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Hi Everyone! I returned home last night, but I treated myself to one more day off from work to recuperate, and to get my report out before I forgot it. I went straight to work the next morning the last two years, and that was really hard. I must say right here that the gatherings just keep getting better every year. I wonder if there's ever a time when you just can't get any better? Anyway, here we go. Hopefully, I'll remember everything and I can write it in an interesting manner. I get up a bit before 4 AM to catch a Super Shuttle to the airport for my 8 AM flight (allowing 2 hours at the airport). There's a ridiculously long line at the check in counter, but I think I only spent about 20 minutes before checking my luggage. There was an older fellow in line that actually fainted, and while you'd think it was because he was waiting in line too long, it was actually that he didn't have any breakfast. I had a bowl of Grapenuts before leaving, so I was okay for now. I was quite surprised that I didn't have to open any of my luggage for them, and that the trip through the security checkpoint was quite fast. I guess they've had the time to refine the process and not make it so difficult. I check the magazine store to see if they sell Animerica or something like that, but nope. So I go to a food shop and have my 2nd breakfast (in true Hobbit-fashion :-) ) of a muffin and orange juice. I get to the gate just in time to see the luggage get to the plane, and my unmistakable keyboard case on top of one of the luggage cars. I carefully watch them load my stuff, and they actually seemed to be careful about it. Soon we're on the fully-booked plane and in the air. I pop in a minidisc and sit back to read the Silmarillion (my second attempt). The flight was pretty fast and uneventful, and I had my 3rd breakfast on board. We got there about 15 minutes early (shocking!). After landing in Atlanta, I take the train to the baggage claim. I like riding in this train, I guess since we have nothing like it in Phoenix, not even for mass transit. We definitely need a good train system here. I'd rather take that to work than drive. I'm walking to the carousels and kinda looking for Morgan at the same time, as we're supposed to meet here. I must be a terrible searcher, because he manages to sneak up right beside me without me knowing it. And he's really tall too! Morgan and I go to the piazza and wait for Steve (Whiteley) who's plane is supposed to arrive in about another hour. We chat for a while and Steve shows up. We go get the rental car and get to Vic's. Unfortunately, my memory's fuzzy at this point. We had a lot of people come in and whatnot and I found it a bit overwhelming. Of course, there's some familiar faces from previous years, and some new ones, but I don't remember everyone I met then. I think Marion (Horrod) and her husband Dave were already there. I know Tom (George) was there with Deb and her husband Roger. Pete and John (from AirSculpture) got there at some point also. Carlo (Ruggiero) and Jim (Moore) came at some point as well and I think we met Bill (Fox) and Greg (Waltzer) at some point there. Oh yeah, and of course we got to meet Steve Schroyder and Jens Zygar (a.k.a. Star Sounds Orchestra) that evening. We watched some crappy boot DVD's of TD as well that night. After getting some Papa John's pizza (my favorite for quick take-out), we hung out a bit and then called it a night. I woke up in the middle of the night a couple of times to hear the cat crying to get out or (I presume) the cat jumping on me, but finally woke up when the doorbell rang. It was Patrick (Hill) at the door. We got breakfast and showers and such done fairly quickly, and were on our way. Luckily, the P.A. was rented yesterday, so we didn't have to spend time taking care of that today. We broke off into two four-car caravans, one was carrying most of the musicians (except for myself) and the gear, and the other one was to do the grocery shopping. We stopped to get alcohol and a battery charger for Dave H.'s camera (but they didn't have one) before we left Atlanta. Morgan and Steve opted to stick with me in my car. There's not much here to report, just the long drive southward. We decided to do the grocery shopping in Valdosta, and even though Tom and I had been there before, we did some serious wandering around before asking where the damn store was. We got to the Winn-Dixie store and raided the place. Steve W. was generous enough to let us put it on his check card and pay him back for it. We ended up getting more food than we needed, but I guess it wasn't as bad as last year. As we're checking out the carts of food, we see Vic and crew from the other caravan come into the store! What timing! We load all the food up and head out. We didn't wait for the other caravan though, but maybe we were supposed to?? Oh well. As usual, on the last stretch to the swamp, I plop in the minidisc with Cyclone and we jam to that coming into the park. We pull into the neighborhood of cottages, and I spot Lars Jones right away. I park the car, and we meet all the people that are already here. There was Lars and his sons, Roger (Smith), Dell, Robert, Jerry and Howard. I hope I didn't forget anyone. I park the car, and we unload stuff. We decide to cram all the musicians' equipment into Cottage #3, given its historical significance. I think we had a jam session later on, but I don't remember. Again memory is a bit fuzzy with adding even more faces and names to the group! I end up taking a bed in cottage #1, and Pete rooms with me. I guess I wasn't a bad roommate for him last year. :-) I get up not too early or too late today. I think we had the roundhouse introductions this morning for everyone. That was really cool to hear everyone's introductions. Then, Steve W. and I take a canoe out on the water. That was a lot of fun. I actually enjoyed it more than going on the motorboats. Even though I've been here the previous 2 years, I never tried canoeing. It's great with how quiet it is, and you don't breath in gasoline fumes, and you get good exercise too! We spent about 4 hours on the water before getting back for dinner and the festivities. I had the opportunity to chat with Steve S. for a little while on the porch before dinner, and he even had me sign a copy of Okefenokee 2001 for him! That was quite a surprise for me! And I must admit I hadn't gotten around to buying any SSO CD's yet. I think this was the evening that Jens was going around and filming various people with his camera, interviewing them and whatnot. I got to be one of the subjects as well, and that was a lot of fun, with Jens walking all around me while I was talking. We had a huge grab bag for the games this year. I think they said we had exactly 100 items in there! I contributed several copies of a 3" CDR that has some TD piano pieces performed by yours truly, and three copies of my full-length CDR "Phase Shift". Heheh, the organizers of the games learned after last year that perhaps Jim and I are a little too good for the 'name that TD tune' contest. :-) Roger made us both sit out of the whole first round which was from studio and live albums. Then, when the soundtrack round came up, Roger made it so that we'd have to name the movie and the song title (everyone else just had to name the movie). Also, he limited us to three wins. Jim used his three wins quickly, and I used only two. Jens was one of the 'lucky' people to grab one of my Phase Shift CDR's, so hopefully, I'll hear what he thinks of it someday. I was quite surprised to find that people were trying really hard to get copies of my piano solo disc as well. I'm glad people wanted to hear it! We had another jam session that night, and afterwards, more chatting with everyone. It was really neat getting to talk with Jens and Steve, as they had much to talk about and share with us. At some point in the evening (or maybe it was last night? I don't remember :-/ ), some of us took a walk over to the canal leading from the boat dock to the open water, and we were treated with an alligator face-off. Some of us spotted one going out into the canal from the dock area, and then another one coming head-on to the first one. It was great to see them jump up and thrash briefly at their encounter of each other. Today, we learn about what we're going to do for the musical performance tonight. It's going to be a first for most of us. We're going to make a Planetary Ambience performance, in true SSO fashion. It's very fascinating stuff, and Steve and Jens taught us all about the concept. We started by looking at the star chart for the evening, to see what the positions are of the planets in the sky, and then that will dictate the movements of the music. Each planet will have a movement, and given the data about the planetary motion, we get the information we need as to the key, tempo, keyboard tuning, length and overall feel for that movement. As each planet sets in the sky, we begin a new movement for the next planet to set. Jens and Steve showed us the book "The Cosmic Octave" by Cousto that this comes from. I spent pretty much the entire day learning about the Planetary Ambience, and getting ready for it picking the sounds and effects I was going to use. I also took a nap in the afternoon, as I was feeling a bit fatigued. The music is to start at sundown, which is about 8 PM. Given the astronomical information for this evening, we end up performing movements for the Earth, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Saturn and Jupiter, and it lasts for nearly 5 1/2 hours! I was given the responsibility for the melodic content of the movements, and also being the driver of the Jupiter movement. I wished I hadn't drank so much water earlier, cuz I ended up having to go to the bathroom twice during the session. Given that most of us didn't have any experience with making music like this, there were some difficulties in spots, but there were some parts that worked really well IMO, especially Venus and Jupiter. For that last movement, I was playing piano, and somehow I was able to do some pretty good stuff on the piano throughout the nearly two-hour movement! It was quite a challenge, but everyone seemed to really enjoy it. After it was finished, I was exhausted, but elated. This was a wonderful new musical experience for me, and I always welcome the opportunity to expand my horizons. Actually, every Okefenokee trip has been a new musical experience for me! Well, I don't remember hanging out for too long after that before going to bed, so maybe I'll just leave it at that... I got up kinda late this morning. I think it was almost 10. And we were going to have a group meeting at 11! I get up and take a shower, and have a bowl of cereal just before the meeting. It's mostly to say some good-byes (some of us were leaving this morning), to take the group photos, buy some CD's, and to have an autograph session for anyone who didn't get all the signatures they wanted. Heh, between both of the Okefenokee CD's, and the discs I brought for the grab bag, I think I had to sign my name more times than when I bought my house! :-) Not that I didn't enjoy it, it was really my pleasure. I must admit at this point that it has taken me some time to believe that maybe I am a decent musician after all and can make music that's true to myself that other people would also enjoy. This trip has helped me to really begin to see that, and I thank everyone for it. Okay, I'm done with gushing. I took the opportunity to buy some CD's from Jens, so that I can finally check out what SSO is about. I had never heard Psychedelic Trance music before, but picked up SSO's newest called Ooz. Jens was also very generous and gave me a copy of the Spirit Zone trance compilation set, and a booklet explaining the history of the trance scene. I also bought a copy of the Liquid Sound CD, which is an ambient collection that is supposed to be good for listening to underwater, and an unreleased SSO soundtrack (those got snatched up fast!). I think I'm going to have to track down some earlier SSO CD's as well like Kosmophonon and Planets for a more ambient side to their music. I took a little walk later on with Pete through the nature trail by the boat dock. That was a nice little walk, and Pete didn't go on it last year. We got back and chilled out for a while in the porch of cottage #4 with Marion and Greg. I put the Liquid Sound disc in the player quietly and relaxed for a bit. Most of the rest of us went out on the water this afternoon to take the last opportunity to do so. As people started coming back, the first round of dinner was started. We had hamburgers, and I was very happy that there were also some turkey burgers made for me. I made sure to thank the crew for that. Next came yet another real treat. We moved Steve and Jens' gear down to the picnic area for our very own SSO psychedelic trance dance performance. It was great! Robert and I went back to the cottages to grab stuff to drink, as Jens said it was important to have a bar near the dance floor. We grabbed all non-alcoholic stuff of course. It took me a couple of songs to really start loosening up (I'm not a good dancer), but I really liked the music. I was glad to find out that a couple of my favorite tracks were on Ooz. I went to techno clubs back when I was in college, and I didn't like that music very much. I guess trance has something else to it that I seem to connect more with (or maybe I just got tired of hearing that same damn 'Staying Alive' remix a few too many times at the techno clubs!). It was great dancing in the open air location, and seeing Steve dancing behind his rig, and Jens jamming on his HandSonic. When Roger S. went over to the swings and started swinging with the music, I just about fell over! It was so surreal seeing how well the swinging seemed to go with the trance music. Other people started joining him, and at one point, Steve ran over and swung for a while. A few of us (including myself) got that on film. I think everyone should have dance parties outside, as long as the weather is good. Parks and playgrounds seem like a great place for them! It's definitely easier to hear the music outside as well, and it's not nearly as deafening. It's just too bad that the neighbors probably wouldn't care for it. :-( The music ended right around dusk (the show concluded with a great new track called "Red Sun Tokyo" which should be on SSO's next CD). We went on evening cruises (broken into two groups) right afterwards. It was great! We got to spot lots of gators in the fading twilight using powerful flashlights. After we get back, we have the second dinner, and later on we're besieged by animals! There was a pair of foxes and a raccoon hanging around behind the cottages most of the days, and they discovered a bag of trash that someone left out. Carlo and I take care of it, and I learn first-hand that people must be feeding these animals. I crouch down and stick my hand out like I have food, and the raccoon comes running up at me! Dammit people, we can't be doing that! That harms the animals in so many ways! But I did take advantage of that in getting a picture of the 'coon. But he ran up to me so fast, that he may have been too close by the time I was able to snap the camera. We chatted a bunch more this evening, and said some good-byes as some of us had to leave very early the next morning. I'm glad I picked a later flight out this time. Pete and I get up at around 8 AM. Jens and Steve are gone already (with Vic and his son Patrick), as their flight leaves about 4 PM, and I think they wanted to buy some things before leaving. I was in charge of making sure that Cottage #1 was straightened up and get the key turned in. Luckily, we kept this one fairly clean, so I helped out a bit at the other cottages. I didn't get a chance to say goodbye to everyone, but I did to everyone that was left later in the morning. After all our farewells were done, Morgan, Steve W., Carlo and I pile in my car with our stuff and head back to Atlanta. Everyone except Steve has a flight out tonight around 7 and 8 PM. We listen to audience recordings that Steve made of the Planetary Ambience and Trance show with his minidisc. They sounded quite good, since he bought some decent microphones. We get to the airport and check in. I think every time I've checked in at Atlanta, I'm asked if that case has a gun in it, whereas in Phoenix, they recognize it as at least some kind of musical instrument. Go figure! Anyway, Steve was able to switch his flight to tonight, and we hang out together at the piazza for a while before we part company. After we have another round of farewells, I walk toward the train to go to my gate. I actually have a bit of heartache that hits me at this point, as it's obvious the event is over. It was another wonderful experience to add to my life memories, and I hope to meet most everyone (if not everyone) at next year's gathering. I get to my gate and the plane takes off pretty much on time. After we're airborne, I go for my minidiscs to listen to a particular one. It's not there! Waitaminute! Half of my minidiscs are missing! What the hell?! I don't know what happened. Maybe they fell out in the rental car and all managed to hide under the seat. I lost about ten of them, so I would think I'd notice one of them sticking out or something. Oh well, that's one of the reasons why I'd rather travel with minidisc copies instead of my original CD's. Hopefully, the person who finds them will enjoy them. I was still able to listen to Poland, the Paris 86 show, and most of Thief on the plane. I read the trance booklet Jens gave me, and dozed off a bit. It was hard to sleep with the way the lady sitting next to me was reacting to The Count of Monte Cristo and the episode of Frasier they were showing on the flight. But oh well... The rest of the trip is just getting back to Phoenix, getting my stuff, and having my dad pick me up and take me to my house. But I won't bother with mentioning it. Oh, actually, I guess I just did! :-)
Well, that's pretty much it for me this year. I think this may be the longest Oke report I've given yet. It was wonderful getting to meet everyone again this year, and meeting the new people this year. It was also wonderful that Steve and Jens were both able to come on short notice, and that they apparently really enjoyed themselves. They are a couple of really nice guys, and I enjoyed jamming with them, and dancing to their music. I just want to thank everyone for their part of making this wonderful event so wonderful, and Vic for organizing the whole friggin thing. I don't think I'd be able to do such a thing like that. Next year, we're planning on having it out in the southwest area, which is much closer to where I live. If it is possible for me, I will bring my drumset for the next gathering, that way we can have some acoustic drums to add to the electronic instruments. And hopefully, there's some people that will be able to join us on this side of the country that couldn't before. I am looking forward to the next one, definitely! Thank you for reading this far. I hope you enjoyed my account. Sincerely, |
