Sat Nov 27 10 08:00 PM
Festival Les Vaches Folks in Vesancy, France

Fri Nov 26 10 08:00 PM
CINEMA JEAN VIGO in Gennevilliers, France

Sat Nov 20 10 08:00 PM
House Concert @ Dietmar's in Mullheilm, Germany

Friday July 30 10
ArtsWells Festival, Wells BC

Sun Jul 18 10 08:00 PM
South Country Fair in Fort Mcleod, AB - Indio performs workshop at 10:30 am and mainstage at 12pm  

Thu Jul 15 10 08:00 PM
House Concert-Jakes Place in Calgary, ON - email for tickets: jakes.ja@gmail.com  

Wed Jul 14 10 08:00 PM
The Artery in Edmonton, - with Scott Cook and Bill Bourne  

Sat Jul 10 10 03:00 PM
Sleemans Cicada Fest in St Catharines, ON - TBA Indio performing afternoon and evening of Saturday July 10  

Tue Jul 06 10 08:00 PM
The Cameron House in Toronto, ON - with guest tba

Mon Jul 05 10 08:00 PM
Moonshine Cafe in Oakville, ON - with Jerry Leger

Sat Jul 03 10 08:00 PM
House Concert in Stoney Creek/Hamilton, ON - with Jerry Leger

Fri Jul 02 10 08:00 PM
House Concert in Sarnia, ON - with Jerry Leger  

Thu Jul 01 10 08:00 PM
London Music Club in London, ON - with Jerry Leger

Indio and Leeroy Stagger Spring Western Tour
Friday April 23, 2010 Lethbridge AB Old FireHall
Saturday April 24, 2010 Calgary House Concert @ Rikk’s Room
Tuesday April 27, 2010 Armstrong BC Caravan Farm Theatre
Wed April 28, 2010 Kelowna BC The Minstrel Cafe
Thurs April 29, 2010 Duncan BC Duncan Garage Showroom
Friday April 30, 2010 Salt Spring Island Tree House Cafe
Sat May 1, 2010 Victoria BC Andy Briggs House Concert
Northern Show!
Friday March 19-2010 Snowking's Castle Yellowknife NT
15th Anniversary Snowking Festival-cd release w) band
Thursday January 28-2010 Cafe Fantastico Victoria BC
INDIO AND DAN WEISENBURGER BENEFIT FOR HAITI!
Caravan Sessions CD release shows fall 2009

WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 2 SOLSTICE CAFE VICTORIA BC w opener Dana Sipos
THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 3 DUNCAN GARAGE-DUNCAN BC w) Dana Sipos
FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 4 GRAND CENTRAL EMPORIUM GALIANO ISLAND BC w) Dana Sipos
TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 8 CAFE MONTMARTRE VANCOUVER BC w) Dana Sipos
THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 11 CARAVAN FARM THEATRE ARMSTRONG BC w) Dana Sipos

Fall 08 Shows-West Coast Mini Tour
Wednesday November 12-08 Cafe Deux Soleils-Vancouver BC w Tiiu
Thursday November 13-08 Duncan Garage- Duncan BC w Tiiu
Friday November 14-08 Solstice Cafe- Victoria BC w Tiiu
Saturday November 15-08 Galiano South Hall- Galiano Island, w Tiiu

Texas Tour-08 dates

27 Feb 2008 20:00
The Blue Door w/Gordie Tentrees
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
28 Feb 2008 20:00&#8232an’s Silverleaf w/ Gordie Tentrees Denton, Texas
29 Feb 2008 20:00
Last Concert Cafe w/G Tentrees, Roger Marin Band Houston, Texas
1 Mar 2008 20:00
Gruene Hall-Fred Eaglesmith Weekend w/G Tentrees,R Marin New Braunfels, Texas
2 Mar 2008 20:00
Saxon Pub w/Adam Caroll,G Tentrees, Roger Marin Austin
4 Mar 2008 20:00
Triple Crown w/ Gordie Tentrees San Marcos, Texas
5 Mar 2008 20:00
The Oaks w/ Gordie Tentrees Manor, Texas
6 Mar 2008 20:00
Logon Cafe w/ Gordie Tentrees ( 5:30 show) Beaumont, Texas
7 Mar 2008 20:00
Old Quarter Cafe w/ G Tentrees Galveston, Texas
8 Mar 2008 20:00
The Bugle Boy w/ G Tentrees La Grange, Texas

11 Jan 2008 Spiral Cafe Victoria B.C
12 Jan 2008 Duncan Garage Showroom, Duncan B.C.
13 Jan 2008 Denman Island Hall, Denman Island BC
18 Jan 2008 Lime, Vancouver B.C. with Patrick Brealey
19 Jan 2008 Grand Central, Galiano Island, BC
28 Feb 2008 Gruene Hall, New Braunfels, Texas U.S.A.
Friday October 19, 2007 Calgary AB :
Benefit for cancer survivor Brenda P.

Friday October 26, 2007 Galiano BC Solo and with Ragged Glory Band. Community Awareness Concert
April 21st, 2007- Mayne Island Folk Club, BC, Solo
May 9 and 10, 2007- Spiral Cafe, Victoria BC, with Leeroy Stagger
May 12th, 2007- Duncan Garage Showroom, Duncan BC, with L.S.
May 18th, 2007-Barb's, Salt Spring Island BC, with L.S.
May 19th, 2007- Grand Central Emporium, Galiano Island BC, w L.S.
July 7,8,9 2007- Winnipeg Folk Festival
July 20-22, 2007- Dawson City Music Festival
August 23, 2007- The Boathouse, Kitchener, ON w Roger Marin
August 24, 25th- Cicada Festival, Niagara Falls, On.
August 26, 2007- Peterborough Folk Festival, Peterborough, On
August 28, 2007 - Tuesday, 8pm, The Concord Cafe- Toronto w Tiiu
August 31, 2007-Shelter Valley Folk Festival, Grafton ON
September 1, 2007- Black Sheep Inn, Wakefield PQ, w Roger Marin
September 22, 2007-Grand Central, Galiano Island, w Patrick Brealey
October 29th, 2006 - Irish Times, Victoria BC
November 10th, 2006 - Neil Young Birthday- Steamers, Victoria BC
November 11th, 2006- Neil Young Birthday -Grand Central, Galiano Is.
November 18th, 2006 - w) Dan Weisenberger- Spiral Cafe, Victoria
November 24th, 2006 - Railway Club, Vancouver with Leeroy Stagger
November 25th, 2006 - Railway Club, Vancouver with L.S.
December 7th, 2006- Duncan Garage, Duncan BC, Solo Show
December 8th, 2006 - Grand Central, Galiano Island (Indio Birthday Show with friends)
January 19th, 2007 - Spiral Cafe Solo show with opener t.b.a.
January 27th, 2007- Grand Central, Galiano (with Clay George)
January 29th, 2007 - Railway Club, Vancouver (with Tamara Nile and friends)
January 31st, 2007- Grand Central, Galiano Island (with Hungry Hill and Kim Beggs)
February 1st, 2007- Duncan Garage Showroom, Duncan B.C. (with Kim Beggs)
February 2nd, 2007- Lucky Bar, Victoria BC, with Leeroy Stagger
February 3rd, 2007- Grand Central, Galiano Island, Matt Hopper/L.S.
February 28th, 2007- Canada Games Cultural Festival- Whitehorse YT
March 10th, 2007- Metro Theatre, Victoria BC with Outlaw Social
March 24th, 2007- Snow King Festival, Yellowknife NT
March 27th, 2007- Ekati Diamond Mine, Solo
April 21st, 2007- Mayne Island Folk Club, BC, Solo
May 9 and 10, 2007- Spiral Cafe, Victoria BC, with Leeroy Stagger
May 12th, 2007- Duncan Garage Showroom, Duncan BC, with L.S.
May 18th, 2007-Barb's, Salt Spring Island BC, with L.S.
May 19th, 2007- Grand Central, Galiano Island BC, with L.S.
July 7,8,9 2007- Winnipeg Folk Festival

30/30 Tour w) Gordie Tentrees
Apr 08, 2006 Toronto, ON Tranzac Club

Apr 09, 2006 Wakefield, PQ Blacksheep Inn

Apr 10, 2006 Wakefield, PQ Blacksheep Inn with Josh Ritter

Apr 11, 2006 Sudbury, ON Towne House Pub

Apr 12, 2006 Sault St. Marie, Downbeat Lounge

Apr 13, 2006 Rossport, ON House Concert

Apr 14, 2006 Thunder Bay, ON Kilroy's

Apr 15, 2006 Winnipeg, MB Times Change

Apr 16, 2006 Dauphin, MB Dauphin Arts Council Concert

Apr 17, 2006 Brandon, MB Brandon Folk Fest. Concert

Apr 18, 2006 Regina, SK The Exchange

Apr 21, 2006 Edmonton, AB The Blue Chair Cafe

Apr 22, 2006 Calgary, AB Karma Cafe

Apr 23, 2006 Canmore, AB Canmore Hotel (2 nights
)
Apr 25, 2006 Lethbridge, AB The Tongue and Groove

Apr 26, 2006 Twin Butte, AB Twin Butte General Store

Apr 27, 2006 Nelson, BC The Royal Hote
l
Apr 28, 2006 Vancouver, BC The Rime

Apr 29, 2006 Galiano Is, BC Grand Central Emporium

Apr 30, 2006 Duncan, BC Duncan Garage Showroom

May 02, 2006 Victoria, BC Spiral Cafe

May 03, 2006 Vancouver, BC Railway Club

May 04, 2006 Winfield, BC Arts Center

May 05, 2006 Enderby, BC Lorenzo's Cafe

May 07, 2006 Fort St. John, BC Egan's (3 nights)

July 12, 2006 Ottawa, On Ottawa Blues Festival

July 16, 2006 Yellowknife, NT Folk On The Rocks Festival

October 12 2005- West Coast Music Awards Showcase
November 2005-Shows in Vancouver (Railway Club), Galiano Island (Grand Central Emporium)
December 8, 2005-Northern Arts and Cultural Center, Yellowknife NT
December 10, 2005-Decade Ball, Whitehorse, Yukon

Castles

Today it is a fine day in the sun
follow me my child
and give thanks to the one
for this goodness that has come
let the work be done

until today the cold has ceased to yield
makes it kinda tough
when you're working in the fields
and the grounds too cold to kneel
blisters peel

do you know just how it feels

and i pray that in a while we get some rain
gently fall from heaven
pour it's love into the grain
and put me on my feet again
i'll go insane

cause those city boys are back again to steal
the only thing I've ever had
my kids need their meals
and they come here with their deals
dirty deals

do you know just how it feels

and little johnny said to me today
daddy are they really
going to take it all away
why can't they let us stay
what could i say?

your politicians never find the time
to listen to my troubles
they just say I'm out of line
and I'm falling far behind
I'm in a bind

do you know just how it feels

(when the dogs are at your heels
when the world's at their command
it's all just castles in the sand)

Leaving Here

Saw a picture yesterday
man it took my breath away
you and me on the airport road
on silver wheels in a sky of gold
silver wheels and a sky of gold
in a town that left us so cold
I remember every word so clear
told each other we were leaving here

I still see them hilltop shacks
summer winds and factory stacks
man they made an awful stink
we played guitars and we learned to drink
we played guitars and we learned to drink
kissed the girls at the skating rink
I remember how I held her near
how I told her I was leaving here

We were looking for that one way out
all our heroes sang about
like a promise on the radio
with the music saying go go go
driving steady round the edge of town
going up and coming back down
always wishing we could disappear
everybody dreamed of leaving here

Now you've got a pretty wife
a nice big house and a steady life
you still dream of being a star
I make my living on this old guitar
I make my living on this old guitar
I got away but I never got far
it's nice to see you after all these years
come tomorrow I'll be leaving here

Nothing Town

Nobody turns around
or lifts their eyes off the ground
in Nothing Town
in Nothing Town

Nobody talks to you
you wish you were just passing through
this Nothing Town
has brought you down

Pieces
Pieces of someone you've been
someone that no one has seen
for a long long time
Places
places that you'd like to go
and the people all smile like they know
that you don't have a dime (to show)

Nobody here seems to care
when I wave my thumb in the air
close my eyes and pray
for a getaway

And I've been here way too long
some kind of feeling is gone
and I can only say
I need a getaway

Dreaming
baby was it only a dream
I was pulling away breaking clean
yeah I was shifting down
Leaving
baby I swear I was leaving
and it was so hard to believe
when I woke up again

In Nothing Town
Oh no....

Nobody Waits For Me

The road is endless sometimes it's senseless
when nobody calls my name
winters and summers cities and meadows
looked different but felt the same
under a roof I never raised
under a cloud and a moon
under the shadow of a tree that sways
I pray that you'll come to me soon

The road is lonesome and so is the sleep
I'm lonely and black as a bird
lost and flying in the night so deep
I can't be seen or heard
flying around trying to get found
you could bring me down with a word
say it sweet and I'll fall at your feet
and things will be just as they were

I lean over books I never wrote
they tell me my love is a lie
I listen to songs and note for note
they tell me you just have to try
yesterday's broken and I wish you were joking
the last time you spoke with your eyes
I wish I could leave it's hard to believe
you ever said goodbye

Will I yearn for your sweet return
or will I learn to be free
there's nothing to prove except that I can keep moving
when nobody waits for me
open your heart and close your eyes
follow the sound of the bird that cries
wherever you are you can hear him sing
nobody waits for me

wherever you are you can hear him sing
nobody waits for me

Home (song for mom)

I used to take you to the carnival
when you were just a little kid
you thought that everything was wonderful
it didn't matter what we did
the sun was shining and the sky was blue
the summer air was warm and sweet
I'd pull your wagon down the avenue
and get you something nice to eat

Home is the love that's in your mother's heart
when you've got nowhere left to stand
when everything in life gets pulled apart
I want to hold you by the hand

Just like a bird that has to learn to fly
your mom will teach you to believe
your mom will teach you how to love the sky
knowing that someday you will leave
sometimes I wonder why you never call
don't you have anything to say
who's gonna hold you when you slip and fall
I think about you everyday

Home is the love that's in your mother's heart
when you've got nowhere left to stand
when everything in life gets pulled apart
I want to hold you by the hand

Sleep Late Maria

The artists are restless
they need a new scene
the businessmen changed
all the locks on their dreams
the theme park is open
the soldiers are out of a war
so sleep late Maria
you don't have to fight anymore

It's cold in the East
where the dead cannot rest
the promised land's crowded
and cracked in the West
I’m stuck in the prairies
as empty as I've every been
I gave you my heart
and I'm still finding out what that means

When the last show was over it felt like a sin
we're just looking for cover til the next one begins
we make enough to move on with
but it feels like we're falling apart

We're trying so hard to get on with the show
but like Gypsies we're hated wherever we go
and i know we'd surrender it all
if we knew where to start

I'm writing you now
from this little cafe
we're in town for the night
then we're back on our way
to the road that we long for
the road we were all born to roam
so sleep late Maria
i don't know when I'm coming home

Marie

Tried to get some sleep last night then I saw the dawn
I used to be so good at this so naturally turned on
by the beauty and the mystery but now I feel I've lost my touch
I'm looking out at the sunset now and I don't feel very much
I built so many fences started to lose my nerve
you made me stick to my defenses girl and I got what I deserved
got so worn out by the worry I let you down entirely
and though you're five years gone I know I can't move on until I see your face Marie

When the birds came out this morning and they made their debut
It was like they sang for the very first time and it made me think of you
of loneliness in April stretching out into May
and how I found you on that spanish evening in that tired old cafe
how I never had much money and how you lived with that
when I was singing on the street and how you used to pass my hat
but from the day we met I never could forget about the man I had to be
you said it from the start that he would break our hearts
I guess I know that now Marie

I've got a friend with a cabin who lives on the edge of a lake
he's one of the very few I know who isn't out on the make
one day he just woke right up and he walked out on everything
he lives alone by the water now and he writes down all his dreams
he don't get many visitors and doesn't seem to mind
sometimes I get the feeling that he's left this world behind
and though my life's become a lot like his while fighting to stay free
at times my shape gets bent thinking to what extent
I let you keep me down Marie

My days are strange and meaningless and nothing makes much sense
I'd like to think that we'd be different now but I've got no evidence
the past keeps burning up my mind you know it's hard to get much sleep
can't stop thinking bout the weight of the world and all the things I couldn't keep
and when I think about you I can't be sure that it's for real
I'm not so sure that you can love anyone until you know just how you feel
and even then you can't be certain it's not just yourself that you see
both beautiful and terrible behind the curtains of Marie

there's a lot of pretty faces in a world of window panes
looking haunted and unwanted when you're walking through the rain
when their aim's as true as your loneliness they can save you from the storm
but there comes a point when you can't pretend you wouldn't rather just stay warm
than to be held up by someone's charms against the wall of alibis
like an outlaw trading false alarms for a place for clothes to dry
and the romance of a fixed address and a real identity
the day that you hand in your guns and belt you'll see just how i felt Marie

Exit Sign

You let me in
and now I'm
looking for that exit sign
I've always been that way
I don't know what I'm trying to say (but)
it's getting hard to be this existential man
I look into your eyes and I wonder how I can
how I can

You came in here
and caught me
you caught me with an open mind
a certain 'what the hell'
and baby I heard wedding bells
when love's the last thing that I ever thought I'd find
I looked at you and I found a world I left behind
left behind

So here I am
(now baby)
looking for that exit sign
but it don't make no sense
to just believe in accidents
it's getting hard to be the man who never would
I look into your eyes and I wonder how I could
how I could....

Same Old Blues

Here's some brand new changes
for the same old chords
I've got some new arrangements
for the same old worn out words
guaranteed to be the same old thing
you always hear me do
i've got a brand new song
same old blues

I wrote it in the kitchen man
I learned it in the car
banged it out tonight for the same old people
down at the same old bar
thought i heard somebody tapping their feet
'til i looked down at my shoes
i've got a brand new song
same old blues

Now working at this table isn't always fun
especially when i tell myself that the songs have all been sung
but as long as my window keeps me looking babe
and that moon shines up in the sky
i'll keep on singing everything i know
even if you think it's just a lie

I'm a devil in my steeple
but i'm working for the Lord
i'm working for the lonely people
and i hope they don't get bored
but if you wonder who i'm singing for
ain't it time you realize it's you
i've got a brand new song
same old blues

cause the world's in confusion man
and everybody's sick
everybody wakes up in the morning
has to turn some kind of trick
but everything that I'm doing
I'm just trying to do it true
i've got a brand new song
same old blues

working at this table.... (repeat chorus)

Stranger

Well he came to town on a winter's day
and he brought with him the spring
in a long black coat full of songs he wrote
and a guitar on a string
and he found a spot for the voice he brought
in the village market square
and he cut the sky with a naked cry
that came from everywhere
came from everywhere

HIs music was like poetry
and the men all bowed their heads
his voice was sweet when it hit the streets
and the ladies cheeks went red
and the bluebirds sang like a drunken gang
from the roofs and the window sills
we went inside when my mother cried
as the sun rolled down the hills
sun rolled down the hills

With his eyes like night and his raven hair
he could hypnotize a crowd
i wasn't allowed but i watched him there
i felt mischievous and proud
and late at night i would wander down
and i'd find him all alone
sleeping in his raincoat
on a pillow made of stone
pillow made of stone

Well i never will forget his face
and sometimes it makes me mad
cause i never thought i'd take his place
and lose the home i had
well the years roll past and they roll so fast
i've been moving right along
so put a quarter in my case
and i'll sing you one last song
sing you one last song

The night is long when you know them songs
you don't belong no more
i have become a man that runs
like strangers of before
the night is black on the railroad track
and the darkness knows no end
the night is black on the railroad track
and i won't be back again
won't be back again

Music Man

Well i bring the old man's song a new direction
i'm trying to relieve him in my time
i can sing his tired songs with such conviction
i wonder why i can't believe in mine

I've been to all the places that he went to
that taught to read the faces for the lies
i've tried most every drug and every whiskey
to find a word of truth behind the eyes

I travel with a singer and a dancer
their loves' a story made to make you cry
i don't know if we'll ever find an answer
it seems we're only learning how to die
it seems we're only learning

With many miles of storm the night is falling
a smile could keep me warm when sleep is calling
it's time to count my pennies
but i'm tired and there's not many
and i can barely move my hands
but i do the best i can
i am the music man
i am the music man
i am the music man

Desolation Angel

Well I hope that there's still room up on that wagon
where you said that you would save a place for me
with the ones who had to overcome the dragons
that were threatening to drown them in that sea
cause I don't want to be the junk left in your closet
by some cripple that you had to leave behind
a pair of sad eyes peering from your locket
of some memory that's too heavy for your mind

With a heart that had an inkling of heaven
and a body that was shackled to the earth
I've spent a lifetime cursing my conception
searching for the knowledge of its worth
but I don't want to be the wreckage on the highway
of some drunken ghost who lives inside your heart
I don't want to be the echo in night's hallways
of the sound of blood and metal torn apart

Oh let me rise
let me rise
up from this bed
made of my lies
cause I don't want to be a desolation angel

And I don't know if I'll be here in the morning
but it's funny that I'm not afraid to sleep
and because I know I've had my share of warnings
It's time to make a promise I can keep
Cause I don't want to be a letter in your mailbox
that you press against your chest on lonely nights
I don't want to make the news at 6 pm dear
or live another day without your light

Oh let me rise...

The Last Time (I Committed Suicide)

I saw the beauty of the word
between the lines where many men had died
for a duty so absurd
for the rumor of a painted bird
the last time I committed suicide

I saw a baby in the womb
inside the stoney stare of a young girl's eyes
I saw a noose in every room
from the cradle to an old man's tomb
the last time I committed suicide

I saw the men who rule my land
who lay to waste my world with pride
with their fascist architecture and their fire

Where money is the king
and the truth ain't worth a thing
and beauty doesn't seem to be desired

I saw the men who ruled my land
it made me wonder if I killed the wrong man
the last time I committed suicide

solo

I heard the laughter round my name
I saw a Godly road on which to ride
I saw a people still in chains
I saw a beast too big to tame
the last time I committed suicide

I thought of all the love i'd had
that I could still feel deep inside
beneath a world of lies I saw a road to my revival

I saw my mother and my dad
and I remembered how they tried
how they always fought so hard for our survival

just when the line was stretched so thin
that's when you called me back again
the last time I committed suicide

End Of Every Line

When you are surrounded by an image
when you get confounded by the noise
hypnotized by someone else's vision
paralyzed by someone else's voice
when everything around you's breaking down babe
and you can't tell the difference in your mind
between the world you find
and the one of your design
meet me at the end of every line

I know you've seen the light fade in the darkness
and all your pages raged into the night
and I can't say I know how much you've witnessed
or tell you just how long you'll have to fight
i know you've got a heart that longs for cover
and I know you've had some troubles in your time
so if you need a friend
I'll be just around the bend
out here at the end of every line

even if your heart longs for another
even if I'm with somebody else
what we had was only for each other
and what it meant well only time can tell
even if your world is full of murder
and there's a thousand soldiers in your bed
that swear to me you'll never be a mother or a lover
I'd offer you a place to rest your head

I have seen the children in the valley
dance beneath the killers in the hills
I've seen lilies in the fields of desolation
growing where the blood of hatred spills
growing though they know not why they're growing
growing where the sun don't even shine
out here where our best thoughts have been going all along
out here at the end of every line

21st Century Blues

I heard a rumor the worlds gonna sink
the end will come sooner than anyone thinks
down in the valley they're spreading the news
I'm up on the mountain 21st century blues

Sister come with me let's find a place
I want to be with you if this is the case
cause you're all that I long for and know to be true
we've got no time for 21st century blues

Let's go to the North babe or home to the south
the people here scare me they foam at the mouth
they're just waiting for water with holes in their shoes
they're pointing at me and they're pointing at you

From deep in the country down to the sea
people have always longed to be free
but now you know there's so many with nothing to lose
stuck in the cities 21st century blues

they say we've run out of credit and we're bound for a crash
but we got the spirit if we don't have the cash
the light is electric but they've taken the view
lost in the panic 21st century blues

Our love is not over it's just how you feel
we can be lovers but it's too late for deals
it's too late to fake it we gotta get through
so watch what you say and watch what you do
watch what you do

CLOUDS

Clouds are moving swiftly 'cross the sky
there's three more days until I go
but i won't say goodbye
because you are the woman for my life
the next time that we meet again
then you will be my wife

I knew you like a bell that wouldn't sound
inside the silent movie
that I played from town to town
through restless dreams for you I left a place
where nothing else could matter
'til i looked into your face

and now I know the reasons for the times
I was blind
and now I know my seasons will be fine
in my mind
in my mind

You know it's good to see the world anew
to slip out of the shadow lands
and feel you like I do
my love it feels so light yet holds me down
it makes me feel like I can fly
with both feet on the ground

and so much more than words can ever say
we lived today
I've never gone so far out of my way
and I'd like to stay
I'd like to stay

Clouds are moving.....

Dead Man

Every single hour every moment of the day
I look upon a wishing well and wonder what to say
through truth and lies and beauty there's a mystery to undress
but I'm tired of feeling guilty just because I'm unimpressed
I need someone to talk with
until it's time to leave
every since she left me
I need reasons to believe
my lonely eyes may frighten
you'll see them when I sing
and they'll tell you how a dead man
is the very strangest thing

Now the dead man takes the daughters and he takes the lonely wives
he don't know what he's after so he messes with their lives
he cuts through air like silence breaks the skin just like a scratch
he lets you see inside him til you find that you're attached
some say that he's dishonest
but each lover's gently warned
I might not leave you too much
but tonight I'll keep you warm
with the sweetness of a stranger
'til the morning comes to rise
and I guess it's just a danger
if you think I'm telling lies

He's out there on the highway just before the sun comes up
and he sings to pass the hours 'til there's whiskey in his cup
he knows his days are numbered like the bullets from a gun
so he sings about the love that left the legend on his tongue
the chrome that started peeling
the heart that filled with rust
the one who left the feeling
there ain't no one you can trust
the one who left a world
to which he'd never quite belong
the one who made the dead man
is the reason for this song
she's the reason for this song

Fortunate Son

Where is the fortunate son
his daddy swallowed a gun
the market crashed
and when he lost the cash
they say he lost it all

Where is the fortunate son
who always had his way to pay for all those toys
now that they're lost
how much will it cost
for him to learn to hate

Where is the fortunate son
now that the middle class is gone
and we're still poor
worse off than before
when we were miserable

I wish to God that I could see
why this is happening to me
am I slave or am I free
whatever happened to the dream

Where is the fortunate son
the war ain't over don't he know it's just begun
we need his pride
things are bad outside
and they're just getting worse

Where is the fortunate son
will he sing a song for everyone
sing us the blues
coins around his shoes
we'll say he rose again

I wish to God that I could see
why this is happening to me
am I slave or am I free
whatever happened to the dream

Middle Of Things

Take the high road when you're feeling fine
take the low road when you're breaking
do your best just to walk a straight line
you'll sometimes be mistaken
look at your hands and study those lines
think about highways turning
think about love when you look in my eyes
think about fires burning

I'd give anything to see you again
no one here would miss me
if i had money well i'd go again
cause i know just how you'd kiss me
sometimes i wonder if you had a choice
did you really have to leave me
on these dim-lit stages where i lost my voice
and i begged you to believe me

Where are you in the middle of things
When you get so tired of trying
Where are you in the middle of things
Are you thinking of me and crying

Can't you see the driver at his lonely wheel
driving through the valleys of darkness
don't you ever wonder how the poor man feels
when the road has lost it's promise
and it's taking too long for the lights to change
and life up here is lonely
i'm twice as crazy but i'm half as strange
and i still love you only

Where are you in the middle of things
When you get so tired of trying
Where are you in the middle of things
Are you thinking of me and crying

El Camino Dreams

El Camino dreams
are keeping me awake tonight
El Camino dreams
you know I'm down the road and I'm out of sight
a 66 would be so sweet
midnight blue with a black interior
chrome shining like diamonds on the street
make a man like me feel so superior

I couldn't drive no kids to school
not even if they begged me to
the price of gas wouldn't feel so cruel
and nobody would ever ride in it but me and you
in my El Camino dreams
with somebody around me who can understand
why I don't like it here no more
ever since you took away your hands

I would drive right through these nights
til i'd get so tired i'd just have to sleep
pull over to a field in a blanket of stars
have one last smoke lying back on that old bench seat
if she could drive me all the way
you know I'd love that woman til the day I die
like a man who hates to stay
cause everything else just makes him want to cry

I know these dreams ain't any good
cause the road is changing on the lone cowboy
you could have a thousand horses 'neath your hood
if you ain't helping no one live you know it's just a toy
El Camino dreams
sorry honey but that's all I'm dreaming of
and I don't know what it means
but i loved you more than life and i know it ain't enough
it ain't enough

Minor Blues

i tried to write a song tonight
you know i couldn't get it right
it was just a minor blues
full of all my heavy views
i was trying to fill with pain
words so full of love and rain
the thought of leaving you again
and all the writing on the wall

i was still angry from the day we had
and then i guess it made me sad
the lullaby we sang in bed
was keeping me awake instead
you were talking in your sleep
your company was hard to keep
your body fighting in the moonlit sheets
telling me i had it all

and now i got the minor blues but i don't have a song
been looking for that major key so long
so long

i've loved you for a long time now
we still don't get along somehow
we've been trying to make a deal
ever since we made it real
i know the story will not end
until there's nothing to defend
but when an enemy becomes a friend
will one of us be gone

our love is like a minor blues that tells us something's wrong
been looking for that major key so long
for one to find a way to choose
and one to carry on
find a deal we can't refuse
or say so long
so long

Nothing Can Be Done

The lunatics are on the street
staring at the sun
waiting for the black out
somebody said would come
they're sure that it's all over
things have gone too far
I'm just waiting for my lover
looking at the stars

She says she really knows me
she knows just what I need
she offers me her schedules
I offer her my speed
we sit here drinking coffee
and watch the ashtrays burn
sometimes she looks up at the TV
I just wait for her return

And I don't know where I'm going
or what I'm running from
sometimes I wonder if I ever will
can anything be done?

It's either feast or famine
it's purge and then it's binge
it's always been the same in my life
lately it's making me cringe
but none of these things matter
when my baby holds me tight
she's like my coffee in the morning
my whiskey late at night

she's like my coffee in the morning
my whiskey late at night

Grace Of Thee

This little bird
did her best to fly
despite the rain and thunderclouds
that covered up her eyes
and when she flew
she knew that you were there
she didn't need to struggle
or even say a prayer
she kept trying
she kept flying
'til she flew
so easily
and she made it home
if only by the grace of Thee

This tiny tree
did his best to grow
in the ground where he was planted
where the sun would never go
from where he stood
he could see so many trees
that grew up straight and tall
while he grew so crookedly
but he kept growing
without knowing
the day would come
when he'd be free
and he made it home
if only by the grace of Thee

I don't know why my life
is so full of trouble
or why the world seems so unkind
but when all of the rain inside's
got me seeing double
I know you'll let me see in time

I'm not ready yet
to face my final dawn
I haven't found my highway
I'm still looking for my song
I'm scared and alone
and it seems so hard today
to wake up and keep trying
but I'm learning how to pray
just keep me warm
and I'll keep singing
though I know not
what will be
and I'll make it home
if only by the grace of Thee
I’ll make it home
if only by the grace of Thee

Holding On

holding on to what we have
that feels so right and so brand new
without giving in to thoughts and fears
that make me want to run from you
and I'm holding on
just like the times
in the past
when I wasn't feeling strong

now I feel your love shining through
these silver days out on the land
and I love you more than I could say
where would I be without your hand
and I'm holding on
just like the times
in the past
when I felt like I belonged

got your love
shining through all my days (3x)
got your love
shining through

oh baby I can't stand to make you sad
with words I speak
if I show you how I feel inside
how could you love a man that's weak
but I'm holding on
just like the times
in the past
when I wasn't feeling strong.

Orphans

We were capsized in the waves of empty faces
baptized in that million dollar sound
and we found our own religion in those places
the stadium was the biggest church in town
but there comes a time you wonder what you live for
when the sacred things lose meaning in your head
it's like waking from a dream to find you're older
with the feeling something died while you were sleeping in your bed

When we got into that van we made a promise
said we'd find the things we looked for long ago
the open roads beyond the perfect highways
that told us there was nowhere left to go
and all the way we fought to keep it coming
but that strip mall highway didn't seem like it would ever end
and when we realized we couldn't drive forever
we were needing more than money though we didn't know it then

And now it's been a long long time since we have spoken
are you having any good dreams you could share
with someone just like you but not as broken
well brother I'm not sure you even care
but I had one just last night about Walt Whitman
saw his face on all my money clear and green
and the President confessed to all the nations
that the Leaves Of Grass were drenched in foreign blood and gasoline

He was a half-forgotten preacher in the theatre
screaming bout a world that we once knew
but this time 'round when Johnny said No Future
from my television man, you know it felt so true
tonight we'll have the campfires and the music
just like we used to do so many times before
and I'll sing one 'neath the stars just for you brother
cause you know you're gonna come back from this war

Repeat 1st verse

'Til The Sun Shines

I'm as abandoned as the sand
the wind left at your door
that's how I feel without your hand
like I'll never get to shore
to see that blue light shine again
and know it's possible
to be with you 'til the sun shines in the morning
be with you 'til the sun shines in the morning
and I'm gone

Out of all the things I tried in life
the hardest one was you
seems we were better one to one
than we ever could've been as two
but still tonight I can't see why
we have to say goodbye
I'll be with you 'til the sun shines in the morning
be with you 'til the sun shines in the morning
and I'm gone

So baby call me anytime
I'll always be your friend
and maybe somewhere down the line
we can try this all again
we'll see who meant the things they said
when we were lying here
I'll be with you 'til the sun shines in the morning
be with you 'til the sun shines in the morning
and I'm gone

Northern Town

It was new years day back in '92
I was just a kid in my canvas shoes
going to New York City from Montreal
where I left my heart on a last phone call
I made it past the border with my new guitar
they searched me good and they stripped my car
I was almost in the city when the snow came down
it weren't half as pretty as my Northern Town

Got myself a job in a small cafe
playing Bobby Dylan down in the subways
and I had big ideas bout the truth and such
I looked around the scene and I didn't find much
but the ghosts of the singers with the golden words
and I wrote a lot of songs that no one ever heard
I got so lonely when I lost my sound
just another hillbilly from a Northern Town

And there was nobody there to hold me
nobody there could've told me

It felt like Christmas in the middle of June
when Santa rolled in with a needle and spoon
it was cheaper than grass and it felt so good
you'd go get more just as soon as you could
but then the money got thin and the streets got mean
I didn't know how I just had to get clean
it took a whole week of shaking on an old greyhound
but I made it on back to my Northern Town

Now my Northern Town can get cold as hell
there ain't no steeple and there ain't no bell
there's a whiskey river that runs right through
and it might look dirty depending on your view
and sometimes I wonder if I'll ever get out
when the bars full of laughter and the lakes full of trout
and when that midnight sun and the summer comes round
there's nothing in the world like my Northern Town
nothing in the world like my Northern Town

Burn The Ships

Burn the ships
so that you can't go home again
many men before you
had to do that in the end
in an act of faith
that you will never comprehend
through self-deception
or the measurement of learning

Speak the truth
don't be denied or compromised
you're helping no one here
with these hollow alibis
when you know it's just a weakness
you've been trying to disguise
and to conceal
while a deeper world is dying

You know the moment has come
for to do what you must do
it may never appear again
so bare and free of caution
so let uncertainty be your friend
'til it does reveal to you
the one who walks through fear
and finds no other option

Trust yourself
and trust the force that made you come
until your fire's gone out
may you stand tall in the sun
and though the night may bring you loneliness
and leave a bitter taste on your tongue
risk not temptation
you have yet to be delivered

May you see that there is no blame
may you lose your grudges too
may your enemies lose sight of you
in the blindness of their expectations
may you find all the strength you need
in the knowledge that is new
and see that what you've done
's beyond all explanations

So burn your ships
dismiss these phantom sails
let not a trace be left
of the memory of your trail
leave every doubt behind
that you are bound to fail
and let nobody
judge the distance that you've travelled
for what is failure
but a destiny unravelled
Burn your ships

First Communion

I haven't seen Mama since my First Communion
that's the only memory that I really have
it'd been a long time since I heard my language
it smelled like whiskey and it sounded sad
when she pulled me close and said we'd be together
I said don't cry Mama cause I'll see you soon
when I turned 18 the sisters pulled me over
said 'your Mama died one summer in the month of June'

My daddy was a dime-store 'drunken Indian'
they said he served the country in the Second World War
fighting for the freedom in the old Dominion
he came back a hero without knowing what for
they sent the white boys back to the girls they'd marry
to the towns they lived in to their farms and fields
but his plane touched down on a childless prairie
and a broken woman had to fight for her meals

And it was twenty years later when I tried to find him
the social workers told me that he'd probably died
given me up on account of his drinking
I'll never know how hard they really tried
I was living with a man who hit me once too often
on the edge of Green River in a one room shack
to this very day I don't remember what happened
but he never got up the time I hit him back

There were lots of women like me when I went to prison
we were from different places and we broke the same rules
we'd all lost our languages families and children
we were middle-aged orphans from the residence schools
I don't believe in justice like I do in healing
I don't believe you can heal a person with a lie
but you can't heal a person doesn't know he's human
and it was in that prison that I learned to cry

Tonight I'll light a candle and I'll pray for my mother
pray for my people pray for their dreams
sit beside that candle with my son and my daughter
pray they never have to see the things I've seen
when they moved a People like they'd move some cattle
from the land of the rivers to a fenced-in dream
generations of people stolen from each other
well I'm living for them now and I'm doing it clean
I'm living for them now and I'm doing it clean

Stories

You told me stories of the grain
a girl who dreamed of airplanes
a hunters hands that came each night
to turn her body to a kite
of silence long ago
a city entered after dark
a night spent in a rainy park
a belly swollen full of shame
a baby born without a name
the world would never know
and how you heard your Captain call that night
when you woke up in a room of blood and light

You wore your sadness like a veil
a doorway to some other trail
that other hunters would've found
and travelled without turning round
to see if it was torn
it branded you and made you run
it spoke to me in foreign tongues
it said let go but hang on tight
as if your body were a kite
some secret in a storm
that told me of the hunter and his string
as if your Captain wouldn't see a thing

But I knew that I would follow you
the moment that I looked at you
down some dark road that had no end
by some command that wouldn't bend
that pulled me through the towns
and no matter how I tried to run
your stories called and I would come
they said let go but hang on tight
as if your body were a kite
I never would pull down
to see if it was true and not a lie
your Captain was the one who made you shy

You taught me how the lovers keep
their secrets so their dreams can sleep
and how in time the world would hide
the ones who hunted you for pride
you said you never chose
but I saw the way you looked at them
the soft young boys the businessmen
who by your style were so confused
the eyes so cold the lips all bruised
the hunger 'neath your clothes
I watched them long enough to understand
your Captain was a law and not a man

You told me stories of the grain
a girl who dreamed of airplanes
a hunters hands that came each night
to turn her body to a kite
of silence long ago
but your love is just a service now
so insincere and cold somehow
you're just another stewardess
and icy smile and iron dress
you wear for those who know
there really is a Captain in the rain
and he's the only one who knows your name

yes he's the only one who knows your name
yes he's the only one

New Kid In Town

How come I have to start over
how come I have to take the fall
you've got me looking for cover
how come you do not care at all
why didn't I see it coming
I thought we'd turned things around
I'm too old to start over
but I'm the new kid in town

You left me here at this table
staring at the rain through the open door
with an apple in my hands
and it was rotten to the core
I lost my friends and my money
there's just nobody around
ain't it just like a movie
when you're the new kid in town

Now the kid rides a dark horse
he moves like lightning and doesn't speak
and his ride is his own true love
he never had to turn the other cheek
I hope that road will still have me
just like an old friend it's found
cause you don't need nobody
when you're the new kid in town

World Of Frost

When every fucking thing is nailed down
you know I'm gonna leave this town
and I'm feeling like a refugee
a prisoner in the Land of the Free

And when winter is just rolling in
and you don't have no money and it feels like a sin
it makes me think of Jesus on the cross
a stranger to kindness in a world of frost

I'm leaving
don't know where I'm going
this time
think of me when you want to
have me on your mind

When money's all you have on your mind
it's cause you can't catch up you know you're so far behind
but when you're locked behind a wheel on the road
all you can hope for is a lighter load

But I'll love you 'til they've taken the trees
plowed down the mountains and poisoned the seas
and we're all living in a holocaust
and all we can wonder is how much we've lost

I'm leaving
don't know where I'm going
this time
think of me when you want to
have me on your mind

The Long Way

Look at the way that they talk
see how they gamble throw themselves at the feet of love
well I've been out on that walk
and it made a fool of me when push came to shove
don't really know where I'm standing now
I've got no reason to hide but it's alright somehow
I've still got love on my mind
but it looks like I'm taking the long way

You called me up in the spring
you said sweet baby let's have one more fling
and then I got you that ring
and I would've given you everything
but ain't it funny how we found out
how throwing ourselves away
ain't what love's all about
when we had love on our minds
I know we were taking the long way

People hurt themselves bad
sometimes I think that they're happier
when they're angry and sad
they'll leave the whole world behind
to lay it all on the line
but then they'll pull out at the first sign of rain
pull out at the first sign of rain

I want to follow the sun
I want to try and love everyone
it ain't that I don't have needs
It's just I don't really need to bleed
don't need no love song to bring me down
don't need no weatherman's news
to know I'm stuck in this town
I've still got love on my mind
but it looks like I'm taking the long way

I've still got love on my mind
but it looks like I'm taking the long way

Con man

Emotional Con man
yeah that's what she said
as I gathered my courage
and I moved from the bed
and the lights came on one by one
and the truth finally slid off her tongue
said I never was more than just one
of the many she wanted

Beautiful con man (she said)
your songs are a bore
if they had any meaning before me
they won't anymore
though you held on to me like a light
you could shine on your pain every night
you lied when you held me so tight
like you knew what you wanted

And you never loved
'til I taught you
you never loved
'til I taught you
you never loved
but now I've got you

The ghost in the window
she cried like a girl
she was waving hello and
goodbye to the world
now she stands at the top of the stairs
with dirty nails and dead leaves in her hair
she says con man I know that you're there
I'm the one that you wanted

And anyway con man
what was on your mind
didn't anyone tell you
you're never gonna leave me behind
you were lying to me all along
trading love for the sake of your song
and if nobody can teach you that's wrong
then somebody should break you

Cause you never loved
'til I taught you
you never loved
'til I taught you
you never loved
but now I've got you con man
(I've got you)

Other Side (For J.B.)

Gravity catches up with you
on the other side
you can't make it a friend when it's an enemy too
it has a way of taking your pride
you can't afford to be as proud
on your old cloud drifting away
hanging out with that lawless crowd
not like you used to anyway

You do what you can just to pay your bills
on the other side
you climb right up and then you're over the hill
and you get ready for that downward slide
when the things you loved don't mean nothing no more
and the things you didn't mean less
the world keeps calling like a wolf at your door
and you've got no happiness

Sometimes I feel sorry for you
I know you'd only just begun
you got the glory and I got the view
of the things we left undone
they say you sold your soul for rock and roll
I don't know if that's true
if there's a place called Hell for those who do it well
it might be better than the pain you knew

But you're still alive and you'll always be
on the other side
crazy and wild and looking at me
from the other side
and though we got much more than we'd bargained for
I know we'll meet again someday
I love you brother and I hope you're fine
and that's all I really have to say

Jan 24/10
This is the original post from the News page with the names of all the people who gave generously
and made The Caravan Sessions a reality. I'll never forget them. The original list of donation amounts has been removed from the site.
Thank you to all of you. Thank you.

06/21/06

07:33:37 pm, Categories: Announcements [A], 297 words
NEW ALBUM 'THE CARAVAN SESSIONS' FINISHED AND RELEASED!

JUST AS PROMISED, AND ONLY BECAUSE OF THE HELP OF THE FOLLOWING PEOPLE!:
D from Germany!, Line Gagnon, Valeria Vergara, Tawanis Testart, Kevin Mackie, Stephane Ritchot, Sonya Meier, Jaime 'Zav' RT,... Allison Green, Alejandro and Gabi! Daphne Denniston, Mark Wilson! Treena Stubel and Herve Oudet! Thank you Mila Steele and Jane Wolverton!
Thanks good buddy Tony Below! (aka Snow King), and Andrea Coyne, and Ward Wylie and Laurie Sarkadi! Thanks so much Kevin More. Also Scott and Jill! Heather Nicol and Family!! Thanks Jasmine Netsena, Pat Braden and Laurie!, Terry Woolf and Aggie Brockman, Gli Edmonds. Thank you Jodi, 'Jodes' pal... Muchas Gracias Martin Julien. Thanks very very much Gordon Hamre! Diana M Mathisen, thank you! Andrew Love, Cocktails in Summer!
Thank you Gary Coward, Thank you Sue Turner. Thanks Tom and Anne Hennessy. Thanks April Parchoma, Laura Wilder! Muchas Gracias Marty Levenson Y Jacqui. And thank you Edward Becker. To my ol' island pal OmBodhi St John thank you brother keep on drivin' free!
My good friend Hotse...what can I say 'cept thanks for helping me Travel On in love and style. Orissa Forest I love you. God Bless you Judy Murdock and old friend Peter Cullen.
Thanks Peter Sands, Cheryn Wong and Jacques Spiry! And very much to Kelly Payne!!
Thanks Elias Saravanja.

The Caravan Sessions was recorded this past February and mixed and mastered in April. Full story coming very soon to this website as well as many changes to the site itself, please stay tuned!!
Cd's will soon be available at CD BABY and ITUNES, as well as other avenues.. for now, mail orders from this address are all we have.
Indio Saravanja
4886 Salmon River Rd.
Armstrong, BC
V0E 1B4
Canada
The Caravan Sessions can be heard at myspace.com/indiosaravanja

‘Is this the best way we can grow our big orchards?

What happens when I think about Woody is that I get kind of angry inside, in an inspired sort of way. Mad somehow, in both senses of the word, most every time he comes up. I don’t even need to hear him sing! Just mention his name to me or one or two of his song titles and all kinds of complex and sometimes conflicting energies will come up from inside. From notions of what a real artist is supposed to accomplish in a lifetime, (Woody accomplished a lot, (all without a record deal or Guggenheim grant I might add), to what we simply MUST do as citizens of this world if we are sincerely interested in making it a better place, Woody leaves me feeling like there’s just so much left to work for. and simultaneously, that it’s not only worth it, but that it’s the only real game in town worth being a part of. I get blood in my eyes again. Suddenly, I too find myself staring at the ceilings of my nights with restless thoughts on my Revolutionary Mind. I want my freedom and I want freedom for all. I want justice to be served and fairness made Law and I want Love to reign.

I love how real Woody was and still is. As the son of a hard-working mechanic, I guess I grew up blue-collar all the way. Add to that the fact that we were poor and ‘different’ because we were immigrants ourselves, who had come to a better land, a better dream of life my parents were willing to pay the price for, upon discovering him I instantly felt like I could trust him. He was on our side. He too was an Outsider. He too the underdog. And in the tradition of Whitman himself, (and Steinbeck and the rest) he too believed each leaf of grass (each realized life) held sacred worth no matter how defenseless, weak, or small.

What I mostly love about Woody Guthrie is his rule about there always being Hope included in the songs we sing and write. He wasn’t just a protest singer, and he liked making people laugh as well. I was recently handed these words from another guy who had quite an influence on me, my own father, and I think Woody would’ve liked the gist of the following quote from his bible. It reminds me of a lot of his songs where he just sang about the joyful Good in the world with a capitol G and I’ll close with it as I wonder how I myself can improve my game.

Whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue and if there be any praise, think on these things.
Philippians, 4. 8
-Indio Saravanja, October 2009

Texas Tour Over Ego Trashed Onward Music Life & Love
Folks the tour was great fun, especially the show at Gruene Hall, I think I did around an hour and twenty minutes of my stuff to a packed room there,, most generous bunch of people, (all of them Fred Heads more or less). It was also great to see Fred Eaglesmith do his thing. It was very nice of him to let me use his Gibson too. It was great making all kinds of new friends from all over. Beautiful people all over the place. What a pretty town. Pretty faces. Great music. Kimberley from Dirty Hair Design was incredibly generous with me. I wish she could sell cd's for me always eternally and keep me laughing full on! Ward and Daphne, other new friends too.

Fred was very strong all weekend, all three of his night time sets were great. He never talked about Willie P. Bennetts' passing til the last night and it was really wonderful. The things he said about him brought a tear to many an eye and then a lot of laughter too, when Fred explained how Willie used to tell him to Go F**k himself on a daily basis to keep his Ego in check. God Bless both those guys and everybody who came out to join the family. I remembered a couple great Willie stories from meeting him up in the Arctic back in the mid 90s. He was wild. Ever wild. Someday I'll tell my version of that one....

Texas is a country unto itself and it was a lifelong dream of mine to go down there. I loved every minute of it. Gotta thank my pals Mark Jungers and Joy for being so gracious with me, also Tim Acox and Angela. Cool hanging out with my new favorite songwriter Adam Carroll too I must say, although he got real lazy during our co-writing session and I feel he owes me better next time. Check him out if you haven't already. Mark Jungers band too, they rock hard.

Damn good people. Roger Marin for setting it up for me to begin with, Gordie for booking the tour and letting me come along, his band for putting up with me. Apparently I was a real ornery fellow at times even though i was working so hard to keep my Ego in check as well! Life is funny. Tragic really. Sometimes both. Thanks to all who teach me along the way I say. Thanks. Just when you think you're getting nicer people think you're going the other way.... ah but that's the beauty of it all.... just ask my new friend Gotama. Know thyself. Get trashed first, it helps.

I got sick again out there and it made me grumpy a lot of the times....seems to be my achilles heel. Chest infections. i was joking to someone the other day about how I would've been long gone back in the days of Chopin and Shelley and such. I would've been gone babies. As far as the shows
they all happened. All 12 shows happened.

For those who wonder what it was like playing The Old Quarter on Townes' birthday. It was like this. Jodes drove 47 hours from Maine and walked in to surprise us all, she was following some angel that told her she had to step on it all the way to Galveston...... so that was a shocker when she walked in smiling and shaking like her car was still running her body...Rex Bell was interesting. i don't know if he enjoyed my stuff or not as he was in his office during my set but I was told he's got a speaker in there or something... .. there weren't really too many folks there at first but then this mysterious big group of people all walked in at the same time, they were all part of a wedding party...... and I was getting a fever and feeling like.....

you know Townes just wasn't there you guys.... Townes is long gone. Leave him be already. That's what I was feeling. i felt like I was feeling something sad in the air, something wasted, something I didn't like and I didn't want to ever hear about again. And that was important and I can't even explain it really. Something about desolation, something about MY past, and a lot of guys who's footsteps I kinda followed for a lot of years sometimes knowing it and a lot of times not. The gypsy song man lives. There's only one kind really, but then maybe see that's the mistake. Lost Highway Blues my friends. I'm sick of that song. I can't even explain so ... anyway,
I sang as best I could and closed my set with Flying Shoes. Jodes helped me with the last verse, I couldn't remember it for some reason. Peter Cullen. He was the first guy to ever play me that tune many years ago on his vinyl rotator machine just after I told him that nobody could slay like Tim Hardin for pain. I was on a Hardin kick for a year or so thanks to Ron Sexsmith telling me one day that I'd find a home there..

For those who wondered if I ended up making it to Arizona and Nicaragua, man, yes, I did. It was really amazing to speak my first language on a daily basis with my hermanos. I owe those people down there for life. They are Pura Vida, pure life. They got it. Coca Cola can steal their water and sell it back to them in plastic bottles but they can't do anything with what those people got flowing through them.

That was another really cool thing about Texas. All the spanish everywhere! Right up to my last night there when I went to check out Alejandro Escovedo over at the Continental. I went backstage and re-introduced myself to the man as it had been 7 or 8 years... speaking spanish with his band while Gordie Johnson and co. were gearing up to get on stage. (They howled pretty wild by the way, both bands absolutely killed!)

Anyway, I'm still really lazy on the blogging folks sorry. It's like pulling.... what's the line?
Pulling what? Having said that, what's with this novel all of a sudden?

On a somber note, I decided not to go finish that album I started 14 months ago after all and am
talking to a few people as we speak trying to figure something out. I'll let you all know soon. It hurts pretty bad but a lot of good things do.

It's good to be home on the west coast. Still trying to get better. Dreaming of horses and El Caminos and better times ahead.

By the way, it's been real good finding you old friend. You know who you are. Sine forever. We will always be together.

Dream harder and get real friends
Onward, ever onward in love
and f**king our selves when needed,

Indio

p.s. Vipassana kicked my ass in more ways than I ever thought possible, I'm not going to talk about it unless asked, don't worry. Even then, you know, I may just have to wait to see Fred again. He'll understand it.

p.p.s. Thanks Amanda

p.p.p.s. & Noel @ Texas Custom Boot. You're a good man.

I'd met Gary maybe a half dozen times, seen him perform around the island, he kinda scared me with his talent, his aura, and frankly, the first few times we talked i thought he was a rude bastard! The fascinating thing of course, that i would later learn to not only appreciate but look forward to was that he got away with it and that it could even make your day in the strangest way! Then he had his accident and the music stopped around here for a while.

Three months after the collision and Melinda had grown tired of me asking about him she convinced me to go up and see him at his place and try and get him playing again, so one sweltering summer afternoon i did just that. I was nervous as hell, what right did i have to assume he'd be ready for a guitar pull and what if he just told me to piss off? I took a chance and went for it. He greeted me at the door wearing bermuda shorts, a skull and crossbones t-shirt cut off at the shoulders like a greaser and a black patch over one of his eyes. He was drinking a super-can of beer through a long straw and looked like a crazed toothless pirate! We talked for a little while about music and the accident and not a half hour later i found myself stripped down, sitting on a sweaty towel in my underwear next to him on the couch watching a Bob Dylan concert, weeping uncontrollably at the marvel of it all while Gary jumped around the room with a beer can in each hand screaming and yelling and laughing and singing along.....a hilarious sight were anyone to walk in on us for sure with me crying and sweating while Gary said 'weep man, yeah that's good! Bob's talking to you man!'. Gary hated to waste time, we were the same that way i guess. Anyway i guess i could tell that the music in him was far from gone.

After a couple more visits and jams he was back in the saddle again, a singer-songwriter extraordinaire with music and music plans coming out of him day and night, ideas, dreams, more jams and gigs. He let me play in his band when i was around and man it was fun and invigorating and exasperating and amazing. A beautiful thing. His songs were great to play along to and i found singing harmonies with him really fun. His songs were great. Fuck yes. He sang with conviction and had the goods to back it up. Wether people listened or not or even showed up it was 100 percent rock and roll and even though it hurt him sometimes he continued.

Gary was a poet and a player. A high trapeze artist of dangerous soul. He was the Orphan, the Gypsy, the Fool, the Sage, just some of his archetypes. He was one of the YES people Kerouac sang for in his On The Road. He was a burning bush in a vast desert, or like Yeats' or Keats' Lion in the desert (i can't remember which), pissed off at all the endless boredom and waste around him. His veins were full of flame and his skin full of the promise of some inner heat or light the kind all the mad ones know about and live for. 'Crying like a fire in the sun'. That's the kind of guy i saw. You couldn't put that fire out with water that's for sure-add gasoline and a thousand years of contemplation. I don't know. His eyes were always full of pain and a glimmer of mischief and he was glad to see you. There was a shiver in his final steps and you could see bones trying to leap out of their tender prisons, long beautiful fingers losing their strength around simple tasks they used to take for granted like holding a beer can or beating the shit out of a guitar somewhere and you know no matter what there was this strength behind everything he did, a pride. And Charisma was all over everything he did. And i had this thought that maybe he was so great because he was never really comfortable here and maybe that's why he was burning all the time, pushing everything to the edge all the time, the limits of the body, mind, of time and words, of joy, cruelty, cynicism, hope, making noise and then silence, of your love and your indifference and patience. He was a pusher alright! Like the great Kristoffersson song The Pusher 'taking every wrong direction on his lonely way back home'. Gary was not a large man but boy could he push you around! To laugh, to feel, to focus on something totally and utterly (even if it meant focusing on him that was part of his gift and his job) he was always on stage as far as i could tell and was most definitely a killer of zombies and the status quo couldn't stand a chance around such a beautiful pain in the ass such as he.

His teachers were also pains in the asses in their own time and there'll be more to come cause we need them. To me Gary was Lenny Bruce! He was Bob Dylan, Jesus Christ, the Bhudda, Charles Bukowski, Lou Reed, Neil Young and Corso and Ginsberg and a hell of a lot of other people i admire and that have taught me a lot and also pissed me off and led me down a road that hasn't often been comfortable. You know the song 'Maggie's Farm'? The voice in that song to me is pure Gary. A beautiful voice of blessing and complaint, the song of the lone scarecrow out in the field saying 'look at me! Top this you bastards! Can you dig this beautiful sky? i'm gonna get free!' He was Spirit overflowing. That's really the thing i feel the most about him and i can see it like a picture in my mind, rare and precious like a jewel, not right or wrong, rich or poor, just shining its SELF.

As far as his music goes, to me he wasn't only playing to a different drummer he was one of the rare individuals who was actually playing on the CORRECT drum. Dig? Which is a timeless ageless drum. Most people in the music business today don't have a clue about that drum cause they're too busy banging on their own chests and trying to sell you a pretty piece of crap and it's no accident that he never really felt like he was a part of it- the 'big time' as it's mistakingly referred to and that he never 'made it'. To me he had not only made it, he was LIVING it and giving it away for free and had even managed to write some eternal songs while he was at it and those who loved him really LOVED him.

I learned a lot from Gary and saw myself in him and i think he helped me a lot without either of us knowing it. I think he showed me that it was ok to get as much pleasure out of washing dishes or driving a truck or cooking a meal or digging the sky as it was to rock out in front of a thousand people with flames flying out of your nostrils and that maybe the things that matter to us the most are the things that mean the least to us in the end. Like sitting on a couch in your underwear next to a drunken pirate while watching Bob Dylan play for 20 thousand people was just as good as Being him.

We found out he wasn't going to be around much longer just weeks after my mother passed away. I'd also lost another close musical friend to cancer just months before and told him 'forget it pal! Enough of this already!' He laughingly apologized. When he told us about it on the ferry it was like he was going on a trip to Mexico or something.....there was little to say...just some hugs. Our relationship changed for the third and final time,...he became almost fatherly to me as if he had more love and energy to give then ever. He started packing his bags almost immediately, going somewhere with a look in his eyes that to me said the same thing my mother's eyes said to me in her last days....they said 'i made it man!....it's alright now i made it and you're gonna be ok' but my heart was full of sorrow. Still is.

He called me a few times when i was on tour recently to see how i was doing and to tell me how great he thought my songs and record were and that he listened to it every night before he fell asleep and that was so encouraging, just when i needed it the most, he was there for me and i'll never forget that. I'll always sing for Gary. Always. Even if i AM driving truck for a living or washing dishes. He was our friend and always will be. He knew Love and was Love and i thank him from the bottom of my heart and the tops of my uppermost mind. We'll understand it all by and by. That's the best we can do. Carry on.