Sizzling Summer Update ...

Here is a quote by Charlie Musselwhite, the fabulous blues harmonica player who is sometimes referred to as "Memphis Charlie" and who has a fascinating bio. The quote speaks of the blues genre and says exactly what is true and it was offered by Dan Forte, ASCAP/Deems Taylor Award winner for excellence in music journalism.  It says: "The blues is your buddy in good times and your comforter in bad times. It empowers you to keep going. It is secular spiritual music, the gospel blues. It's music from the heart instead of the head." To which I say "Amen".

I write, sing, and play other genres of music -- each for its own reason and purpose ... love songs to tell my secrets, jazz as a mental work-out, latinesque for its excitement ... but blues is exactly what Charlie says it is and that's why I love it.  

Seeking And Offering Solace Along The Path –

My life's chariot is pulled along by two marvelous powers -- one is intuitive music for which I am a thankful conduit ... and the other is the wonder of the universe, nature and our fellow travelers, the animals.

The music genres I crave and identify with are blues, jazz, and love ballads. Blues is the most honest music in the world ... it cleanses, lifts, wails, exalts, sobs, complains, resolves ... all the feelings. I love to perform and listen to blues. Jazz I admire when hearing others play it, although I prefer to be playing it myself than listening because I like to create ‘as I go'. Blues and jazz are precious music forms given to us by our African-American people. Born in sad and impoverished conditions, these music forms endured and we are fortunate to have them. I offer my deep thanks to those creative, musical people whose fortitude and talent gave us this music. My piano students know that one of the first things I teach them is the ability to create a song with the I, IV, V chords and 12-bar blues. 

From my Buddhist, Animist, and Shaman standpoint, I see and regard all beings and all of nature as precious and part of the grand tapestry. I see the need for humaneness, harmony, and compassion in dealing with humans and with the rest of creation. Early on in my life, the Animist and Shamanic qualities were part of my consciousness (though I didn't yet know their names ... and later on, I learned that there are other people with these feelings). During the “autumn” of my life – a nice phrase referred to by my best and very beloved friend – I became attuned to Buddhism (by way of said beloved person) and I admire the way he conducts his spiritual self. Also I admire the words of the Dalai Lama and one quote of his that I want to write here is: “My religion is very simple. My religion is kindness.”  

A few days ago, I wrote and briefly posted a lengthy blog article about national and world problems, politics, and social issues. The article was very accurate, but it felt disturbing to me when I read it, so I took it off the blog so it wouldn't disturb others. Since all living beings are connected at a cellular level (here I’m borrowing an oft-said, very wise Native American quote which says "whatever happens to one individual or species will ultimately happen to all,") I feel the need to offer readers, our planet, all species, and myself the hope of a path to peace and humane love. Kindness. I believe the healing needs to come from within each of us and it must come from humane love. 

I invite you to see my "Healing The Earth Family" blog at 
http://healingtheearthfamily.blogspot.com/. It's a novel, comprehensive program and it ends with a nice, uplifting song.

I would like to add to this writing a closing thought and a request. 

The thought is:  We are, each and all, ripples in the tide of life's ocean. Each ripple is a part of that ocean and affects its entirety.  

The request is:  Please pray to the God of your understanding ... for peace, justice, harmony, compassion, humane love, wisdom, respect, ethics, courage, faith, blessings, gratitude, awakening.

End Of Summer Blues and Some Quirky Stuff ...

When I lived in New England (most of the first half of my life), summer arrived around June 1st; you could plant things a little before that but the risk for a late killing frost was real.  So by end of June people were enjoying their pools and starting to go to local beaches.  "Real summer", though, was July and August.  The first week of of August was very hot and humid and most people then did not have central air conditioning.  After the August heat wave, came those end of summer blues because the days were numbered and cold weather could blow in at any time after the arrival of September.  I remember one day during the first week of September when the kids all stood at the school bus stop wearing parkas.  That was a rare occurrence, but the icy wind and cold temps were very real that day.

For me, ever the herbalist and gardener, seeing my plants suffer and die with the cold was very sad.  Often I'd dig some of them up and bring them into the house, where, of course, they could not survive -- being outdoor plants.  I would go outside with blankets and towels and cover my marigolds and zinnias each evening until the mother of all frosts would come and get them even through the covers.

In earlier years (childhood) my end of summer blues were about having to return to school and lose my carefree nature hikes, wild berry picking, tree-climbing, and unlimited time with my piano, Estey.  Estey was a used upright that  my mother bought  for me when I was seven or eight years old. He was my most constant and faithful companion for years and years.  I still think of Estey.  Later on, he came to live in the finished basement of my first home during my first marriage.  When the time came for the marriage to end, I was unable to get Estey out through the doorway and basement hatchway (and was given an arbitrary 12 hours in which to do it). I didn't know who to call and then was told that Estey had been cut up ... and removed in that fashion. God bless you, Estey, wherever your splinters lie. And I apologize for getting off-topic -- mainly because I want to celebrate the beauty and joy that summer represents.   

Well anyway, I look at the sweet, innocent faces of my orangey-red zinnias that planted themselves this Spring from last years dropped zinnia plant seeds. The seeds managed to survive the harsh winter freezes.  How beautiful they are ... and trusting. They seem to say "don't worry, be happy"!.  I'll put up a picture of the first one that emerged during July which is kind of late for seeds to sprout.   And, yes, I will cover them if need be as the weeks march onward.

Earlier this summer, my friend gave me two Sorghum plants.  He had, at first, though he had a rogue corn plant growing in his yard but then the plant developed an oval-shaped large seed head at its top and then he found two more sorghums.  The birds love the seeds.  It turns out the sorghum is a valued plant in many parts of the world where food products are made from it   A couple of weeks after he gave me the sorghums which I planted in a pot placed on the east side of my house, I discovered what I thought was another full-grown sorghum under a tree on the west side of my house. Soon, though, it started growing a little tassel on top instead of a seed head and then I noticed a small but very real "ear" growing midway up the plant. Could this be a corn plant?  A week or so farther along and the "ear" seems semi-hollow, but most startling of all -- there are now bristly hairs growing outward on all the vertical stems, including the main stalk.  It looks spooky and humorous.  I took a picture and will put up the one that focuses on the hairs, as well as one that shows the whole plant earlier.

Yes, the end-of-summer-blues.  It seems so recent that I was scraping ice and snow off of the truck and driveway .. and picking up broken tree limbs. For me, time seems to be on fast-forward.  I try to remember that wise advice to "savor each moment".  I'll squeeze as much summer out of the weeks (and months) ahead.  Summer isn't over just because school starts. Especially here in the south, we can keep the spirit of summer going for quite a long time :)

  

Dreams, Innovations, Feelings ...

Recently, when thinking about music (well, that's nothing new!) I marveled at how some songs have the power to live, endure, inspire, and even blossom anew, long after their composers have left the earthly scene. Two of the songs I included on my legacy CD (which I'll be delighted to talk about in a moment) are old covers, written back in the 1930s and for which I got licenses to record.  I did change some of the lyrics -- not so much to make them contemporary, but so that they would more closely describe my own life happenings and experiences. And so, each of them lends itself well to me :) Those cover songs are Blue Moon by Rodgers & Hart and It Had To Be You by Jones & Kahn; I truly had an enjoyable time creating my arrangements of these evergreens. The other songs on the CD are among the very best of my originals. There are seventeen tracks in all.  

"Lifescape ... Dreams, Innovations, Feelings" is the CD title ... and the solo artist (vocals & keyboard recorded in real time) is yours truly, Clara ... the Lady Wolf.  Choosing songs to include was fun, though presented a few challenges because there are many more good ones than what could fit on a CD.  So I like each chosen song for the special feelings I have attached to it. Moods run the gamut (passion, pain, love, hope, and humor) and genres are blues, jazz, ballads, latinesque, and a couple that I would classify as inspirational. The project was expertly handled from inception to completion -- recording, mastering, art work and graphics design, and packaging -- by Songwriters Recording Studio in Knoxville, with creative, musical, technical genius William (Sandy) Garrett at the helm. I'm delighted with the CD  :)

As I said at the beginning of this post, some songs have the ability to seemingly live forever ... and that's a really good thing. I hope that many years from now, people will be listening, humming, singing, whistling, smiling, weeping, working, dancing, romancing, even exercising ... to my music! Of course, there's no need to wait -- now could be an excellent time.   :)

For more info, contact me via Comments or send an e-mail to claralandau@yahoo.com. 

Music & Meaning ... New Recordings!

Following several weeks of practice and lots of edits on arrangements, I recorded four songs last evening at Songwriters Recording Studio.  Each of the songs is way, way different from the others ... in genre, character, mood.  So I had a good amount of angst about how well I'd be able to get them done.  They turned out nicely and credit for much of that success goes to William (Sandy) Garrett, Songwriters' talented, helpful, patient, gracious man at the helm.

The first two songs are new originals:  "Reverie On Wings" (genre unknown to me at this time so someone tell me, please) and "I Can't Stop The Pain" (eight-bar blues).  Then there is a re-make of "That's The Way You Make Me Feel" (twelve-bar blues original that now has a quirky, fun new intro) and "It Had To Be You" (beloved old cover ballad).   

Musical creation shapes my life and gives it expression, gives it voice -- indeed, it makes my life much easier to live.    I'm very thankful !  

The REAL Down And Dirty Blues !

This morning I spent a couple of hours at the dealership with my truck. When I arrived in the customers' waiting lounge, I grabbed a chair in one of the "business" cubicles, as far away as possible from the mindless clamor of the television set.  Within moments I was writing a new post for my blog.

Everyone knows I love Blues music.  I love it because it is pure, heartfelt, goes right to the core of the issue, puts it out there where the light of day can get at it ... and makes me feel good, or at least, better.

There exists a different kind of "blues" though ... and I speak now of clinical depression.  That's the real down and dirty kind of blues.  Rough to go through, it tends to revisit when it wants to. When it lifts, though, the feeling is wonderful, bright, and peaceful. 

An artist needs contact with the extremes of both joy and sadness; that is where creativity is born -- at that intersection, that juncture.    

I've got four songs preparing for recording.  Two of them (originals) came out of my most recent bout with depression.  The first one, "Reverie On Wings" (alternate title "Let's Do It'), is a rhythmic and eclectic offering about escape and freedom -- or what I should call "flying the coop".  It is about trying to handle perceived confinement in an upbeat way that cuts through fog, clutter, and density.  The second one came while I sipped my orange juice during the morning hours on December 31st, when the depression episode was fully engaged and very heavy.  The song is eight-bar blues and it lyrically talks about pain -- the nature of it, the spirit of it, and the depths of it, and so the song is named "I Can't Stop The Pain".  At first, I set it up in a minor chord format, but it was too "laden", dark, so I changed it so it presents in C major, though with some minor chord passages.  The third song is an ancient cover that I've always liked and could relate to in an abstract way.   "It Had To Be You" is timely now in a more literal way and it feels good to do it.  And fourthly, my 12-bar "That's The Way You Make Me Feel" blues original is ready to be re-recorded -- this time with a more robust character, more initiative!

While deeply honoring the work and talents of all the early blues musicians and those current artists whose efforts have nurtured and maintained the genre, I'm an innovative soul ... and so I take liberties and add my own musical touch :)

And so this morning produced for me the writing of this post, a pleasant visit with my co-visitors at the dealership, and my happily-repaired truck !  And, amazingly, the outdoor temperature had soared to 40+ degrees :)

Jamming –

It felt good to jam with a band-in-the-making last Saturday. Although they don’t do my musical genre-of-choice, (they do southern rock), it was a fun day and their wives served up some great food. The music had a lot of repeat patterns and became almost like a meditation. Yamaha (my keyboard) said to me, "What have you got me doing now?" I replied, "Just do it, you'll never have it this easy again".

Knox area musicians – I’d love to get together with a local or regional blues and/or jazz band or with musical individuals. If this describes you, please contact me. There’s something magical about the energy that flows among musicians when they play together.

Please check out my website at www.claralandau.com.

Bumper Stickers, Messages, and the Quality of “Wild” –

Today I saw a truck in the shopping center parking lot that was loaded (as is mine, though at the opposite side of the spectrum) with bumper stickers. I did not want to stick around until the truck’s owner showed up – to see his/her face and eyes and countenance.

The messages were pregnant with blatant and bold hate and intolerance. The one that hit me first and hardest was "Liberals are terrorists". Others included a little rhyme, "I won’t hide my white pride", "Seal our borders", and a message that was nastily directed (in a racial sense) at those who voted for President Obama. It saddened me to read them, so I made a conscious effort to re-direct my attention and thoughts to the quest for positive and longed-for solutions to this kind of blind hatred and intolerance. What a wonderful world we could have if we were to replace all hatred with compassion. Picture it!

Bumper stickers are the one way we can and do "advertise" what matters to us, what we believe, the way we think, where our spirit resides. Bumper stickers do affect people who see them. How often have you giggled when you found yourself waiting in traffic in back of a vehicle with humorous bumper stickers? Or shifted your thinking while viewing profoundly inspiring bumper stickers? Seen any political bumper stickers that were either to your liking or kind of got your hackles up?

Most of my bumper stickers are about kindness to animals, compassion in general, love, and beauty. One of them has an inviting message about Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church. Another of them (one of my oldest and original bumper stickers that I’ve had to shellac to help preserve it from the elements) says "Wild Women Don’t Get The Blues" (though I assure you they definitely do get the blues). Women tend to like that bumper sticker and view it with humor, sort of in a way that is equal to a wink. During the first couple of years my truck wore the message, I had two incidents involving gentlemen who were incensed by it. One shouted to me in traffic on the Kingston Pike, "You will burn in hell!" The other said something equally harsh about damnation. Another time, in front of the post office on Sutherland, a young man asked, in a very sincere tone, "Is it true that wild women don’t get the blues?" I replied, "It’s not true". He responded in a thoughtful tone and with downcast eyes, "I didn’t think so...wild men get the blues, too". Poor kid, I thought – he must be going through something.

Those zealots of judgement (I like the "e" in the word "judgement") among us who see things totally in polarized black and white – superior and inferior – bad and good – those who put disparaging labels on others for the sake of elevating themselves, apparently equate the word "wild" with "immoral" or "wicked". No! "Wild" means wild – untamed, free, natural, able to make one’s own decisions and travel on one’s own path, able to respect, honor and be at one with nature, able to be humane and human, able to recognize one’s interconnectedness with the rest of creation, able to err and forgive oneself (and others). I will strive to live out my days as a wild woman in all those ways.

A New Old CD Masterpiece –

"Chicago Blues Masters" – a Muddy Waters & Memphis Slim CD – what a find! I got it at McKay’s Used Books & CDs last week.

Rainy Day Blues --

Drought-parched East Tennessee got three days of nice rain about two weeks ago. It reminded me of a week during early July when we’d had a day or so of rain and I’d written (the Comfort Of) Rainy Day Blues. Blues, of course, is the music that gives expression to a soulful state of being. I find blues music very comforting, reassuring, and empathetic, especially at a primal emotional level – that place where my innermost feelings reside.

I’ve got a Native American rain stick that, in times past, I’ve used to "call" the rain. Wouldn’t it be nice if the weather would "even out"; you know, re-distribute itself so there wouldn’t be floods or droughts? The concept is grinning mischievously at us at the moment; all those coastal storms and not a drop of rain here in these parts of East Tennessee. Well, in a Utopian world, it will all straighten out. I’ll borrow some lines from my song where it says "... I’ll sit here by the window, Let my thoughts drift quietly, With the Rainy Day Blues".

Rainy Day Blues --

Not a complaint at all. Very recently, we had a gray, rainy day here. For the most part, the rain was gentle with a few wispy winds. It was nice. I couldn’t fight the urge to write a song; it was irresistible. And so "(The Comfort Of The) Rainy Day Blues" was born!