by Gregory 'Bassie' Jackson
Sun is playing a game of hide and seek with the clouds… cool air… and relief from the humidity… a nice ride from New Haven… which was a hot show… its nice to have monitors that really work… and kick it… past few days have been exciting… cape cod… a few days out at Kevin's place… the beachcomber… cycling during the afternoon to the salt pond… having a chat with Stewie about the music… listening to some songs on my four track… Stewie giving some feedback and ideas… me and Cecil with our axes in our hands… a cool breeze… the door open…
Watching Virgo riding his bike back to the hotel from the sound check… yard vibes… you should have seen the look on his face… sheer joy huh? we honked as we zipped by… in Kev's van…
Enough of us are really into fitness… most of us work out… Gene runs… most towns he is out with his Gel's… running… I asked him… he use to be all county or something as a distance runner…
Mr. Rodney does the treadmill… so do I… plus i jump rope… Clyde is a weight trainer too… James does workouts after each gig… very disciplined too… Chris works out… mostly with Cecil… doing the hotel gym thing mostly…
I jump rope from time to time… when I can't get to the gym… it helps keeps the vibes up… playing the gig requires a lot of concentration… and a great deal of strength… different demands for all of us… it is our responsibility to keep things together…
And we do it in our own way… our own personal expression…
After the gig… riding to the next venue… man it is a sweet ride when the bus gets to trucking… the air kicking in the bunk… sometimes I pull down my t.v. screen… but mostly I enjoy rapping with everyone… in our living room… Sylvan or Tedo may be firing up some fish in the kitchen… Micah setting the place on fire with some funny jokes and one liners… Stewie in the mix… and Gene too…
Tedo rides shotgun with Tom our driver… Me… I bounce from spot to spot… and the boss is in the back chilling…
Hey… I realized I need to get up to Cecil's room and review something from the gig tape… something I need to focus on… "the swing"… the "spear swing"… is a special kind a groove… it just isn't a one drop… or a rockers… or steppers… it is a type of vibe… of sound… "a swing…" I want to check something from last night…
Micah is hear… chilling in his room… i'm borrowing some time on his lap top again… daag… i gotta get me one of these huh?
He's watching some sports… two hours till we catch transport… time to jet…
One love from Vermont… catch up with you further down the line…
Bassie Jackson