"Inspiration, move me brightly, Light the song with sense and color, Hold away despair. More than this I will not ask, Faced with mysteries dark and vast, Statements just seem vain at last..." Robert Hunter
It really does seem that there is no way to put into words what took place this year. Something so rare, so vast, so powerful, so beautiful it is beyond simple words. And I completely did not see this coming, and yet on another level, it makes complete sense. I think it was in the beginning of the year that Jody and I decided to have the Terrapin Station tent. But it wasn't until the summer that I found out who Maggie's brother is and that he had written a book about Jerry Garcia. I had already started thinking about playing Terrapin Station as part of my set but hadn't finalized anything but after I learned that it started to make complete sense. And when I looked at the fire imagery in JotMS, and saw how similiar it was to Terrapin, I thought it would be really interesting to play these two songs together. I really feel that they both get to the heart of what we experienced this weekend. "Which of you, to gain me tell, Will risk uncertain pains of hell, I will not forgive you if you will not take the chance" Robert Hunter "You've got to shake your fists at lightning, You've got to roar like forest fire, You've got to shine your light like blazes all across the sky" Joni Mitchell I think we did take that chance this weekend, and if there was some way to measure the energy level and the love that was experienced, it completely shot off the map. We have arrived at Terrapin Station....with no question, we are there. By Saturday night, whatever was in the air was so thick you could have sliced it with a knife. I could really feel the energy level building up in momentum. And building and building...from the beginning to the very end there was no weak moment. And despite what my wicked stepbrother Michael may say, I have to give all the credit to everyone who came to the pool hall and joined in on a wild Dionysian drunken musical train out of hell, certainly on its way to heaven. I was especially glad to see people like Les and Claude who I don't remember being in the late night crew before. And everyone who joined in on harmonies just really blew me away. My brother Michael Paz "Johnson" (heeeheee...one of two people given honorary Johnson status the other being John Van Tiel "Johnson") kept pulling all these songs out of his hat and I kept responding, and there was song after song, and you know it really felt like we were moving, sometimes veering off the tracks at a deathly speed and then getting back on course. A high point for me was when we sang "Ripple" into "Brokedown Palace", two of my favorite songs ever written...the harmonies were just breathtaking, really...Julius I think you really hit onto something with your accapella idea and it completely came into fruition. That's what this year feels like...a culmination of many things that began last year and even earlier than last year, coming together to become one. Last year we had the Ganga Line on one end of the house and at the other end, the silent living room but this year, both came together and became stronger. Another thing that I think really put everything into focus, was celebrating the union of Mags and Brei...that seemed to make everything seem even more special. Everyone seemed to come together. I really have to stop...I've been writing madly in my journal ever since I've gotten home...and I had planned on getting alot done tonight but the time is just skating away. love, Victor ps. Jody and I created a new form of communication that uses only laughter (I think I did more laughing this weekend than speaking. pps. It was about 7:00 in the morning on Saturday. I was standing by the pond with Jody, Rose, and Jim and started singing to the duck(who I think should be made an honorary JMDL'r)...and Rose said, in her New Jersey accent, "Victor, you've lost your fucking mind!" I couldn't agree with you more... NP: Tom Waits "Alice" --- Victor Johnson --- [EMAIL PROTECTED] "Roses wait for the springtime, They sleep beneath the ground. They hear March winds a callin' For the sun to come around."vlj Visit http://www.cdbaby.com/victorjohnson
