by Gregory 'Bassie' Jackson
Bassie's vacation spot in Maryland… checking in… reflections on the last few dates on the north america tour…
Some time has passed… and to most of you… the Spear tour is completed… but not just yet… smile… For us… the past few weeks have been something else… we really put our all out there for you in North America… Northampton, Boston, D.C. and New York… we put it out there… we did… I must say that… these few months have been a long and consistent trip… no one… I mean no one in our crew complained about it… about rising early in the morning… 4 or 5 a.m. drives… sometimes 3 a.m. drives… cause this is what we love to do… just ask Cacique… or James… We live to come out and give you the music… and with Mr. Rodney… it goes without saying… but I must say… that Mr. Rodney is a hard working man… and he loves all of you… otherwise… would we be here?
So… it brings us to this point… the North America leg is complete… Northampton… funky artist town… nice to meet some folks from up New England… thanks y'all for the love…
A nice gig… felt good up there… I felt my bass bins really kicking up there… a nice feeling I tell you… although at the end of the set… my chords to the amp began to fry… and crackle… and hiss… and I had to do a quick replacement… during a dub section… Mikey… the drummer… he was looking at me with a sly grin… cause he knew that stuff drives me crazy…
Hey… let me say thanks to everyone in the band and crew too… cause… y'all some wicked professionals… and some characters too…
You got the G3 mac crew… Stephen… Prof… and James… chuckle… lap tops and things… Stephen… the night owl… what you doing late at night anyway… ebay? smile… Prof and James… the dynamic duo…
proud to say guys… that I have my G3 too… no more kinko's and things… happy now? you can write me… and I can write…
I'm up in the D.C. area now… cooling out before Africa… in my bedroom on the G3…
So… continuing… Boston… The Roxy… what a hip spot… love it… gotta thank Teo… from the House of Blues… cause he always sets up things nice… and Joshua from Heartbeat… nice to be with you… and the record signing thing you set up at Tower Records… it was fun… meeting all y'all… meaning the folks… the Spear supporters… I didn't have a seat so I didn't sign a whole lot… but i was there showing love same way… and the gig… sweet… I love the sound up there… I think the guys would say the same… Spear was in form…
Hey… you folks notice spear wearing a tie recently… yeah… told you he had some wicked gear… the tie's man… check for the tie's… it means he loves y'all… just show you know…
From the Roxy down to D.C. keeping the flow in our bones… Dr. Dreads crew was professional as usual… with the transport… and the dressing room… thanks to the fans for selling out the joint… We felt the energy… and gave you our all… and man… did they improve the p.a. in there or what… I can't wait to get back up in there…!!
Tedo was sporting a new hat… nice brown leather joint… Real Natty up in the place too… haven't seen him heating up sardines in a while… so it means he is getting some good yard food… laughs…
The victory ride to New York… last show… nuff champagne… and laughter… and jokes running for the entire trip… we had a good laugh about the tour… and it is nice to have a few words from everybody… giving thanks and things…
By the end of the trip… I realized why so many of us don't drink… smile… I won't tell much… but Cacique… you are one funny dude… and happy to see you sleep so well… on the floor… laughs… and Prof… you gotta remember which bunk is yours… laughs…
Its all love… and seeing the big apple again was sweet… we checked into a midtown spot… and many of us who make the area home took off… save for the miami, yard, and jersey posse… spear too… he stayed…
I got to hit mannny's… and ran into some old friends… including Lauryn Hill's engineer… Terry… hail up!!
The New York show was nice… a real solid show… have you checked out the pics on the pic post? Asher… you are great man… if you don't know… Asher is from Connecticut… and a big supporter… many of the pics you see on the post are from Asher…
Lots of New York fam… and it was good to see you all and feel y'all…
We did it with a lot of meaning that night… I hope y'all felt it…
Its hard to leave after the last gig… I noticed Mikey holding court with some of the guys in Miles Davis's band… good seeing y'all… and Commissioner Gordon, glad you came out… and so many others… after a while… it was just time to go… cause we could have stayed for a long long time… till morning…
But it really isn't over… things just enter a new phase… we melt into a new position… further down the road… yunno… as spear would say…
so next stop is South Africa… and what a happy day that will be…
Greetings to all crew…
jahloveeternal…
Gregory…
November 25, 2000
November 08, 2000
Northampton, MA
by Gregory 'Bassie' Jackson
Hummmm… cheap internet… so here I am… a few minutes prior to sound check… Northampton Mass… I wrote a few lines on the ride up… a long two day journey from Fort Lauderdale… here goes…
The final days… are upon us… the last moments of the North American leg of the tour… today is day two of the long haul… from southern Florida… to Northampton… a victory ride…
Last night we drove from 8:00 a.m. till 5:00 p.m… stopping for the night at a small hotel in South Carolina… between two… no three fireworks dealers… painted with bright carnival colors… bright red and yellow paint… clowns… dancing…
Early to bed tonight… dozing to cable t.v… Clyde leaning against the hotel bannister… yunno… one of those outdoor hotels… where you walk across a field past a pool, covered up for the winter… with a few leaves on top… chimney red… and halloween orange…
Clyde was chilling… asked me where Virgo's room is… I didn't know… the sky… full of stars… golden orbs… the stillness of the night… broken only by the sound of foggy voices in the distance… laughter…
stillness… quiet… no load in tonight… no monitors… no sound check… just the carolina night… and the passing truck… peaceful… shsssshhhhhh…
We have some big shows coming up… I suppose this is the quiet before the storm… yeah… I like that vibe… D.C. Boston, Philly… New York… the megalopolis awaits… yeah… we are coming… can you hear us… the Spear is coming… smile…
Mr. Rodney's words echoing in my head…"its important gentleman… to end the tour as we began… burning hot…!!! are you ready?!!!"
Yes… we are ready sir… we are…
thoughts in our heads… as we pass fields of corn… past road signs… dried grasses… a stack of fire wood… hazy skies… under cooler climes… out come the jackets… more warm drinks at truck stops…
We are ready sir… as we pass homes were I suppose folks are sitting in their kitchens… sipping their morning tea…
a man with his dog… power lines… the whistling air through the mesh in the window… Tedo asks me to close it… its too cool now for that… he says…
Hotels… inns… all whizz by in a blurr…
James is peeling an apple with his teeth… Tedo is fiddling with the remote… Mikey is riding shotgun with Tom… up front… headphones on…
a sudden turn… and the frig opens… luckily nothing flies out… Sylvan… the sardine king… enters his kitchen… soon there will be the smells of steaming hot food…
as we pass a meandering river… a red lion supermarket…
the silver streak is on the road… heading up to the big big city…
see you soon…
Gregory
Hummmm… cheap internet… so here I am… a few minutes prior to sound check… Northampton Mass… I wrote a few lines on the ride up… a long two day journey from Fort Lauderdale… here goes…
The final days… are upon us… the last moments of the North American leg of the tour… today is day two of the long haul… from southern Florida… to Northampton… a victory ride…
Last night we drove from 8:00 a.m. till 5:00 p.m… stopping for the night at a small hotel in South Carolina… between two… no three fireworks dealers… painted with bright carnival colors… bright red and yellow paint… clowns… dancing…
Early to bed tonight… dozing to cable t.v… Clyde leaning against the hotel bannister… yunno… one of those outdoor hotels… where you walk across a field past a pool, covered up for the winter… with a few leaves on top… chimney red… and halloween orange…
Clyde was chilling… asked me where Virgo's room is… I didn't know… the sky… full of stars… golden orbs… the stillness of the night… broken only by the sound of foggy voices in the distance… laughter…
stillness… quiet… no load in tonight… no monitors… no sound check… just the carolina night… and the passing truck… peaceful… shsssshhhhhh…
We have some big shows coming up… I suppose this is the quiet before the storm… yeah… I like that vibe… D.C. Boston, Philly… New York… the megalopolis awaits… yeah… we are coming… can you hear us… the Spear is coming… smile…
Mr. Rodney's words echoing in my head…"its important gentleman… to end the tour as we began… burning hot…!!! are you ready?!!!"
Yes… we are ready sir… we are…
thoughts in our heads… as we pass fields of corn… past road signs… dried grasses… a stack of fire wood… hazy skies… under cooler climes… out come the jackets… more warm drinks at truck stops…
We are ready sir… as we pass homes were I suppose folks are sitting in their kitchens… sipping their morning tea…
a man with his dog… power lines… the whistling air through the mesh in the window… Tedo asks me to close it… its too cool now for that… he says…
Hotels… inns… all whizz by in a blurr…
James is peeling an apple with his teeth… Tedo is fiddling with the remote… Mikey is riding shotgun with Tom… up front… headphones on…
a sudden turn… and the frig opens… luckily nothing flies out… Sylvan… the sardine king… enters his kitchen… soon there will be the smells of steaming hot food…
as we pass a meandering river… a red lion supermarket…
the silver streak is on the road… heading up to the big big city…
see you soon…
Gregory
November 02, 2000
Gainesville, FL
by Gregory 'Bassie' Jackson
Its been way too long… I realize that… busy busy… thanks everyone… and you too Adam… for all the encouragement… Joshua up in Mass… and so many others… Morty out in Arkansas… and the Mighty Spear… Mr. Rodney…
At this moment Cecil and I… are at Java shop out in Gainesville Florida… back in the sunny climes… the smell of roasted coffee… the taste of the remains of the latte'… the hiss of the espresso machines… students mingling and chatting… as they click away on laptops… nice flow… save for this lame muzak… playing… but hey… free internet…
Let me say these past few weeks have been sweet… so many different environs… from city to town… from north to south to west… ummmmh…
Where have we been? sometimes it is like a blur… soldier vibes we call it… that's when we make the show… and then push out at 3:00 a.m. ummmmh… its all part of the flow… all of us must have a lot of discipline… and do the things we must do to get up…
These contrasts I will call Chiaroscuro… contrasts… that's what the word means… been reading a lot from a book on Da Vinci… yunno… some brain food… and its a word that comes up again and again… what it means to explain… is that there is contrast… it is part of the world we exist in… from city to town to country… from night to day… from the snows to the rains… the dry dry parched earth… its all part of the continuum… yunno…
It illustrates boundaries… relief… change… it reminds us all… in our own way… that there exists a summit… a personal summit…
Madison Wisconsin… a pleasant vibe… intimate show… then off to Detroit… where we had a chance to do the city thing… yeah… big venue… and lots of yardies… Glen Washington… big up to ya chief… and a few others… Chicago… what a surprise… every man has a single room… you should have seen us run to get our keys… smile…
Seems when we are in the House of Blues… there is always some magic… and that night was no exception… the men dem love to pull out ties and suits and things… Trommie Lee… aka Micah is good for that… but also Mr. Rodney… recently he pulled out some incredible ties… to show us he has his ready too… Oh… but did you all catch Steven Stewart… ummmh… now you all know by now that his thing is wearing all black… its only once in a blue moon you will see him in anything but black… and House of Blues was no exception… but that night… ummmh… out came the black suit jacket… no shirt… ouch!!!!… look baaddd man… onward forward in the silver streak… from Detroit to St. Louis… talk about strange vibes… we checked into a hotel that was more a medieval castle… actually more like 18th Century England… with original wood and structure from a mansion in the U.K… it has a peculiar odor… at least to me it did… there was a giant bear… stuffed heads… animals… and a bunch of other things… even the gun in a display case that was used to shoot the bear… lots of old dark woods… a few of us went next door and had some Chinese… and we gigged in a brand spanking new theatre… contrasts… what was that word…? Chiaroscuro…
From there to the college town of Columbia… lately the silver streak is laden with the sounds of doo wop… courtesy of Tedo… the original doo wop king… chuckles… seems he got this collection of video's while in San Fran… and he is hooked… been cleaning up the doo wop collections at all the local c.d. shops… and the college town are big for that… now you got Deep… aka Sylvan… he is the soul man… and the "real natty"… but we call him deep… don't know where that came from… I think Tedo… we enjoy it when they are sparring… lovely… on the bus… over this or that… even today… while watching Third World Cop… as we pulled in hear to Gainesville… sparring over the result of the movie… who would have chosen what to do… in this or that situation… just straight up fun…
Anyway… Deep… he's the original soul man… nuff Ojay's up there… and don't forget the man in black… Stewie… you get him going… and he's going to go into his box… and pull out Heatwave… and Confunkshun… and lots of classics… and tell you a thing or two…
In the mean time… as we make all these runs… you got James… and Micah… running all the c.d.'s on the bus intotheir laptops… collecting everything in sight… James be bopping with them headphones too… so if you bump into him… you are going to have to speak up… cause he is travelin… just like the Spear tune… "more than 2,000 miles…" Wicked tune… have you heard that one?
So anyway… bouncing and bopping into Columbia… college town… and a wicked show… Spear had that place in a trance… and the system really held up to our power needs… cause we really pump in some watts… with the live horns… and the keys… and the power even just from the vocal… we use a lot of juice… some places nearly run to melt down… the amps… a few times they nearly did… and you gotta hand it to Virgo… our engineer for keeping things in check… Columbia… things held up sweetly…
Onward to Lawrence Kansas… and Fayatteville, Arkansas… where we have some of our biggest fans… Morty and his wife really made us feel comfy… an intimate dinner in there home… setting everything up for us… and handling things well… both of them are some of the nicest people you can meet… check for them anytime you are down there…
More contrasts… onward to Austin TX… what a town!! it was like the wild west out there… the strip… ummmmh… another intimate affair… the club… but what vibes… and a strong sound… Phat…
Since Clydie… sax man got his new remote mic… you see him walking around stage… doing his solo's… like on tumble down… have you checked that one out… he does the circular breathing… and just blows… and blows… now he walks across stage… and comes right up to the front… giving me a wink as he passes by… Tedo makes a joke every now and then… cause it seems he doesn't dance… as he plays… but hey… that's how it goes sometimes… right? smile…
New Orleans… House of Blues… simply wicked… Mrs. Rodney arrives… and the vibes are elevated even more… greetings and blessing Mrs. Rodney…!!!
Houston, TX… the silver streak pulls into another Double Tree… warm cookies… and what? free internet… there is Virgo up there… Sylvan… Cecil… and me… yeah… I should have put this diary at the time… but I didn't… smile… no hard feelings… right… Cecil pulls out the acoustic guitar in the lobby… and begins to sing and play… nice vibes… roots vibes… yunno…
The Spear is burning strong… and the more we travel… the deeper the dimensions of this experience reveal themselves to me… its interesting… and its a growing experience… which is very positive…
There is a reason we are hear… and a role we all play… and its clearer to me… about the longevity… more things reveal themselves… and yet… there are more and more elements within…
I hope some of the things I have shared have heightened your interest in the Spear experience… and can help you relate this experience with you own life…
Chiaroscuro… its a word I took from reading Da Vinci… a man from antiquity… but who's reasonings still add meaning and inspire thinkers and artists to this day… and yes… there is a reason for longevity… same like the Spear experience… don't you think? sure…
till next time…
jahloveeternal…
Gregory Dale Jackson… aka Mr. Bassie
Its been way too long… I realize that… busy busy… thanks everyone… and you too Adam… for all the encouragement… Joshua up in Mass… and so many others… Morty out in Arkansas… and the Mighty Spear… Mr. Rodney…
At this moment Cecil and I… are at Java shop out in Gainesville Florida… back in the sunny climes… the smell of roasted coffee… the taste of the remains of the latte'… the hiss of the espresso machines… students mingling and chatting… as they click away on laptops… nice flow… save for this lame muzak… playing… but hey… free internet…
Let me say these past few weeks have been sweet… so many different environs… from city to town… from north to south to west… ummmmh…
Where have we been? sometimes it is like a blur… soldier vibes we call it… that's when we make the show… and then push out at 3:00 a.m. ummmmh… its all part of the flow… all of us must have a lot of discipline… and do the things we must do to get up…
These contrasts I will call Chiaroscuro… contrasts… that's what the word means… been reading a lot from a book on Da Vinci… yunno… some brain food… and its a word that comes up again and again… what it means to explain… is that there is contrast… it is part of the world we exist in… from city to town to country… from night to day… from the snows to the rains… the dry dry parched earth… its all part of the continuum… yunno…
It illustrates boundaries… relief… change… it reminds us all… in our own way… that there exists a summit… a personal summit…
Madison Wisconsin… a pleasant vibe… intimate show… then off to Detroit… where we had a chance to do the city thing… yeah… big venue… and lots of yardies… Glen Washington… big up to ya chief… and a few others… Chicago… what a surprise… every man has a single room… you should have seen us run to get our keys… smile…
Seems when we are in the House of Blues… there is always some magic… and that night was no exception… the men dem love to pull out ties and suits and things… Trommie Lee… aka Micah is good for that… but also Mr. Rodney… recently he pulled out some incredible ties… to show us he has his ready too… Oh… but did you all catch Steven Stewart… ummmh… now you all know by now that his thing is wearing all black… its only once in a blue moon you will see him in anything but black… and House of Blues was no exception… but that night… ummmh… out came the black suit jacket… no shirt… ouch!!!!… look baaddd man… onward forward in the silver streak… from Detroit to St. Louis… talk about strange vibes… we checked into a hotel that was more a medieval castle… actually more like 18th Century England… with original wood and structure from a mansion in the U.K… it has a peculiar odor… at least to me it did… there was a giant bear… stuffed heads… animals… and a bunch of other things… even the gun in a display case that was used to shoot the bear… lots of old dark woods… a few of us went next door and had some Chinese… and we gigged in a brand spanking new theatre… contrasts… what was that word…? Chiaroscuro…
From there to the college town of Columbia… lately the silver streak is laden with the sounds of doo wop… courtesy of Tedo… the original doo wop king… chuckles… seems he got this collection of video's while in San Fran… and he is hooked… been cleaning up the doo wop collections at all the local c.d. shops… and the college town are big for that… now you got Deep… aka Sylvan… he is the soul man… and the "real natty"… but we call him deep… don't know where that came from… I think Tedo… we enjoy it when they are sparring… lovely… on the bus… over this or that… even today… while watching Third World Cop… as we pulled in hear to Gainesville… sparring over the result of the movie… who would have chosen what to do… in this or that situation… just straight up fun…
Anyway… Deep… he's the original soul man… nuff Ojay's up there… and don't forget the man in black… Stewie… you get him going… and he's going to go into his box… and pull out Heatwave… and Confunkshun… and lots of classics… and tell you a thing or two…
In the mean time… as we make all these runs… you got James… and Micah… running all the c.d.'s on the bus intotheir laptops… collecting everything in sight… James be bopping with them headphones too… so if you bump into him… you are going to have to speak up… cause he is travelin… just like the Spear tune… "more than 2,000 miles…" Wicked tune… have you heard that one?
So anyway… bouncing and bopping into Columbia… college town… and a wicked show… Spear had that place in a trance… and the system really held up to our power needs… cause we really pump in some watts… with the live horns… and the keys… and the power even just from the vocal… we use a lot of juice… some places nearly run to melt down… the amps… a few times they nearly did… and you gotta hand it to Virgo… our engineer for keeping things in check… Columbia… things held up sweetly…
Onward to Lawrence Kansas… and Fayatteville, Arkansas… where we have some of our biggest fans… Morty and his wife really made us feel comfy… an intimate dinner in there home… setting everything up for us… and handling things well… both of them are some of the nicest people you can meet… check for them anytime you are down there…
More contrasts… onward to Austin TX… what a town!! it was like the wild west out there… the strip… ummmmh… another intimate affair… the club… but what vibes… and a strong sound… Phat…
Since Clydie… sax man got his new remote mic… you see him walking around stage… doing his solo's… like on tumble down… have you checked that one out… he does the circular breathing… and just blows… and blows… now he walks across stage… and comes right up to the front… giving me a wink as he passes by… Tedo makes a joke every now and then… cause it seems he doesn't dance… as he plays… but hey… that's how it goes sometimes… right? smile…
New Orleans… House of Blues… simply wicked… Mrs. Rodney arrives… and the vibes are elevated even more… greetings and blessing Mrs. Rodney…!!!
Houston, TX… the silver streak pulls into another Double Tree… warm cookies… and what? free internet… there is Virgo up there… Sylvan… Cecil… and me… yeah… I should have put this diary at the time… but I didn't… smile… no hard feelings… right… Cecil pulls out the acoustic guitar in the lobby… and begins to sing and play… nice vibes… roots vibes… yunno…
The Spear is burning strong… and the more we travel… the deeper the dimensions of this experience reveal themselves to me… its interesting… and its a growing experience… which is very positive…
There is a reason we are hear… and a role we all play… and its clearer to me… about the longevity… more things reveal themselves… and yet… there are more and more elements within…
I hope some of the things I have shared have heightened your interest in the Spear experience… and can help you relate this experience with you own life…
Chiaroscuro… its a word I took from reading Da Vinci… a man from antiquity… but who's reasonings still add meaning and inspire thinkers and artists to this day… and yes… there is a reason for longevity… same like the Spear experience… don't you think? sure…
till next time…
jahloveeternal…
Gregory Dale Jackson… aka Mr. Bassie
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