My home this month!

Stacey rocking out in “Opera Improv” rehearsal.

On the road to Portland!

Today we start our journey to Oregon! After lots of packing, moving, and storage yesterday, we spent the night at the Houstonian and we are on our way through West Texas right now. Updates will continue, or you can see more on my Facebook profile.

Visiting Samuel Barber’s home in West Chester, Pennsylvania

Hyundai.jpg, originally uploaded by Behold How Free.

I finally sold my Hyundai (named ‘Tosca’) yesterday. It feels like the end of an era! Tosca was very good car to me - took me all over Houston and also on dozens of trips ALL over the USA. RIP Tosca!

0121102008a.jpg, originally uploaded by Behold How Free.

Enjoying great food and Flamenco at Andalucia with Abby, Lauran, and Eric.

I’ve just enjoyed a wonderful week of singing in Austin with Conspirare.  It was a wonderful evening of mostly German music, including the monolith Deutsche Motette by Richard Strauss.  You can see a couple of the reviews here.

There are so many things I love about singing with Conspirare, and one of the my favorites is the many wonderful ways that Craig Hella Johnson talks about music.  I archived some of my favorite Craig quotes last year.  So without further delay, here is Part 2 of Craig-isms:

“Everybody be Rolf from ‘The Sound of Music.‘”

“Sing it through your ‘oo’ tube.”

“Sing it right up here with your ‘ah’ plate.”

“I want to do this music again someday, so please keep this piece in mind as you go off and have children and change jobs.” (Paul Guttry: “Or as you change children and have jobs…”)

“Let’s just do the math, with lots of trust.”

“That’s what I said I would do, which I didn’t do, but I will do.”

“Coming right up to the altar.”

“Slow the potter’s wheel down, get all those paint colors in.”

“Really get the blood out of that turnip.”

“Make your stand with every single voting member.”

“If you’re willing to play with me, I’ll paint with you.  Who wants to come out and play?”

“Just one shovel of snow, then another.”

“Shake your St. Bernard jowls.”

“Flit through the garden, there’s fruit enough for all.”

“Get busy inside.”

“Let that word be the one you love with your mouth.”

“Just change the shoulder strap, not the whole dress.”

“Cotton balls on your trampoline.”

“Touch it with a firm cotton ball.”

“Just the flutter of a guppy tail.”

“Love is a dark dangerous shaft.”

“Bring in a little more schmerz.”

“Stick to your knitting there.”

“Who needs a string section when we have your guys?”

“Some of you are bringing lower hanging fruit on the trees.”

“And now we are going to sing to you about how short life is.  It is sure to be uplifting.”

(A little background: the poem is by the Sufi poet Hafez, sometimes referred to as Hafiz.  He is from the same era and spiritual tradition as Rumi. In the poem he mentions “Hafiz,” which is also a term used to describe people who have memorized the entire Qur’an.  In the context of this poem, it really just means people who are enlightened and wise.)

I Know the Way You Can Get

I know the way you can get
When you have not had a drink of Love:

Your face hardens,
Your sweet muscles cramp.
Children become concerned
About a strange look that appears in your eyes
Which even begins to worry your own mirror
And nose.

Squirrels and birds sense your sadness
And call an important conference in a tall tree.
They decide which secret code to chant
To help your mind and soul.

Even angels fear that brand of madness
That arrays itself against the world
And throws sharp stones and spears into
The innocent
And into one’s self.

O I know the way you can get
If you have not been drinking Love:

You might rip apart
Every sentence your friends and teachers say,
Looking for hidden clauses.

You might weigh every word on a scale
Like a dead fish.

You might pull out a ruler to measure
From every angle in your darkness
The beautiful dimensions of a heart you once
Trusted.

I know the way you can get
If you have not had a drink from Love’s
Hands.

That is why all the Great Ones speak of
The vital need
To keep remembering God,
So you will come to know and see Him
As being so Playful
And Wanting,
Just Wanting to help.

That is why Hafiz says:
Bring your cup near me.
For all I care about
Is quenching your thirst for freedom!

All a Sane man can ever care about
Is giving Love!

Weinberg Center.jpg, originally uploaded by Behold How Free.

My return to the Weinberg Center! Just being here is a flood of great memories from days gone by. I’m excited about the performance tonight.