part nine

time is flying by and the world is turning- this ol' guitar picker just keeps pickin' and the rest will take care of itself. 

march has been a whirlwind month, between guests, working, playing, and of course the cultural phenomenon that is SXSW. Of course the FURIOUS FUZZ debuted at sxsw- actually we played two shows. one in a student housing coop, the other here at the compound. both went well and now we have three more shows in the works. next step for the band is to get a decent recording to document the whole movement, and i have an idea for a music video that hopefully we can get done very soon. 

my job is somewhat of a dream job, found on craigslist of all places. i'm working for a one man company called "yardfarms" and the basic idea is we install custom raised garden beds with full irrigation and fully planted. we do beautiful work and all of our clients are very happy with their food producing yards. i definitely get alot back working with this company. 

i did work some major production event for sxsw. i did rigging on a big mtv awards show. it was nice to be doing something i know so well, and the money was fantastic. met some cool people and got in good with the production company. that was early in the week. i was done by wednesday, and thursday we played our two shows, and friday through sunday i rode my bike all over town and checked out bands from scotland, japan, geez, i saw so many bands i can't even contemplate who they all were or where they were from. all i can say is that after days of seeing hundreds of bands in the end it's way too overwhelming and nothing really sticks out in my mind as being completely mind blowing.

today is the tenth annual waylon jennings tribute. i am playing guitar for it. should be fun. i've never delved too deeply into country pickin' but this set has given me a chance to develop that side of my playing. cross your fingers and wish us luck. i think it'll be a blast!

and the winds of change are blowing at my wings. i think the plan is to scott on out of here in early may, get back on the road, headed west. of course i have tons of plans for this spring and summer and everything seems to be working right on time. people keep asking me how long i'm going west for, or when i'll be back in austin. truth is austin's been really great to me. but there's plenty more places to be, and i'm sure someday down the road i'll be back here, but for now my dreams all point west, at least for a little while.

 

http://yardfarmaustin.com/

part eight

another bright sunny texas hill country February day!

today i think i might head out to kiko's farm, work on the garden beds; a process that seems to never end and only so very slowly progress, yet even the slightest progress is fulfilling. yes my hands have been spending alot of time in the earth lately, mostly due to the fact that i got a "dream job"  - installing raised bed gardens in people's yards. seriously, i can't believe it either, i manifested that shit!! i've been living by the motto "jah will provide" and yes there's an abundance of food in dumpsters but point blank the money was running dangerously low for supporting my extravagant lifestyle. so keeping with the spiritual economic plan, i wanted to get a job doing something positive. earth friendly. and what should i find on craigslist that very week but a job building gardens for people! 

the band is plugging away. looks like we'll be doing some sort of sxsw thing in our backyard. i've got the overnight lows from ms and guitar lightning from nola penciled in. the studio has a "one step foward two steps back" feel to it, and despite my best efforts, i still haven't been able to lay any tracks down. but musically i'm staying very busy between the furious fuzz, space falcon, waylon jennings tribute set, solo stuff, and the food not bombs jams. 

food not bombs has turned into a gourmet meal every sunday. things like sweet potato casserole, fried tomato po boys, orange curry salad dressing, banana bread with fruit icing and so much more are being served. i'm on the verge of having odwalla donate. prosperous times i do say...

so that's the update for now. i'm gonna work on the yard for a bit.

part seven

hello all my friends

it seems like if you know what it it you want it's just a matter of patience and determination until you have it. i've always loved austin. my plan was to move here and play music and be involved in the music community. i had been living out there on kiko's farm, a 24 acre hillbilly paradise, watching this new community sprout up like the seedlings in the greenhouse, and it's been awesome to work on projects like compost heaps, garden beds, this and that, but i was still sleeping in my van and winter was getting colder and colder. back to craigslist...

"$200 room with full recording studio. rough. musician's dream." i couldn't believe it. it was exactly what i wanted. i went and gave him(dave) all the money in my wallet for a deposit. so the place is called the compound. it's been a band house/studio for 20 years. there's a stage in the backyard. the walls are covered in murals from the years of artists living here. dave's been playing his whole life, and was a part of the early austin punk scene. there's a few other people who live here, and they all play music as well. of course i went from having one band struggling to get it together to now playing music all the time. my friends from the farm come over and we jam in the cozy warm practice place. it's perfect.

i've been working with the stagehands a bit to keep afloat. they're the same foul mouthed hard living tattooed loveable degenerates as any other roadie/ stagehand types. needless to say i fit right in. 

today is a brisk 25 degrees and i am protesting by staying under my blankets. i got a room, might as well use it. 

that's about all the news i'm fit'n to report here. let me know how your world turns...

part six

i've  been spending more time on the farm lately. i moved from my original campsite to one a little farther down, where two ravines meet and create a peninsula, where an abandon winnabego took on a new life, as a small but cozy place for me sit sit and read, do art, listen to music... i took the battery out and charged it, which powers my stereo, two strands of christmas lights, and an overhead bulb for reading and drawing. for heat i brought along mr heater portable buddy, a small and efficient propane heater. i definately have to figure out how to peacefully cohabit with roaches, because they claimed the place before i did. but i figure no dirty dishes or food waste inside, try not to kill them or display negative energy towards them, and let them have the cupboards and drawers. it seemed a little gross to me at first, but they're living creatures and as long as they're not in my food i think i can live along side them. 

for cooking i have two options- my fire pit, which i've been using for every meal (i have a modified "power stove" i'm working on, more on that when it's proven effective), and a coleman propane stove if it gets too cold or wet.

i bring my own water down to the site with me, one for drinking and one for washing dishes, hands, and face. my biowaste goes straight to the humanure compost, and for washing myself, i take a nice walk down to the colorado river with dr bronner. so i am officially living completely  off the grid!

there is alot of energy moving around the farm. new people all the time. one couple brought chickens. one guy (also in a winnabego) is a stand up comedian. we are starting to have small unofficial powwows about our agenda- to have a working structure of compost, humanure, greywater watering systems, full circle sustainable proteins, mushroom harvesting, and then to move into teaching workshops on sustainable living, selling  earthworm,larvae, compost kits, mushrooms, honey, eggs, veggies... 

i have been doing alot of meditation. multiple times a day. i have a clover field i walk through on my way back to my campsite, which i do a slow walking breathing meditation through (thich nhat hanh method). i then have another spot at the end of the ravine where i do a sitting meditation, then after dinner i've been doing a mantra (om) meditation at the fire pit. 

i've stumbled across some interesting music around town, i found a dirty little dive bar doing free noise shows. every bar has a stage, but the hidden gems seem pretty interesting. i went downtown last night to have a drink with my friend shawn. the drunkfest that is austin on a saturday night entertained me when i first arrived. last night it saddened me deeply. oh yeah, and someone knocked over my bike (fell on it, most likely) and bent the derailer six ways to sunday. now it rides like an old ratchet strap. 

tonight our band is going to do our first "performance"- on the farm, of course.


ok, the pictures i realize are terrible quality. i take them with my phone. we've got the colorado river at sunset, the beautiful stained glass i put in the greenhouse, my mosaic firepit built out of bathroom tiles left as litter in the ravine, honey collection. not necessarily in that order.

 
see you soon!

part five

ah what a fine yuletide season it was! portland was not surprisingly very dark and wet, but i had a nice warm bed to sleep in with a very cute blonde girl, so the nights made up for the days. the highlight of that week was probably going out to cougar hot springs, sitting and laughing with a bunch of nude hippies in the steam, while there was snow on the ground. it was hard to leave the loving arms of my sweet little gal pal, but with christmas approaching i knew there was the very real fear of ruining someone elses, so i got in a car and made my way down to sunny- not really- very rainy california.

after a 16 hour drive we pulled on to the farm- my farm- home. it was good to be back. lots of people and positive energy all around. the rain had woken the grass seeds and the whole place was vibrant and alive. the systems seemed to be working out perfectly. the composting toilet was functioning and is a standing piece of art. the plants all huge and lively. the animals all happy and healthy. 

part four

austin week four...


i wired and patched in an entire remodel on a house. and although i haven't gotten paid yet, that counts as having a job. the new band is coming along very well. we're putting together what is essentially a 40 minute rock opera. without getting too into it, it's a rise up call to all the freaks and weirdos of the world. it's the underdog having his day. it's a gathering of the tribe. we're still here. and we always will be. 

the farm is a major work in progress. i'm getting into the idea of building a geodesic dome house. funny thing is, kiko already has all the triangles made in a big stack to do it. weird how my luck has been working.  i started the farm garden yesterday. actually, i spent hours trying unsucessfully to weed out the crab grass (suggestions?) and put up a nice fence around the whole thing. hopefully i can get some things in the ground before it gets too cold. there's also a nice greenhouse which just needs some windows replaced. other farm projects i'm starting include reconstructing an outhouse for  humanure, creating a central solar charging area,fixing the chicken coop, and of course making a good jam space.  the past few years have really made me appreciate hard work and dirty nails. when i am working for the right reasons- simplified living, sustainability, beautify the land, i am inexhaustible. 

of course you wouldn't forget my birthday, so it seems pointless to remind you it's sunday december 5th. that's exactly a week away. i already like 38. it's got a nice feel to it. good curvy numbers, nice yin and yang of odd and even, very mature.  

now i'm off to cook with food not bombs. 

enjoy your day

part three

It was getting tiring living on the streets in Austin, parking my van anywhere i could, in neighborhoods with dark streets  and on the edges of parks. so i put an ad on craigslist, something like "Hello, i just moved to Austin, i'm a musician, i live in my van. I am looking for a safe quiet place to park. please let me know if you can help". so i get an email. come check out my place. so i go out to check it out- 24 acres with a house and tons of airstream trailers parked all over. i tell him that i've been living on a farm in California, i can see potential for working towards sustainably and permaculture gardens, he loves the idea! so we work out a work- trade scenario  where the first 10 hours pays my monthly rent and anything after we'll work out in cash. my first two days out there i fix the wiring in an airstream, put a functioning pump in a well, work on some wiring on another house, and make myself a little camp spot. 

last weekend i cooked Saturday and Sunday for food not bombs. as most of you know i was a cook and coordinator for food not bombs for three years in Portland. so it was great to get back into it and see how it operates here in Austin. I think i'll go back this sunday, that seemed to be the day that needed the most help in the kitchen and we all seemed to get along pretty well. I also volunteered a few hours at the yellow bike cooperative shop, where anyone can go in and use tools, used parts, and plenty of  in-shop expertise to get their mighty steed back on the road. 

We had out first band practice last night. We met our drummer and bass player all at once, and in the room we had instant chemistry. there was no question that we all felt it, and everyone was at once on board to get this project underway. we get together again Tuesday to work on more material.my guitar sang so sweetly and was so happy to be out of it's case!!

between my work-trade living situation, food not bombs, and food stamps, it looks like i'm closer than ever to my goal of living with as little as necessary. yes the spirits are smiling down on me. 

the adventure continues, now that i have a band and a nice little cozy spot in the woods, i'm feeling a little more settled in. now i can get to work.

rock on!

part two

...there was a dream in which i was out singing songs in the woods with my buddy kevin. it seems that two cute punky type girls decided to camp right next to us. they giggled as we made up silly songs, all four sets of eyes sparkling in the fire's crackling dance. now we're laying down, and i'm face to face with this girl-  a redhead with messy, almost dreaded hair and a very cute smile.

KNOCK KNOCK- "AUSTIN CITY POLICE, ANYONE IN THERE?"

and so begins monday, november 8th. Babe the Big Blue Van and I were politely escorted out of our beautiful spot. a quiet street with a gentle creek and a picnic table. the officer was nice enough and basically told me to be on my way. 

they keep saying how cold it gets here, but until it does i've been having a nice routine of long bike rides and daily swims. barton springs pool is an area of barton creek that the city dammed up to make a huge swimming pool, full of mineral spring water. turns out it's free to swim there from november till march, which suits me just fine. 

had my first band practice with a drummer named pj.  nice enough kid but no sense of poly rhythm so the search is still on. my notebook is filling up furiously, with song ideas and poems for people far away, with prayers for the spirits to keep me company at night and drawings of ancient symbols and made up mythology. 

gainful employment hasn't seeked my out, but luckilly my love of cheap tacos keeps the overhead relatively low. 

the non-stop musical intake is keeping me healthy. since my last report, i've seen some fine colombian black metal, an old friend's new band, and old school heroes suicidal tendencies, to name but a few. i kick myself for missing os mutantes, but i was halfway through an olympic sized lap when i realized their set was probably almost over. can't see them all.

wish me luck finding a new parking spot, a rhythm section, and maybe a buried treasure. since i don't blog, facebook, or twitter, this is my resource for communication with the world. email, text, and astral communication. 

make it symbiotic if you wish, let me know what fills your days.

part one

my first week here was a bit of a whirlwind adventure. the road trip out was long drives, at a slow and steady 60 mph. alan was a trainhopper kid from mobile al on his way to new orleans for halloween. he hitch-hiked to the farm the night before we left and in the morning, after huevos rancheros with the last home farmed eggs i will eat in awhile, we left for santa barbra to pick up don, our next rideshare. don, 82 (was- that's right 82) was on his way home to phoenix after summering in santa barbra with a girlfriend of his (go don!). his first words once he got settled in the van- " well, i am a devout agnostic". we talked about religions("i believe there was a man named jesus, but i don't believe he rose from the dead"), ancient civilizations, travel, and more. then we piked up kim joseph, a german traveling across the us. once we got to phoenix we stayed at don's place for the night, and in the morning he took us to the pueblo grande archeological site, built around 200ad. in mesa we picked up two more crusty travelers ( ryan and alex) and continued on to the texas  border. 

Babe the big blue van pulled in to austin around 3 in the morning. we dropped the crusties off at the punkhouse and had a delicious natty ice, and navigated towards my friend and bandmate fawn's house.  the next day was coffee that lasted till late into the afternoon, getting alan back to the punkhouse. from that point on it's pretty much been a non stop smorgasbord of cheap tacos and awesome rock and roll. highlights include the bad brains at the mohawk ( which i snuck into), roky erikson at the austin zombie ball, birdlegg- the wildman blues singer/harpist who did, among other gems, hounddog taylors "give me back that wig",and a whole bevvy of local bands, good, bad and fucking terrible.  and there's  delicious mexican food on just about every block. right now, in fact, i'm sitting in a place i almost wish i hadn't found- $1.35 tacos, inhouse made tortillas, a panderia full of all kinds of sweets, free wifi, and open 24 hours. 

babe the big blue van is happily parked on a quiet street near the traintracks, near what i thought was a dried up creek bed- until the flash flood rain which made it once again a pretty little rock bedded stream. blocks away from a library, a cool punky coffee shop/breakfast place, clubs, bars, pizza, guitar stores, etc. 

tonight i meet our pospective bass player and drummer and we attempt a first practice. then it's helios creed for free tonight,later this weekend  cedrick burnside, maybe a vegetarian chili cook-off, and coming up later in the week my favorite local band amplified heat. oh yeah, and david allen coe.

seems like i picked a pretty nice spot to spend the winter.

hope you're all well and happy.