by Gregory 'Bassie' Jackson
Greetings from Bozeman, Montana… what a day…!! the first snow of the tour… the sun is playing hide and seek with the clouds… it's misty and cool… the guys and crew have busted out the winter gear… Clydie… Spear… the heat pumping something fierce in the bus… Tedo, James, Cecil and Sylvan… in the front lounge… cruising across Montana… with the windows cracked… for a little fresh air… some vintage Spear tapes kicking up the system… 1981… from a live video in Germany… yeah… wicked grooves… check out that Roland Tape Delay on the mix… Virgo shouts…
As we groove… Virgo bangs out chords on a keyboard hooked up to our module… and Micah is banging away with him… headphones… laughs and smiles as we accompany the tape… Tom… his foot pressing down on the gas… making movements… Bozeman… yunno…
Hey… its been a while since the last entry… felt I needed a little space… but let me say… I appreciate all the feedback… the boss does too… and the band members… thanks to all… blessing… yunno…
Last I wrote… we were in Aspen headlining the Jazz festival… it was a nice vibes… Michael Douglas and his wife up in the hotel… Mikey and Stewie vibing with them… I think they came to the gig… but I wasn't looking… smile… that show was one of the magik moments… It threatened rain all afternoon… and it did drizzle a bit…
But as we settled into a penetrating groove… I mean… groove y'all… it was magic… the vibes with the audience… they really had us burning too… smoking… they danced and danced… and even tore down a fence… and danced in the photographers pit… it was something… very earthy vibes… yunno… up above… as we launched into African Postman… two huge rainbows blessed the scene… hanging above the majestic mountains… Cecil nudged me and I noticed it… I tried to get Mikey's attention… but he thought I was pointing to someone in the audience… chuckle…
Spear amazes me more and more… he busted out some new lines to Postman… the jam section… I won't say what it is… that means you got to come out and check it, check it… smile…
From Aspen… we bounce to Salt Lake City… the guys…many of them load up on some fresh gear… leathers… and shoes… and boots and all that…
Me and Cecil bounce to Mars… and load up on guitar gear… drum machines… and other things for our home studios… yeah… what a few days… and the shows… intimate vibes… the Zephyr club… down the road… around the corner… two nights… what a hip scene… don't let anyone tell you Salt Lake doesn't have a vibe… we enjoy it there… tremendously…
Next stop is Truckee… the first taste of some cool, cool weather… I think most of us wore our coats outside by the lake… it was a nice show… I remember the stillness of the evening… the peacefulness…
From the stage… we couldn't see the faces of the audience… but we felt you… we felt your presence… many souls… tuning in…
I have to say something… one thing that we all can relate to… as the Burning Spear band… yunno… about the role of the senses in what we do… some call it vibes… yunno… sensazione… the continual refinement of the senses… it is a magical process… which encompasses more than the five sense… but the inner senses… too… these are the keys that open the doors to the experience… the Burning Experience…
That is what the maestro teaches me… smile… and what we are reminded of… by Stewie… and the other veterans… Tedo… yunno…
Mr. Rodney is a master of sensazione… what is the most beautiful thing you have ever seen? the most sweetest sound to your ears… of nature perhaps…? so many things become ministers to the soul if you tune in… and as you check Mr. Rodney's lyrics… and the timing… the placement… and the gravity of what he is expressing… on top of the groove… the band… and the vibes… the environment… then you know what I'm talking about… sensazione… and you… it teaches us something… yunno… Truckee… and Aspen… meant a great deal… the vibes… the environment…!!
L.A… what a place… as usual we stayed at the Hyatt… and simply had to walk across the street to get to the gig… we love that…
the moment we touched down… we had a bunch a men out on the town… mostly at guitar center… and up and down sunset blvd… soaking in the sunshine… the warmth… and the pace of the place…
House of Blues has a great sound… and we were waiting for it… counting the days… Cecil got a new guitar… a silver bird… he calls it… Mikey got some sticks… I don't know what else the other guys got… but they were kicking it when we hit the stage…
Mr. Rodney had some new shoes on the bus… I think Chris asked if he was planning to were them… he said… "maybe…" and smiled…
the vibes were strong… and we rocked it… nope… no shoes for that night… smile
Next day was San Diego… Buju kept the vibes warm… and we went up in there and played under a canopy of golden orbs in the night sky… nice vibes… nice… after the gig… Mikey and I went looking for juice… and found James in the dressing room… post gig… doing pushups and crunches and things… these guys are no joke… laughs…
A few more dates in southern California… then up to Eugene… for a big city holiday gig… nice vibes… and again under a canopy of stars… it seemed the whole town came out for that one…
Up in Vancouver the next night… sensazione… again… you can't sleep on this stuff… not with Mr. Rodney… the place had an electricity… Mr. Rodney came out in a white suit… locks tied in a bun… and some wicked shoes… those shoes… and he worked them shoes…
We… the band… put are all into keeping them shoes working… dancing… Mr. Rodney lit up the place… and the place lit us up too… vision, sound… the scent of ganja up in the place… and the red hue… and blue hue… embracing the stage in a magical glow… how could you not dance… how?
Clydie… and Micah busted some new moves… check this out… they stepped off the horn riser… and out to the audience… as they blew their solo's… yeah… at Mr. Rodney's encouragement… they stepped up off the riser… as we slammed it hard… and man… it was something… the crowd went crazy… as they soloed… Mr. Rodney laid into some trance inducing conga… wicked… iya…
Victoria… nice cool, cool vibes… nature in its splendor… the cool weather… creeping and creeping in…
Missoula, Montana… Idaho… man… these places embraced us… they did…
Sensazione… the majestic mountains… the warmth of the people we meet… smiling faces… irie vibes…
In Idaho… man they can party there… we got there… about 10:30 or so in the evening and grooved with the d.j. and things… and let me tell you… sistah and brothah were out there dancing up a storm… sweating and things… chuckle… by the time we got up there… they were hitting it hard…
an intimate show… people in front… back… sideways… I stood by the bar… people peeking behind my bass bins… I stood next to Micah… whispered to him… "now I'm in the horn section… how about that - I'm wicked eh?…" he said… "no… you are not in the horn section…" laughs… straight face… then busted out laughing…
Post gig vibes were crazy fun too… on the bus… Tedo had our numbers… calling us out for everything… he was on a roll… so we just shut up and let him go on… so as to avoid him calling our number too…
Mr. Rodney was cool as ever… as the silver streak made its way through the cool western night…
catch up with you all further down the street… thanks for being patient…
jahloveeternal…
Gregory… bassie…
September 21, 2000
September 04, 2000
Aspen, CO
by Gregory 'Bassie' Jackson
Greetings to everyone from Aspen CO… I'm facing the golden sun above the majestic Rockies… this resort is bubbling… and simmering… lock some nice pepper pot… I'm here in the living room area… amongst leather chairs… wooden tables… and a crackling fire… its warm here…
Its been a while, huh… today I'm just going to sketch out a few vibes on the past week…
Athens, GA… a wonderful theatre to play in… a thick fat sound… Cecil dropped his twin reverb to the shop to tighten up his tubes in his amp… sound's phatter now…
Ziggy's in North Carolina… out along a beautiful bay… excited fans… dancing on the speaker cabinets out front… a polaroid of that moment now hangs in our message center… on our bus… the silver streak…
During the early morning ride to Atlanta… a late night session listening to the tapes… discussing ways to deepen our groove for the boss… nice vibe… the rains came down hard… the silver bullet… hurtling down the highway… a good night for rest in the bunk… much cold water… against silver metal… Stewie turns and says… "that lightening… was close… did you see it?"… groggy… we acknowledge… before drifting into sleep…
Atlanta… back into the city… greetings from Mrs. Rodney… and fams… some yard food after soundcheck… Tabernacle… what a place… have you ever been…? a huge hall with a giant pipe organ behind us… we tore the place up… Mikey was happy I think… did you see the size of that drum monitor…?
Cincinnati, OH… pulling up to an old hotel… built during the art deco days… or should I say daze… Me, Cecil… and Stewie in the fitness center… putting in some time… yunno… a solid show again… later… after the gig… sitting on a reggae bus… these guys built… with a sound system on top or something… we took a few pics with them… and then grooved to the distant foggy sounds… as it pulled outta the lot…
Bloomington, Indiana… Mars club… redone brand spanking new… Spear tears up the place… the horns sounded especially phat that night…!!
Columbus, OH… that was a hot one… and I mean… 110 degrees on stage… can't find the water… we put it all out there that night… it was a nice vibe… the people were very into it… the stage was covered with our sweat… we left having spent ourselves… Me… I was happy to run into a good friend from Pittsburgh… yeah…
Louisville KY… in a hotel full of soldiers ready for bootcamp… young bloods hanging by the pay phones… wondering who were were… smile… a nice show… the headliner club… very nice spot… and phat sound… travel day… the hotel phones are burning some serious time huh? I call a man's room and the line is busy… smile… catching up with home I suppose…
The long road to Albuquerque… what an experience… Tedo, Stewart, Virgo, Cecil, and Micah… grooving to some soul tunes… and discussing production methods… "listen for the high hat man… listen for the riddim guits… hear it… its pushing the riddim… listen for this or that…" …nice vibes… singing along… eye's closed… or staring into space… riding along with the lyrics… and memories… a nice vibe… with mi bredren… Mr. Rodney… sharing the morning sunrise… a rest stop… a chance to stretch the legs… the sharing of a few quiet moments… a few laughs…
Gene… passing out pictures of us… but of us asleep… looking… looking rather silly… those pics won't see the light of day… you heard it from bassie…
Albuquerque… the El Rey… niceness… we jammed out extra on African Postman… a bit different then last year… this year… we bring it down to drum and bass… and dub it in and out…
Did you all know that Clydie is the Mayor of Rico CO… yeah… seen him a few minutes after we arrive… driving in a car… full of people… at the restaurant… making sure everyone is happy and taken care of… I just called him Mayor… again a phat show… later… walking home to the Rico Hotel… rustic… and earthy… under a canopy of stars… golden orbs… chilling in the living room with a dozen or so reggae lovers…
So here we are… two miles high… Jimmy Cliff and his band just pulled in… as I write y'all… I send out greetings to the band and crew… in a couple of hours… Hugh Masakela takes stage… down below… at the festival… I want to catch that… Virgo and Chris are down there… last I seen them… they were at catering… Sylvan and Tedo already have the Spear stand ready… Mikey… last I seen him he was on the bus… chilling… no… cleaning out the frig… which has a bit of a fishy vibe going right now… Stewie was down there too… I passed Micah's room on the way here… to write y'all… I heard him running through his lines… yesterday… the horns had a practice session up there… which keeps things right and tight… Cecil… he is across the hall from me… I knocked on his door… he was in the bathroom… his office… doing a voice training… yeah… voice training… running scales and things…
I checked Gene… he and I share a room… he was relaxing… on the phone with fams… CNBC on the box…
Spear asked me to come check him… we spent a moment… and then I came down here… time to end this entry… I have a few minutes still before I catch transport down the hill… going to run up to my room to get a small jacket… yeah…
LA is coming up… House of Blues… watch out… cause the lead guits will bust out his new axe…
till then… guidance and protection… to all Spear lovers…
Bassie
Greetings to everyone from Aspen CO… I'm facing the golden sun above the majestic Rockies… this resort is bubbling… and simmering… lock some nice pepper pot… I'm here in the living room area… amongst leather chairs… wooden tables… and a crackling fire… its warm here…
Its been a while, huh… today I'm just going to sketch out a few vibes on the past week…
Athens, GA… a wonderful theatre to play in… a thick fat sound… Cecil dropped his twin reverb to the shop to tighten up his tubes in his amp… sound's phatter now…
Ziggy's in North Carolina… out along a beautiful bay… excited fans… dancing on the speaker cabinets out front… a polaroid of that moment now hangs in our message center… on our bus… the silver streak…
During the early morning ride to Atlanta… a late night session listening to the tapes… discussing ways to deepen our groove for the boss… nice vibe… the rains came down hard… the silver bullet… hurtling down the highway… a good night for rest in the bunk… much cold water… against silver metal… Stewie turns and says… "that lightening… was close… did you see it?"… groggy… we acknowledge… before drifting into sleep…
Atlanta… back into the city… greetings from Mrs. Rodney… and fams… some yard food after soundcheck… Tabernacle… what a place… have you ever been…? a huge hall with a giant pipe organ behind us… we tore the place up… Mikey was happy I think… did you see the size of that drum monitor…?
Cincinnati, OH… pulling up to an old hotel… built during the art deco days… or should I say daze… Me, Cecil… and Stewie in the fitness center… putting in some time… yunno… a solid show again… later… after the gig… sitting on a reggae bus… these guys built… with a sound system on top or something… we took a few pics with them… and then grooved to the distant foggy sounds… as it pulled outta the lot…
Bloomington, Indiana… Mars club… redone brand spanking new… Spear tears up the place… the horns sounded especially phat that night…!!
Columbus, OH… that was a hot one… and I mean… 110 degrees on stage… can't find the water… we put it all out there that night… it was a nice vibe… the people were very into it… the stage was covered with our sweat… we left having spent ourselves… Me… I was happy to run into a good friend from Pittsburgh… yeah…
Louisville KY… in a hotel full of soldiers ready for bootcamp… young bloods hanging by the pay phones… wondering who were were… smile… a nice show… the headliner club… very nice spot… and phat sound… travel day… the hotel phones are burning some serious time huh? I call a man's room and the line is busy… smile… catching up with home I suppose…
The long road to Albuquerque… what an experience… Tedo, Stewart, Virgo, Cecil, and Micah… grooving to some soul tunes… and discussing production methods… "listen for the high hat man… listen for the riddim guits… hear it… its pushing the riddim… listen for this or that…" …nice vibes… singing along… eye's closed… or staring into space… riding along with the lyrics… and memories… a nice vibe… with mi bredren… Mr. Rodney… sharing the morning sunrise… a rest stop… a chance to stretch the legs… the sharing of a few quiet moments… a few laughs…
Gene… passing out pictures of us… but of us asleep… looking… looking rather silly… those pics won't see the light of day… you heard it from bassie…
Albuquerque… the El Rey… niceness… we jammed out extra on African Postman… a bit different then last year… this year… we bring it down to drum and bass… and dub it in and out…
Did you all know that Clydie is the Mayor of Rico CO… yeah… seen him a few minutes after we arrive… driving in a car… full of people… at the restaurant… making sure everyone is happy and taken care of… I just called him Mayor… again a phat show… later… walking home to the Rico Hotel… rustic… and earthy… under a canopy of stars… golden orbs… chilling in the living room with a dozen or so reggae lovers…
So here we are… two miles high… Jimmy Cliff and his band just pulled in… as I write y'all… I send out greetings to the band and crew… in a couple of hours… Hugh Masakela takes stage… down below… at the festival… I want to catch that… Virgo and Chris are down there… last I seen them… they were at catering… Sylvan and Tedo already have the Spear stand ready… Mikey… last I seen him he was on the bus… chilling… no… cleaning out the frig… which has a bit of a fishy vibe going right now… Stewie was down there too… I passed Micah's room on the way here… to write y'all… I heard him running through his lines… yesterday… the horns had a practice session up there… which keeps things right and tight… Cecil… he is across the hall from me… I knocked on his door… he was in the bathroom… his office… doing a voice training… yeah… voice training… running scales and things…
I checked Gene… he and I share a room… he was relaxing… on the phone with fams… CNBC on the box…
Spear asked me to come check him… we spent a moment… and then I came down here… time to end this entry… I have a few minutes still before I catch transport down the hill… going to run up to my room to get a small jacket… yeah…
LA is coming up… House of Blues… watch out… cause the lead guits will bust out his new axe…
till then… guidance and protection… to all Spear lovers…
Bassie
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