a vow of quiet"if i say something nice, give me a smile, 'cause i don't want to feed the pain you see outside..."
- fred drake, "i used to dream about this" (1997)
"strike another match, go start anew..."
- bob dylan, "it's all over now, baby blue" (1965)
dear friends:
in celebration of these new beginnings; of sage's eighth month in monet's belly; of my second month of 'sobriety' (from pot, coffee, wine, etc.); of the start of my tenth year in this (nomad)house; in honor of the fourth summer since fred drake left for his other-world tour - and in gratitude for living in this relatively quiet place, i have been called by the fab spirit (within) to take what i am calling a 'vow of quiet' until the healthy birth of sage, and possibly beyond.
i had made a promise to myself that i would be up and recording, finishing my album(s) and beginning lots of new projects by the first of july, but like all promises, it was not for me to fulfill. every promise is a pact with an unknowable future and the present always decides what is and what is not possible.
technical difficulties must be seen as blessed speedbumps - a opportunity to stop and take in the wondrous scenery!
i have always hoped that my words would not hurt others but would only be used to uplift. hope also is a word which can never be lived up to - unlike faith, which lives in the moment - as it implicitly guarantees a longing for something which is elusive. lately, i've felt drawn (and quartered) into conversations that lead nowhere and take a long time getting there... (babble, off!!)
when i say, 'a vow of quiet,' i mean that i will, from july 1st forward, not be responding to, or sending out emails or phone calls, except of the most essential kind, relating to my family & my work. (expect the occasional outburst of love from nomadhouse...i plan to write a lot!!)
i have chosen not to say 'silent,' because i still intend to play music and let those words and sounds speak for me. (i never wrote a song to hurt anyone - so i feel pretty safe in that way. as paul mccartney said: 'all of our songs are anti-war...')
this also doesn't mean that i am dropping out completely - not at all. i will host my final 'peacenik at the beatnik' on friday, july 1st, attend our wonderful friends' judy & sue's baby shower for monet, sage & i on sunday, july 3rd, and debut my new show, 'radio free joshua tree' at the beatnik on sunday, july 3rd, as well. (www.beatnikradio.com)
i'll be back doing sound for linnea at the beatnik OM (open mic) on wednesday, july 6th and on thursday, july 7th, i'll be performing a full evening of music at pappy & harriets with my brand new band, the tree. i can hardly wait to share this new union with everyone!!
i just won't be saying anything much unless it's to express gratitude.
otherwise, i will ask my friend, judy, to screen urgent messages, via: wishartjudy@hotmail.com.
as with any vow, i believe that 'moderation is the only rule (and even that is only partly true...')
the world is so full of chatter and miscommunication, disinformation and round-after-round of squabbling, i am choosing to 'retreat' from the noise, as listener and participant.
this is not a time i would want anyone to worry, about monet, the baby or me. we are fine and will be fine. we are about to embark upon a truly new & great adventure which the whole world is invited to attend in some way. my devotion will be in concentration on love, healing & gratitude.
in that spirit...may we all find our unique paths, which no one could possibly ever have tread before us!!!
big love & thanks,
ted quinn (sign: scorpio. favorite color: renewal)
joshua tree, CA
p.s. one thing i will be listening to is arjuna's new cd of harmonic singing, 'humwichawa,' as well as (robbie and) amritakripa's 'dancing lotus.' i will also be celebrating the anniversary of one year on 'peacenik' with other anniversaries, 50 years since bill haley recorded 'rock around the clock' and 30 years since patti smith released 'horses.'
(hail, hail, rock and roll!)
p.p.s. i have redesigned my www.news.google.com* page to NOT receive news about war, rumsfeld, etc. for the time being, i'll only be reading news about human rights, healing, brain research, babies, dylan, green, art, etc. (plus rob breszny's www.freewillastrology.com.)
for a political/(bad) news junkie like me, this could be the coldest turkey of all, but it's part of breaking a cycle for me which seems deadening..
(*by doing this, i found out today that pomegranate juice is great for baby's brain!!)
xox
"one of the wonderful things about music..."
to charles & jo drake-
a sweet thought from robert alexander..
my friend judy and i sat by the "singing, ringing tree" this morning, playing some of fred's songs.
tonight, tony and i are performing to help out a friend who lost his home to a fire recently, up at pappy & harriets, along with victoria and others.
we'll be doing songs of fred's, some we wrote together and some i wrote about him. with his picture on the wall behind us.
all my love on this most difficult day,
ted
--- r a wrote:
one of the wonderful things about music
> From: "r a"
> To: tedquinn@nomadhouse.com
> Subject: Re: nick drake
> Date: Mon, 20 Jun 2005 17:12:43 +0000
>
> Ted,
>
> nick drake had a resurgence of interest due to use of one of his songs "pink moon" in a volkswagen commercial. one of the wonderful things about music is that it lives on beyond it's creator. in contrast, even though the dancer remains alive, once the dancing has stopped, so has the creation.
>
> what a beautiful thing is music once brought into the world, to have this life of it's own that keeps going...
>
> and this music that lives on helps keep the memory of the musician alive in our hearts.
>
> Robert
> >CC: JEREMY GILIEN , fred
> burke , r a
> >Subject: Re: nick drake
> >Date: Sat, 18 Jun 2005 12:32:55 -0700 (PDT)
> >
> >yes. been a great fan since the early 1980s, when my friend jeremy gilien turned me on to him. unfortunately, it was not in time to tell him how much liked him. i used to kid my friend and collaborator, fred drake (no known relation) that nick must have been his cousin. both had beautiful, almost ambient music, behind gently emotional voices, without being in the least bit weak. i understand that many people have discovered his music in the past few years,
something in which i take comfort, feeling that fred's music will have the same type of 'afterlife' one day.
> >
> >thanks for asking! (why do you??)
> >ted
> >
> >--- deb sand wrote:
> >
> > > Hi ted do you know nick drakes music. lived in u.k.
> > > died in 1974?
> > > debbie
"ya shoulda been there"
john lennon once said that. ('rock and roll,' 1974)
dylan had the rolling thunder revue and
the rolling stones had the rock and roll circus...
but i have to say, from my own experience, i've rarely
had as much fun performing as i did last night with
travis rabbit's thrift store all-stars.
we really gotta take this on the road.
thrift store all-stars was comprised of bingo on
wailing cool lead guitar, the ever-lovely and bad-ass
carol ann on bass, tim easton on metrically majestic
drums, tal hurley on strum stick and a little
harmonica (provided by our new gorgeous genius friend
shari elf), honky tonk train's bill maresh on pedal
steel, d-lo, the thai massage maestro on harry
parch-like percussion fabricated from 100% puro
obtainium, a newly liberated and shining victoria
williams on tres and guitar, yours truly on unplugged
acoustic and, of course, our fearless leader travis up
front and center, singing 'em with feeling and
strumming his acoustic. we all contributed some
spirited gang vocals to the affair.
the set list was short but sweet, and included songs
of favorites like steve earle and the handsome family,
the late, great, legendary kyoti king, one of mine,
and a few of travis' great originals (which all sound
like they could be about a hundred years old!)
in attendance, newlyweds cyndera and jaz; 3 months
away from birthing (!) monet; wooden nickel chanteuse
extraordinaire sue bradley, and the aforementioned
shari elf (who floored the crowd at the beatnik OM the
previous evening.) shari said it was like watching the
country bear jamboree ("in the best possible sense")
and i agreed that it felt like we were on a cosmic
disneyland ride , bumping along and grinning. word has
it that robyn & linda can't wait to have us back! so
look for more performances by the thrift store
all-stars, locally, before we all hit the road on a
supersonic rocket ship.
meanwhile, we guarantee almost as grand a time on
thursday, june 9, when the bingo band and i return for
an engagement at the fabulous pappy and harriet's
pioneertown palace. get there early, don't miss a drop
of ecstatic dreamtime!!
ALTA WOULD BE SO PROUD!!!
"TOO MUCH LOVE" : SAGE IS NOT A GAP BABY!
sage is due on august 29, 2005. (virgo)
monet made a list of stuff we need for the baby. first, the 'Essentials.' next, 'Important' and last, for 'Fun.' i know the unverse is conspiring to provide us (and you!) everything we (you!) need.
as rob Breszny says: "YOU ARE A GORGEOUS GENIUS!"
E:
basinet or crib, baby carrier (over the shoulder, sling, eg), stroller, baby tub, high chair
I:
cloth diapers (or eco-friendly disposables from health food store), a new car for daddy ( a saab or volvo is safest)- or at very least for now, a new transmission in the beautiful saab rana GAVE me. (see what i mean, the universe is conspiring!!!)
F:
an umbrella for the beach and/or the monument, colorful clothing (please don't shop at GAP, banana republic, old navy, nike, other slave labor type places. sage will be born conscious and doesnt want to enjoy 'cool' clothes at the expense of a child somewhere else in the world...), small instruments (& instructors) such as bongos, flutes, guitars, keyboards. stuff for making art. language tapes!! why not!? baby books, colorwheels and/or mobiles..you know, stuff that stimulates the mind!! (my favorite baby book: 'everyone poops' and anything by doctor seuss or shel silverstein!)
(he already has a t-shirt from judy with my artwork from Help Wanted!!)
and most of all, if nothing else, we ask for your LOVE and support throughout this process. we are going to be very unconventional parents. there will be times when he's with monet and times when he's with me. there's nothing sad or tragic about two people agreeing to love and raise a child in two houses (or twenty). he should have some strong poetic and philosophical genes and that includes all of the loved ones (you!) in monet's life and in mine, whose dna is a part of us. as monet's mom said: "you can't spoil them by giving them too much love!"
and hey, if anyone wants to record one of my songs (or monet's) and/or use one of them in a movie or tv commercial or something, that's great with us. (college is going to be expensive in the year 2020 ad!!) remember, you are a gorgeous genius!!
love & gratitude, ted
