[{( Routine Homecoming )}]

so last night i was recording a song with my buddy ben nester.

ben & i used to play in a band called Routine Homecoming together.

it was initially ben's solo project, but it eventually developed into a five piece.

each of us had a fulltime job and small children

and living in NH made for long trips to play out,

and so for this and various other reasons

the band folded about a year ago (on good terms).

other members of the band included

paul vittum, nate herrick & micah drexler.

at the moment ben & i are writing and recording music

under the name Be Thine Mountain.

the focus is on recording as opposed to playing out.

it's a very loose arrangment and therefore

works very well with our present lifestyles.

in a week or so i hope to post Be Thine Mountain's

first song for all to listen to and download,

as well as sharing my broader vision

for forming a collective of recording musicians

who are interested in harnessing free music

as a means of saving the world.

or at least parts of it - or people within parts of it anyhow.

so if you're a musician with the ability to do home recordings

and you like the idea of saving people in parts of the world,

then you might want to tune in for that one.

for now, here are some recordings from Routine Homecoming.

hope you enjoy, and would love to here your comments ~ doug

Computers Monitor

God & the Saddest Song

Heavenly Knives

There Will Be a Light

[{( born~cinder )}]

...A Mix of BlackForrestry- End of Summer 2010 mixtape 2...

Although slightly delayed, here it is, the sequel to my "End of Summer" mixtape. It's a mix of garage, soul, and gospel tunes- some old, some new; some known, some lesser known. Download the entire mix via the mediafire link below or listen to the entire mix as a single track and begin reminiscing about those good 'ol summer days.

1. Create!/Honny & the Bee Band

2. Thane Russall and the Three

3. Ty Segall

4. The Strange Boys

5. Sandwitches

6. Woozy Vipers

7. Yardbirds

8. Rolling Stones

9. Woods

10. Beach Boys

11. Hacienda

12. The Pretty Things

13. Conspiracy of Owls

14. Explorer's Club

15. The Association

16. Shuggie Otis

17. Naomi Shelton & the Gospel Queens

18. The Art Reynold's Singers

19. New Hope

20. Menahan Street Band

21. Generationals

22. The Byrds

23. Floating Action

24. Band of Bees

25. Floating Action

http://www.mediafire.com/?f76v7e1xooh2453


BlackForrestry End of Summer 2010 Mix (2)
..........................

Conglomeration and a Vision

Luna (a satelite revolts)
Nautilus (on Neptune's moody shores)
Nebulas (as a planet unfolds)
Sepulcher (empty tomb absent its doors)
Perseverate (continuing your words in bold)
Simpatico (brains connected and on course)
Instrinsic & Extrinsic (the thoughts take hold)

33 trapped in a mine
singing Chile's national anthem (fine)

the vision of things found in the mountain
warriors on the shore (oblivion?)
the Lord, Himself, comes out of the ocean
warriors' (dressed in black) armor changes
beautiful calamity, gorgeous commotion
with every movement in worshipping the King
you see the colors change-the earth shakes, it rings

larry norman & the get low frisbees

some film related bits for those interested:

i inadvertently stumbled upon this film while working. I was joyously required to take an individual to see a movie in a pinch. without making a plan we made the long drive to concord, nh in the early afternoon only to learn that all the main theaters weren't showing movies until after 4pm. i did some asking around and found a fantastic independent theater downtown. it had tiny, fancy theaters, offered great treats, served good beer (no drinking on the job!) and offered other niceties of the sort. not to mention that they were showing great films (http://www.redrivertheatres.org/), one of which was "get low". It was a great film - scratched all my particular itches. highly recommended. i'll let the trailer speak for itself:

also, while doing some preparation for an upcoming mix that josh & i intend to collaborate on, i stumbled upon the fact that larry norman died a few years back. i was unaware of this some how and was saddened to learn of it. i also came across this trailer for a recent documentary about his life. the film was directed by david di sabatino who also made the documentary "frisbee" which you can also check out below.

...Naomi Shelton & The Gospel Queens...

As I was reading Andrew's post below, I was listening to some music, and Naomi Shelton and the Gospel Queens came on. I thought that these two songs went along pretty well with the Stephen Crane poem that Drew put up. Give them a listen. Even if you're not a fan of gospel/soul music, I think you'll find that Naomi has a great voice and excellent musical style (it sounds as if this were a recording from 40 or 50 years ago rather than just last year)...who knows, maybe you'll dig it. It's a current release, so it can be picked up over at Daptone Records, and you can check out other classic sounding soul records there, as well.

Naomi Shelton and the Gospel Queens- Take The Long Road

Naomi Shelton and the Gospel Queens- What Have You Done?

I have just recently stumbled upon a poet by the name of Stephen Crane. I am really enjoying his work so far. You guys may have already heard of him. Read his poem, "The Wayfarer":

The wayfarer,
Perceiving the pathway to truth,
Was struck with astonishment.
It was thickly grown with weeds.
"Ha," he said,
"I see that no one has passed here
In a long time."
Later he saw that each weed
Was a singular knife.
"Well," he mumbled at last,
"Doubtless there are other roads."

the crux of the blessing

here's something different.

this is not something that fits into an artistic format per se,

but it is inspiring and can cause you to grow & thrive & expand infinitely.

this is a link to a sermon that my pastor shared a few weeks back.

it fits into what you could call his motif.

if you feel like you never manage to meet up to the expectations that surround you

(this would include your own expectations)

- if you feel like you're being crushed beneath them,

then you might want to consider giving this a listen.

the below link will bring you to a list of messages.

open "the crux of the blessing"

or any other one that strikes your fancy.

http://www.christredeemerchurch.org/resources/sermon-downloads

...Journey Round My Skull...

I just came across this post at one of my most frequented blogs-
http://ajourneyroundmyskull.blogspot.com/
It involves the illustration of some of the Psalms and is definitely worth checking out. It was pretty inspiring to me and seemed to fit in with the spirit of what we're doing here, so I thought that I would link it here on crescere. You can check out the original post at http://ajourneyroundmyskull.blogspot.com/2010/09/light-in-darkness-benns-psalms.html

Psalm 17:8
Keep me as the apple of the eye
conceal me under the shadow of thy wings.

THE PUDDING

so...i need to admit from the get go that this is not a very accessible way to kick off my music posting endeavors. some jazz for you. however, this is not merely jazz, but it's jazz that contains guitar accompaniment throughout. and this is not simply guitar jazz, but it's free guitar jazz. and by that i mean freedom. not monetary freedom. musical freedom (not all of the tracks fall in to this catagory, and none of them are extreme in the free jazz sense).

all the same, this will cost you nothing, and therefore you should consider supporting artists that you especially like, and this goes for all sharing posts. every time i make a mixtape it will come in just under 80 minutes - so...if you fancy, burn it to a disc and drive it around town.

this post is to prove to the naysayers, that guitar and jazz can dance better than you think they can - the proof is in the pudding.

Virtually, Pt. 3 ~ Soft Machine

Maleem Ya Maleem ~ I Heart Lung

Sarana ~ Ray Russell

To Undertake My Corners Open ~ Henry Threadgill's Zooid

Arjen's Bag ~ John McLaughlin

Pete The Poet ~ John McLaughlin

Three Butterflies, Seven Mockingbirds ~ Create (!)

Agnewistic ~ The Richard Davis Trio

Baiyina ~ Pat Martino

The Anniversary Song ~ Django Reinhardt

lastly, for those of you who have a special appreciation for boundary pushing jazz (hi josh), please read the following post from Destination Out about a new feature that they're adding to their blog:

http://destination-out.com/?p=1529

...We Were Made To Walk...

Here's something I was thinking about yesterday. It' not really editted or anything, but I thought that I would put it up anyway. It's nothing great, but something that I would like to think about more- The smaller we are, the greater God is. When we shrink the Creator is magnified.

...We Were Made To Walk...

............

By airplane, the .earth. is beautiful.

By train, the .treeline. and .skies. are beautiful.

By bicycle, the .birds. and .trunks. and .fields. are beautiful.

By foot, the .leaves. and .flowers. and .lawns. and .buzzings. are beautiful.

.............

To the ant, .creation. glorifies by the square foot.

New Tunes

http://allthebrightlights.wordpress.com/Hey you guys. I just found another band I really like. I think you will too. The bass and guitar player for John Mark McMillan has a group called All The Bright Lights. Check them out. Also, there's a great free download from The Blue Indian Compilation. Tell me what you think. John Marks' "Carbon Ribs" is on there. Excellent song.

orion no. 8

( this here's the last of the orion poems ~ hope yall enjoyed them)

orion no. 8

save the sound of the wings
fluttering backward thru my mind
i heard nothing
there was only rest
the rest of soul sleep
the rest of womb dreams
the rest of subway cars
floating empty
through silent tunnels
coming & going & knowing no enemies
only open passages

...Music 9-18-10...

Here are some songs that I've been listening to the last couple of days. I also included the video to one of the songs, because I thought that they did a nice job with it.

Young Rival- Modern Life

The Soft Pack- Pull Out

Best Coast- When The Sun Don't Shine

Best Coast- When I'm With You

Local Natives- Wide Eyes

Foreign Born- Early Warning

orion no. 7

my eyes are shut
but i’m wide-eyed awake
with the money i can’t make
& the strength i can’t fake
& i can’t help
but to speak to myself
here in the dark
about my will to break
and this step to take
of faith in a GOD

who bled for my sake
and so i pour myself out
with these words that unravel
these thoughts that time travel
thru the trees
& the breeze
& the clouds
constricting
& expanding
& thru the atmosphere
& thru this weightless air
i keep breathing
i breathe is all
again

& again
unto HIM

orion no. 6

orion no. 6

not one wish for today
from waking sun to setting sleep
i will seek the silence of rustling leaves
& eliminate all thoughts
of if
of when
of why
i shall not laugh
i will not cry
but will abide in the cleft
between life & death
while ceasing to try
seeking only that silence
that breathes deep & intrepid
with lungs full of now & thanksgiving

orion no. 5

this one received a bit of editing

just grammar & word use

nothing major

-it needed it.

orion no. 5

we are mesmerized in motion
marching ~ vibrating ~ pulsating
our small hearts clutched in our little hands
thrust up & over our heads
held like scalps of war

we are dizzy with private thoughts of
genius, grandeur & glory
leading us in shackled feet
to the base of the mountain
whose birds fly crossways
above the tree-line
declaring,

there is a way that seems right to you
........but it’s path ends in humiliation
..............it’s path ends in confusion

....................path ends in vexation
...........................ends in isolation
...................................in degradation
.......................................destruction

... !! ... go no more this way ... !! ...

...Margins...

A while ago, I had an idea that I thought might be fun. I thought that I would share it with you guys and see if it might be something collaborative that would be interesting enough to do together via this blog. I was thinking how almost everything in life can be viewed differently, and that the differing views can each have truth within them, as well as, error. My idea was to pick a topic and write two pieces based on the differing perspectives- one from each side of the subject- creating the margins of the topic and finding truth somewhere in between. I am including one that I wrote, as an example....it's based on jazz. I don't know if this would interest anyone, but maybe one of us could pick a topic and two others could "marginalize" it. Just an idea.
I made the drawing above, for my buddy, EJ's, trombone recital in Boulder, Co, where he is attending grad school. I thought that trombone fit nicely with the jazz theme. Let me know if this sounds fun.

...FREE JAZZ...

Can you really be free?

Or does that just mean-

Unreceivable,

Intolerable,

Untranslatable-

The abrasiveness of

Coarse nails on the

open slate of my thoughts?

Is it not the very restraint

that-

Intertwines,

Fellowships,

Communicates?

Jazz...

Without ringing-

Freedom blasts,

Emancipated tones.

There is no other

way to speak openly.

Life happens-

Blades of grass,

carving

the sidewalked slabs of my mind.

Groomed by no hand-

Usurping,

Ungoverned,

Flourishing.

...Jazz

...hEAR-Be hEARD...

I've been practicing with my pen and ink, with a goal of incorporating an illustration style into my work...here's my latest attempt.

orion no. 4

orion no. 4

when I stepped down from the bus
trailing endlessly into the night
the outermost edge of the sun’s resurrection lit into my mind
& I spoke plainly to the desert bush & the lonesome crow
I spoke plainly to the outer rims of the universe
& saw plainly the path set before me

orion no. 3

orion no. 3

thru clouds dense
i emerge
forward i converge
with winged things
in migratory formations
& though i hesitated
like the breaking signals
of radio stations
i am nonetheless resolute
full of the stuff
of the life
of the heart
& mind
that i deem vital
& sense
that i will never
inwardly refute

...Photos 3...

...Djohariah...

I've been loving all of the posts that everyone has been putting up. It's all excellent stuff. I am still trying to figure out this music thing, but it hasn't been the success that I had hoped it would be. Well, what can you do, right?
A couple of weeks ago I heard all this hype about Sufjan Stevens' new EP, All Delighted People, so I picked it up (it was only 5 bucks, so how could I go wrong?). Well, after a couple of listens, I definitely didn't feel super impressed. In fact, 2 of the songs on the EP are rather lengthy and after those couple of listens, I just skipped right over them. The songs that I initially enjoyed the most were the shorter, mellow-er, songs in the middle. So, it's pretty ironic that the song I'm posting today is one of those 2 long songs.
I have heard "Djohariah" multiple times this past week. It seems like every time I turn around, there it is again, wafting against my eardrums. Through these listens, I have grown to really enjoy the song. I especially appreciate the rough, fuzzy guitar solo that starts the song off. Go ahead, give it a listen. The track clocks in at a few seconds over seventeen minutes, so at the very least it will be some good background music to look at some of the amazing stuff that Doug and Drew have been putting up. And, who knows, maybe like me, you'll fall in love with the song and go pick up the entire EP for 5 bucks.

...Djohariah...

Sufjan Stevens- Djohariah

orion no. 2

orion no. 2

contentment

is the calm ocean

nearing the eternal netherland

that mumbles

“enlightenment. nightingale. tenderness.”

or

Calm

Ocean

Nearing

The

Eternal

Netherland

That

Mumbles

Enlightenment

Nightingale

Tenderness

orion poems

i spent nearly three years working at a place called The Orion House. It's a residential placement facility for at risk teenage boys - mostly court mandated. i moved on from there about two years ago, give or take. it was easily the most maturing & challenging job i've ever had - very bitter-sweet. toward the end i started doing poetry workshops with a few of the guys, and it was amazing. they loved it and thrived in it, and soon there were more and more joining us. i think we maxed out at about eight or so (we held sixteen max). some of these kids were true poets - no lie. they were totally committed. set time apart to write and edit and share what they were developing with me. i was lovin' it. they let it all hang out and articulated some very personal things in their own original voices. i learned and grew as a poet a great deal. we did all sorts of exercises to get the whole group writing. we'd put on some good instrumental music, mostly mellow beats, and everybody would rattle off a word, and we'd jot 'em down on the board, and then everybody would have five minutes to write a poem using at least three of the words from the list. stuff like that. all kinds of combos and weird ideas developed over time. stuff like this is great because it forces you to write in ways that you otherwise wouldn't. and when you only have a few minutes to write and basically no time to edit, you start tapping into a different part of your brain. you start pullin' from your subconscious a bit i think and you have to let go and trust the process. all these tough guys packed into a small room - writing poetry - all bashful to share - finally reading and getting shouts and laughter and high fives. you could always feel the intensity and they never wanted to quit. and i didn't either, but i always had to close it down for dinner or bed or what have you. a totally cherished memory for sure. so...i wrote quite a bit of stuff during that time and recently came across what i still have. much of it seems odd, mainly due to the direction of the writing exercises and the quick judgement no edit approach. i'm gonna post one a day for a week or so. hope you enjoy ~ dougie fresh

orion no. 1

sensing all the cracks in my borrowed life,
i blow fierce the self-made wind
of controlled abandon:
one more borrowed breath
down the tubes
of this borrowed clarinet

...Damien Jurado & Richard Swift...

So, I thought the first music post I would make, would be about this free album posted on Aquarium Drunkard ( http://www.aquariumdrunkard.com/2010/09/07/richard-swift-damien-jurado-other-peoples-songs-vol-1/ ). The album is a collaboration between Damien Jurado and Richard Swift, in which they do a series of cover songs (in lo-fi production). It's interesting and definitely worth a listen. Here are a couple of songs from the recording to brighten your day. Enjoy, and check out the link above for more info about the project.

...Hello, Sunshine...
Damien Jurado and Richard Swift- Hello Sunshine

...If The Sun Stops Shinin'...
Damien Jurado and Richard Swift- If The Sun Stops Shinin'

The Docker

my mind goes
"Grace is an ethereal world made from the poetic imagination of God"
my heart explains, "We have a better chance of desire
catching fire if the spark is one of love"
my soul is traversed, walked upon by a godly figure
a good-natured One enters the nave of me
(i am that fraction of the church) "navigate my soul O'Lord
steer it from the depths of the grave

my cardiovascular system (a universe) screams its blood curdling screams
and passage ways are made clear again (i cleave to Your blood again)
my nervous system photographs cumulus, nimbus, cirrus clouds
they are blasted against my mainframe
frozen in thought-central
"increase this O'Lord
burst colour so creative from all
nooks and crannies"

my feet are made happy, set to dancing by the music offered
a God the size of infinite thought is pleased with our song
my hands knead the strings in the same way
Tristan, our former cat, kneaded my chest
help me O'Lord
grant me your forever-rest

my body is Your ship
unfurl Your love upon my bony mast
man the stern i pray
lay hold of treasures untold at the base of mountains,
in surreal oceans, and dock me in Your bay

...More Photos...

There is something about fall that incites me to take photos. It could go without saying, that with all of the autumn-like weather we have been having, here, in New York, I have been feeling the "itch". Unfortunately, my life has been pretty busy, and it has not allowed me to upload, from my camera to my computer, the few pictures that I have been able to snap. So, this post is intended to sedate these urges for the time being. I have posted, below, photos taken within the last year or so. It really is a treat to go back and remember what blessed days I have had. More to follow soon....

Also, I heard this interview with artist, Marie Lorenz, on breakthru radio. It really interested me. Check it out. Just a note, some of the music interspersed throughout the interview may not be appropriate for all people, places, or settings.

http://www.mediafire.com/?m93rlomen410dat


breakthru radio airs an art show weekly. Go to the website, click on program guide, click "Art Uncovered" [in the 2nd column of the grid (under Tuesday) 2nd to last row] to stream/listen to the show. See if you like it.

http://www.breakthruradio.com/