07:00

It was 1987...
I was in the passenger seat in my girlfriend's car as she and I were having the "breakup" talk.
I remember this lonnnnnggggg....silence in the car after everything was said and done.
I started to fidget in the seat as I put my hand behind my seat and felt a tape...It had a dreadlocked man on it with the title "Legend". My "ex-girlfriend" said... "Thats a tape my mom got when they went to Jamaica; she doesn't listen to it and I don't really like it so you can have it." And she smiled at me like... "at least you got a free tape out of this mess..."
She couldn't even remember his name. It was Bob Marley. The tape was called Legend:The best of Bob Marley and the Wailers.
So, as it so often happens, I was listening to dark music in those days The Bauhaus, Joy Division,Sisters of Mercy...on and on. I was also working outside in the sun all day as a life-guard. So the tape got lots of play at the pool... it just seemed like summer pool music. And the Moms that brought their kids to the pool liked it a whole bunch more than the angst crap we were listening to.
At first the music didn't really hook me. I liked "Stir it up" because of the bass-line but that was about it. I went back to college when the summer was over and realized that I had stumbled on the party tape of my roommates. That made me feel a little connection with them even tho' I never felt like part of their crew...at least we had Bob Marley.
An event happened that summer that I did not count on... I fell in love with a girl who had no idea that I loved her. And while I was gone(500 miles away) I thought about her every day.
Thats when I discovered another song on the tape. "Waiting in vain" hit me like a ton of bricks...
It was as if Bob took the words out of my mouth and wrote the song. The yearning, the ache, the fact that in reality I would have waited as long as it took even if it made me a fool. I realized that I was in love with the wait... just like Bob. To this day I can hear that song and still feel all those feelings once again. That was the hook that was needed. From then on I was a reggae student. I am amazed at reggae's healing power, it's soul, it's subversive spirit, it's ability to connect all kinds people together. I went on in the next year to get my hands on 5 more reggae tapes... we'll talk about those another day. As for the girl I fell in love with, well thats another story too.

The Return

2005-05-15T07:49:00.000-07:00

Friday night as I lay in bed I thought for sure the storm that blew in was going to bring the house down... I could'nt sleep so I sat on the back porch and watched the electrical display in the sky. The rain smelled good; like a cool forest shower. The wind sang thru the trees as the new leaves played percussion with the branches. I forgot about the house being in danger and just listened...
I love Texas thunderstorms...
Cleans the dirt off of these dusty streets,
Brings the city back to life for another season.

At the edge of the world I sit
Here in the waning darkness
With my crows-feet and tired limbs.
Aurora wakes from her sleeping
Stretching golden arms across
The forest of space and stars.
The spider sees the sky as a mirror
The dark soul now has a soft morning glow.

I have seen the evening
Dressed in her royal gown
Glittering as she passes over me.
The moon drifting through me,
The wind carries with its wings
The sweet smell of my mother like
Church bells float from the distance.

One morning
Stepping barefoot from my web and the clouds
Eyes bloodshot, darting to and fro',
Too busy to notice...
It was the beginning of the return.

my little corner in the house

2005-05-12T22:22:00.000-07:00

Came home from work today, paid the rent, fed the family, listened to some miles davis, and nestled into a dark corner for the rest of the night.