"Music is the art which is most nigh to tears and memory." - Oscar WIlde

...this is true, and always arrives to remind me of its eternal truth. Nothing is so useless and yet so hard to exist without than music.

Hello; Stephen here...

Late one Friday afternoon Sally and I; unable to obtain a room at Riverside Music wandered down Pillette Ave. to the riverfront park to run over some ideas for our slightly impromptu performance at phog Saturday, August 13th as Part of 'Art & Music #2'. We sat under a tree away from the many people who picnicked and walked the river's edge, as not to disturb them with the plunking of my oud and the tic, ta, tak of Sally's darabuka. Though through our practicing young children, mostly Muslim ran over and sat cross legged on the ground in front of us, smiled nervously and politely clapped when we'd stop to talk about a piece of music. Shortly there after the parents (mostly mothers) wandered over, initially I think to collect their respective children. Though when they arrived I watched them stop sit with their children and watch as if something important was happening. I felt inadequate, I never felt so much like a white boy with an oud in my life, regardless no one seemed to notice or at least bother. Perhaps it was the oud, perhaps it was Sally, though born in Iran and raised in the U.A.E. she dressed very western; in a tank top and tight jeans, but I realized what it was. It was the music. A old woman awash in emotion spoke to us in Arabic and Sally replied she would look at me and then talk to Sally this went on for quite some time, words I can't understand though spilling with emotion until in English; "Thank You." Later Sally told me the woman wanted us to know that our practicing reminded her of "...home, before everything became so bad." Shortly after Sally told me the woman was from Afghanistan, and I was reminded of Ensemble Kabul and their escape from Taliban rule to live on 'tour' for the love of music.

-stephen

...next on behind the music dark days fall on Yellow Wood when Steve Gibb's massive pedal board crushes 20 audiance members at a show in Halifax, NS. Ryan Fields responds by joinging 16 new bands.