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
