I shot a photo of this little pump house about 35 years ago and used it in our book Shelter (1973). It’s still there, still has that unselfconscious elegant non-architectural grace of utility and practicality. It’s on the McIsaacs ranch near Tocoloma, Calif.
This little picture-perfect church is down the block from West Marin’s good-time blues/Cajun/rock and roll/Sunday-barbecue club, Rancho Nicasio, in the tiny town of Nicasio, about 30 minutes from San Rafael, Calif.
I happened to be going through Fairfax (local small town) last week around midnight and stopped at the 19 Broadway club, heard some great reggae, and went in. The Meditations, never heard of them, wow, were they good! Roots reggae, the real thing. (Sad to say, there are a lot of krappy reggae bands around these days.) Once in a great while I stumble into some truly great music. The planets must have been lined up. The singer at the right, older guy, was dignified and hip, so nice to see… two and 3-part vocal harmonies. The kind of music that fills your soul with joy…
Quote from Wikipedia:
“…they began recording as The Meditations in late 1976, shortly after which they released their biggest hit, “Woman Is Like a Shadow”, which sold over 45,000 copies in its first month of release.[2] They recorded in the mid-1970s for producers such as Dobby Dobson, Joseph Hoo Kim, and Lee “Scratch” Perry, their righteously Rastafarian style gaining comparisons with The Mighty Diamonds. Their first album, Message From The Meditations, was released in 1977. The Meditations sang backing vocals on a number of Bob Marley songs, including “Blackman Redemption,” “Punky Reggae Party,” and “Rastaman Live Up”, as well as providing backing for Gregory Isaacs, Jimmy Cliff and The Congos (on their Heart of the Congos album.”
I just got two Meditations albums: Deeper Roots: The Best of the Meditations and No More Friend. Great music.
Flashback to 1973: a bunch if us from my small town went into San Francisco to hear what was said to be a good reggae band. We got there a little late, walked into what was then Mother’s nightclub on Columbus Ave. It was just a big rectangular room, packed to the gills, everyone standing, and playing were — the Wailers. With Bob Marley. I’d never heard of them. (They hadn’t hit the big time yet.) Holy shit! Walking into music like that — heaven on Earth…
Cob sauna, designed by Mark Lakeman and Vanessa Renwick; master builder: Lydia Doleman; assistant builder: Gordon Fry
Transit: Around the World in 1424 Days, by Uwe Ommer.
Kevin Kelly turned me on to this stunning, joyous book. Photos of the photographer’s four-year, 150,000 mile Land Rover journey in over 130 countries, it’s in scrapbook form and a total delight. It’s huge, must weigh 10 lbs., 720 pages. Like Japanese photographer Yoshio Komatsu, Ommer obviously has rapport with everyone whose picture he shoots. It’s remarkable how happy all these people look, obviously comfortable with the photographer. It’s such an inspiration to me.
I’ve shot tons of photos in the last 24 hours. This was last night. There are gorgeous buildings all over Columbus.
I’ll try to put together a Picasa slide show from the trip (in my spare time!) Last night, driving around in the rain, Leonard Cohen’s song “Never Any Good” came on and it was one of those moments. Rain pouring down, an incredible song! I turned it up full volume and was bouncing in the seat; stopped a few times to clap along. Embarrasing, huh?
What a rich voice; he gets down as low as you think he can, then goes lower. The band and the backup girls are exquisite, the poetry tough and tight and witty. Called my friend Sherm 2500 miles away and played the entire song for him at full blast driving on the brick streets of German Village, rain streaming on windshield. It was a movie in my brain.