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…
