“It is the function of art to carry us beyond speech to experience.”
"After silence, that which comes nearest to expressing the inexpressible is music."
"If you develop an ear for sounds that are musical it is like developing an ego. You begin to refuse sounds that are not musical and that way cut yourself off from a good deal of experience."
A few days ago, my friends and I climbed out on the roof of our place in Boulder to catch an exceedingly rare cosmic occurrence: a full moon lunar eclipse during the winter solstice. If you're like me, you're probably marveling at how all of the super-unlikely planetary ballet moves seem to be going on at once, these days – as if the stars grind along with business as usual for a few thousand years and then bust out in a flashmob musical. The more I read about this (and there are good articles here and here if you're interested), the more amazing it is.
There are already plenty of people reminding you why this time of year is important, so I'd rather celebrate this special transit, which hasn't happened in about two thousand years. Now is a perfect time to contemplate the spiraling elastic bounce between darkness and light...but perhaps, especially, the darkness within the light, suffusing us even in our sleep.
And so I'm delighted to bring you Glass Chrysanthemum, my first full-length album of cyber-acoustic adventures on the live-looped guitar – forty minutes of the deepest forays into my experimentations in improvised hybrid electronica. It's free to you to commemorate our time here together at the precipice of the Singularity, one more lovely winter before we dive off the deep end of 2011...
The glass chrysanthemum is the mandala people see before leaving their bodies during a near-death experience or intense entheogenic experience – a kind of portal between the personal and transpersonal realms – the gateway to the soul. And so it's only appropriate that I dedicate this album to my dear friend Robert Roy Smith, whose recent brush with three heart attacks proved to him that life is a universal principle, that there is life even in the abyss.
Send him your prayers, people...and grab a copy of this while it's still free – I have about 1400 free downloads to offer my friends, and there are 3700 of you on this newsletter. (Wow!)
And now on to the paintings. :)
Jelly Chrysanthemum
2010 12 01, 02, 03, Freebird Live, The House, The House of Time
(Perpetual Groove, Vibesquad, KiloWatts, High Top Kicks, The Polish Ambassador, Dojo, Miles
18"x36" - paint markers on artboard - check price/availability
11"x17" prints (1/$25, 2/$40, 3/$50 incl s/h) - email me
Dedicated to Tourmaline Todd & Adam Fu Reed of Austin TX, whose intense commitment to the creative lifestyle is an inspiration to me. Also dedicated to Aaron Holstein (aka Vibesquad), for whom I've been painting seemingly since the rosy mists of the Cretaceous Period, and whose infectious good spirits make people's hearts blossom wherever he goes.
(click for a closer view)
Five, Six, Seven, Eight
2010 12 11 City Hall
(The Fantastic Hosts)
24"x30" - paint markers on masonite - check price/availability
11"x17" prints (1/$25, 2/$40, 3/$50 incl s/h) - email me
Dedicated to Gracia Wenzel, whose birthday just so happened to coincide with one of the most awesome parties I've ever attended in Denver, and who I believe to be on the same Earth-based team of reincarnated extra-terrestrials (wink). And to The Fantastic Hosts, for throwing that party.
(click for a closer view)
Crystal Eyes
2010 12 18 The Majestic Theater
(Ana Sia, DJ K@dog, Freddy Todd, Angela OohLaLa, Popsh!t)
18"x24" - paint markers on masonite - check price/availability
11"x17" prints (1/$25, 2/$40, 3/$50 incl s/h) - email me
Where can I even begin to demonstrate my appreciation for my newfound friends in Detroit? Last week I flew out there to be the featured visual artist and setbreak live looping weirdo for the latest Cirque du Womp event – a sold-out plaster-rattling blacklight freakfest at the 1,000 person Majestic Theatre in downtown Womp City. In spite of hilarious mix-ups with airline reservations, prehistoric-Volkswagon engine trouble, and the bitter cold of the Detroit "tundra," my time there couldn't have been more exciting, beautiful, and strange. Major love, and painting dedication, to Scott, Grant, and Angela...I'll be back up in Michigan soon, fingers crossed.
(In the meantime, my soundcheck from Circus 8 is available for your listening pleasure on Glass Chrysanthemum – or you can find it on my new soundcloud page, where I'll be regularly posting live clips and exclusive releases...)
(click for a closer view)
More treats for everyone next week...in the meantime, enjoy the paradoxical anxious abundance of the holidays, get some good sleep, and feel welcome to write me for any reason. Thank you so much for your precious time and attention...
