Sigh...  Okay, a lot has been happening.  Sorry that i've not posted anything new in ages, but, alas...  4 weeks ago someone broke into my apartment and stole my Mac and some recording equipment -- including my main recorder (but they didn't take my harp; let us be thankful for small mercies).  They also took both of my phones (including my Skype handset) and my little black book, so i've been rebuilding my contact list from scratch.  If any friends haven't heard from me and wonder why, now you know.  Email me, or message me via MySpace or Facebook.  I can still get my email via web client, etc.  Find me at my website, or http://myspace.com/hypatiaheath, or 'Joan Patrie' in Facebook.  I've totally lost contact with some of you.  I've been going through some rough spots on the road of life these past months.

The good news is i've found a job i like, i'm working 48 hours a week to get caught up on my rent, and i'm not getting evicted.  Oh, and i came out in skirts for Pride Weekend and marched in the parade.  Punk, glam, black mini-skirt.  A lot has changed.

Seattle is a Scorpio town; it doesn't care about you until you die or leave.

Now what am i up to? Testing the text-blog capability of this feed. I lost my job, so i'm in a funk in the coffeehouse. I have new podcast episodes in the fire, but life is getting in the way and i have to survive.  Who was that, Maslow?

I'm curious to see if this text-only entry will show up in iTunes (or if it will just show up here in blog form at libsyn.com). I chose 'general' rather than 'podcasts' for the category; i'm curious to see what happens. Micro-enjoy!

I'm sitting in front of Kaladi Brothers Coffee on East Pike Street in the Capitol Hill district of Seattle. Life has taken a bizarre twist for me in these past few months. I'm now divorced, missing my little one, and starting a completely new life on the West Coast. I haven't settled in yet - no project studio set up, so i can't do any editing. This is the raw 320 kbs mp3 out of the MicroTrack. I really felt i needed to 'get back on the air'. I'll try to get something uploaded at least every other week. I have some myspace profiles you can link to from the website as well. And now Niki is taking the chairs in, so i've gotta stop typing. Enjoy. Copyright MMVIII Joan Heath Patrie, Creative Commons Deed 3.0 = attribution/non-commercial/share alike

This is from my week-end gig at the Outback art fair in Marquette Michigan earlier this summer. ___ This was a gig without an amplifier so you get to hear just the harp -- without an amplified room sneaking into the mikes. Some of the numbers are intentionally very short so you can use them as ring-tones. Enjoy! ~joan ___ This work is licensed under the Creative Commons 2.5 Attribution/Non-commercial/ShareAlike license. Copyright MMVII Joan Heath-Patrie ___ website: http://strangeist.com

This is from my week-end gig at the Outback art fair in Marquette Michigan earlier this summer. ___ This was a gig without an amplifier so you get to hear just the harp -- without an amplified room sneaking into the mikes. Some of the numbers are intentionally very short so you can use them as ring-tones. Enjoy! ___ This work is licensed under the Creative Commons 2.5 Attribution/Non-commercial/ShareAlike license. Copyright MMVII Joan Heath-Patrie ___ website: http://strandgeist.com

This is from my week-end gig at the Outback art fair in Marquette Michigan earlier this summer. ___ This was a gig without an amplifier so you get to hear just the harp -- without an amplified room sneaking into the mikes. Some of the numbers are intentionally very short so you can use them as ring-tones. Enjoy! ___ This work is licensed under the Creative Commons 2.5 Attribution/Non-commercial/ShareAlike license. Copyright MMVII Joan Heath-Patrie ___ website: http://strandgeist.com

This is from my week-end gig at the Outback art fair in Marquette Michigan earlier this summer. ___ This was a gig without an amplifier so you get to hear just the harp -- without an amplified room sneaking into the mikes. Some of the numbers are intentionally very short so you can use them as ring-tones. Enjoy! ___ This work is licensed under the Creative Commons 2.5 Attribution/Non-commercial/ShareAlike license. Copyright MMVII Joan Heath-Patrie ___ website: http://strandgeist.com

This is from my week-end gig at the Outback art fair in Marquette Michigan earlier this summer. ___ This was a gig without an amplifier so you get to hear just the harp -- without an amplified room sneaking into the mikes. Some of the numbers are intentionally very short so you can use them as ring-tones. Enjoy! ___ This work is licensed under the Creative Commons 2.5 Attribution/Non-commercial/ShareAlike license. Copyright MMVII Joan Heath-Patrie ___ website: http://strandgeist.com

This is from my week-end gig at the Outback art fair in Marquette Michigan earlier this summer. ___ This was a gig without an amplifier so you get to hear just the harp -- without an amplified room sneaking into the mikes. Some of the numbers are intentionally very short so you can use them as ring-tones. Enjoy! ___ This work is licensed under the Creative Commons 2.5 Attribution/Non-commercial/ShareAlike license. Copyright MMVII Joan Heath-Patrie ___ website: http://strandgeist.com

This is from my week-end gig at the Outback art fair in Marquette Michigan earlier this summer. ___ This was a gig without an amplifier so you get to hear just the harp -- without an amplified room sneaking into the mikes. Some of the numbers are intentionally very short so you can use them as ring-tones. Enjoy! ___ This work is licensed under the Creative Commons 2.5 Attribution/Non-commercial/ShareAlike license. Copyright MMVII Joan Heath-Patrie ___ website: http://strandgeist.com

This is from my week-end gig at the Outback art fair in Marquette Michigan earlier this summer. ___ This was a gig without an amplifier so you get to hear just the harp -- without an amplified room sneaking into the mikes. Some of the numbers are intentionally very short so you can use them as ring-tones. Enjoy! ___ This work is licensed under the Creative Commons 2.5 Attribution/Non-commercial/ShareAlike license. Copyright MMVII Joan Heath-Patrie ___ website: http://strandgeist.com

This is from my week-end gig at the Outback art fair in Marquette Michigan earlier this summer. ___ This was a gig without an amplifier so you get to hear just the harp -- without an amplified room sneaking into the mikes. Some of the numbers are intentionally very short so you can use them as ring-tones. Enjoy! ___ This work is licensed under the Creative Commons 2.5 Attribution/Non-commercial/ShareAlike license. ___ website: http://strandgeist.com

This is from my week-end gig at the Outback art fair in Marquette Michigan earlier this summer. ___ This was a gig without an amplifier so you get to hear just the harp -- without an amplified room sneaking into the mikes. Some of the numbers are intentionally very short so you can use them as ring-tones. Enjoy! ___ This work is licensed under the Creative Commons 2.5 Attribution/Non-commercial/ShareAlike license. ___ website: http://strandgeist.com

This is from my week-end gig at the Outback art fair in Marquette Michigan earlier this summer. ___ This was a gig without an amplifier so you get to hear just the harp -- without an amplified room sneaking into the mikes. Some of the numbers are intentionally very short so you can use them as ring-tones. Enjoy! ___ This work is licensed under the Creative Commons 2.5 Attribution/Non-commercial/ShareAlike license. ___ website: http://strandgeist.com

This is 'moody suite IV' -- the last of the evening. I play with the lights low. The wind blows the trees and the moon peeks from behind the swift moving clouds. ___ Music composition and sound recording Copyright MMVII Heath Patrie. Creative Commons 2.5 License = Attribution/NonCommercial/NoDerivs. ___ When this is automatically published (on Friday June 20th) the 29th Annual Hiawatha Traditional Music Festival will be kicking off -- but i'll be missing it because i'll be playing at the Harry Potter Festival (also here in Marquette). Not to worry. Saturday i'll be working all of my shifts, and i'll be spending the weekend camped at Tourist Park and playing into the wee hours of every night -- which in my opinion is really the best part of Hiawatha. {Come check it out.} Share and Enjoy. strandgeist.com

After playing Megan's wedding rehearsal earlier i came home and played a few suites by myself alone in the living room at night. This is 'moody suite III'. Tommorrow i will play as the wedding guests arrive, and i will play some more as they leave. But tonight i sit alone with my harp, and i play with the lights low with the wind in the trees and the moon peeking from behind the swift moving clouds. ___ Music composition and sound recording Copyright MMVII Heath Patrie. Creative Commons 2.5 License = Attribution/NonCommercial/NoDerivs. ___ I've not had enough time to keep up with my podcasts; i apologise. I had intened to do something more 'produced' for Tranquility this year, but i'm Mr. Mom to my precocious 4-year-old, and he takes all my time, and i'm not keeping up. ... So, i've decided to put up the raw mp3 audio files (from my M-Audio MicroTrack 24/96 mobile digital audio recorder which i've been using at my gigs this year). I run my harp mikes (which i've designed and installed inside my harp) directly into the recorder (which i place behind me on top of my amplifier), and then, using it as a pre-amplifier, i run its line output directly into a couple of Fostex PM 0.4 powered monitor speakers which i've bundled into a re-purposed practice amplifier case (my 'amp'). This is a much more compact and portable set-up than i used to drag around with me. I can even use it with my Rhodes stage piano. {Not that anyone's hired me to play Rhodes since i've been doing my harp.} ... Anyway... As a result of my new 'modus operandi', i have a load of raw 320 kbs mp3 from the recorder (AKA: mike pre-amp). This episode is one of those raw files. I hope 320 kbs is fine. {They do sound good.} If you want to shrink them, just convert them to a lower bit rate ('Convert Selection' in the Advanced menu in iTunes). However, i don't recommend going lower than 160. Pure sounds suffer the most from over compression, and the harp is a pretty good example of pure musical sound. I suggest 192 (which is what i was using normally). And, remember: you can always archive the mp3 files onto an 'mp3' CD (which will play in most DVD players). That way you'll always have the option to copy the original 320 kbs mp3 files into your next inevitably larger hard drive. [grin] ... To hear the Live sets from Megan's wedding this weekend: i've uploaded them to my 'Heath and Friends Alive' podcast (at http://alive.libsyn.com). {To subscribe manually: remember to tag on the "/rss" into your podcatcher. That flummoxed me in the beginning.} You can easily find all four of my podcasts by searching 'Heath-Patrie' in the iTunes Store. Share and Enjoy! Find links to my blogs and other goodies at my website: http://strandgeist.com

Hey! It's my first Anniversary! Actually it was June 3rd, and i've missed it. I was going to do something special, but i'm the live-in domestic servant to my almost-4-year-old, and that date went out the window. So i've decided to upload something which is ready to go. It is still special, though. ___ This is a recording my brother Brian and i made way back in 1991 (i think). We were jamming in the wee hours with 'JoAnne Wurlitzer' (my 1917 Wurlitzer piano which i'd recently purchased for 400 dollars). We had "a couple of quarts of beer" (as Frank Zappa once crooned; actually they were Mickey's 40-ouncers). This was in the makeshift 'Studio' i had set up in the Fernando Street house in Grand Rapids Michigan (with the two-and-a-half dozen size cardboard egg crate squares stapled across the ceiling), and Brian had come over from next door for an evening of making music. About the performance: Brian is improvising against my ostanada in the upper register. Brian starts out playing a nice melody on the bare strings with a wire brush, then progresses to laying down some nice harmonic structure in the 'usual way'. It was a very good groove (and we didn't even finish the beer). ___ This is from the best surviving copy i have: a TDK SA-90 Compact Cassette copy from the Reel-to-Reel master (recorded through my Sony NR-335 Dolby B CoDec). There's a bit of discernible flutter, but it's the best copy i have. It's still a good recording as i had the piano well miked in my special way. ___ Incidentally: i have posted the prelude to this piece from the same session as 'Tranquil MMVI.35 [piano] Piano For Hands' last year in this same podcast. I figured i would get around to posting the rest of it, and here's my opportunity. ___ Creative Commons Attribution/Non-commercial/No derivatives license 2.5 ___ strandgeist.com ___ "Share and Enjoy" ___ Yes, that picture is of my little son Claude; and tes, that is a cup of coffee he's holding. Hey, this is the midwest. We start 'em early here! ;-)

Sea Fever ___ I must down to the seas again, to the lonely sea and sky, And all i ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by, And the wheel's kick and the wind's song and the white sail's shaking, And a grey mist on the sea's face and a grey dawn breaking. ..... I must down to the seas again, for the call of the running tide Is a wild call and a clear call that may nought be denied; And all i ask is a windy day with the white clouds flying, And the flung spray and the blown spume, and the sea-gulls crying. ..... I must down to the seas again to that vagrant gypsy life, To the gull's way and the whale's way where the wind's like a whetted knife; And all i ask is a merry yarn from a laughing fellow-rover, And quiet sleep and a sweet dream when the long trick's over. ___ Poem 'Sea Fever' by John Masefield, 1916, public domain. Tune by Heath Patrie, 2002, Creative Commons license 2.5 = some rights reserved = attribution and commercial use. Lake Superior, perpetual, for all beings.

like a ghost upon the beach, inhabiting this fractal strand of existence, we live in the cusp of being and nothingness... in the crack of eternity. like a creature newly crawled from the sea we lay gasping in the wash. mind, discovering consciousness, noting its locale on this limb of being... it yearns for the meaning of life. grasping at ideas... gulping at the rare air of knowledge... it yearns to know why... blinking soggily at the surf of being which has washed it here to wander... like a ghost upon the beach. ___ words and music and sound recording copyright MMVII by H. J. Heath-Patrie. Creative Commons 2.5 Attribution/Non-commercial/ShareAlike license. Share and Enjoy... strandgeist.com

Evening'sBells_EveningSpells ___ evening casts her spell... dusky hues upon the sea... this night song of waves. ___ haiku and music copyright H. J. Heath-Patrie - Creative Commons 2.5 Attribution/Non-commercial/ShareAlike license - strandgeist.com ___ Rhodes played Live at Emmajoe's 2002, flute played Live at Emmajoe's 2003, haiku scribbled at home 2007, Lake Superior never ends...

the ice has melted. once more waves lap against stones, clattering in the wash. ___ poem and kalimba composition Copyright MMVII H. J. Heath-Patrie - Creative Commons 2.5 Attribution/Non-commercial/ShareAlike license ___ kalimba played Live at the Holistic Health Fair at NMU earlier this month. Enjoy! ___ strandgeist.com

i scan the desolate shore... iceclad and snowbound, the northwind tearing at my thoughts. a blizzard confines my view - foreshortening the limb of my understanding. yet, i remember spring - the unlocking of winter's grip - the rejuvenation in the cycle of life. so, i continue my walk upon the strand - imagining the weather as it can be... projecting myself into spring - awaiting the thaw as i scan the desolate shore. ___ poem and harp composition Copyright MMVII H. J. Heath Patrie - Creative Commons 2.5 Attribution/Non-commercial/ShareAlike license ___ wire-strung harp played Live at the Holistic Health Fair earlier this month. ___ Whew. I've been out of commission for a bit. Just busy, mostly -- being a domestic servant to my 4-year-old, doing some Audio work for a friend, and getting a case of mike-fright -- weirded out by 10,000 downloads. Hello! There are a few hundred of you, and i'm flattered that you love my music. Thanks! BTW: thanks, Seaducer, for the iTunes review! ___ strandgeist.com

Wondering ___ and so i wonder as i wander upon this strand ... knowing myself to inhabit a thin line dividing sea from land ... this fractal coast keys a memory... a memory of distant ancestors wandering ... finding themselves upon this cusp betwixt sea and land ... and... wondering ___ Poem by Heath Patrie, Music by Heath Patrie - 'Swoopy for Derek' variation, from performance on MMVI November 4 ... Copyright MMVII H. J. Heath-Patrie Creative Commons 2.5 Attribution/Non-commercial/ShareAlike license ... Share and enjoy! website = strandgeisst.org

Awakening ___ Before pale first light, impressions flee... dissolving as i wake. My dream-world hovers on the edge of existence, as i quaveringly realise the dream-nature of my thoughts. Awakening, they seem to linger for a moment... then dissolve - a metaphor for life. For, consciousness... it seems to linger... a mind, awakening long enough to know it is as ephemeral as that lucid moment... ephemeral as the dew drops on green leaves, sparkling, and evapourating in the illuminating dawn which gathers. The dawn of understanding, of knowledge, of impermanence, of mind. And, knowing, ceases - a dream, on the edge of existence, quaveringly realising the dream-nature of... itself. ___ {Poem and flute music by H. J. Heath-Patrie, copyright MMVII. Creative Commons 2.5 Attribution/Non-commercial/ShareAlike license. Share, and enjoy, "for music hath charms to soothe the savage breast." (William Congreve) P.S: i got this flute for 3 dollars at a pow-wow. website strandgeist.com

rhodes less travelled by. what has drawn me to this place? to shores once hidden? - Rhodes Less Travelled By, visit II - Lake Superior surf, haiku, vocals, 'Rhodes' synth voicing - tweaked (composed in GarageBand 3) - haiku and music copyright MMVI H. J. Heath-Patrie, Creative Commons 2.5 Attribution/Non-commercial/ShareAlike license. website = strandgeist.com

by the sea i go. upon the strand i saunter, lost upon a wave. ... [harp suite] B Natural, Dorian-Ion Groove variations ... a kiss sweet and long. we linger as lovers will, hot upon my lips. ... [flute song] In a Wood, songlet II ... [harp song] To Be My Dream/Song 137 [harp with vocal] ... haiku and music, copyright MMVI Heath Patrie ... Creative Commons 2.5 Attribution/Non-commercial/ShareAlike license. ... surf by Mother Nature (courtesy of Lake Superior) ... http://strandgeist.com

something extra. an idea we all could embrace. langiappe. And you thought there were only 52 weeks in a year! Here's something extra. I couldn't decide whether to post this music. Yet, everyone must admit, it is the last true folk music. That is to say: music that everyone knows. I hope you enjoy it. Here is a medley of a few personal favourites, from an album i recorded this week for my friend, Jaquey. 'for Music hath charms to soothe the savage breast.' (William Congreve) Creative Commons 2.5 Attribution/Non-commercial/ShareAlike license. ___ strandgeist.com

postscript to a thought. often it intrudes again. was i here before? This is one of my Live experiments. I found a tiny little Yamaha keyboard at St. Vinnie's for 75 cents one day (a PSS-1 [i think; i can't find it], perhaps it's the first 'Yamahopper'). I played around with it that morning - getting a cool little groove out of it. So, i put one of my 500-dollar studio mikes on its dinky little speaker (it didn't even have a headphone jack), and recorded its little sequencer playback - pasting together a long version with a MiniDisc recorder (the sequence only ran for eight bars or so). Then (i think) i layered another part onto that - some arpeggios. I then took this to my gig at EmmaJoe's that Monday night, and played it back through a stereo digital effects processor, and played my flute - improvising a nice melody over the ostanada. I think it turned out okay. Enjoy, "for music hath charms to soothe the savage breast." (William Congreve) ~heath Creative Commons deed 2.5 = attribution, non-commercial, share alike

a variation. a theme i recognise. eno on the brain. ... And, now, for something completely different - with a beat. Believe it or not, this was done on a hand-me-down 'consumer grade' keyboard (from a deceased granny). The first part i laid down was the melody without any harmonic structure (except perhaps an imaginary one in my head). I synced to the metronome, i think - or possibly a version of the drum track. I then experimented with playing different chord structures (in real time - 'straight ahead', as they say in jazz) over the melody (accompanying the little 1-track onboard sequencer as it played back the melody), and found that this identical melody with different background grooves could run quite a gamut of moods. I had the 'Patented Carlos Santana Chord Progression' (as Frank Zappa once put it) on one take, various mono-chord grooves, and this take is the one i liked best. It has a Brian-Eno-esque quality - the 'Patented Brian Eno Chord Progression', if you will; so, i named it 'Enovariation'. {Both Frank and Brian would approve of my composition technique, i think - melody first, possible harmonic variations second.} Also, the index number (on the raw CD master) happened to be '17' -- which i decided was catchy, and fitting for the title - in honour of the ensemble Heaven 17. Enjoy - for music hath charms... ~heath CreativeCommons 2.5 - attribution, non-commercial, share alike ... PS - new website (finally) - http://web.mac.com/heathpatrie - and two other podcasts - i'm putting up all my Live gigs in one (at alive.libsyn.com), and sharing a few oddities in another one at the site - check it out. Hmm... i wonder what will become of Tranquil Music by Heath?

Oops! I accidentally deleted this from my feed. :( So, here. I'm republishing it. ___ wind blowing a door. a spirit wandering by. welcome to my song. ___ Another courtship song to Jo, from Medicine Flute. ___ Special thanks to Kimberly Wilson, who played some of my music in her 'hip tranquil chick' podcast, which is a cool blend of yoga and hipness. She's written a book that my wife and i are reading together, which is helping to inspire me to "be the change" i wish to see in the World. {Thanks, Kimberly!} ___ Some of my music was also played on Skepticality -- another of my favourite podcasts. {Thanks, Derek and Swoopy!} I feel honoured to be part of these shows. ~heath namaste Changing the World, one song at a time, "for Music hath charms to soothe the savage breast." -William Congreve flute music by Heath Patrie Creative Commons License 2.5 (attribution/non-commercial use/no derivatives) (podcasters contact me at http://heathpatrie.com)

lovers drinking wine. candles on tables glowing. love-light in their eye. ... From 'Valentine' suite IV - Myxed Dance... B Natural... Afterdance as Well. Played Live at the Nordic Bay Lodge (Marquette, Michigan USA), on Valentine's Day evening, to a restaurant jammed with lovers (some even married ;-), with candles on the tables, and wine-tasting the featured activity (other than romance), and me playing my little harp for them. I played well (not perfectly), my harp was in fairly good tune (though it's difficult to tell in a crowded room), and i decided to publish the recording as an album. What to call it, i wondered briefly. But, what a perfect excuse to name it 'Valentine'. I might never get another chance ... BTW, this was also my first recording using GarageBand (with a MOTU 828 24-bit linear audio interface, recording 6-tracks simultaneous), which now has become my new way of doing things. {What you hear in this recording is just the stereo pair of mics inside my harp - 'straight up'; the room was too noisy to mix in to this stereo version; i'll save it for the surround in a 5.1 thingy some day.} ... Upcoming gigs - Nov 30th (tommorrow) at the Upper Peninsula Medical Center lobby at Noon (harp and piano), December 3rd (Sunday evening) at the Peter White Public Library (on flute, with Charlie Nevil on piano), and New Year's Eve in the Restaurant at the Holiday Inn, 7~9 pm (harp), all in Marquette. Nothing else booked in December (yet ;-) ... Listen in peace and joy. Universe unfolding. namaste ... unfolding, one song at a time, "for music hath charms to soothe the savage breast." -William Congreve ... creative commons 2.5 - attribution, non-commercial, share alike

plaintive song played soft. my flute encircles a thought. mandala of mind. ... Live at EmmaJoe's Coffeehouse. Rhodes recorded Sunday afternoon, then played back at gig on Monday night to 'self accompany' my Live flute. ... I'm sitting in a coffeeshop downstate uploading this, and Zach just asked me what my influrences are. Hmm... Paul Horn, Steve Reich... And, Vangelis. I have his 'Opera Sauvage' (on vinyl :-). He is one of my strongest influences. A few months ago i was listening to Opera Sauvage. It feels very romantic to me (something i've been accused of, myself) - very moving, in a way that is difficult to describe. As i was listening to a certain passage (played on Rhodes piano), i realised Vangelis does something i feel is at root to why i play music. It is part of an ancient paradigm, wherein the purpose of music is to 'dampen out' chaotic mental noise, - to put a kind of 'bias' on the mind - which might otherwise howl with feedback, like an amplifier with too much gain and no signal. The first "savage breast" i soothe is mine own. My music, firstly, is my own homemade music therapy - a folk remedy as old as human conciousness. ... And, i wonder, how can i take full credit for creating my music? Nature has equipped me, but can i truly say i understand the process? We study it, and 'understand' it, but have we really invented music? Or, are we 'hard-written' to make it? Music is in my 'ROM', and my cerebrum mostly goes along for the ride (and "what a long beautiful trip it's been"). All our Theory we cook up (like Music Theory)... but what do we really know? As Duke Ellington famously put it, when asked by a reporter, "Mr. Ellington, how can you tell if it's 'good' music?", he answered: "Man, if it sounds good, it Is good." Just as a mother can be thought of as a 'steward' of the process of life, i realise that i too am only a steward of a creative process. I like to think of my music as something i've brought forth - something which nature has equipped me to do (for which i am inexpressibly grateful). I can accept that i am a producer. But, where does it comes from, really? It is quintessentially unanswerable - the question for the Philosopher, Sage, or other thinking person, to which the answer is '42'. Have i ever been satisfied with the answer? I don't even know the question. It feels beyond the limb of my understanding. It may be ever beyond it. Perhaps the same can be said for any intelligence: we are but stewards of it. I view my knowledge of music as metaphor for my knowledge of anything - for anyone's knowledge of anything. Which is why i'll just settle in, and play, "for Music hath charms to soothe the savage breast." (William Congreve) ~heath ... Creative Commons 2.5 - attribution, non-commercial, share alike

the buildings fell down. before my eyes i saw them. still i disbelieve. ... I had my weekly gig to play (at the Holiday Inn, where i played lounge music on my Rhodes for happy hour, 6 to 9). It was the week after the tragic event we now call '9-11'. I was in a real funk, and was having trouble playing. The drunks were just doing their 'displacement activity' - getting more drunk than usual. It comes natural to drunks. They're not there for self examination. I couldn't focus. Everything i played was a bit distorted. This lament came out of my hands, from wherever, and i listened to it many times afterward, trying to grok how the World had shifted, and what could i possibly do about anything. I tried not to become a drunk. Years later, i started this podcast. ... This isn't the original version. {That was played on an out-of-tune acoustic bar piano. I can't find it; the raw CD Master is kicking around in a box somewhere.} This is a redux i played on my Rhodes in May of this year. It's a bit moody, but i hope you like it. Now, go out and help make the World a better place. Get off the couch, because we're not going to do any good sitting around complaining about what might have been. ~heath ... vainly hoping, against all hope, to change the World (one song at a time), because he read something once which a Playwright had written long ago, "for Music hath charms to soothe the savage breast." (William Congreve) ... Creative Commons Deed 2.5 - attribution, non-commercial, share alike

small luminous world. barren aunt in the night sky. sister to all life. ... This is another courtship song, played for Jo, before she came home from China.  Good medicine. I sent her eleven tapes. I wrote her 64 lettres (i know this, because i serialised them with Roman Numerals).   I proposed to her in a lettre, and she chose to walk with me. ... {Also, i apologise for not using one of my own photographs for the art. I have some Lunar photography, but they're all Kodachrome slides which have never been scanned (some day, probably). So, i've resorted to using a public domain image of my favourite sister-planet -- another beautiful World -- especially considering what she's done for us (stabilizing out our wobbles, so that higher life-forms had a chance, eh? What a cool aunt. Thanks Selena).} ~Heath ... Helping to make Reality, one song at a time, "for music hath charms to soothe the savage breast." ~William Congreve ... Creative Commons 2.5 - attribution, non-commercial, share alike ... Ah, also, i'm the Featured Artist this week at ezFolk.com. Ace! {Google it, or, find my music at http://ezfolk.com/audio/bands/1333/audio.php}

beloved life mate. for you so often i play. oh mate of my soul. ... Mood Nr. 2 is another wistful Autumn piece played for Jo at home. I actually had made a low-fidelity recording of this with a little pocket digital voice recorder, and liked it a lot, so i played it again with the CD recorder rolling. Jo likes it. I hope you do too. Next week, solo flute in the stairwell. Next harp (in 4 weeks) will be one more wistful autumnal thing from this recording, and then i'll shift gears into something more cheerful, to keep our spirits up for Winter. {We do get cabin fever up here.} Sorry, no haiku in the 'lyrics' field (in the id3 tags). I forgot to write one before uploading (and if i try to figure out how to append it right now, this will take 'til tommorrow :-). Enjoy! And, thanks for that lovely second iTunes review whomever you may be. It always makes my day (week, month... :-) ~heath, on Lake Superior ... The weather of a thousand years begins with but a single butterfly-wing flap. "For Music hath charms to soothe the savage breast." -William Congreve ... Creative Commons 2.5 - attribution, non-commercial, share alike

big bells are ringing. calling from so far away. sounding of my mind. ... Three Big Belz. Flute, Live at EmmaJoe's Coffeehouse, with synthetic pealing bells backtracks (recorded previously at home). This is another one of my experiments. Without real bells, i have to make due with a keyboard. Maybe someday i'll have some real tubular bells (which would be very cool). I like playing my flute on top of various ambient effects, and this is one of my stranger doo-dads. Enjoy! ~heath ... Boldly tweaking the Universe one butterfly-wing flap at a time! "For Music hath charms to soothe the savage breast." -William Congreve Creative Commons deed 2.5 - attribution, non-commercial, share alike

leslie speaker spin. swirly doppler shifter. twirl me 'round some more. A warm and swirly Rhodes ditty, with some chorus and rotating speaker effect. I wish i had a Leslie speaker, but i don't. {Ah... some day.} So, a digital effects processor will have to do for now. Enjoy! -Heath, in Universe 137, Milky-Way Galaxy, Carina-Cygnus Arm (unfashionable West End), Sol, Earth, Lake Superior, Whetstone Brook, East Bank. The weather of a thousand years begins with but a single butterfly-wing flap. "For Music hath charms to soothe the savage breast." -William Congreve Creative Commons deed 2.5 - attribution, non-commercial, share alike

beneath veil of night. patina upon landscape. sparkle in moonlight. ... A misty morning glomen brightens the luminous sky. The first snow, having come (as oft it will) beneath the veil of night, reveals its frosty patina upon the land. The first rays of Sol now touch the icy dust. It sparkles in the chilly morning air. My breath hovers before me. I walk along, unhurried. My footfalls crunch the crispy leaves, now dusted in sparkles. Ah, the desolation before Winter. This stark beauty, upon my Earth, my fragile island home. How insignificant she seems, in the grand scale of Reality. Yet, she is my whole World, the only home i've ever known. This, the one life i know, i think to myself - crusty leaves crunching beneath my feet, my breath before me, sunbeams sparkling in the snow. ... Composed with GarageBand2 late last night (finished about 2am this morning). Episode 42 must, of course, be dedicated to Douglas Adams. I met him 3 days before the untimely end of his sojourn. Somehow the mood of this piece fits my thoughts of then. Please enjoy, and don't get too moody. :-] ~heath ... Changing the World, one groove at a time, "for Music hath charms to soothe the savage breast." -William Congreve ... Creative Commons Deed 2.5 - attribution, non-commercial use, share alike

a chilly landscape. a breeze scuttling the leaves. so quiet the birds. ... The leaves turn to golden and red, quaking in the October breeze... The rustle of fallen leaves, scuttling across the path... i pull up my collar, and push my hands deeper into my pockets as i walk along, the wind picking up, and howling faintly through bare tress. Coming is the season Kurt Vonnegut called 'the Locking' -- that long cold silent time before Winter. For now, i nuzzle my face lower into my scarf, and think of the Autumn beauty about me. I have lived through many Winters. There will come an Autumn which will be my last. I sometimes think upon such things, as the leaves turn golden and red, quaking in the October breeze. ~heath ... Changing the World, one groove at a time, "for music hath charms to soothe the savage breast." -William Congreve ... Creative Commons deed 2.5 - attribution, non-commercial, share alike.

Another 'Live at EmmaJoe's Coffeehouse' self-duet. The Rhodes stage-piano part was played Live at EmmaJoe's, on either 2001 November 26 or 2002 June 24 (i forget which date; i'd have to go find my raw Masters), which i then later played back as self-accompaniment for my flute, played Live at EmmaJoe's on 2003 January 6. This is Number 2 from a collection of four pieces alternating between jazzy and mellow, now titled 'January Juxtipose' ("Juxtipose-Ay" - with an accent acute, folks - which will not appear properly on the libsyn page). I imagined i was producing for LP ('vinyl'), where the music is divided into two 'suites' (side A and side B). I've often said that a good LP is produced with this in mind: each side can stand alone as its own suite. So, i began each 'side' with an up-tempo piece, and followed it with a mellow meditation. The up-tempo pieces probably won't fit into this 'tranquil' podcast. You've already heard Number 4 (it's Tranquil MMVI.36, Evening's Bells). So, here's the other one (the 'first' mellow one, from 'side A' :-). As always, enjoy! {But don't listen while driving at night, please.} -Heath ;-] ... Changing the World, one groove at a time, "for Music hath charms to soothe the savage breast." -William Congreve ... Creative Commons Deed 2.5 - attribution, non-commercial use, share alike

Here is an unusual animation technique, which i've flown together with a couple of Rhodes stage piano pieces. I did this Video Feedback in Napoli, Italia (Naples, Italy) in 1982. Essentially, this is done by aiming a video camera at a video monitor to get a kinematic version of feedback (the howling and squealing you get from microphones too close to speakers being the familiar Audio version). Having said that, the results i got involved a lot of patience and some fairly high-end (but accessible) gear. I used a Sony camera which allowed Manual over-ride of the Automatic exposure controls and Colour Inversion, etc. I recorded it onto one of the early Betamax decks. I kept two Beta tapes (about 3 hours worth), and gave one tape to the Salesman who let me use the equipment. {If you're out there somewhere Mister, please contact me. I'd very much love to make a copy of that third tape, which i've never seen since doing it, all those years ago.. remember Seaman Patrie?} The music track is something i played years later for Jo (who was sitting there reading a book) in our 3rd year of Marriage. I was just testing a mixer. I usually don't do vocal (for some unknown reason; i have to get over mic-fright or something), but i was testing levels, and started singing to Jo 'just sitting there' (as you hear in the words). I just made up some 'lovey-dovey' words, but the more i listened to it, the more i liked it, and it's become a personal favourite (though i've usually been too embarassed to play it; it is rather schmaltzy). The second piece, a Rhodes instrumental meditation, is from my official 'first effort', Nu-foria. I've variously call it 'Mysterium' or just 'Myst', because it is rather mysterious and mysty. I've put both of these 'songs' into a collection i call Max Rhodes, which i don't actively distribute anymore. But, this is part of why i'm doing this Podcast - as a means to give out some of my more obscure offerings, which would otherwise probably get totally lost in the sauce. {I hardly ever play the Rhodes anymore; people just want to hear my harp. I'll have to squeeze some playing in somewhere.} I hope you enjoy listening, as i enjoyed playing - for Jo, and for you. -Heath ;-] ... Changing the World, one groove at a time, "for Music hath charms to soothe the savage breast." -William Congreve ... Creative Commons Deed 2.5 - attribution, non-commercial use, share alike

Here is another courtship song for Jo, played on a small wooden flute in the wee hours of the night. As Jo did her service in the World in Wuhan China for a year, i pined for her, writing love-lettres and sending tapes of my flute in courtship of her. This song is another selection from Medicine Flute - music i played in the natural acoustic space of the stairwell in our Post Office. Caution, this music is not suitable for listening whilst driving at night. Seriously; don't do it! But, it definitely IS suitable listening for courting, loving, birthing, medition, yoga... whenever you need a tranquil space to be in. Enjoy! -Heath ;-] ... Changing the World, one groove at a time, "for Music hath charms to soothe the savage breast." -William Congreve ... Creative Commons Deed 2.5 - attribution, non-commercial use, share alike

This is just Jo and me in our natural habitat. I turned 49 on August 24th. So, in honor of that passage, i thought i'd do something different, and post a video. As ever, enjoy! and feel free to email us or make a comment at my Podcast, at heath.libsyn.com. Someone wrote a review! Thank-you! [grins broadly] And, you're very very very welcome :-) A bientot [sans diacritical marks, as they'll be messed-up looking] -Heath, in Universe 137, Milky-Way Galaxy, Carina-Cygnus Arm (unfashionable West End), Sol, Earth, Lake Superior, Whetstone Brook, East Bank. Boldly tweaking the Universe one butterfly-wing flap at a time! "For Music hath charms to soothe the savage breast." -William Congreve Creative Commons deed 2.5 - attribution, non-commercial, share alike

This is another 'flute-on-Rhodes' self-duet. The Rhodes stage piano part was played Live at EmmaJoe's on 2002 june 24, which i played back as accompaniment for my flute at another gig at EmmaJoe's on 2003 January 6. Some of my fans like this flavour of my music best (more than my harp; go figure). What do you think? Let me know. As ever, enjoy! -Heath the Tranquil :-] Changing the World, one groove at a time, "for Music hath charms to soothe the savage breast." -William Congreve Creative Commons Deed 2.5 - attribiution, non-commercial, share alike

brothers of music. play the piano four hands... at four in the morn. ... This is a little thingy my brother Brian and i cooked up one 'morning' (in the wee hours) with a 40-ouncer of Mickey's and a Reel-to-Reel. Brian came over, and we jammed on my 1917 Wurlitzer full-upright theatre piano (a Big piano, with a Big sound) 'til it got light out. Brian plays melodic theme whilst i play an ostanada in the upper register. This is from back in my stuck-in-the-'70s bar band daze. I've lost the original Reel (Brian thinks he might have it somewhere), so this is from a mildly fluttery cassette (sorry). I hope you enjoy it. {Addendum: I'll eventually publish the 25 minute 'suite II' in a new podcast which resides in my new website.} ~heath ... Changing the World, one groove at a time, "for Music hath charms to soothe the savage breast." -Willian Congreve ... Butterflies, flap your wings! Creative Commons 2.5: attribution, non-commercial, share alike. {PS: that's Brian's picture. Find his little experimental podcast at brian.libsyn.com.}

Another courtship song from Medicine Flute. I've told this story before: my wife-to-be was teaching English in China; we wrote to each other every week or more - a real Elizabeth Barrett/Robert Browning style corrospondence. I would go into the stairwell at the local Post Office after Midnight and play my flute in the beautiful sounding natural acoustic space that was the stairwell - recording it on my MiniDisc Recorder (the first one, the MZ-1), and then put it on a cassette tape to mail to her. It worked. Now you know what kind of Medicine it is ;-] Enjoy! -Heath ... Changing the World, one groove at a time, "for music hath charms to soothe the savage breast." -William Congreve. Creative Commons 2.5 - attribution, non-commercial, share alike

suite III from A Little Harp, Please, played Live at EmmaJoe's MMIV April 12. Another super-mellow endless groove: Moongroove, Step Nicely, Afterdance Variations & Lydia. I have a friend whose middle name is Moon. She really zoned on this 'groove', so i named it for her :) This is one of my shorter sets from an EmmaJoe's gig when my playing was nice, the people were groovin', and my harp stayed in tune. Enjoy! But, don't listen to this while driving at night! -Heath ... Changing the World, one groove at a time, "for music hath charms to soothe the savage breast." -William Congreve. Creative Commons 2.5: attribution, non-commercial, share alike

Tranquil MMVI.32 [flute with Rhodes] Jim's Favourite, from April ArK. One Monday night, at one of my regular gigs at EmmaJoe's Coffeehouse, i had decided to just show up and play the house acoustic piano (which is all Jason ever said i had to do to get paid). I did my infinite improvisation thing. And, being at EmmaJoe's, i was under no pressure to play any prescribed stuff, so i was just cooking up some fresh stuff out of nowhere (perhaps Calliope was smiling upon me). After i had finished a particularly good set, my friend Jim Bedore said, "wow Heath; that was excellent; what was that?" I said, "i have no idea; i'll probably never play it again." But Jim and Amber (et al) said they really liked it. So, i thought, 'okay', and played through it again a couple of times. So, when i went home that night, i flicked on the MiniDisc recorder and layed down a version of it on the Rhodes stage piano. I then took this to EmmaJoe's the following Monday night (my next gig) and played it as a backtrack for some live 'electric flute'. I hope you like it as much as Jim and Amber. Enjoy! -Heath ;-] ... Changing the World, one groove at a time, "...for Music hath charms to soothe the savage breast." --William Congreve CreativeCommons 2.5 = attribution, non-commercial, share alike. ... {P.S: Yes, that is Tom Laverty in the leather jacket, at Dead River Cafe.}

Tranquil MMVI.31 [acoustic piano] 'June Fantasy' from Natural Excipients ... I got hired to play my Rhodes at this really huge dinner-party at Upfront & Company. {There were something like 300 guests.} They have this great sounding Young-Chang full-upright piano on the stage in the bar, so i asked the guys to roll it into the banquet hall where i played a set on it. All i had on me was a MiniDisc recorder, so, i taped my tiny little omni condenser mics onto the top edge of the sound board (and got it into manual), and let it roll. This works quite well (as you can hear), and i use it as one of my Natural Stereo techniques (for all you budding Recording Engineers out there). Try it; you'll like it. Natural excipients = the original plant or fungus or whatever (like willow bark) from which pharmacuticals (like Aspirin) are developed. It's a metaphor for how i compose music; my improvisations are the natural excipients of my compositions. {Refer to my Rap in the previous episode.} Enjoy! ~heath ... Changing the World, one improvisation at a time, "...for Music hath charms to soothe the savage breast." --William Congreve ... CreativeCommons 2.5 = attribution, non-commercial, share alike

one who hunts with me. life-mate with whom i would walk. the un-ending song. ... n'Widgiiwaagan, from Natural Excipients This is something i played on a borrowed flute, Live at the Psychic Faire, at Bay de Noc Community College, in Escanaba (in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan). They'd hired me to play my harp (which everyone loved, of course), but there was a vendor there with some really nice authentic Native-American flutes. I was trying them out and found one i liked a lot, so i asked if i could play a couple of songs on mic. This was my favourite from that night. {I couldn't afford the flute.} Later that year i included this in a demo album i named 'Natural Excipients' - a term borrowed from pharmacology. Natural excipients are the original stuff (like willow bark) from which pharmacuticals (like Aspirin) are developed. I thought it was a good metaphor for how i compose music; my improvisations are the natural excipients of my compositions. Unfortunately, nobody ever got it, and i had to explain it to everyone. This name, however, is, in some small way, now commemorated in this Podcast. ;-] n'Widgiiwaagan is a pet name for my wife. It translates literally as 'my Hunting-with-me-one' ... Baa-maa pii minwaa ka-waabmin ('fare thee well and we'll meet again'). ~heath ... Changing the World, one improvisation at a time, "...for Music hath charms to soothe the savage breast." --William Congreve ... CreativeCommons 2.5 = attribution, non-commercial, share alike