I became insane with long intervals of horrible sanity.
The trouble with fighting for human freedom is that one spends most of one's time defending scoundrels. For it is against scoundrels that oppressive laws are first aimed, and oppression must be stopped at the beginning if it is to be stopped at all.
Many people would sooner die than think; In fact, they do so
What I have been telling you, from alpha to omega, what is the one great thing the sigil taught me — that everything in life is miraculous. For the sigil taught me that it rests within the power of each of us to awaken at will from a dragging nightmare of life made up of unimportant tasks and tedious useless little habits, to see life as it really is, and to rejoice in its exquisite wonderfulness. If the sigil were proved to be the top of a tomato-can, it would not alter that big fact, nor my fixed faith. No Harrowby, the common names we call things by do not matter — except to show how very dull we are ...
November 15, 2011 - 11:34 a.m.
I'm supposed to be writing now. Last year I had notebooks at NERFA and this year I don't; that makes a huge difference. I'll never forget my notebook again. Now I'll find my loose scraps of paper and try to piece together what happened. I got them, now to see if I can make any sense of them.
I'm up to the guerilla showcases, the heart of NERFA and a totally mystery to most people who have never been there. People host the showcases in ordinary hotel rooms for musicians to play short sets in. Most are 15 or 20 minutes. Some are in the round. Some focus on one artist. The schedule is printed and everyone else has to figure out who they are going to see. Some people just wander around and check out what sounds good. Many people go through the schedule and check off ones they want to see. The really anal people like me find where and when all the people they've want to check out are playing and construct a schedule that lets them see as many as possible. It's a challenge. I concentrate on people I haven't seen before but I'll see some people I know well just for fun or to give them moral support or to see them do something new. The two acts that I know well that I knew I'd see anyway are Deni Bonet and ilyAIMY. I have been telling Deni she had to go since last year and she took me up on it. My plan was present a showcase myself so she'd have a guaranteed slot but that didn't work out and I felt guilty. I shouldn't have. She got eight showcases on her own. I actually saw her a few times, the first Thursday night when she did the first solo performance of her life. Deni primarily plays the violin and it's hard to do that and sing at the same time. For the solo gig she did one song on the uke and another on the guitar. I think she did a violin solo too but I couldn't stay for that. You're always on the run at the guerillas. Deni also had a space in the exhibit hall. She showed the video that I went to the shoot for. It's basically shots of my bald spot with Deni playing in front of me.
I had been telling ilyAIMY they had to go too and was feeling guilty that I couldn't present them either. Once again that wasn't a problem. They even had a DJ showcase.
I don't think I could have made it through the guerillas without my good friends from the Ripton Community Coffeehouse, Richard and Beth. Why? There room was across from mine and they had coffee for the taking on a table in front of their room! Not just coffee but really good coffee. When I felt I was running out of gas I'd have some. I'd start each morning with a cup of their joe.
When I make my schedule I don't pay any attention to who is hosting the room, just the room number. I ended up never hearing music in their room or Acoustic Music Scene's room hosted by Mike Kornfeld one of my best friends. It worked out odd, I hardly saw Mike. Of course I see him around New York all the time.
I just discovered that I stole somebody else's Guerilla Showcase Guide. Sorry whoever that was.
So remember how I missed Connor Garvey's set at the DJ showcase? I wanted to make up for that by seeing him at a guerilla. I did, then got the time wrong and heard only part of one song. It isn't easy not having a brain. I finally did track him down Saturday night at the Maine Attraction, a room for performers from Maine. He's from South Berkwick. Is that name familiar? It is where Slaid Cleaves and Rod Picott grew up. What's in the water there? A town of 2000 people should not have produced three folk singers. I talked about it with Connor but couldn't remember the name of the other Kerrville New Folk winner from South Berwick. Yes there is another. It's Randy Browning from The Late Bloomers. Connor was worth waiting for. He made the cut and is on my list of discoveries.
I ended up staying up listening to music till around 3 on Thursday and Friday. I couldn't quite make it to Deni's set at 3:30 AM in Richard and Viki's room Friday night.
I spent Saturday afternoon at showcases largely seeing friends perform. The schedule was light on people I needed to see for the first time and had the fun of spending time with friends. I saw a lot at Christine and Aiden's room even though I had to miss half of their own set. They are Friction Farm. They are people I needed to spend time with. I miss them since they moved out of New York. Whenever I do something in Brooklyn my reaction is that I should be asking them to join me.
On Saturday night I spent a lot of time in the Maple Sugar Room, the Canadians. I have had Canadian connections since I was a Frühead. I saw some great people there and not just musicians. I talked to Bob who does house concerts in Ottawa in the wee hours of the morning. They also had amazingly good maple cookies. It was also family time as Jory Nash was there. Jory might not be related by blood but we adopted each other as cousins. Of course his family comes from the same part of the world as mine so maybe we are related.
If I hadn't been at NERFA I'd have seen the Guy Mendilow Band band on Saturday night at the Common Ground Coffeehouse. I was happy to see that Guy was at NERFA on Friday and performing in a configuration I hadn't seen before; a duo with him and Aubrey. That was pretty magical and I got to talk with them for a while. Guy is always fascinating.
I'll be writing more. I have to talk about the formals and who I met at meals and the quadracentrics and ...
Now I'm going to make breakfast. Then I have to write a test today. Bacon and eggs here I come.
I signed the Pro-Truth Pledge:
please hold me accountable.
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On The Road Again - May 26, 2018
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Horvendile November 15, 2011
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