by Gregory 'Bassie' Jackson
Greetings everybody… again… thanks for all the positive vibes… and feedback along this journey… but I turn it around and thank you… and Spear… and the band… everyone… for the possibility… that this could happen… yunno… I'm a bit embarrassed by all the responses… smile… and I never realized… but maybe I should have… realized… that this account… may have increased the capacity for you… everyone… to feel this experience… The Spear experience more deeply… to allow it to resonate in another way… to open a door to the Spear that you may not have realized was there all the time…
hummm… maybe I'm just talking out of my head… but I read somewhere… that the capacity of hope is the most significant fact of life… it gives human beings a sense of destination… and the energy to get started… who said that? anyway… I realize more and more… that the Spear is one of the few men… in this music scene today… that offers that to such a wide cross section of people… sure… I didn't do any research… but hey… it's my vibe on it… just from my eyes… amazing… the cross sections of people… as we make our way across the heartland of America… and Canada… and so many other places… I can see the diversity… that is humanity… not just in race… or creed… but in age too… it's amazing to me to see so many generations of Spear fans… and in a way… it's a reflection of the leadership… musically… and otherwise of the Spear… the vibe… Mr. Winston Rodney… a leader… a true leader…
I've been reading about Da Vinci… yeah… stuff for the bus… yunno… those long rides… chuckle… anyway…
Da Vinci… from way back in the ages… yunno… but something connects these two… seems funny huh… your probably wondering… what am I getting at… ok…
from the beginning of time… those who become leaders were not necessarily the strongest, or the fiercest even… but rather those with the unique ability to make connections… to connect with people… and that comes back to the Spear groove… yunno… that Spear swing… that we sometimes sit and discuss into the early hours… sometimes… we don't discuss it… we just feel it… the connection with something deep inside us… like a brother last night… who asked me to share with Spear his story about how his music connected with him in a way… to help him get through years of incarceration… how it offered him hope… humbling to hear these things… yunno… smile…
Humm… last I left off… we were in Aspen… we played a downstairs place, full of Aspen party folk… intimate… that's what we call it… we never call them small venues… and let me tell you… The Spear puts everything into these shows… again… the connections… the connection with the people… it's part of the vibes… the flow… like the relationship with the sea and the surf… the ebb and flow… the tides… yunno…
Mikey… Cecil… and a few others loaded up on C.D.'s out there… before we head out to Vail… we stayed at a sweet hotel nestled at the foot of some majestic mountains… finally I got a signal on my new cell phone… made a bunch of calls… most of us drifted about… I saw Stewie making his way up to the Post Office… Riddim guits… me… and some others… yeah… later that night… we played the club… with the bouncing floor… what an experience… as we hit the first few notes of The Youth… which we have used to open up this tour… the floor just started bouncing… we had to hold on for dear life… not really… ok… I'm taking that a little too far… but we had these silly grins at first… cause it was a strange feeling at first… I don't know how Mikey kept from falling off his drums… and I remember James… Clydie… and Micah talking about how the shaking effects pressure… yunno… horn stuff… anyway… it was a killer gig… Spear rocked the place… it got steamy… very steamy… and that's a good sign… Spear loves it hot…
Next night was at the Fox Theatre… talk about phat sound… yeah… that room had a nice phat sound… booming… after the gig, we enjoyed milling about in the crowd of mostly students… nice energy… Fort Collins the next night was special… after the 2 hour show… Spear ended by improvising at length on Happy Day… trance inducing vibes… yunno… sometimes we go into new unique realms at these moments… and it happens often… I think it is part of the artists way… something I respect a great deal from Spear… let me explain…
I call it Sfumato… the literal translation means up in smoke… but I would describe it as a willingness to embrace ambiguity, paradox… and uncertainty… it's taking flight on the groove… yunno… when the maestro… spear… gets onto that flight… it's so sweet… truly sweet…
So that night at the aggie… he took off… and before we landed… he had introduced every band member… and shouted… play something… and we each took a solo turn… sure… even me… bassie… later… Virgo came up to me… as he was taking care of loading up our things… he had a chuckle about the look on my face… ok Virgo… laughs…
but getting back to Sfumato for a moment… the music… the sound is part of this embrace… this sweet embrace… but check the lyrics too… the combination of joy and sorrow… intimacy and independence… humility and pride… life and death…
Some heavy vibes… timeless… eternal… something we all can relate to… and for us… the band… I suppose we look deep into ourselves… each night… to get into a space where that comes out…
I realize… and again… a lesson from the Spear… that sometimes if you are quiet for a moment… a few moments prior to the show… and just focus…focus… that space will reveal itself… it's ethereal though… it knocks softly… but it's there…
Onward to Omaha, NE… and another solid show… Spear was doing that dance that just free's your soul… Minneapolis… Cecil got some new tubes for his amp… and Clydie got him a new mic system for his sax…talk about smiles… and a wicked sound… daag Clydie… slow down… you are moving too fast for me… chuckle…
Now we love Minneapolis… hanging in the lobby with the Mingus Big Band…Tore up the place… that's all I can say about Spear's gig that night…
Iowa City was a hot one… after that… most of us were wet from head to toe… just as the audience I suppose… chuckle…
We were together… one being… flowing together… like water… till I couldn't tell the audience from the music… we drink each other… like cool refreshing waters…
Ok ok… time to make my leave… I'm enjoy the gold dust of this afternoon… as I suppose most of the band… some cats are going out for Ethiopian… I saw Clydie coming in with bags of food… along with Tedo…all smiles… big bags… one in each hand… I shouted out… "General!!!" As I made my way down the street… my knap sack over my shoulder… I saw Stewie coming up… wearing black… as usual… "where you coming from…? " "An arts supply place man…" Where you going?" "To find some supper… yunno…" Stewie pointed the way down State street… said… "nuff things down there… just turn left down where the red car is… going… see it? " uh huh…
Time for me to leave… I"m in a laundry mat… yeah… with a computer… one day I will get my own… but till then… I find a terminal where I can… and use it… chuckle… but it's loud here… somebodies stuff is on spin now… and they must have some sneakers or something in there… banging… bugga buggah… bugga boom…!!!
yeah… till next time… peace out to all the Spear fans… The Spear is hot… come check it… yunno… see ya… Madison… Detroit… Chicago… see ya…
Gregory… signing out…
