June Music Issue
This issue rocks! Pun intended. For starters, we are privileged to feature the exquisite photography of Jay Blakesberg, who’s been hooked on the fusion of music and photos since he first started photographing Grateful Dead shows as a teenager in the ’70s. Jay has graciously lent a sampling of his images for a feature pictorial. His beautiful Ani DiFranco portrait graces the cover. Peek at our Happenings section and you’ll see that Jay nailed a beautiful image of the Avett Brothers, who are passing through Berkeley this month. Thanks, Jay—your work is terrific.
It was a pleasure to meet Joel Selvin for this issue. He is the 40-plusyear veteran of the newspaper industry, notably as a music critic for the Chronicle. With over 5,000 reviews under his belt, Joel has a treasure trove of stories dating back to San Francisco’s psychedelic era. As Mickey Hart of the Grateful Dead said of Joel: “Love him or hate him—he was there!”
I’m excited about our cymatics piece. It picks up on the intriguing interview in our last issue with astronaut Edgar Mitchell, which explored (among other things) the living wisdom of the quantum. Cymatics is the science of wave phenomena, demonstrating the vibratory nature of matter and the transformational nature of sound. As author Jeff Volk states, “It is sound science at its finest, and its implications are vast.” You will enjoy this.
We have stories on dreams and music, yoga and music, brainwave entrainment music, music for hospice patients, and music that becomes the soundtrack of our lives. Steve Heilig even channeled Music itself and learned of 15 of its notable avatars. We have a fun interview with Sylvia Lindsey, a remarkable patron of the arts. And don’t miss our profile of Jason Becker, the shred-metal guitar legend who, at the age of 20 and with a spectacular career ahead of him, contracted ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease. Jason is a model for turning adversity to advantage. His spiritual quest is as startling as his having so far survived 22 years with ALS.
In addition to our annual festival roundup, we explore Terrapin Crossroads, a hot new restaurant destination in San Rafael. The brainchild of Phil Lesh (bassist for the Grateful Dead) and his wife, Jill, it combines delicious eats in a comfortable, sea-breezy atmosphere, where live music is both intimate and high caliber—especially if you’re partial to Dead tunes. Terrapin Crossroads is going to be very popular, so try to experience it soon. We had fun with Kima Hayuk and Michelle L’Don (accompanied by my old friend Manasha Garcia) doing that review, their first for Common Ground. We look forward to more of their contributions.
With so many wonderful music events and festivals coming up, we anticipate seeing you there. It’s sad that our friends at Harmony Festival have needed to take a breather this year, but they’ll be back.
Our next issue, Summer, combines July and August. Expect our exciting annual Burning Man preview and much more.
As ever, please remember to patronize our sponsors, upon whom a free community magazine depends. And if you know a potential advertiser, please send them our way. All feedback and suggestions graciously accepted at [email protected].
Rock On,
ROB SIDON, PUBLISHER/EDITOR