|
Greetings from PhilLesh.net! Having been home from tour a couple of weeks now, I thought: this time I'll write the "Hotline" message myself so I could explain a little of my vision for Summer. With this band, I have been finding that each tour has taken on a personality of it's own: On "Roam the West," I wanted to play in venues that were stripped down and funky, evoking maybe the pioneer spirit, that "can-do" attitude, that good old "Yankee ingenuity". This Spring we went for "Here Come Sunshine" - heading for the warm and mellow southeast which has a generous share of sunshiny people. We hit a lot of new places - some we loved, and others, well, we'll try to avoid next time around. This summer we decided to make crossing the country one of the goals. We will be playing some of my favorites such as the Greek and Red Rocks and we will also be playing some standard sheds (which have the advantage of being flexible as far as capacity, and being located every 400 miles or so). I fixated on this Summer being an "odyssey," which is another name for a journey. On one level, I will be on a bus for 5 or 6 weeks journeying across America, and I hope that many of you will pick a leg and join the adventure for a time. That's one level of an odyssey and one of the last great American adventures, just like hoppin' freights or leavin' town with the circus. Then there is the journey of the music, which I feel is ready to take a leap farther into the quantum foam that roils beyond the veil of order. The thought of six weeks with this band is exhilarating. We will be working to achieve an even closer bond in preparation for the journey ahead. We plan to enhance seven shows in subtle but important ways. You may notice progressive themes in these shows - or you might not notice anything at all - but I hope on some level the shows are transformative. If you would like to know about some of the books I used in research for these seven shows please check out the "Odyssey of the Spirit" page (coming soon). I feel that part of the importance of each "G.D." experience is the renewal of the community; shown by the fact that so many people of different ages and backgrounds are joining together again and again on a journey that really has no end - the meaning is in the journey itself, not the arrival. Sometimes the journey is sweet and adventurous and sometimes filled with battles and betrayals, but like Odysseus, we journey onward. Odysseus says: "my soul, your voyages have been your native land!". (my emphasis) I was reading through the posts in Discussion 16 on Dead.net supporting me when I was seriously ill; then and now, I felt the power of the community on an entirely new level. I feel that again at the blood drives when hundreds of you come out to give. I feel that when I see the comradeship you bring together at shows - sharing the journey with friends that you might never see outside the community. Let me welcome you to this summer's "Odyssey of the Spirit". I would like to invite our community to band together to do good works. PhilLesh.net, The Unbroken Chain Foundation and Philzone.com will work together to support groups of "Phans" who conceive and carry out good works. Please check out the "Odyssey of the Spirit" page (coming soon) which will explain in detail how we will work together. P h i l See
previous Hotline messages: 4.11.01 /
3.13.01
/ 1.26.01
|
.
