Saturday, February 27, 2010

Wheel of Wonder February 28, 2010

This week on Wheel of Wonder, we'll share the stories of some of the great mythic works of northern and western Europe. We'll hear words and music from the great poetic Eddas of Iceland. If you were like me when you were a kid, you may have read some of the amazing stories of the Norse gods and giants. Or you may remember earlier Wheel of Wonder references to the Egil Saga. All these things come from the Icelandic Eddas. We'll hear new music this week inspired by these great works, classical and folk rock in the sound they'll carry across the airwaves. We will also hear new music drawn from the great Finnish epic, The Kalevala, actual sung runos this week! Plus more music from Gjallahorn, and songs and tales from two of the three major mythic story cycles of Ireland. Let us not forget tales and songs from the Welsh myths of the Mabinogian and new and wholly American retelling of classic tales by the very talented Tricky Pixie and SJ Tucker! Why have these legends carried through time still inspiring the spirits of human beings for so many thousands of years? Listen and decide this week on Wheel of Wonder!
The picture above and to the right is Finn Mac Cumhail as interpreted by Hannah M Friedrichs. For more great work by such artists checkout elfwood.com.

Friday, February 12, 2010

Wheel of Wonder February 14, 2010

This week KAOS dj ABA will take you on the "Wheel of Wonder World Tour" without you ever having to change the radio dial, or hope for a good reception from some portable machine trotting about the globe. As the virtual world travelling bard, I've put together music to take you from the neo-pagans of the Netherlands, to the ancient Finnish rites of the stone Labyrinth, and through the Kalevala Melody, introducing new music by Gjallarhorn. Then we'll go to the UK, meet Tricky Pixie in Scotland, then Ireland Celtic France, Spain, Macedonia and Greece, Egypt, India, Australia, Africa, over to South America, the Caribbean, the Us, probably ending in the Northwest, all through song and music, and some stories and legends along the way. How do we fit this all into one episode of Wheel of Wonder? Well, I'd like to say "Shoot for the Moon, cause even if you miss, you'll end up in the stars!" (mind you, this doesn't mean I support bombing the actual lunar surface to find water, or anything like that). We may make it around the world yet. Join ABA this week on Wheel of Wonder!
Also worth noting: for those of you reading this entry on Friday the 12th of February: Bone Poets Orchestra performs tonight at Soulfood Books in Redmond, WA. and the concert is streaming with live video and audio feed across the Internet, 8pm, Pacific Standard Time!Watch them at this link. Unless you can get a ticket and commute to Soul Food Books, then pay money and go see it , because supporting indy Musicians is a great for your Karma!
The picture above is of our Earth as seen by people known as the Space Brotherhood, who have a yahoo group. I don't know much about the Space Brotherhood, but I sure liked the picture.

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

TRICKY PIXIE IS COMING TO OLYMPIA!

SJ Tucker, Alexander James Adams, and Betsy Tinney together create Tricky Pixie! You've heard them on Wheel of Wonder, and some other KAOS shows as well. This terrific trio will be in town performing at a benefit concert to raise money for the grassroots nonprofit movement to protect and secure free public access to Olympia's artesian well water forever! Tickets are available now at buyolympia.com for $10!

Any of you familiar with the Fourth Avenue artesian wellhead? The place in that parking lot where the clean, naturally occurring, drinkable water comes to the surface. It's a great free source of potable water available to anyone in Olympia (one of the sources for the "...It's the Water" slogan of Olympia Beer).
On warm summer days people will gather at this water source. It comes out of a pipe in the ground between the performance venue Manium and the Olympic Outfitters, a bike, and sports gear store. People from all walks of life talk to each other there. Some folks will bring their guitars and harmonicas and play music, everyone gathering to collect free, natural water for drinking.

Surveys conducted show that about 1000 people a week visit that well to collect fresh water for drinking, but the wellhead is located on private property and the owners of the parking lot can cap off the well with little notice anytime they want to. So could another investor they sell the property to. This has caused great concern throughout the community. So steps in a nonprofit organization interested in protecting free public artesian well water access in the City of Olympia through outreach, education and grassroots advocacy. It's even been suggested they buy the water rights to protect it.

These actions take money though so Earthbound Productions and the Olympia Green Theater are working with Tricky Pixie and well-loved local artist Danny Kelly (formerly with Heliotroupe) to put on a benefit concert to raise money for FREE, OPEN, PUBLIC ACCESS, ALWAYS to clean, naturally occurring water.

The "Rock on Water!" benefit concert will occur on March 19, 2010 at The Loft on Cherry at 508 legion street in Olympia, WA. Doors open at 6:30pm; concert is at 7:00pm. Come see a great show and support the natural human right for clean, drinkable water in OlyWa!

You can also give a tax deductible donation to make this an even more successful event! Send your tax deductible donations to Earthbound Productions (the people who bring you The Procession of the Species) and be sure to specify that it is for the Artesian Well Advocacy Benefit Concert! Pre-sale tickets available now for "Rock on Water!"at buyolympia.com cost $10 in advance $15 at the door on the night of the event. Tickets are also available locally at Traditions Cafe and World Folk Art as well as Rainy Day Records.

Friday, February 5, 2010

Wheel of Wonder February 7, 2010

Indigenous belief and Celtic mythos, we'll be continuing in that vein this week on Wheel of Wonder. This week's Wheel of Wonder takes us to Australia to visit its earth spiritualist population. With so many wide open spaces in the land of Oz, as some affectionately call it, how could there not be some who experience all its wild spaces as a reflection of the divine? The Celtic tradition is strong there due to many years of immigration and settlement, and great Pagan and new age artists like Spiral Dance, Wendy Rule, and Louisa John-Krol come from Australia. We'll be running an interview with Adrienne Piggot and Spiral Dance on this week's show, and even including some of their tracks not yet played on Wheel of Wonder! I'll even take us on a journey through the concepts of the songlines and the sacred geography believed in by the Aboriginal Australian peoples, a still stalwart race, living on their ancestral lands. This journey will include new tracks by contemporary Aboriginal artists, who, like the Yorubans, have adapted some to using modern musical instruments and mediums to express the beliefs of their culture. "Wheel of Wonder Down Under" on this week's installation, come travel it with me!

The picture to the right and above is a photograph of the "Fairy Tree," a 300 years dead tree that has been turned into a great medium for art in the Fitzroy Gardens area of Melbourne, Australia.