Canadian Soul

One more diamond of the San Francisco scene passed away today, Paul Kantner, one of the founders of Jefferson Airplane. What a loss.

I watched Guess Who play in Toronto over 40 years ago. Outdoors at Ontario Place. A huge Canadian flag was unfurled on stage, but the Maple leaf was substituted by a cannabis leaf–with a smiling beaver superimposed on it.

Thanks for the kind words, McFly. And here’s one for you.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nPqT031SWT4

Jocko says “Yes” and I believe him
When we talk about the things I say
She hasn’t got the faith or the guts to leave him
When they’re standing in each other’s way
You’re tripping back now to places you’ve been to
You wonder what you’re gonna find
You know you’ve been wrong but it won’t be long
Before you leave ‘em all far behind

‘Cause it’s the new mother nature taking over
It’s the new splendid lady come to call
It’s the new mother nature taking over
She’s gettin’ us all
She’s gettin’ us all

Jocko said “No” when I came back last time
It’s looking like I lost a friend
No use callin’ ’cause the sky is fallin’
And I’m getting pretty near the end
A smoke-filled room in a corner basement
The situation must be right
A bag of goodies and a bottle of wine
We’re gonna get it on right tonight

“A bag of goodies and a bottle of wine,
We’re gonna get it on right tonight!

I loved your insights into the “local music scene,” wherever it happened to be taking place. You captured a wisp of the magic with your words.

When you’re there, watching it happen, you get a sense, even if only a brief glimpse; of being part of a social and cultural movement that comes from the people, the community, and which transcends even the talent and hard work of the musicians that lie at its core. And if you were there, hung out at the clubs, knew a few of the personalities personally, and followed the few who made the big time when they left town, it gives you a feeling of how you were a part of that historical flow, even if only a tiny part of it.

And you realize that art comes from the people, not the parasites and hustlers who feed off it at the edges. The community, the culture, has a life of its own, one that transcends the individuals that make it up, and that community is made up of the artists, their fans, even the casual audience and the infrastructure of managers, promoters, entrepreneurs and venue operators that all play a role in that symphony, make up little threads of an incredibly rich tapestry.

It is a tapestry that no one sees in its entirety, no matter how much they were involved in it. But if you were there, and experienced even a little piece of it, you get a feeling of how big it was, and how beautiful, and how important it was, not only to those who vaguely sensed it, or who just happened to be there while it happened.

And then you realize, it wasn’t just in your home town. It was everywhere. It was all over. It wasn’t just New York, and San Francisco, and Los Angeles, and Nashville, and London. And you also realize how much has been lost, of similar scenes in other times and other places that no one remembers, where no one survives.

This is what society, what civilization is for. This is why we’re here.