Gathered 'round a campfire with a buncha cowboys, a youngster drifted in and out of sleep, and kept catching just the end of old Jed's many stories; her magical twilight consciousness was gathering the punchlines, culminations and gists... which coalesced to form their own absurd story in her dreams and hypnagogic reveries.

Glowing wire, flickering dancer
an electric life
Somewhere near but hidden
gelatin depths and watery skies
Held in the palm of a baby's hand
older than you are.
Up long before that Mountain, cracklin'
all along a signal way
straight between the eyes.

Mark that rolled-up promise
with a flowering finish
blooming like a neon toothache

Letters wiggle sinewy
laughing with a pregnant buzz
spelling out the Glory of
one colorful annihilation

In a parallel world that would seem absurd to us, meditative vegetarian cowboys have the musical refrain "get along, little doggies" just as they do here, but the "little doggies" are thoughts and attachments. In and out of mindfulness they tend to drift, just like here.

A Native friend has dropped in on this particular bunch of Cowboys and brought his flute, to the delight of everyone. A little jam gets underway. The stars twinkled bright that clear night

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It was so long ago now, but as I recall I used BIAB "Dreamy Pop Ballad" (closest thing I can find with a quick look right now is "dreamy pop with cowbell") to get the rhythm/arpeggio guitar and that beautiful sort of Hawaiian- sounding guitar. And probably the drums that go with that style. Oh, and of course that deep soft bass. I actually showcased that part as an earlier piece here titled Your Boring Happiness, but now it has been greatly shortened, plus now there's a ton of new stuff. Mixed in Reaper. Guitar: Fender Squier II Strat, Korean made. The flute part I played on my Yamaha DGX-530 (keys). Me on vocals. The poem just quickly came out of me one night -or was it morning?- when I decided I was just going to write something very abstract and surreal. My mom loves it so much, she said it made her a little teary. I just played it set to music for her over the phone today, and she said the music is perfect for it. Well, that's what moms are for, huh? Even at age 58 and she 89, she's still comforting me, ha ha! Enjoy!

Wow that was very different. Very cool intro. This very well could have been a staple in 1968. Well done...… Guitar was awesome. Has a David Gilmour vibe

Wow - this was certainly something different for the showcase The intro set the mood perfectly, and the psychedelic vibe of the tune when it kicks off is superb. The title of perfect for this tune too.

Really well done - thanks for sharing!

I really loved this poem. I really love seeing stuff pop up in the showcase that is very different from a lot of the content we get to see, as it shows just how wide of a range the Band-in-a-Box program can reach.

Awesome stuff! Thanks for sharing.

Thank you all for the kind words! I agree with all of your observations. About that last one, yes, I think Band-In-A-Box is a very powerful, versatile program! Creativity finds a way, you know?

Hello DIOECHOOTO, Very creative piece you have shared! Really enjoyed the overall progression. Thanks for sharing! Quite the trip indeed

Nothing like sweet surprises! You put this together very thoughtfully - I think that's pretty obvious. The variations all work together. And the big change where you went with "Get along little doggies" and the bongos soon after was a nice surprise. How creative!

Alan

Whoaaaaaaah!!!!!

I fell into a worm hole and I can't come out!!

Trippin really bad man!!


This is wild, dude.



Jack Kerouac and Frank Zappa maxing out on a caffeine high when Robert Fripp drops by with Jerry Garcia and they start doing the real stuff.

Ha, ha! Somebody call Neil deGrasse Tyson, quick!

Hey, I'll buy that...where "the real stuff" means working on songs and stories about the virtues of kids staying in school, learning to think critically and avoiding harmful drugs, and putting down their phones and walking away from their screens and out the door into the real world to gather with their friends and get some exercise and sunshine on their faces! Amen.

Seriously everyone, your appreciation means the world to me. Thanks for taking the time to listen!

Defo very different.

Yep, it was time to shake up the showcase...and what a cool way to do it!

David said, "Jack Kerouac and Frank Zappa maxing out on a caffeine high when Robert Fripp drops by with Jerry Garcia and they start doing the real stuff."

What the heck is left after that? Other than we enjoyed it!!

J&B

Cool ... and not at all weird if you spent part of your youth listening to Trout Mask Replica.
I don`t want to date this by referencing other influences, though - its just very inventive, spine tingling music.
So your mom can relate? Well, no wonder your music is so imaginative!

Robert

That was a fun ride, Eric... enjoyed it.

fj

Hypnagogic reveries, indeed.

As promised, the song exactly fit the title.

Plus, I learned the correct spelling of hypnagogic.

Thanks for all the nice replies everyone and please know I appreciate and consider each and every one (even while I may only respond to select points).

"Trout Mask Replica" ? I'll have to check that out, thanks!

"So your mom can relate? Well, no wonder your music is so imaginative!"

Now that's funny, I don't care who you are! But there's also a serious personal truth there. For better or worse, mom was divorced (dad flew the coop in a very dishonorable manner) and managed to raise us halfway decently on money earned as a professional (hey, even award-winning!) "fashion artist" (which is now an obsolete career; those tradespeople used to be employed by department stores to draw the clothing merchandise, producing ads for the newspapers). She was also interested in "deep" topics so there were always books like Jung's "Memories, Dreams and Reflections" around, not to mention any number of great novels and whatnot. Trips to the library were a big event for us. There were always neat-o specialty pens markers and paints and other art supplies at hand. So I think we can safely say mom may have created an environment that fostered thought and creativity, even if only by osmosis.

"Plus, I learned the correct spelling of hypnagogic." Ha ha! To be honest, I knew the word from an interest in lucid dreaming, etc... but still had to double-check the spelling.

I mentioned Trout Mask Replica mostly because your free poetry in the intro is so reminiscent of Captain Beefheart ( that`s a compliment).
Cool backstory about your mom`s positive influence.

Robert

Trippy and very creative!! As a child of the 60's, I love this kind of stuff! Really well put together all the way around! Enjoyed!! Take care. Greg

Thanks for the kind words! I feel greatly encouraged, for sure!

Very odd in a good way. The choppy chord change was different as well. Good work on the guitar. Very original. Rob

A nice eclectic song - some really interesting ideas and some good guitar playing.
Loved the intro.

Peter

Continued thanks, guys!

Very inventive, really enjoyed this!

Thanks! I'm so glad people seem to be enjoying it, and do so appreciate anyone taking the time to let me know!