Jackdaw with The Ruffians "Black & Tans" & Blackgrass CD Review

Artwork © David Moore

Every St. Patrick's Day I put this out, a fine Celtic Rock Band, my dear brothers, all of them, in rare performance with The Ruffians and two, I recorded, engineered and edited/mixed this at one Irish Feis in South Buffalo managing so many boards I am shocked it turned out good. This includes the most mind-blowing version of "Black and Tans" at 3:00 with Danny from The Ruffians rolling bones.

Slainte!

 https://soundcloud.com/susan-marie/jackdaw-with-the-ruffians-balck-tans-slainte

Audio © Susan Marie and Jackdaw

***

 

Jackdaw ~ Blackgrass

 

     BlackJack,  JackRock, JackGrass, BlackRock . . . BlackGrass.    

This IS Jackdaw.

     In 2007, Jackdaw released their CD, entitled, Blackgrass. Fourteen tracks accompany astounding artwork in a tri-fold pocket emblazoned with years of compilations of bass beats put to lyrics formulated from heart break, love lost, found, realized, and upbeat renditions of goodbyes and hellos. Blackgrass is a stark re-visitation that pays homage to the innermost root of all genres of music. The title stands alone, as does each member of Jackdaw; in defining exactly what occurs when Rock meets Folk then stumbles upon Blues.

     Each CD bears a sticker on the front, similar to that of a liquor bottle seal, as in aged Scotch or fine wine. You need to break that seal in order to taste the beauty inside. The stickers bear lyrics, each CD completely singular. The back jacket is an enigma left for you to decipher not unlike a crossword puzzle. Inside the CD, there are hidden pieces to each of them in poetics, photography, artwork and design.   

Holding Blackgrass in your palms and having to tear that sticker is bittersweet, yet every second worth it.     

     Jackdaw consists of:  Tim Byrne ~ lead/backing vocals, guitars, mandolin, banjo and piano, Joe Davies ~ fiddle virtuoso, Tommy Jordon ~ lead/backing vocals and bass, David, A. Moore  ~ lead/backing vocals, accordion, English concertina, button box, uillean/highland pipes, hurdy gurdy and tin whistles and George Tutuska  ~ lead vocals and percussion.  

This most astounding congregation of artists leaves it entirely up to the listener to decide who is singing, who is playing, and who has written what.  As always, Jackdaw leaves you searching, wondering, wanting more.

     Every track on Blackgrass is different than the last. Each member of Jackdaw prominent in their playing with George and Tommy keeping time in the background, David on the sideline harmonizing instrumental as Tim’s guitar screams while Joe brings them full circle with his fiddle, altogether vocalizing becoming whole.

     Everything Seems So Damn Simple is quick and upbeat speaking of life and survival, how one can feel comfort until left alone while Dance leads you down into a cavern branded with an eclectic mix of instrumentals and vocals with a funky 80’s beat melded with a 70’s discotheque sound. Bye Bye Lust, musically is a feel good song, one to keep you moving, yet lyrically this is a goodbye, a turn around.   

     Annelise is where you can catch Joe and his fiddle creating beautiful hurt. This song is a wish for the one in front of you to be the one that you love. The melody is as haunting as pain itself. Galway Girl is Jackdaw’s rendition of Steve Earle’s original and they took this tune and made it their own, as they are known to do. It will get you reeling and dancing, singing along with a hey ahh hey ahhh ayeee.  Positive and uplifting, lyrically, it speaks of the beauty and heartbreak of Galway. 

      Shout Out At Me is a call for one to stop, take notice and listen while Bombshelle will cause you to open your mouth and shout out, She’s A Bombshelle!  Supersize is a nice surprise, bringing you right back to that 70’s hard rock sound with a solitary message of, This is who I am and too bad if you don’t like it, while Spaghetti Western places you right into a country western flick filtered with bluegrass, rock and roll and bell tolls led by guitar and fiddle.  Every song on this CD is a gem, yet one does indeed stand out from the rest. 

     Shiny Black With Rain, musically and lyrically is Jackdaw coming together as one. The rain and thunder effect mixed with a sole pianist sets you up for astounding harmonies and instrumentals. This tune is poetic in nature sending a message of that one true love you were lucky enough to find, experience, realize, almost lose, rediscover, and somehow, still have in your possession. This song is so beautifully mastered; you can picture a story unfolding before your eyes while listening. It is, life itself, unwinding in vocals, whistles, fiddle, guitar, bass, drums, with all of Jackdaw contributing to a musical masterpiece. It leaves one with the need to hold your palm out to say, I understand.     

     Jackdaw has won numerous awards seven years and counting, along with graphic design for their CD'S and posters. The essential way to get the best out of Jackdaw is to see them live, which I refer to as The Jackdaw Experience because that is exactly what it is. Every show is a roller-coaster ride, each song played a bit differently and when the last note is heard for the night, they leave you wishing they would never stop playing. Each member of Jackdaw is an artist in their own right and onstage they are, by far, the best band this generation will see.  

       Jackdaw takes you right along with them on their bus, The Black Moriah, for the ride of your life that bears the name of Blackgrass. After you break open the label on the front, pop out the red and black CD. Hiding behind it is a simple statement that packs a punch: 

     You are listening to BLACKGRASS by JACKDAW.  Everything Will Change. 

     And it does. Trust me.    

 

©  Susan Marie 2007

5 Websites That Must Be Checked Out

Photo © Source

Everyday, I come across astounding people doing an extraordinary job or they are seriously on top of their game or I find an interesting website or service that is diverse and not mainstream. I like to notify others to check them out because finding specific things online can be a daunting task. 

Here are my five for this week: 

1. Madalyn Sklar - yesterday I was part of an online seminar regarding how to #TwitterSmarter and it turned out to be beyond fruitful and I ended up connecting to like minded people who are real and serious about the content they provide to the public whether that be personal or business related. Madalyn was fantastic at coordinating this, as well as being a wonderful human being.

Website: http://www.madalynsklar.com/
Twitter: @MadalynSklar


2. Micropoetry Society: As a writer, my thoughts are often random and cannot be used in a story or poem and I find myself just writing in the moment. This website is perfect for such writers, freethinkers, artists. 

Website: http://micropoetry.com/
Twitter: @pssms


3. Patrick Mundus: For a daily dose of "wake up", inspiration, real life writing, and general well being feel good truth, he is the one to connect to. 

Website: http://www.coachenmetjehart.nl/blog/
Twitter:@PatrickMundus


4. gruvology: All kinds of jazz and blues and diverse styles of music, do not go further, these guys are ever progressing.  They are a consistently changing group of varied styles of music that causes them to be absolutely beyond talented. 

Website: http://www.gruvologyjazz.com/
Soundcloud:  https://soundcloud.com/walter-kemp-iii/faithfulness


5. National Park Service:  The National Park Service preserves unimpaired the natural and cultural resources and values of the National Park System for the enjoyment, education, and inspiration of this and future generations. The Park Service cooperates with partners to extend the benefits of natural and cultural resource conservation and outdoor recreation throughout this country and the world.

On the website, you can search for: nature, employment, data, education, news, photos, history, direct involvement, resources for educators, children and yourself, landmarks, environmental consciousness, taking action, volunteer work, everything. I adore nature. This website is only one immense resource. 

Website: http://www.nps.gov/index.htm

Please sign up to the newsletters on all sites if available.

Please check out previous sites below: 

5 Websites That Mist Be Checked Out 

15 Websites That Must Be Checked Out

Have fun! 

Peace. 

 

A Special Gift in Observance of International Women's Day

ON WGRZ

In observance of International Women's Day, Leslie Jean created a series of images, to feature on her Instagram account, honoring women, whom she has been inspired by, taught by, loved by and loved in return, mentored by, motivated by, humbled by. 

You can view the entire album starting HERE on Facebook

#PledgeForParity
#InternationalWomansDay
#IWD2016
#March8th

Thank you Leslie! Such a beautiful, selfless, healing project and KUDOS to you for showing the rest of us how to be. 

What Happened, Miss Simone? [Book Review]

On Penguin Random House 

Written by Alan Light, this book was inspired by the Academy Award-nominated Netflix documentary What Happened, Miss Simone? about the legendary life of Nina Simone, who was first a classically trained pianist and evolved into a chart-topping civil rights activist.

I preferred the documentary to the book. While the book is good, one cannot possibly capture the magnetic presence of Miss Simone merely in pages.

The biographical film directed by Liz Garbus opened the 2015 Sundance Film Festival and showed, rather than attempted to tell, the beauty, power, the struggle, and the indefinable presence of Nina Simone. The documentary combines previously unreleased footage and interviews with Simone's daughter and friends.

The title of the film, as well as the book, is from an essay written by Maya Angelou. The quote in its entirety goes:

“Miss Simone, you are idolized, even loved, by millions now. But what happened, Miss Simone?"

Nina Simone [born Eunice Waymon] changed her name when playing nightclubs in Atlantic City. In the photo above at Carnegie Hall, Nina played 18 pieces, an eclectic set list ranging from Israeli folk tunes to a Leadbelly song.

She was the first black female soloist to appear at the legendary theater. Released in 1963, Nina Simone at Carnegie Hall was beyond triumphant and became one of her finest albums.

Nina was well aware of her stage presence and referred to that as "mass hypnosis . . . a spell you cast."

This is how I like to think Nina was most at peace, at her piano.

"I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review."

Eulogy [on Soundcloud]

On Soundcloud

The wind
howls,
magnificent and shrieking,
like some wild woman,
unabashed and naked.

Her brow wet
with brine,
upturned to the most holy sky,
arms raised
in supplication
to a dying world,
embracing,
all that is.

And she
cross-legged,
beneath Gods and Goddesses,
hair whipping wind,
eyes brazen,
brown and soft.

A touch of
madness and desire,
no human soul
comprehends.

Her howling
becomes one with the wind,
distress signals to the raiment,
the ancient raiment
that poets and sages
sat under and above
for millenniums.

Legs stretched
in front of her,
toes uncurled,
she lays back
flat -
allowing to be cleansed
by the pelting rain,
the dying Winter,
the oncoming of Spring,
a rebirth of births,
a eulogy to the past,
a welcome to the present,
an embrace to the future.

What it holds
is of no concern,
for she knows
where home is,
away from this society,
away from the busy-ness of life,
away from monotony
and dramatics,
away from this life
consumed,
with triviality.

She is here
now,
waiting for you,
to set you free
from chains
you have bound yourself with.

Whip your shoulders back,
allow them to fall.

Feel the weight,
vanish.

Grab her hand, willing
loving,
kind,
calm,
pure and desirous.

Show her
how your soul
shines,
show her
how your eyes light up,
show her how you have released
from your very soul,
all the toxicity
of existence.

She is Earth, dirt
Rocks and stones,
limbs of trees,
mighty oaks and maples,
the birch and elm.

She is the silt of fault lines
holding this globe
together.

She is the mighty maelstrom,
every season,
without apology.

She is you,
me.

Come, come and relish this moment,
even if only once.

Dine as a human starved.

Sing of the grace bestowed upon you
for you are born to be supreme,
you are born with the ability to fly,
you are born with the gift to see
with six senses,
seven.

You are powerful in your wildness,
in your pure soul self.

She is here to tell you
to scream and cry,
until there is no speech,
to the skies,
to the clouds,
to the falling rain.

Let it wash upon you
like a sweet cool dream,
and come, come my dear soul.

Do not wait.
No hesitation.
Moments are fleeting.

She is here,
now,
with you,
yet not eternal.

Hurry, hurry, dear!

She will share secrets with you,
teach you how to see
with eyes,
that have no place
in the land of humankind.

Each blade of grass,
leaves of the trees of her mane,
like a thoroughbred racing, wondrous,
eyes staring, mad. 

There is no finish line
only now, here.

This moment.

Disrobe beneath this day.

Give thanks to the Great Creator,
to Mother Nature.

To the spirits that speak to you
in your dreams.

To the souls that have guided you
to this place,
this patch of Earth,
this precious time.

Bow your head in prayer,
dear soul.

For you are in the presence
of divinity.


© Susan Marie

Ode to Dystopia

On Rebelle Society 

On Mogul

“Talent can take you places but it is skill that keeps you there.”

~ my friend Torrey, on writing

Eyes burning, mottled, massive sleep deprivation, caffeine OD, and words, words, mocking me. Read aloud, think, type, backspace, delete, retype, fuck! Where is the arrow? Type again, fix, beat, bitch, bury my fucking head in the sand, and sink.

I had a stroke of genius — it happens — and thought about waking the doctor up at 2 a.m. and tell him I have that dry eye syndrome I saw on television and I need a script.
The conversation goes like this:

“Hey Doc, it’s me. I have that, uh, dry eye syndrome. Yes, my eyes hurt. No, I have not been drinking too much coffee again. What? I need a script? Yeah, whatever, just call it in and uh, while you’re at it, can ya pick me up a pack of smokes on your way to the OR?”

Life should be that comical.

I wouldn’t mind the side effects of the prescription anyhow: heart palpitations, kidney disease, possible stroke, urinary retention, migraines, constipation, stomach pain, blurred vision (oxymoron), short term memory loss, confusion, dementia, risk of diabetic coma, and eventually… death.

I can risk that to get rid of a dry eye or two.

I sat in the mall today. I despise the mall. Forced to go, I step inside, heart beating fast, instant chest pain (great) and onset of perpetual migraine, so I grab a cappuccino. Walking, walking, and thinking if one more motherfucker nudges into me, that is it. I am tearing into the next toy store I pass to grab a lethal child’s toy.

One by one, take ’em out, like a nut-job in a bell tower. Sit in the middle of this excuse for a living room where we can socialize and hide behind a plastic palm tree. Wait for a bratty piss-pot to come running by, stick my foot out and watch the parents halfheartedly console the spoiled replica of themselves they spawned.

If there is a hell, it is the mall, so please, don’t even think of telling me to go there.

Figured I should probably eat, my legs hurt, wandering around, wondering what the fuck I was doing in this place and how much I would rather be in a bookstore or at home watching Tony Montana shove his face into a pile of snow.

Instead, I took a seat in the Garden Cafe and looked around. Felt I was the only one without pennies on my eyes.

Lil’ girls with G-strings pokin’ out of their low-cut sad excuse wanna-be-somebody they never will be showing off to boys who only wanna get in their pants.

As if that would be a difficult task.

Cell phones, iPads, iPods, tablets, Nooks, Kindles, everything portable imaginable, and I thought I was cool when I had the Bionic Woman, and her arm opened up and you saw wires and shit in there.

Saw a woman sitting alone in a booth with a laptop on the table. I thought, Man, you should be at a cafe. What in the fuck are you doing in a mall? I felt like walking up to her, handing over a tattered book of poetry like a Get Out of Jail Free card, but I didn’t.

The mall is a denial from the misery felt by those who still think that the world is flat.

There was an angel there today. Was just a man — olive-skinned, radiating supernovas swirling like sunspots. I watched him there smiling. Brown leather sandals, a nylon cord sneaking inside his shirt, and I wondered what was on the other end of it. I saw hieroglyphic tattoos poking out of the edges of his shirtsleeves.

Curls of carbon silk reflected light shining from his retinas, cerulean, and I looked around and felt like screaming, “Am I the only one seeing this shit?”

Nobody stirred, people kept right on stuffing their faces with eventual heart attacks, talking and yapping with fake smiles, lipstick-stained-teeth grinning skeletons already dead to themselves.

This man though, the angel, he sat on a hill, and I was a child. My chin upturned listening as he told stories to droves of people. He was cotton-robed, his raiment. The whole scene, transparent. Lucid dreams and waves. Sketches of memories past.

He was one word ---> Imagine.

Compelled to talk to him, every bit of strength I had — which wasn’t much, trust me — kept me from doing just that. Pisses me off now. I saw him there and knew it. He looked right into my eyes and said:

“Ssssssssssssssssssssshhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh…” 

I heard that inside my skull.

Then he looked away from me and continued talking to the ghosts seated next to him.

The cursor blinked. I stared at it. Maybe it wasn’t my eyes after all. An hour had passed and I had not written a single paragraph. I stared though… at this one sentence:

There are plenty of talented nobodies in the world who are too lazy to do jack shit with their lives.

I held my palms to my cheeks, cracked my knuckles, put on some tunes and began to write.

City of Buffalo Change Columbus Day to Indigenous People's/Heritage Day Petition & Support

This only started Feb. 16, 2016! How amazing!

 

This petition is for abolition of Christopher Columbus Day, the 2nd Monday in October, an outdated and historically incorrect celebration, in favor of Indigenous [Heritage] Day.

Buffalo News 

Buffalo Rising 

Seneca Nation Media & Communications Center

Mogul 

Remember Native Americans.Org 

Native Americans and First Culture Nations 

Indigenous Environmental Network 

Native American American Cultural Center of Rochester & Syracuse


John Kane 

Medium 

Sacred Ecology Films

Time Warner 

National Native AmericanIndian Heritage Month

Native American Community Services of Erie and Niagara Counties, Inc.

WGRZ NBC 

Seneca Nation of Indians Tourism 

Sun Times

As far as "America" is concerned, this land was founded by the Indigenous that first inhabited it. 

We cannot alter the past nor wish to, however, we can change the present and the future.  

This petition is for abolition of Christopher Columbus Day, the 2nd Monday in October, an outdated and historically incorrect celebration, in favor of Indigenous [Heritage] Day.

"Past the elementary and high schools, there are only occasional hints of something else. Samuel Eliot Morison, the Harvard historian, was the most distinguished writer on Columbus, the author of a multi-volume biography, and was himself a sailor who retraced Columbus's route across the Atlantic. In his popular book Christopher Columbus, Mariner, written in 1954, he tells about the enslavement and the killing:  The cruel policy initiated by Columbus and pursued by his successors resulted in complete genocide."- from Howard Zinn

Support in 2 weeks: 

Buffalo News, Buffalo Rising, Mogul, Remember Native Americans. Org, Native American and First Nations Cultures, Medium, Indigenous Environmental Network. Org, Time Warner, Haudenosaunee Environmental Task Force, Native American Cultural Center of Rochester & Syracuse, National Native American Indian Heritage Month, Native American Community Services of Erie and Niagara Counties Inc., Sacred Ecology Films, Seneca Nation Media & Communications Center, Sacred Ecology, Seneca Nation of Indians Tourism, WGRZ NBC CH 2, John Kane. 

Art : Arabic "Peace" Dove & Chinese "Peace" & Bodhi Branch

I cannot really say this is a tutorial because all I did was research the words "Peace" in Arabic and Chinese and drew them on wood that I had around the house. The wood can be anything. I happened to have two decorative pieces that were supposed to be cutting boards.  

I decided to stain and sand them because I am into woodworking and then I used a satin gloss to finish. I only used black acrylic paint to outline my sketches. I used a flat end hard bristle brush in order to be able to outline these precisely. 

You can get already cut pieces of wood at art stores, you can use any flat pieces of wood you find and you can have certain pieces cut for you at hardware stores or cut them yourself if you are into woodcutting. You can also put these on canvases.

I decided to use these symbols and artwork because they spoke to me. 

When you look close at the Arabic dove calligraphy you will see the word "Peace" in the dove and that is also the dove of peace. Peace in Arabic is "Salam." 

The Chinese symbols for "Peace" were easy to sketch and the Bodhi branch seemed appropriate as that signifies a sacred fig tree that Siddhartha Guatama [Buddha] sat beneath. "Bodhi" means awakening or enlightenment. 

These are now hanging in my kitchen. 

They are far from perfect and at times I had to rework some spots due to tight space and going out of the sketch lines, but they turned out beautifully. 


The only limitation to creativity is your mind.


Enjoy! 


Check out my other tutorials below:  

Up-cycling Glass: Stamp Candle Holder
 
Up-cycling Glass: Glass Beads Candle Holder

Preserving & Framing Autumn Leaves   

Art Tutorial [Upcycling Glass Containers]

I love to try new things. With all arts, it is about trying and finding what works and what does not work for you. I save tutorials I find and try them later. I try to be diverse in what I create and have fun while doing so. I mean that is the purpose.

 

I found a cool art tutorial on using old mason jars to make beautiful shimmering candle holders so figured I will try it because I am a candle addict over here. The instructions I followed were not realistic and after reading them, I knew that pulling out my own hair would be more fun than trying to glue anything to an upright glass container. 

This is called upcyling, reusing what you have to create something new. I used two containers. One is a small mason jar, another a candle holder left over from an already burned candle. I use old candle glass to hold rocks, shells, dried herbs, flowers, leaves or just recycle them. You can do this here as well, you just end up with a multi-purpose container. That is clear drying caulk above, when it dries it does not look white. 

These cost about $3-5 USD to make. The only thing I had to buy was caulk. My choice. Others used chemically overpowering glues or a glue gun and I did not wish to use anything like that. One, due to potential heat from a candle, two, unhealthy to be breathing fumes from certain glues, three, have fun with a glue gun, glue and beads on glass.

You can use anything to decorate the jars. The first photo, I used a purple ponytail holder and this random peace sign I had and put material around the top. After these two jars were done, I thought of using cracked glass from old colored bottles like mosaics. If you do that, just be careful. Protect your eyes.

1. Find glass containers you wish to use. Make sure they are clear of residue and labels. I used rubbing alcohol on them before I started and let that dry. Place glass upside down like the second photo above. Make sure the glass you choose has some sort of lip or edge on the top for the first layer to rest upon to begin. If it does not, everything will just slide right off. 

2. I used glass beads. You can use anything you want. The beads come in all colors and sizes. I chose blue. It looks like carnival glass.

3. Use clear drying all purpose caulk to attach. Not white caulk. One tube is more than enough. Make sure you buy a tube that does not require a caulk gun. You only need a small amount of caulk for each piece. Just enough to secure it to glass. Let each layer sit for about 1/2 hour and do another layer.

4. Make sure to do ONE LAYER at a time. If you do not, the beads act like they are in place but will just slide right off and you have to start over.  I beaded the bottom and tops, they sit and look better.

I use the small one with the peace sign at the top for candles, you can use a votive or a tealight inside. I found the wider and shorter the glass, the more the light reflects outward and shines on the wall and ceiling with patterns when lit compared to the small mason jar.

I use the larger container to store things and right now, that glass jar below is being used as a book depository. I listed all the books I own that I have not yet read and pull out one slip of paper and read that book. 

This one below has a glass bead top to keep what is inside free from dust. The peace sign mason jar is without a top because that one I use for candles. I can also use it as a cool pen/pencil holder. You can literally use these for anything and caulk anything onto them. Be creative! 

I had to light them up before the caulk was 100% dry because I have no patience. When using clear drying caulk, you will not see the white dots. 

They look beautiful! Have fun! Experiment! 

The possibilities are endless.

Check out my Preserving & Framing Autumn Leaf Tutorial