An article I wrote 5 months ago about the state of music consumptioin finally got published! The magazine won't be published for a month or two but you can you can check out the online version here. And if you would like to see more art work by the lovely and talented Sharon you can see it here.
Enjoy!
Besides the cool name, Haucachina is a little piece of paradise. We ended up spending about 4 nights there at a hostal that knows what the hell is going on. This village of about 500 is built around a lagoon in the desert surrounded by sand dunes. An actual oasis. Besides the lounging around the hostal's pool, late night parties, lady boy chef who made a huge bar-b-que for everyone, and the cool backpackers we met, the most memorable part of the place was the dune buggy ride through the dunes with a couple of stops to sand board down them. Even more of a rush then I thought it would be. Since I suck at snowboarding I went for the 'lie on your belly like it's a mini toboggan' method and it was exhilarating. Nothing like a bit of sand in yer eye to get the blood going.
Cool backpackers including an Aussie who was making a living as a DJ and an Englishman who drank excessively even by English standards! They both have law degrees and an encyclopedic knowledge of music so there were a lot good conversations mixed into the madness and partying. Good guys.
After two days there we said our goodbyes and left for Pisco which is one of the ugliest, dirtiest, and most impoverished cities on earth. Sharon got a bad feeling about the place so we said screw it and went back to Haucachina for another couple of torturous days of lounging around the pool and drinking all night. Good times.
Sharon flew out of Lima last night and after she was safely on her way I went to meet a friend of Marco's, Marcos. I have now played with three of the best blues guitarists I've ever heard of and definitely the best in Peru. We had a jam in a bar last night that went on until 3:30 am even though there was no one listening. Just a bunch of musicians playing because they love the music. Since everyone was a guitarist we all took turns on the drums and bass. It was an amazing jam and I'm still buzzed about it today.
And now it's just a waiting game. Waiting for Wild Javier, waiting for the 2am flight, and in 26 hours I'll be back in Toronto and the Peruvian adventure will be over (and a new adventure beginning in Toronto)
First, the good news.
Me and the guys played a helluva set at an outdoor concert on Friday, my last official night of living in Chiclayo. After only two practices together we were all full of piss and vinegar and it was a freakin great show. All blues, all the time. There are more pictues here but alas, no audio: http://chiclayo.2night.com/home.asp?Canal=Adventure&AlbumID=19945&Titulo=Rock+and+reggae+%40+Estirpe+Campera&Fecha=Vie+28+de+Enero
And now for the bad news.
I got robbed blind last night on the overnight bus to Lima. They had a bag check on a fairly nice bus so i figured that was more secure than bringing valuables on board and being robbed as I slept. In the morning i discovered that someone had stolen my passport, about $300, and my digital camera. Chiclayo is known as 'La Ciudad de la Amnistad' (the city of friendship) and a student of mine in the first week i was there said it should be called 'the city of friendly thieves'. True to his prophetic words, the thief left my second wallet that had my driver's license and visa card in it. So after i visit the Canadian consulate tomorrow i should be fine. Broke and pissed off, but fine. I guess I've just gotten comfortable here and let my gaurd down so this was a much needed wake up call.
A friend of Jose's and his girlfriend took us out tonight for beers and then to a very expensive Italian restaurant. For a guy with no money, I'm doing all right.
Pardon my French, but I almost shit my pants yesterday when I saw U2's video for !Pod that does more to promote !Pod than the band. In other words, a commercial.
It's bad enough that The Rolling Stones started singing for Microsoft; that Lenny Kravitz is playing guitar for the Gap; but U2 selling out?!?! Is this possible?....
The second annunal DUFFERIN GROVE GROOVES is this SUNDAY!!! (That's the 26th of September) Come on out to the park and check out some of the bands/art/food.
It's been said a million times before but worth saying again: Music has a special role in connecting people with ideas and issues that they would otherwise avoid or miss.
I was starting to think that the music industry and its emptiness were beyond salvation but was relieved to find that rock and politics still make a happy couple. Punkvoter is a collection of American punk bands who are trying to get young people involved in politics or at least aware of what's going on. Even bands that i would normally consider 'pop' in the most base and empty definition of the word have come out strong in support of this movement.
This reminded me of Joey 'Shithead' Kiethley's article in the Globe and Mail on the current relationship between politcs and punk. (Kiethley is in the band D.O.A., an activist, a politician (he led the Green party in a bid for premier of B.C. twice), a businessman (Suddendeath records), writer, and a list of other accomplishments.) It's good to see that punk is far from being dead.
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