Perfect Shelter

Mt Rosalie Wears Venus' Belt

Venus’ Belt on Mt Rosalie These pictures were taken over two days...the first morning you can see that Mt. Rosalie's Glacier Gouge has been windswept. The following morning you can see it has snowed. The beautiful pink color of the sunrise is called Venus' Belt. It also happens at sunset. It is truly one of my favorite colors. Finally, the picture of the path from my front door doesn't really give good depth perception. I'm taking the photo from the shoveled out space in front of my front door which slopes upwards and took a day to shovel out. You can't tell how deep the snow is but on the low side 3 feet and the high side 4 ft. Sinking into the snow felt luscious but made for some difficult maneuvering. Groceries! in hand while sinking 2 ft into soft or crusty snow depending on the snow falling and the wind blowing was an amazing thing. The footprints you see here were gone in an hour...50 mph winds. Amazing and awe inspiring and ferocious!

Larry McCray’s aggressive straight forwardness has a finesse and soulful sincerity that leaves your heart lingering around the notes he plays. Coming from the Delta Blues tradition with a healthy dose of Michigan and a strong pinch of Chicago blues traditions thrown in, his style is definitively his own. A person can’t fake the blues. You either are the blues or you are not. Larry McCray IS the blues. He once told me that one of the most valuable lessons his mother taught him was not to be a selfish person. He said that his mother told him if you can’t share and can’t let go of what hurts you, a person becomes bitter. And that’s what the blues does for all of us…if it’s true blue McCray style sooner rather than later you’ll find you soul soothed. But only after he’s torn your head off! He also told me that his mother taught him that ‘you don’t always have to say everything you think, you don’t always have to say what is on your mind.’ Larry is one generous blues man he doesn’t hold back but like any true artist his style reflects a sense of strength and power that doesn’t crowd our ears with unnecessary notes. Larry McCray Band is like a hearty good meal, you’ve eaten a huge dinner (first and second set) and yet it is so good you still want more (encore(s) please!. Larry describes his father as “fire and brimstone hell-raiser” and describes his mother as long suffering, grounded, kind and yet firm woman. He credits both of his parents for instilling in him values that have helped him throughout his life. Many of you may know he was born in Magnolia, Arkansas in the north east part he refers to as “cotton pickin country”. He gives his sister Clara (and her band The Rockets) credit for showing him how to play the guitar and credits her love of BB, Freddie and Albert King and others legendary luminaries such as Magic Sam and Albert Collins as inspirational. He’s come a long way since his job as an assembly line worker in Detroit to a career playing Delta Blues with his own band. He’s and also with such greats as Buddy Guy, Buddy Miles, Richie Havens, Allman Brothers Band, Gov’t Mule, Lucky Peterson, Kenny Neal, and Sister Monica. His latest CD “Triple Fret” has such luminaries as Bernard Allison (son of Luther), Carl Weathersby and Lucky Peterson on it…hence the name “Triple Fret” and he’s been “honored as the Orville Gibson 2000 Male Blues Guitarist of the Year. "Jeff Beck, Eric Clapton, like seven or eight other people were nominated, as well" stated McCray. Never heard his style? Well, give a listen here… http://www.myspace.com/larrymccray and when you’re done we’ll be seeing you at the show. The Larry McCray band makes for Delta Hurricane you won’t soon forget… Larry McCray Band February 15, 2007 at the Walnut Room Larimer Denver Co show starts at (The Larry McCray Band is Larry McCray on Guitar, Steve McCray on Drums, Noel Neal on Bass and Shawn on keys) Q. What was your very first guitar? And what was the first guitar you ever pawned? A. Sears Silvertone Hollow Body and the first guitar I ever pawned…a Gibson 330. Q. What are your favorite guitars now? A. My Deluxe Plain Top Les Paul and my Mahogany Flying V (Gibson). Q. What strings to you like to play with? Got a favorite brand? Do you like playing more expensive or cheaper strings? What about picks? A. It’s not so much the brand as I like playing a nickel string. I like the tone of a nickel string but they’re too soft so you gotta have a bit of stainless steel to give you a bit of wear. As for picks, I play with a variety of them but my favorite pick is a pick I got from Billy Gibbons. Q. What was your first paying gig? Did you play first in Arkansas and then Michigan? Did you ever play with Clara (and the Rockets). A. “You know I never picked up a guitar until I was twelve and no I never really did play with Clara. My first paying gig was a wedding and I was 16.” Q. Besides being a huge influence in music what gift did your sister Clara give you that helps you cope with being a musician today? A. “Clara gave me patience and intuition and she also gave me the ability to sit and read people and situations. She taught me how to sit back and wait a bit. She gave me the finesse of being diplomatic and that you can often outsmart someone by letting things roll and then seeing away around them to get what you want or need without burning any bridges.” Q. I know you started gigging originally with your brothers Carl (bassist) and that you still gig with your brother Steve (drums) but did your parents play any instruments? A. “Yes, my dad played guitar and harmonica and my mom liked to sing and it was my mom who taught me how to survive and maintain relationships.” Q. There are a lot of famous blues musicians out there such as B.B. King or Buddy Guy who do have recognition. What musicians playing now do you think are a bit unsung and deserve a bit of the spotlight? A. Chris Cain, Sister Monica, Ronnie Baker Brooks (son of Lonnie), Chico Banks, and Pistol Pete from Chicago. Q. What musicians would you like to play with? A. “Well, I like the Allman Brothers Band, I like playing with them because Southern Rock always welcomes the Blues (Larry has previously been a guest of The Allman Brothers Band at a few of their live performances). I also like playing with Gov’t Mule. It’s always good to be playing with compatible and great musicians such as Derek Trucks or Jimmy Herring who have a unique signature. They make the music their own but also allow you to interpret the music in your own style. Oh and I’d like to play with Lucky Peterson again (Larry recorded with Lucky and Bernard Allison on the trio’s Triple Fret compact disc) and I’d like to play with Kenny Neal (Kenny’s brother is bassist Noel Neal and plays for Larry now). Q. Who are you listening to right now? A. Clarence Carter, Wilson Pickett, Chris Cain, Little Milton, Mel Waters, Solomon Burke. Q. What would you like people to know about the blues now? A. That the blues can hold its own quality and doesn’t have to take a back seat to any genre if presented properly. It’s awfully hard to find new ways to play some of the same songs but that is also the challenge. Blues may be old style but you can make it unique and new as well. Q. Who do you most admire right now? A. I admire those young people dealing with Iraq. This mess got dumped in their laps and there’s nothing they can do about it. I admire our men and women soldiers. Q. What advice would offer any new blues musician just starting out? A. Learn from your mentors but speak for yourself. Find your own voice and don’t copycat. Learn how to get along well socially with others because in life that is one of the biggest hills to climb. People will remember if you are kind to them and along down the line that can really help you out. Q. What food goes well with Larry McCray Band… A. Cajun Food! Jumbalaya, Etouffe, Blackened Cat Fish, Dirty Rice Q. What is something you think people misunderstand about you? A. I find strength lies in being able to control destructive emotions, passivity isn’t always weakness and can be as loud a statement as any action is. Q. If you didn’t have music what would you like to say or be doing? A. Well, I don’t think I’d like to be a politician but I would like to be involved as a positive influence in my community. Making things better is what it’s all about. Q. What do you feel grateful for? A. Appreciate that I can make a living doing what I love to do…and that I still get the chance to do it. I also appreciate our fans. Q. What is it you want people to know about The Larry McCray Band? A. That we are a bunch of loveable guys who like to play our asses off!

Old Friend

Derek Trucks and Warren Haynes ~backstage Beacon Theater NYC it just doesn't get much better than this ~ that is unless you're the one filming this video, eh?

The Blackfoot Maiden

I took this picture this past August 2006. Mighty was trailing behind me and it was a lovely day. Not too hot nor too cold.

I love Rocky Mountain wildflowers and have spent years trying to identify which ones can be used medicinally. When I took the picture you see of the Indian Paintbrush from outside in my yard, it was a lovely cool afternoon and Mighty was trailing behind me sticking his nose in logs and burrows. It was a very lovely memory. I've spent many hours/days/months/years with Mighty traipsing around many a mountain hill while I've been hunched over a particular plant or specie. I also think this is why I became such a rabid fan of disc golf...one would inevitably throw a disc in a bog full of Shooting Stars and Columbines...pure heaven!

I came across the story of the Blackfoot Maiden in Terry Willard Ph.D's book Edible and Medicinal Plants of the Rocky Mountains and Neighboring Territories. I quote him directly

"There is a beautiful story about the origin of Indian Paintbrush in Anora Brown's Old Man's Garden which she has taken from Mabel Burkholder's book "Before the White Man Came"

Once upon a time, a Blackfoot maiden fell in love with a wounded prisoner she was attending. The maiden realised that the tribe was only nursing its captive in order to torture him later. She planned an escape of the prisoner, accompanying him for fear of the punishment for such a deed. After some time in her lover's camp she grew homesick for a glimpse of her old camp. She finally went to the site of her old camp, hid in the nearby bushes, and over-heard two young braves discussing what would happen to the maiden who betrayed them, if only they could find her. Knowing she could never return, but nonetheless longing to return, she took a piece of bark and drew a picture of the camp upon it with her own blood, gashing her leg and painting with a stick. After drawing the picture, the maiden threw the stick away and returned to her lover's camp. Where the stick landed, a little plant grew with a brush-like end, dyed with the blood of this girl, which became the first Indian Paintbrush.

"of the people, by the people, for the people..." For obvious reasons I can't send this to all of my best friends...it would or could appear I'm electing to overthrow the government...but isn't it my duty? Hasn't it also been written "We hold these truths to be self evident..." yes, I'm sure these ring strong with you as well. Of course I take liberties...I paraphrase, delete, omit, include what I want to share...I have always loved these words...I hope we choose to keep them strong, healthy,vibrant and ALIVE! IN CONGRESS, July 4, 1776. The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America, When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation. We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people. Declaration of INDEPENDENCE! We got CONSTITUTION too! We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America

http://www.archives.gov/national-archives-experience/

Tahoe

Tahoe...2006, August

Thank you Keith...c

Enion's Complaint

What is the price of experience? Do men buy it for a song? Or wisdom for a dance in the street? No, it is bought with the price Of all that a man hath, his house his wife, his children. Wisdom is solid in the desolate market where none come to buy. And in the wither'd field where the farmer plows for bread in vain. It is an easy thing to triumph in the summer's sun And in the vintage & to sing in the waggon loaded with with the corn. It is an easy thing to talk of patience to the afflicted, To speak the laws of prudence to the houseless wanderer, to listen to the hungry raven's cry in wintry season When the red blood is filled with the marrow of lambs. It is an easy thing to laugh at wrathful elements, To hear the dog howl at the wintry door, the ox in the slaughter house moan; To see a god on every wind and a blessing on every blast; To hear sounds of love in the thunder storm that destroys our enemies' house; To rejoice in the blight that covers is field, & the sickness that cuts off his children, While our olive&vine sing & laugh round our door, & our children bring fruits and flowers. Then the groan and the dolor are quite forgotten, the slave grinding at the mill. And the captive in chains, & the poor in prison, & the soldier in the field When the shatter'd bone hath laid him groaning among the happier dead. It is an easy thing to rejoice in the tents of propserity; Thus could I sing, & thus rejoice: but it is not so with me. William Blake 1797

credit to William Blake Archive...link is to the right...for some incredible Blake!