Life continues to evolve in it’s own idiosyncratic way. #17 was a treat for all of us here at the Fur Peace Ranch and we look forward to some new delights for # 18. More will be revealed.

Here’s seventeen:

Jorma Kaukonen 21, 2020

#17 Of The Quarantine Concert Series

Fur Peace Station

Darwin, Ohio

Saturday August 8^th, 2020

1. Dime For Beer
2. Search My Heart
3. Genesis
4. Letter To The North Star
5. Blue Railroad Train
6. West Coast Blues
7. Hobo’s Lullaby with John Hurlbut
8. Can’t Find My Way Home with John Hurlbut
9. Highway Song
10. How Long Blues
11. Water Song

John and I are examining some new gems for this coming weekend and it is highly likely that Myron will sneak in an appearance.

The girls and I made a foray to Columbus yesterday for some socially distant sushi at Akai Hana. It was nice to get out, and they did it up right. Reservations required, temperature checks, masks when not eating and truly delicious food. Sunday, well spent.

0730n Volleyball training for Izze this morning and ‘school’ starts next week. It could be worse…

Another week has slipped by and here we are on the brink of Quarantine Concert #17.

It’s been a decent week as these things are reckoned. As always, the ebb and flow of life essays to keep us on our toes and there is no good time for bad news like it or not. Our world, like so many, exists in a quasi state of limbo, but we always have our concert series and we so look forward to that.

Before I go, in the spirit of admitting when I’m wrong (which is more often than I would like) one of our comment pals observed that he thought I needed a new back tire on my bike. I deflected the comment by saying ‘I’m not even down to the wear marks.’ I took the bike in for a 10,000 mile service and the tech said, ‘Jorma, this tire is toast.’

New tire, bought, paid for and mounted.

Yet one more lesson in life… 🙂

Drone shot by Jorma Kaukonen

Foto by Jorma Kaukonen

Sometimes the passage of time is like a rush of flood water, and sometimes it is a mere trickle. What to do? Nothing in particular, obviously. Time has no concerns for our needs. Our weekly Quarantine Concert Series events provide a destination for us here at the Kaukonen household.  In these moments we are back out in the world and in some small way we can convince ourselves that we are surrounded with a veil of normalcy. We are blessed to have this window.

The new normal of the rest of the week is an alternate universe. Our daughter is preparing to return to school, although no one is quite sure yet what that will look like. Every moment is a ‘More will be revealed moment.’ It’s been a while since I’ve been surrounded by a satisfying epiphany.

Our family is well, our mental health is tolerable and what else is one to do except keep on with one foot in front of the other. Here we are in the beginning of August and yet for this week at least the evenings and mornings have been cool, and there are already leaves on the ground. It will be a while before that fall smell surrounds us, but I can already see it’s coming. This too give me notice yet one more time of one of the many things the Virus is taking from us, and that is time itself. Moments gone can never be retrieved. I know this, but in the past my moments were like an endless stream of summers. This is no longer the case. It probably hasn’t been for some time, but hey… I’m a slow learner. The kids still have time, my generation doesn’t but that’s just the way it is.

On the bright side, and there is a bright side, there are still lots of things to look forward to not the least of which is #17 of our little concert series.

It is a lovely morning… lovely.

Good day to practice some guitar and maybe get a ride in.

Sunday, August 2, 2020

Here is it the second of August already. The year is slipping away, but as my mom used to say, ‘We’re still here.’ Communicating via the internet is such an interesting beast, but so unsatisfying in many ways. I don’t need to defend my wife from silly stuff she gets on the Quarantine Concert feed… she’s more than capable of putting that stuff in perspective and if necessary, defending herself. As for me, I get plenty of offensive stuff myself, but I do my best to ensure that racist, xenophobic, anti-Semitic right-wing white supremacist screeds don’t make it onto my site.

You’re welcome.

As for the Quarantine Concert Series, It’s Vanessa’s and my world and we welcome our friends of all shapes and inclinations to join us. If you think we’re yakking too much, that’s OK. You don’t have to watch the show. Listen to the record… or not. When something is free, whether or not it’s ‘value received,’ complaints are a non-starter.

There was also some badinage that went something like this: ‘I thought you were going to play a Jerry Garcia song.’ I never said I was going to play a Jerry song. I said we were going to honor him on his birthday in some small way. Jerry was my friend. I’m not a Deadhead in that way. We were colleagues each with our own creative muse to bring to the table. I have, over the years, learned Dead and Jerry music for specific projects. It takes a lot of work to do it well and that’s that. It’s not an everyday part of my world. Knowing Jerry as a man, an artist and as a friend is much more important to me than learning a song. His friendship influenced me profoundly in a lot of ways. I have missed him for some time. He would have loved being here in the station. I thought John and I did a fine job bringing him briefly to life on our little stage.

Anyway, we have so much fun doing this Concert Series we are already looking forward to #17. It’s always good to have something to look forward to no matter what.

Here’s last night’s show:

Jorma Kaukonen 20, 2020

#16 Of The Quarantine Concert Series

Fur Peace Station

Darwin, Ohio

Saturday August 1st, 2020

1. True Religion
2. Serpent Of Dreams
3. Barbeque King
4. Second Chances
5. Let Us Get Together Right Down Here
6. Choices with John Hurlbut
7. No Woman No Cry with John Hurlbut & Vanessa Kaukonen
8. Keep Your Lamps Trimmed & Burning
9. San Francisco Bay Blues
10. Bar Room Crystal Ball

Moving right along. We’re so lucky last night’s storm didn’t know the power out. It was a bad one. Dark and unpleasant today. No trip to the lake.

Could be worse. I’m going to string my guitar with a Zen attitude and walk the dog!

Last night we were able to do the gig for the Maynard Pubic Library up there in Massachusetts. I was so glad to be able to do this gig, lawn chairs notwithstanding. Here is the set:

Jorma Kaukonen 19, 2020

Maynard Public Library

Maynard, Mass.

Friday, July 31, 2020

1. Candy Man
2. Another Man Done Gone
3. New Song For The Morning
4. Broken Highway
5. The Terrible Operation
6. Flying Clouds
7. Trial By Fire
8. Trouble In Mind
9. River Of Time
10. I Am The Light Of This Word
11. Water Song

Now, tonight will be #16 for us:

It seems like the advance tendrils of that hurricane may be coming our way up here in Ohio. In any case, it has been raining on and off since last night and it looks like we might be past the oppressive heat of the past week for a bit.

Happy August First… time is indeed marching on!

Stay well!