Thoughts of Muses
In June of 1991, I moved to Berkeley, CA, and lived there for about a year. I didn't do much to advance myself at the time. I tried going to school, but pretty much quit after two weeks. So, for a year I did pretty much nothing but work at Taco Bell and go see Rocky Horror almost every weekend. But I did listen to the radio a lot. Working at Taco Bell doesn't give one a lot of extra cash, so I couldn't just go out to clubs all the time or buy tapes/cds. Live 105 was the station I listened to. Modern rock was it's format. And one day they started playing this really cool song. Of course, I missed the song title and the artist all the time, but luckily, my friend, Jon, also lived in the area and he told me it was called "Operation Spirit" and the artist was Live. Ok, this was good. I really liked the song. It just resonated with me. As time went by, Live 105 played a few more of their singles and that was it, I was hooked. So I scraped together some cash and bought the tape. And I just about wore the thing out, I listened to it so much. And then we (Jon and I) heard that Live was coming to a club in Palo Alto. Bought tickets pretty much as soon as I could. And had probably the most amazing concert experience of my life. No, there was no light show to speak of. Nor was there outrageous costumes or antics. Just four guys (my age, it turns out), playing their best. And only about 400 other souls to speak of, if that many. Now, I honestly had pretty much no clue as to what they were singing about. I knew mostly they sang of peace and love and other good qualities. But for me, it's the way the music sounds. How it quickens my heart. How it inspires. How it makes me feel.
Over the years, Live went on to release a total of seven albums, a few EPs, and a few collections. I only missed their show once and probably saw them somewhere in the low teens. In big arenas to small clubs, it didn't matter. It was Live and it was good.
A few weeks ago, I got an automatic email from their website announcing that Live was on hiatus. I was kinda bummed, but I also understood. These guys had been playing together for over 20 years. Maybe they did need a break.
And then yesterday I got yet another automated email. It was over. Live was officially dead. Apparently the lead singer had back-stabbed the other three by signing some contract. I'm not really sure of the details, and I have yet to hear the other side of the story. But, it really doesn't matter. The band that I had loved and listened to and toted across the country was kaput.
I will be in mourning for awhile.
But Jon was also responsible for another find.
After leaving Berkeley, I moved to Austin, where I met a few people and two of them convinced me to move to Seattle, and since I had a feeling that Jon would like Seattle, so I asked him if he wanted to come up. And he did. He ended up getting a cool job at an art gallery. And he started showing me some of the stuff he was framing. One of them was an artist named James Christensen.
His art was nothing like I'd ever seen before. It was intricate. It was colourful. It was, simply put, amazing. It was mostly fantasy art. Fairies and dwarves and odd creatures of every shape and sort. And every painting told a story. One about six bird hunters. Another about the pelican king. Just simply amazing work.
So, after learning of the breakup of my favourite band, I find solace in the art of Christensen.
Just thought I'd share.
Over the years, Live went on to release a total of seven albums, a few EPs, and a few collections. I only missed their show once and probably saw them somewhere in the low teens. In big arenas to small clubs, it didn't matter. It was Live and it was good.
A few weeks ago, I got an automatic email from their website announcing that Live was on hiatus. I was kinda bummed, but I also understood. These guys had been playing together for over 20 years. Maybe they did need a break.
And then yesterday I got yet another automated email. It was over. Live was officially dead. Apparently the lead singer had back-stabbed the other three by signing some contract. I'm not really sure of the details, and I have yet to hear the other side of the story. But, it really doesn't matter. The band that I had loved and listened to and toted across the country was kaput.
I will be in mourning for awhile.
But Jon was also responsible for another find.
After leaving Berkeley, I moved to Austin, where I met a few people and two of them convinced me to move to Seattle, and since I had a feeling that Jon would like Seattle, so I asked him if he wanted to come up. And he did. He ended up getting a cool job at an art gallery. And he started showing me some of the stuff he was framing. One of them was an artist named James Christensen.
His art was nothing like I'd ever seen before. It was intricate. It was colourful. It was, simply put, amazing. It was mostly fantasy art. Fairies and dwarves and odd creatures of every shape and sort. And every painting told a story. One about six bird hunters. Another about the pelican king. Just simply amazing work.
So, after learning of the breakup of my favourite band, I find solace in the art of Christensen.
Just thought I'd share.