The Aurora Lamp

The pictures did not adequately capture the amazing magic of this thing. Then I remembered all about YouTube… and videos and stuff. I was also just talking about SP, and I have the lamp sitting next to the SP flag. Which makes it even cooler because the flag features the same color palette as the […]

Smoke Rings of Time

This post is a sequel to my (arguably better) recent post “My Psychedelic Experiences“. This is a republish, although this time I decided to start with the journal entries and end with the “poetry”. When reading my “poetry” – bear in mind that I was between the ages of 21-24, and was high for 18 […]

The Mule That Kicked down the Barn Door

On a dark stage in 1967, the jazz-rock ensemble Jefferson Airplane perform the song “Crown of Creation” to an enthralled crowd. A large screen flashes a red sun behind the singers as they harmonize. Their voices shimmer and converge into one alchemy of sound as the rhythm guitar pulsates with the light show. The lead […]

The Ghost Returns / How To Disappear Completely

Republish from April 2019. Long ago, I sat in my living room listening to Amnesiac by Radiohead with a head full of LSD. I stared at the fireplace, slack-jawed and wide-eyed, watching the giant stones swirl in geometric patterns. Listening intently, I tried to understand the pops, clicks, and clanks of “Packt Like Sardines in a Crushd Tin […]

Slip Inside This Dream

The 13th Floor Elevators are the best kept secret in the history of 1960’s rock music. My first encounter with The Elevators happened on a primitive version of streaming radio. This station also introduced me to The Who, Eric Burdon, The Stooges, Black Sabbath, King Crimson, and many other acts that I soon became obsessed with. […]

Love’s Magic

It’s early spring in the Pacific Northwest. Residents are riding a whirlpool between hope and confusion. We have more daylight and the temperature is rising, but the rain persists. We’re perched on the edge of the next phase; hovering between the soul’s potential and winter’s shadow. That’s exactly how it feels within the music of […]

Exuberant Joy and the Infinite Night

March 23rd 2016 was a special night. A friend and I went to the famous Paramount Theatre in Seattle to experience my favorite band of all time. Buzzed out of my mind on sheer anticipation, I spent the entire night of March 22nd walking around while listening to the entire Smashing Pumpkins catalog on shuffle. […]